Growing up, I never really considered myself an “artist.” But over the years, that’s changed.

The Dude is now a believer that everyone is an artist. We all have great art inside of us. In fact, everyone has absolutely brilliant and unique “art” just waiting to be tapped and shown to the world.

Life is art, and our daily actions are the brush strokes we’re using to paint the world around us. If we can take ourselves seriously as artists, and not sabotage our efforts with negative thinking, we’ll be amazed by the art that we create.

This commencement speech by Neil Gaiman at the Philadelphia University of Arts 2012 graduation is a great artistic motivator. I’m not all that familiar with Gaiman, but I’m a big fan after this great talk.

His simple message: “Make good art.”

And a great secondary message: “Let go. And enjoy the ride.”

Nobody else is you. Paint the world around you with your unique strokes. Everyday. All the time. And have fun doing it.

Thanks for the great motivation Neil!

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