--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never…" description: "\"I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt. The mos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/julia-cameron-830_doing_i-have-learned-as-a-rule-of-thumb-never_1154567.jpg" --- # I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether… ![“I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt. The most remarkable things follow.” quote by Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/julia-cameron-830_doing_i-have-learned-as-a-rule-of-thumb-never_1154567.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/julia-cameron-830_doing_i-have-learned-as-a-rule-of-thumb-never_1154567.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/julia-cameron-830_doing_i-have-learned-as-a-rule-of-thumb-never_1154567.jpg) > “I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt. The most remarkable things follow.” [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Actively affirming action, rather than doubting ability, propels creative breakthroughs. **In simple terms:** Do it, then trust the process. Key Takeaway Take bold steps and trust the journey. Themes creativity confidence action Mood encouraging energetic Type self‑help motivational When to use this quote - art projects - writing sprints - public speaking Key Concepts self‑efficacy mindset shift Questions to Reflect On - What small action can you start today? - How do you handle setbacks after committing? A Different Perspective Overconfidence may lead to reckless risks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [People are inspired to do remarkable things to find and be with the one they love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-behrendt/people-are-inspired-to-do-remarkable-things-to-find-and-be-with-the/) [Greg Behrendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-behrendt/) > [I often think about the many remarkable things that my personal computer can do which I never ask it to do. I probably use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-s-fletcher/i-often-think-about-the-many-remarkable-things-that-my-personal/) [Geoffrey S. Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-s-fletcher/) > [“Sometimes the most remarkable things seem commonplace. I mean when you think about it jet travel is pretty freaking remarkable. You get in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/sometimes-the-most-remarkable-things-seem-commonplace-i-mean-when-you/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [There’s no question about the reality of evil, of injustice, of suffering, but at the center of this existence is a heart beating with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/there-s-no-question-about-the-reality-of-evil-of-injustice-of/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [People do the most remarkable things in the most difficult of circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deeyah-khan/people-do-the-most-remarkable-things-in-the-most-difficult-of/) [Deeyah Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deeyah-khan/) > [“Like most remarkable things, nobody realized it was remarkable as it happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-doucette/like-most-remarkable-things-nobody-realized-it-was-remarkable-as-it/) [Gene Doucette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-doucette/) > [It is a bitter dose to be taught obedience after you have learned to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/it-is-a-bitter-dose-to-be-taught-obedience-after-you-have-learned-to/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [I've learned to never rule anything in or out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-collins/i-ve-learned-to-never-rule-anything-in-or-out/) [Susan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-collins/) > [“I learned another rule, men don't buy men flowers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dora-okeyo/i-learned-another-rule-men-don-t-buy-men-flowers/) [Dora Okeyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dora-okeyo/) > [We can sit around and go, okay, is there really a plan, does somebody really know what's happening, is it all planned out, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andie-macdowell/we-can-sit-around-and-go-okay-is-there-really-a-plan-does-somebody/) [Andie MacDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andie-macdowell/) > [You must always look with both of your eyes and listen with both of your ears. He says this is a very big world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-mcgregor/you-must-always-look-with-both-of-your-eyes-and-listen-with-both-of/) [Jon McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-mcgregor/) > [“Ah, what he is; that is quite another thing. I have seen so many remarkable things in him, that if you would have me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/ah-what-he-is-that-is-quite-another-thing-i-have-seen-so-many/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [That's one of the remarkable things about life. It's never so bad that it can't get worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/that-s-one-of-the-remarkable-things-about-life-it-s-never-so-bad-that/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [If you can get over this initial distrust that people have of strangers, you can do remarkable things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-omidyar/if-you-can-get-over-this-initial-distrust-that-people-have-of/) [Pierre Omidyar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-omidyar/) > [“One of the most remarkable things about Antonina was her determination to include play, animals, wonder, curiosity, marvel, and a wide blaze of innocence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/one-of-the-most-remarkable-things-about-antonina-was-her/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) ## More by Julia Cameron > [All too often, it is audacity and not talent that moves an artist to center stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/all-too-often-it-is-audacity-and-not-talent-that-moves-an-artist-to/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Fatigue can make it hard to have faith. Too much busyness can make it hard to have faith. Too much of too little solitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/fatigue-can-make-it-hard-to-have-faith-too-much-busyness-can-make-it/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [We are not accustomed to thinking that God's will for us and our own inner dreams can coincide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/we-are-not-accustomed-to-thinking-that-god-s-will-for-us-and-our-own/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/what-we-really-want-to-do-is-what-we-are-really-meant-to-do/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [The need to be a great artist makes it hard to be an