Daily Inspiration Quote by Liz Smith

Procrastination loves a costume, and Liz Smith rips it off with a journalist's relish. "Begin somewhere" is blunt on purpose: it refuses the romantic myth of the perfect launch, the grand plan, the pristine conditions. Smith isn't praising hustle culture so much as puncturing the self-flattering limbo of intention. The line lands because it treats "intend" as a kind of social currency we try to spend in advance, as if telling people what we're going to do should count for something. It doesn't.

The subtext is reputational, which makes it sharper than generic self-help. A reputation is not an internal narrative; it's an external record. In Smith's world - a media ecosystem fueled by deadlines, bylines, and public receipts - you are what you file, publish, show up for. Intentions can be sincere, even noble, but they're also conveniently untestable. Work isn't.

Context matters: Smith built a career on the accumulation of visible output, the steady drip of columns, scoops, and observations that only exist because they were produced on time. She knew that in cultural industries, promise is abundant and attention is finite. Starting "somewhere" isn't about choosing the best first step; it's about creating the first artifact that can be judged, improved, criticized, and credited. The quote's power is its moral bookkeeping: it relocates dignity from aspiration to action, and it reminds you that the public ledger only records deposits.