--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're a creative person, you'd better…" description: "\"If you're a creative person, you'd better not read what people write about you, because if it's good it'll blow your head up and it'll force you not to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/james-mcbride-4758_blow_if-you-re-a-creative-person-you-d-better_1526448.jpg" --- # If you're a creative person, you'd better not read what… ![“If you're a creative person, you'd better not read what people write about you, because if it's good it'll blow your head up and it'll force you not to take the subway and you'll start taking cabs, and you'd better stay around people, and if it's bad, it just hurts your feelings so much it…” quote by James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/james-mcbride-4758_blow_if-you-re-a-creative-person-you-d-better_1526448.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/james-mcbride-4758_blow_if-you-re-a-creative-person-you-d-better_1526448.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/james-mcbride-4758_blow_if-you-re-a-creative-person-you-d-better_1526448.jpg) > “If you're a creative person, you'd better not read what people write about you, because if it's good it'll blow your head up and it'll force you not to take the subway and you'll start taking cabs, and you'd better stay around people, and if it's bad, it just hurts your feelings so much it discourages you.” [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative people are vulnerable to criticism; praise can inflate ego, while criticism can damage confidence, both affecting behavior and choices. **In simple terms:** Criticism and praise both affect creative confidence. Key Takeaway Seek balanced feedback and stay grounded. Themes creativity confidence feedback selfesteem socialinfluence Mood anxious reflective Type advice motivational When to use this quote - artistic work - public performance - social media - career decisions Key Concepts ego selfesteem socialvalidation Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate constructive criticism from ego‑boosting praise? - What internal standards can you set to stay grounded? A Different Perspective Overreliance on external opinions can stifle authentic expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-person/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If it's called butthurt when someone hurts your feelings, then what are we supposed to say when our butts really hurt?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-it-s-called-butthurt-when-someone-hurts-your-feelings-then-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just because it hurts your feelings a little bit, doesn't mean it's not the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-because-it-hurts-your-feelings-a-little-bit-doesn-t-mean-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People often portray me as Miss Hard Stuff. It hurts my feelings a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-morgan/people-often-portray-me-as-miss-hard-stuff-it-hurts-my-feelings-a-lot/) [Lorrie Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-morgan/) > [I tell it like I see it. I don't care if it hurts your feelings. If I'm not honest, I'm not myself. Get over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-tell-it-like-i-see-it-i-don-t-care-if-it-hurts-your-feelings-if-i-m/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I promise you will survive. Life doesn't end when something hurts your feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-promise-you-will-survive-life-doesn-t-end-when-something-hurts-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes when you say you really don't care about what other people say, you start to think more than that and it hurts your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reny/sometimes-when-you-say-you-really-don-t-care-about-what-other-people/) [Reny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reny/) > [I am honest even if it hurts your feelings...Sorry, there isnt a fake bone in this body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-honest-even-if-it-hurts-your-feelings-sorry-there-isnt-a-fake/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You cannot allow whether someone likes you or not to alter your course of action. Sometimes I think, 'Sure, that hurts my feelings.' But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ailes/you-cannot-allow-whether-someone-likes-you-or-not-to-alter-your/) [Roger Ailes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ailes/) > [When an Aquarius hurts your feelings or offends you, they won't realize they did it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-an-aquarius-hurts-your-feelings-or-offends-you-they-won-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You think it hurts your feelings that girls talk about you behind your back, until they tell you to your face. And they each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/you-think-it-hurts-your-feelings-that-girls-talk-about-you-behind/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [I see people giving me looks because I'm so opinionated. That hurts my feelings, but at the end of the day I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherilyn-fenn/i-see-people-giving-me-looks-because-i-m-so-opinionated-that-hurts-my/) [Sherilyn Fenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherilyn-fenn/) > [I say one thing that hurts your feelings and you get mad? But you've said things to hurt me all night and that's okay?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-say-one-thing-that-hurts-your-feelings-and-you-get-mad-but-you-ve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When We're Angry We Can Change Decisions But Not Feelings... The Changed Decision May Give Satisfaction At That Time. But Later It Hurts Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/when-we-re-angry-we-can-change-decisions-but-not-feelings-the-changed/) Pacifiersucker > [Spiteful words hurts your feelings; silence breaks your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/spiteful-words-hurts-your-feelings-silence-breaks-your-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [WHY THAT FUCK U WILL YELL AT SOMEONE IF U LOVE THEM! THAT HURTS THEIR FEELINGS AZZHOLE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-that-fuck-u-will-yell-at-someone-if-u-love-them-that-hurts-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by James McBride > [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [There are some really great books that have been written about slavery, but I don't think that the discourse about it in society has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/there-are-some-really-great-books-that-have-been-written-about/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [“Whatever you is, Onion," he said, "be it full.