Creative Wisdom From Lin-Manuel Miranda
James Lin-Manuel Miranda, on the cover of the new book, The Education of An Artist.
Lin-Manuel Miranda has spent his career turning curiosity, discipline, and a little bit of chaos into era-defining creative work.
Behind the awards and cultural impact is a deeply practical philosophy about making things. It’s grounded not in mystique, but in repetition, rigor, and the courage to follow your own strangeness. His reflections on process reveal a creator who sees creativity as both a craft and a conversation, something you train like a muscle and return to even when it’s messy, uncomfortable, or uncertain.
For anyone navigating a creative life, Miranda’s words offer both grounding and momentum. Here are some of his most resonant insights. They serve as a reminder that the work gets better not through perfection, but through persistence, honesty, and the willingness to keep going.
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1. “I don’t see creativity as magical. It’s about problem-solving in ways no one has tried before.”
2. “Writing is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets.”
3. “The process is messy. That’s how you know you’re doing something real.”
4. “Art is a conversation. You’re constantly talking to yourself, your collaborators, and your audience.
5. “Creativity is about making a mess and then figuring out what works.”
6. “You’re allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.”
7. “Sometimes the only way to get something done is to do it in a panic.”
8. “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story. The next drafts are for the world.”
9. “I write because I don’t know how else to process the world.”
10. “You have to trust that your own weirdness is exactly what people need to see.”
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