--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Emotional labor is the hard work of…" description: "\"“Emotional labor is the hard work of making art, producing generosity, and exposing creativity. Working without a map involves both vision and the will..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/seth-godin-152_art_emotional-labor-is-the-hard-work-of-maki_700353.png" --- # Emotional labor is the hard work of making art, producing… ![“Emotional labor is the hard work of making art, producing generosity, and exposing creativity. Working without a map involves both vision and the willingness to do something about what you see. Emotional labor is what you get paid to do, and one of the most difficult types of emotional labor is…” quote by Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/seth-godin-152_art_emotional-labor-is-the-hard-work-of-maki_700353.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/seth-godin-152_art_emotional-labor-is-the-hard-work-of-maki_700353.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/seth-godin-152_art_emotional-labor-is-the-hard-work-of-maki_700353.png) > ““Emotional labor is the hard work of making art, producing generosity, and exposing creativity. Working without a map involves both vision and the willingness to do something about what you see. Emotional labor is what you get paid to do, and one of the most difficult types of emotional labor is staring into the abyss of choice and picking a path.”” [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creating art and generosity requires emotional effort, vision, and decisive action despite uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Emotional work fuels creativity and choice. Key Takeaway Embrace vision and act despite fear. Themes creativity choice emotional effort vision generosity Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - starting a creative project - leadership decisions - personal growth - team building Key Concepts psychology artistic process decision making Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain emotional energy? - What choices feel most daunting? A Different Perspective Emotional labor can lead to burnout if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Making Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-art/) [Staring Into The Abyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring-into-the-abyss/) ## Related quotes > [“The future of your organization depends on motivated human beings selflessly contributing unasked-for gifts of emotional labor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-future-of-your-organization-depends-on-motivated-human-beings/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Emotional labor is available to all of us, but it is rarely exploited as a competitive advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/emotional-labor-is-available-to-all-of-us-but-it-is-rarely-exploited/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Do the emotional labor of working on things that others fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/do-the-emotional-labor-of-working-on-things-that-others-fear/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“With intellectual labor your hard work is forever, while with manual labor your hard work is temporary and soon forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/with-intellectual-labor-your-hard-work-is-forever-while-with-manual/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [No labor is hard, no time is long, wherein the glory of eternity is the mark we level at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/no-labor-is-hard-no-time-is-long-wherein-the-glory-of-eternity-is-the/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [It is work, work that one delights in, that is the surest guarantor of happiness. But even here it is a work that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/it-is-work-work-that-one-delights-in-that-is-the-surest-guarantor-of/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [“I have two problems with hard labor: hard and labor. I prefer soft, and I’d prefer not giving birth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-have-two-problems-with-hard-labor-hard-and-labor-i-prefer-soft-and/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Instead of being satisfied to alleviate suffering, we shall labor hard and continually to prevent it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/instead-of-being-satisfied-to-alleviate-suffering-we-shall-labor-hard/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Then there’s emotional labor. Now, that’s a good one. It describes all the unpaid, uncounted, often unseen work that people—overwhelmingly women—perform to keep their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/then-there-s-emotional-labor-now-that-s-a-good-one-it-describes-all-2/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [“Then there’s emotional labor. Now, that’s a good one. 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Madness is an ostrich who sticks her head in the sand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/madness-is-the-who-staring-into-the-abyss-and-denying-it-is-there/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) ## More by Seth Godin > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The easier it is to quantify, the less it's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-easier-it-is-to-quantify-the-less-it-s-worth/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Leadership is a choice. It's the choice not to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/leadership-is-a-choice-it-s-the-choice-not-to-do-nothing/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The next thing you do today will be the most important thing on your agenda, because, after all, you're doing it next. Well, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-next-thing-you-do-today-will-be-the-most-important-thing-on-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I look at Starbucks, Howard Schultz has made many brilliant decisions, and one of the things that they did was they invented the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-look-at-starbucks-howard-schultz-has-made-many-brilliant-decisions/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Be relentlessly generous, without focusing on when it will come back to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/be-relentlessly-generous-without-focusing-on-when-it-will-come-back/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The public square is more public than ever, but minds are rarely changed in 140 character bursts and by selfies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-public-square-is-more-public-than-ever-but-minds-are-rarely/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Making an average pitch to average people, or having an average gala for average people isn't going to scale anymore. You've got to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/making-an-average-pitch-to-average-people-or-having-an-average-gala/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Our job is to make change. Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/our-job-is-to-make-change-our-job-is-to-connect-to-people-to-interact/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Life is actually far better than it is in the movies. And it takes longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/life-is-actually-far-better-than-it-is-in-the-movies-and-it-takes/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I don't think there's a shortage of remarkable ideas. I think your business has plenty of great opportunities to do great things. Nope, what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-shortage-of-remarkable-ideas-i-think-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The mirror we hold up to the person next to us is one of the most important pictures she will ever see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-mirror-we-hold-up-to-the-person-next-to-us-is-one-of-the-most/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you're a marketer who doesn't know how to invent, design, influence, adapt, and ultimately discard products, then you're no longer a marketer. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-you-re-a-marketer-who-doesn-t-know-how-to-invent-design-influence/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) [Explore all 1,110 Seth Godin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. 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