"I don't think any collector knows his true motivation"
- Robert Mapplethorpe
About this Quote
This quote by Robert Mapplethorpe speaks to the complexity of the human experience and the trouble of understanding our own motivations. It recommends that even the most skilled collector, somebody who has actually devoted their life to the pursuit of collecting, might not have the ability to totally understand why they do it. It suggests that our inspirations are frequently concealed from us, which we may not understand the deeper reasons we do the important things we do. This quote motivates us to take an action back and assess our own motivations, and to be sincere with ourselves about why we do the things we do. It likewise suggests that our motivations may be more complicated than we believe, and that we ought to be open to exploring them further. Ultimately, this quote encourages us to be mindful of our inspirations and to be truthful with ourselves about why we do the things we do.
"What everyone in the astronaut corps shares in common is not gender or ethnic background, but motivation, perseverance, and desire - the desire to participate in a voyage of discovery"
"One of the things I have tried to do with this book and with all of them really is avoid that simple, easy, reductionist view of motivation and to show we do things for a complex net of reasons, a real braid of reasons"
"I think a lot of times it's not money that's the primary motivation factor; it's the passion for your job and the professional and personal satisfaction that you get out of doing what you do that motivates you"
"One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity"
"I think change is possible, but only for individuals who were never truly gay in the first place and who have a strong personal motivation to recover their heterosexuality"
"Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people"
