--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best and only thing that one artist…" description: "\"The best and only thing that one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.\" — Steven Pressfield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/steven-pressfield-696_art_the-best-and-only-thing-that-one-artist_1691254.jpg" --- # The best and only thing that one artist can do for another… ![“The best and only thing that one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.” quote by Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/steven-pressfield-696_art_the-best-and-only-thing-that-one-artist_1691254.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/steven-pressfield-696_art_the-best-and-only-thing-that-one-artist_1691254.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/steven-pressfield-696_art_the-best-and-only-thing-that-one-artist_1691254.jpg) > “The best and only thing that one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.” [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists should support each other by exemplifying excellence and inspiring creativity. **In simple terms:** Artists inspire through example. Key Takeaway Be a role model. Themes creativity mentorship inspiration Mood encouraging reflective Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - teaching workshops - collaborative projects - public performances Key Concepts leadership modeling artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - How can you model your art without stifling others? - What example inspires you most? A Different Perspective Reliance on one example may not suit all styles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Serve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-serve-929036/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Example Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example-inspiration-280091/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Serve Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serve-example-823651/) [Thing Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-artist-471502/) ## Related quotes > [To be a good artist, you have to serve the work of art and allow it to be what it is supposed to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/to-be-a-good-artist-you-have-to-serve-the-work-of-art-and-allow-it-to/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [I am convinced that each work of art, be it a great work of genius or something very small, has its own life, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-am-convinced-that-each-work-of-art-be-it-a-great-work-of-genius-or/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Girls' strength lies in its diversity, and its members have walked in a lot of borrowed shoes to make it that way. 'Solitude' is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-fantano/girls-strength-lies-in-its-diversity-and-its-members-have-walked-in-a/) [Anthony Fantano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-fantano/) > [I like to think I've been a good example and an inspiration to some people. And some people say that about me, but I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-like-to-think-i-ve-been-a-good-example-and-an-inspiration-to-some/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [I wanted to express myself using visuals and also celebrate the beauty of black women, travel, and have amazing opportunities. I also wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khoudia-diop/i-wanted-to-express-myself-using-visuals-and-also-celebrate-the/) [Khoudia Diop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khoudia-diop/) > [The idea of being able to serve as an example, based upon how to process, how to think, how to realize our own dreams,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stedman-graham/the-idea-of-being-able-to-serve-as-an-example-based-upon-how-to/) [Stedman Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stedman-graham/) > [“If I accomplish nothing else in this life, I can at least serve as an example of what not to do with my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerrie-brock/if-i-accomplish-nothing-else-in-this-life-i-can-at-least-serve-as-an/) [Jerrie Brock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerrie-brock/) > [Now, if you want to know my secret love, it is to be able to serve as an example.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnetta-b-cole/now-if-you-want-to-know-my-secret-love-it-is-to-be-able-to-serve-as/) [Johnnetta B. Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnetta-b-cole/) > [“Leaders lead themselves first and foremost. Only then can they act as example and inspiration to others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-babson/leaders-lead-themselves-first-and-foremost-only-then-can-they-act-as/) [Christopher Babson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-babson/) > [You should lead and serve by example without a title because people will and should remember you by and for your actions and accomplishments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stamatis/you-should-lead-and-serve-by-example-without-a-title-because-people/) [George Stamatis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stamatis/) > [Branding is quite an important thing. As an artist, you want to be able to explore facets of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/branding-is-quite-an-important-thing-as-an-artist-you-want-to-be-able/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [The good thing about being an artist, is it's a legitimate way of looking at things cross-eyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/the-good-thing-about-being-an-artist-is-it-s-a-legitimate-way-of/) [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) > [The only thing one can give an artist is leisure in which to work. To give an artist leisure is actually to take part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-only-thing-one-can-give-an-artist-is-leisure-in-which-to-work-to/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The thing about being an artist is that you evolve so quickly, you grow, you learn, you change, you find yourself hating work that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halsey/the-thing-about-being-an-artist-is-that-you-evolve-so-quickly-you/) [Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halsey/) > [I think the most important thing for an artist is to not worry about what anybody else thinks. You just have to do what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosanna-arquette/i-think-the-most-important-thing-for-an-artist-is-to-not-worry-about/) [Rosanna Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosanna-arquette/) ## More by Steven Pressfield > [Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/most-of-us-have-two-lives-the-life-we-live-and-the-unlived-life/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“The artist and the fundamentalist both confront the same issue, the mystery of their existence as individuals. Each asks the same questions: Who am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-artist-and-the-fundamentalist-both-confront-the-same-issue-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The professional arms himself with patience, not only to give the stars time to align in his career, but to keep himself from flaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-professional-arms-himself-with-patience-not-only-to-give-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The Kabbalah describes angels as bundles of light, meaning intelligence, consciousness. Kabbalists believe that above every blade of grass is an angel crying "Grow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-kabbalah-describes-angels-as-bundles-of-light-meaning/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [To labor in the arts for any reason other than love is prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/to-labor-in-the-arts-for-any-reason-other-than-love-is-prostitution/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“that of dealing death, of loosing another man’s soul and sending it down to hell. You want to savor it, to twist the blade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/that-of-dealing-death-of-loosing-another-man-s-soul-and-sending-it/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-is-experienced-as-fear-the-degree-of-fear-equates-to-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us... Ideas come. Insights accrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/when-we-sit-down-each-day-and-do-our-work-power-concentrates-around/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Anything that draws attention to ourselves through pain-free or artificial means is a manifestation of Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/anything-that-draws-attention-to-ourselves-through-pain-free-or/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The Gnostics believed that exile was the essential condition of man. Do you agree? I do. The artist and the addict both wrestle with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-gnostics-believed-that-exile-was-the-essential-condition-of-man/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The soul that rises with us, our life's star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting-the-soul-that-rises-with-us/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [You are a writer when you tell yourself you are. No one else's opinion matters. Screw them. You are when you say you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/you-are-a-writer-when-you-tell-yourself-you-are-no-one-else-s-opinion/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Resistance outwits the amateur with the oldest trick in the book: It uses his own enthusiasm against him. Resistance gets us to plunge into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-outwits-the-amateur-with-the-oldest-trick-in-the-book-it/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“I don't need to read nothing,' said the New Zealander. 'I was there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/i-don-t-need-to-read-nothing-said-the-new-zealander-i-was-there/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) [Explore all 404 Steven Pressfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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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