Optimism is an elected attitude, a form of emotional courage. It is a habit that can and must be learned if we are to survive as artists. So often, "things" look so bleak. The book doesn't sell. The play is not produced. The audition goes brilliantly but the part goes to someone else. In order to survive such disappointments, we must master optimism, not as a form of denial but as a deeply rooted faith that we are somehow partnered in ways that we cannot see. We must look for the silver lining, knowing that there always is one.
— Julia Cameron, Finding Water