Maynard James Keenan Quotes

Nothing right can be accomplished in art without enthusiasm.

Find the passion. It takes great passion and great energy to do anything creative. I would go so far as to say you can't do it without that passion.

If I wish to compose or write or pray or preach well, I must be angry. Then all the blood in my veins is stirred, and my understanding is sharpened.

If you love something - and there are things that I love - you do want more and more and more of it, but that's not the way to produce good work.

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.

Being at the genesis of the creative process is definitely something I want to keep doing. It's just such a great buzz.

Getting to play the blues has been transcendant for me. I can't say if my finest hour is yet to come, you want to make a dent in this world, well I do anyway.

The best part of one's life is the working part, the creative part. Believe me, I love to succeed... However, the real spiritual and emotional excitement is in the doing.

Creation is a drug I can't do without.

I love the rush of being creative. I really think I live for it.

Creativity is not merely the innocent spontaneity of our youth and childhood; it must also be married to the passion of the adult human being, which is a passion to live beyond one's death.

I love to go to the studio and stay there 10 or 12 hours a day. I love it. What is it? I don't know. It's life.

As a child I prayed that my calling be revealed - but not with expectation and not with a destination. I became an artist because I didn't know what to do and I thought it was really fun to make things.

I just want to work on things that move me.

I'm really happy when I'm actively creating things. When I'm frustrated and not excited, it's because I haven't written anything in a month or so.

Lumped in as a hobby, I don't really like drawing pictures all that much, but thinking of it as work, it's the greatest.

I've always wanted to create. I didn't ever want to just be a football player, so I'm just bringing all these childhood dreams together to try to accomplish the things I want to do before I die.

Most importantly, I don't do music for people to want to be a singer, actor, or dancer. I do it because I love it and I want to show others you can accomplish goals.

This creating? It's my passion.

When you're writing something and you know it's good, you get flushed, you can feel the blood coursing through your veins, you feel alive, all your nerve endings stand up, something just clicks.

I never feel so alive as when I'm writing and the work is going well.

I once asked a distinguished artist what place he gave to labor in art. "Labor," he in effect said, "is the beginning, the middle, and the end of art." Turning then to another--"And you," I inquired, "what do you consider as the great force in art?" "Love," he replied. In their two answers I found but one truth.

When we are involved in [creativity], we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life.

A work-in-progress generates its own energy field. You, the artist or entrepreneur, are pouring love into the work; you are suffusing it with passion and intention and hope.

The musings are the same I believe the fire to create burns so heavily that I am never far from a guitar or a fountain pen.