“I really have that worry that I’ll wake up in the morning and think, ‘Oh God. I’m such a fraud, and they’ll find me out.’ I doubt myself a lot.”

Those are comments by one of my favorite actors, Emily Blunt, who interestingly continued, “And maybe that’s a good thing, because I think it would be limiting to have discovered my whole bag of tricks by now. Hopefully I will always be afraid of being a fraud, because then you never stop trying.”

That is from a magazine interview about her movie “The Devil Wears Prada,” which also quotes one of her co-stars Stanley Tucci: “Yeah, if you consider yourself a fraud, then no one else will. I believe that. It’s people who don’t consider themselves frauds who are the biggest frauds… I’m actually looking at a book on my dresser, and the title is ‘Doubt.’

“I think doubt is an incredibly healthy thing. You just have to know its limitations and not let it stop you from doing something fully or executing something with authority.”

“Graduates from creative writing programs do not include insecurity, rejection and disappointment in their plans.” Dani Shapiro

“The feeling of frustration is an essential part of the creative process… Before we can find the answer — before we probably even know the question — we must be immersed in disappointment.” Johan Lehrer

We may get all enthused about a creative idea – a section of a novel or play, a dance routine, a concept for a photograph – but then we have to face the often frustrating challenges of making that idea real – while facing inner and outer hurdles.

The photo is Nicolas Cage as screenwriter Charlie Kaufman in ‘Adaptation’ (2002).

You can see a brief video clip from the movie in the article Why We Don’t Create, by coach and writer Cynthia Morris, who notes, “The original impulse of an idea is fun, energizing, exciting. The actual path to executing and completing that idea is fraught with our very human fears.”

Creativity coach Eric Maisel, PhD warns this is one of our challenges. He says, “Only a small percentage of creative people work as often or as deeply as, by all rights, they might be expected to work.

“What stops them? Anxiety or some face of anxiety like doubt, worry, or fear. Anxiety is the great silencer of the creative person.”

“I just thought making movies was something done by geniuses, and I was very clear that I wasn’t one of those.” Jane Campion

When “The Artist’s Way” author and creativity coach Julia Cameron has asked people to list ten traits they think artists have, their responses have included: “Artists are broke,” “Artists are crazy,” “Artists are drug-addicted” and “Artists are drunk.”

Other myths and ideas about being an artist:

“Artists must be poor and sacrifice their well-being for their art.”

“Artists should accept the solitary life and find solutions on their own.”

“You can’t be a mother and a successful artist.”

“Artists are right-brained and aren’t very good at left-brain stuff like running a business.”

As creative people, even after achieving some recognition for our talents, we can experience self-critical thoughts and insecurity, such as impostor feelings – sometimes based on these kinds of myths we have picked up about creative “genius” or artists.

Director, writer and producer Jane Campion, praised for “The Piano” and other films, once commented, “I never have had the confidence to approach film making straight on. I just thought it was something done by geniuses, and I was very clear that I wasn’t one of those.”

“I love breaking the myth of the starving artist. That is such a lie that people tell artists from the day they are born, and it’s so sad that so many artists psych themselves out with this myth.”

Musician Magdalen Hsu-Li continues, “There is always a way to make a great living from music or any art form if you are willing to use your creativity to the business aspect.

“People think that creativity should only be in art and the business should be in business. But the most successful business people use their intuition and creativity to problem solve and figure out how to make things work.”

Envy is an insult to oneself.
Yevgeny Yevtushenko

Envy is human nature.
Monica Bellucci

A simple dictionary definition of envy is “a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another’s advantages, success, possessions, etc.”

In this famous shot of Sophia Loren (left) and Jayne Mansfield at a Beverly Hills restaurant in 1957, Loren may or may not be feeling envy – but I like the photo.

Reportedly, Mansfield’s extravagant cleavage was a publicity stunt intended to deflect attention from Sophia Loren during a dinner party in Loren’s honor.

Envy can be an insidious feeling, with a collection of attitudes and beliefs that impact our creative energy and motivation.

“It’s like having a drink. But it’s quicker. You know how your brain shuts down from pain? The pain would be so bad, it would force my body to slow down, and I wouldn’t be as anxious. It made me calm.”

That is a quote by Christina Ricci from a 1998 Rolling Stone interview, explaining that the scratches on her forearms came from her using fingernails and soda tops.

In another magazine interview she revealed that she sometimes would put out cigarettes out on her arms. When asked if it hurts she replied, “No. You get this endorphin rush. You can actually faint from pain. It takes a second, a little sting, and then it’s like you really don’t feel anything. It’s calming actually.”

Other well-known people who have engaged in cutting or other forms of self-harm include teen actor and singer Demi Lovato, who just released a new album, and has been candid about her rehab for mental health problems including bulimia.

“Once I stopped asking for approval, my art started to get stronger.” – Lela Lee

Lela Lee created “angry little Asian girl” Kim for a video production class at UC Berkeley. After graduating with a degree in rhetoric, she made a short cartoon of Kim and a group of friends. Now she publishes a comic strip and many other creative projects.

Lela Lee will be speaking at The Wealthy Thought Leader Conference the end of May. That link is to my Inner Entrepreneur post about it (including a video).

The conference website has a profile on her:

“Lela is creator of the comic strip ‘Angry Little Asian Girl’ and although they’re not related, Andrea [conference director Andrea Lee] credits Lela’s work with the relief that, as a teenager, maybe she wasn’t alone in her anger after all.