Life & Wisdom Quote by Dean Koontz

Koontz’s line reads like a pep talk, but it’s also a quiet manifesto for the working artist: talent isn’t a lightning strike, it’s a deposit. The operative verb is “mine,” which smuggles in a whole worldview. Mining is gritty, repetitive, and unglamorous; it implies depth, patience, and the willingness to dig past the obvious layer of “what I’m good at” into what’s commercially and personally viable. Koontz, a famously prolific novelist, is less interested in romantic genius than in disciplined extraction.

The phrasing also reveals a specific American bargain. He doesn’t say everyone has a gift to “express themselves” or “find meaning.” He frames ability as something you can “support himself” with. That’s a pragmatic, even anxious subtext: creativity and competence have to pay rent. It’s the voice of someone who came up through rejection slips and deadlines, not through a myth of effortless inspiration.

There’s optimism here, but it’s conditional. “Talent, ability, or skill” broadens the doorway on purpose: if you don’t feel talented, maybe you’re skilled; if you’re not naturally skilled, maybe you can develop an ability. The line dodges fatalism while still nodding to reality: success isn’t promised to everyone, but everyone has something workable if they treat it like a resource, not an identity.

In a culture addicted to “follow your passion,” Koontz offers a sturdier prescription: find what you can reliably produce, refine it until it’s marketable, and keep digging even when it stops feeling like a calling.