artist. The need to produce a great work of art makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/the-need-to-be-a-great-artist-makes-it-hard-to-be-an-artist-the-need/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [All of us contain a divine, expressive spark, a creative candle intended to light our path and that of our fellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/all-of-us-contain-a-divine-expressive-spark-a-creative-candle/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Possibility is far more frightening than impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/possibility-is-far-more-frightening-than-impossibility/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Creativity is our true nature; blocks are an unnatural thwarting of a process at once as normal and as miraculous as the blossoming of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/creativity-is-our-true-nature-blocks-are-an-unnatural-thwarting-of-a/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Just as a good rain clears the air, a good writing day clears the psyche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/just-as-a-good-rain-clears-the-air-a-good-writing-day-clears-the/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Survival lies in sanity, and sanity lies in paying attention...the capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/survival-lies-in-sanity-and-sanity-lies-in-paying-attention-the/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Technology teaches passivity. Absorbed in our devices - at any age - we are absorbed in someone else's perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/technology-teaches-passivity-absorbed-in-our-devices-at-any-age-we/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [There's this mythology that parents are supposed to be parents 24/7 and are supposed to be completely fulfilled by their kids. That's not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/there-s-this-mythology-that-parents-are-supposed-to-be-parents-24-7/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/perfectionism-is-not-a-quest-for-the-best-it-is-a-pursuit-of-the/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [I am compassionate. I allow my heart and imagination to embrace the difficulties and concerns of others. While maintaining my own balance, I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/i-am-compassionate-i-allow-my-heart-and-imagination-to-embrace-the/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [All change can be expansive in potential. The choice is ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/all-change-can-be-expansive-in-potential-the-choice-is-ours/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) [Explore all 358 Julia Cameron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) ## More Doing quotes > [I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm damn well gonna do it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geri-halliwell/i-don-t-know-what-i-m-doing-but-i-m-damn-well-gonna-do-it/) [Geri Halliwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geri-halliwell/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [If you think you're doing everything right, then you have a tendency to stand pat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stockton/if-you-think-you-re-doing-everything-right-then-you-have-a-tendency/) [John Stockton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stockton/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ko-wen-je/doing-the-right-things-is-more-important-than-doing-things-right/) [Ko Wen-je](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ko-wen-je/) > [I was in high school and I had an independent album out, and we kept sending that out, and I was doing shows. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hilton/i-was-in-high-school-and-i-had-an-independent-album-out-and-we-kept/) [Tyler Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hilton/) > [If I'm not thinking about you then I am texting you , if I am not texting you then I am on the phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-m-not-thinking-about-you-then-i-am-texting-you-if-i-am-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [.\*. why u hate me..Bitches be doing the most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty/why-u-hate-me-bitches-be-doing-the-most/) Kitty > [“dances with mine as if we’ve been doing this our whole”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-michaels/dances-with-mine-as-if-we-ve-been-doing-this-our-whole/) [Corinne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-michaels/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [When I made it, I still didn't wave the flag and say, Yeah go Asian people. I do want people to know that about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-hugo/when-i-made-it-i-still-didn-t-wave-the-flag-and-say-yeah-go-asian/) [Chad Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-hugo/) > [I really can't live without my In-N-Out burgers. Honestly, I can't. Even when I'm doing the whole no-carb thing occasionally, I make an exception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-really-can-t-live-without-my-in-n-out-burgers-honestly-i-can-t-even/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) > [You can't drain the swamp, as President Trump has touted doing, without getting rid of Mitch McConnell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mcgrath/you-can-t-drain-the-swamp-as-president-trump-has-touted-doing-without/) [Amy McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mcgrath/) Browse all 10,133 Doing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt. The most remarkable things follow.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julia Cameron" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/i-have-learned-as-a-rule-of-thumb-never-to-ask-whether-you-can-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/i-have-learned-as-a-rule-of-thumb-never-to-ask-whether-you-can-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/julia-cameron-830_doing_i-have-learned-as-a-rule-of-thumb-never_1154567.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/julia-cameron-830_doing_i-have-learned-as-a-rule-of-thumb-never_1154567.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5c/julia-cameron-830_doing_i-have-learned-as-a-rule-of-thumb-never_1154567.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are…” — Julia Cameron", "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": "Julia Cameron", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have learned, as a rule...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/i-have-learned-as-a-rule-of-thumb-never-to-ask-whether-you-can-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/i-have-learned-as-a-rule-of-thumb-never-to-ask-whether-you-can-do/#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 } } ] } ```