Hey, it’s from Lifehacker.Com, so you know it’s about Real Stuff:
“We Have to Continually Be Jumping Off Cliffs and Developing Our Wings on the Way Down” – by Whitson Gordon
Authors Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut, both of whom have been cited as saying versions of this quote, know a thing or two about creativity. They say that “We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” Apart from being a vivid image, it’s a great metaphor for taking risks. Sometimes, you need to just jump headfirst into a project, even if you don’t know where you’re going with it yet. You’ll learn as you go, and sometimes that’s the best way to get the results you want.
True dat. Except when it isn’t.
Well, okay, we’ll give Ray and Kurt the thumbs up for truth sign. But FWIW we believe in making just a few preparations for stepping off the cliff. Some knowledge or skill that might double as wings.
But we’re definitely believers in the “No safety net” theory of life. Because sometimes going splat! is the best way to learn.
(And failing as a writer won’t kill ya like a 1000 foot fall will. The human spirit is much more resilient than too many people believe.)