The Game Of Making Great Art

“I’m not competing with anybody…I want to make the best thing I can make. That’s all.  That’s all I can do. I want to make something. I want it to be the best it can be. To compete means I want it to be better than someone else’s. I don’t care about being better than someone else.  Ever. I want to just do my thing to the best of my ability. That’s it…I’m interested in great art.  That’s it.  And great art doesn’t compete with other great art.  It’s like, it’s either great or it’s not for you and it’s all good.” -Rick Rubin

Because it’s so freaking hard to do, when you strive to make great art, you’re not competing against anyone.  You’re only competing against yourself and the challenge of what it takes to make great art.

How refreshing in light of our dualistic/hyper-competitive/awards-obsessed/“how big is your boat?” culture, right?

Remember, you don’t have to play the game that everyone else is playing.  You have a choice.  You can play a different game. Play your own game. The game of making great art.