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/whatever-you-is-onion-he-said-be-it-full/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [There are two responses to really awful things. One is to lament and say, "Oh my God, oh lord." And the other is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/there-are-two-responses-to-really-awful-things-one-is-to-lament-and/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [If you're going to cheat and take people's history and you're not writing the Bible, you ain't really so great. But if you try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/if-you-re-going-to-cheat-and-take-people-s-history-and-you-re-not/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [“Most cars drove through there because the drivers is either from The Bottom and wanna get home - or they ain't from The Bottom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/most-cars-drove-through-there-because-the-drivers-is-either-from-the/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [There has to be some mystery in life, because the joy of being a writer and the joy of being a musician is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/there-has-to-be-some-mystery-in-life-because-the-joy-of-being-a/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [“And when James asked what color God was, she said, God is the color of water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/and-when-james-asked-what-color-god-was-she-said-god-is-the-color-of/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [I'm proud of 'Miracle at St. Anna' and I loved it; there's no question in my mind it's as good as any movie that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/i-m-proud-of-miracle-at-st-anna-and-i-loved-it-there-s-no-question-in/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [“back,” Daddy said. “It’ll work out.” He had no idea what to do about Helen. They spoke a completely different language. He was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/back-daddy-said-it-ll-work-out-he-had-no-idea-what-to-do-about-helen/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [I'm one of the few Black writers, or African American writers, who managed to work my way through the system so that it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/i-m-one-of-the-few-black-writers-or-african-american-writers-who/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [God is the color of water. Water doesn't have a color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/god-is-the-color-of-water-water-doesn-t-have-a-color/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [First person narrative is a very effective tool but you have to know as a writer how to make it work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/first-person-narrative-is-a-very-effective-tool-but-you-have-to-know/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [The act of choosing what to place in your piece when you're a historian or a non-fiction writer already renders it into fiction for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/the-act-of-choosing-what-to-place-in-your-piece-when-you-re-a/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [...since I was a little boy, she had always wanted me to go. She was always sending me off on a bus someplace, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/since-i-was-a-little-boy-she-had-always-wanted-me-to-go-she-was/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) [Explore all 106 James McBride quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) ## More Blow quotes > [The wind always seems to blow against catchers when they are running.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-garagiola/the-wind-always-seems-to-blow-against-catchers-when-they-are-running/) [Joe Garagiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-garagiola/) > [Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our teeples, drowned the cocks! You sulphurour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/blow-winds-and-crack-your-cheeks-rage-blow-you-cataracts-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If he wants to blow his head off, let him. I don't give a damn about Jim Bakker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hahn/if-he-wants-to-blow-his-head-off-let-him-i-don-t-give-a-damn-about/) [Jessica Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hahn/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/not-i-not-i-but-the-wind-that-blows-through-me-a-fine-wind-is-blowing/) [D. H. 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Guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/the-brick-house-was-one-of-the-toughest-joints-i-ever-played-in-guys/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/) Browse all 2,324 Blow quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you're a creative person, you'd better not read what people write about you, because if it's good it'll blow your head up and it'll force you not to take the subway and you'll start taking cabs, and you'd better stay around people, and if it's bad, it just hurts your feelings so much it discourages you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James McBride" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/if-you-re-a-creative-person-you-d-better-not-read-what-people-write/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blow" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/if-you-re-a-creative-person-you-d-better-not-read-what-people-write/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/james-mcbride-4758_blow_if-you-re-a-creative-person-you-d-better_1526448.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/james-mcbride-4758_blow_if-you-re-a-creative-person-you-d-better_1526448.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/james-mcbride-4758_blow_if-you-re-a-creative-person-you-d-better_1526448.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you're a creative person, you'd better not read what people write about you, because if it's good it'll…” — James McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James McBride", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you're a creative person, you'd...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/if-you-re-a-creative-person-you-d-better-not-read-what-people-write/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/if-you-re-a-creative-person-you-d-better-not-read-what-people-write/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```