“‘Awesome’ and ‘awful’ are actually closer to each other on the continuum of quality than either is to ‘meh’”

James Poniewozik, on taking creative risks:

You have to be willing to suck if you ever want to be great. "Awesome" and "awful" are actually closer to each other on the continuum of quality than either is to "meh."

If your first priority is creating something amazing, you will make some mind-blowingly awful mistakes. If your first priority is avoiding mistakes, you will preclude the possibility of succeeding wildly (and you may end up making mistakes anyway).