Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.It occurred to me in the shower a few weeks ago (the story for why I was in the shower and which shower is an interesting story in itself, but not relevant to this text) when I realized that this quote contrasts inspiration and perspiration.
The quote is so well-known that it has probably stopped lots of creative minds from ever comparing inspiration and perspiration.
If you think about it, both inspiration and perspiration are similar in many ways: We all generate some to some extent, although some of us seem to generate more than others. The amount we make is variable, and is highly affected by our health, our moods, the physical world around us, and to a small extent we have a little bit of control over how much we put out.
And although you're generating it constantly, it just seems to evaporate off. It can probably be useful for something if we were able to collect it -- but that's pretty darned difficult.
And I just can't abide the smell of other people's.