“I feel if one follows what I call his bliss – the thing that really gets you deep in the gut and that you feel is your life – doors will open up. They do. They have in my life, and they have in many lives I know. And…if you follow your bliss, you will have your bliss, whether you have money or not. If you follow money, you may lose the money and then you don’t even have that. The secure way is really the insecure way.”

Another way I have heard this sentiment expressed is someone said to me "The degree to which you can be comfortable living with uncertainty and risk is the degree to which you will experience success." Or in shorter form, another way: All the magic happens outside your comfort zone.

Following our bliss is usually terrifying, because since it is a passion it is also deeply something we feel vulnerable expressing, and our heart is much more invested in whether we fail or don't. I don't much care if I fuck up washing a dish, but I care if I misrepresent my own singing or writing talent by botching a note or failing to articulate what is floating around in my mind and heart.

The rule that reward is proportional to risk seems to me to be an unavoidable fact of reality the more I grow and learn.

Thank you, Neil for such a great post, I hope to read more from you that I value. I have heard of your works from friends but with all that I have going on in my own world of creating, I have yet to make reading your books a high priority (If only I had twice as much time in a day, right? Then I could just do everything ever!).