Creativity Quote by Jackie DeShannon

DeShannon’s line lands like a backstage pep talk that’s also a quiet indictment of an industry built on borrowed conviction. The repetition of “we have to” isn’t decorative; it’s a drumbeat, the language of someone who’s watched talented people get talked out of themselves. “Agenda” and “standards” sound corporate on purpose, a reminder that art careers are also power arrangements. If you don’t write the terms, someone else will - and they’ll call it “professionalism.”

The pivot is “so-called geniuses,” a phrase that punctures the mythology of the infallible tastemaker. DeShannon doesn’t deny expertise; she questions the cult that forms around it, where advisors become priests and doubt becomes a virtue. The subtext is gendered and generational: for women in mid-century pop and rock, being “advised” often meant being managed, softened, redirected, or made marketable at the cost of authorship. Her insistence on being “very strong” reads like hard-won technique, not motivational poster grit. Strength here is not volume; it’s refusal.

Contextually, coming from a musician who navigated songwriting, performance, and shifting commercial trends, the quote carries the realism of someone who knows how easy it is to confuse access with alignment. The final clause - “if it’s not right for you, you shouldn’t do it” - rejects the romance of sacrifice. It argues that authenticity isn’t a vibe; it’s a boundary you enforce, especially when the most persuasive voices are paid to persuade you.