- I am productive. Not always efficient, not always producing the things perhaps I should, but I am always busy.
- I am resilient. Shit happens, I survive. But it leaves marks and now I am finally focusing on the repercussions and how to heal, rather than just carry on.
- I work to get better. I spend a lot of energy on self-analysis and on seeking ways to improve myself. I worry that’s because I think deep down I am very flawed rather than because there is some idealized version of me I’d like to get to be.
- I am a good mate. I grew up in a home repeatedly divided by divorce, but I take my marriage vows seriously and literally, having, holding, through good times and bad, till death us did part. My wives have both been my best friends. I am lucky to have married amazing and beautiful women.
- I am a decent dad. My son is a good person with drive, a desire to create, better ethics than mine, and he has weathered the worst thing that can happen to a kid, losing his mother. Still, I have yet to figure out how to help him without prescribing and meddling, and how to let him succeed at being himself, rather than a version of me.
- I have changed my life. I have stepped off the train I was on for thirty years and found a new love, a new career, and many new attitudes. I am getting older, but more flexible. And happier.
- I am creative. I make something or other every day. But I would like to push myself further, to make some things that are real departures, to take more risks than I have.
- I am curious. Insatiably so. I read in many directions, I inquire, I dabble. One day I study screen printing, then I learn to code CSS, then I study Cro Magnons, then I interview a musician, then I contemplate moving to Greece. I don’t know where all this intellectual dilettantism gets me, but it’s my nature. Does it make me broad but shallow?
- I am healthy. I have not had any major problems, besides the ongoing scourge of shingles. Increasingly, I see from those around me, how neglected health can destroy one’s plans. I try to eat well, to sleep enough, to exercise regularly. I am not fiendish about it, but I try. Fortunately, I am blessed with pretty good genes.
- I am an author. It’s a dream I’ve had since childhood, to have a shelf of books with my name on their spines. But I still wonder if I have written anything important enough. Yet.
Danny Gregory 
I have been following your “ten series” and this one was my favorite. It takes courage to be so truthful about oneself and it is comforting to know that most likely the majority of us could make these comments about ourselves! Thanks so much for sharing!
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You did write something valuable -to me, and many others. Thank you.
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This is inspirational. You even have a creative point of view evaluating yourself! Your videos are always interesting and i really enjoy your writing. Thank you for sharing with the world!
Best,
Chris Kelley
Wellfleet Cape Cod Ma
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Yes Danny, you have written stuff that’s been incredibly important, for ME. I got hold of a copy of The Creative License about 8 or 9 years ago. It’s changed me as I then started an illustrated diary.I haven’t managed to do stuff in it every day but it has made me look at my life differently and be far more observant about the life that is happening around me, At the time I’d had a breakdown and my world was skewed. I’m still suffering from deep depression at times but the rest of life isn’t so dark now because i’m looking out more and can see the light.
I have a sneaky feeling that you taking the time to write The Creative License and your other books (of which I have the complete set) hasn’t just been a turning point for me!! Thank you, from the bottom of my ink pot, and from my heart.
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Danny, I really enjoyed getting to know you in this way of yours; a list on your blog. Thanks for sharing it.
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“…rather than just carry on.” That’s what I was taught to do when I was very young. It’s sometimes a knee-jerk reaction although not as often and when it happens I more frequently pause to look at what actually was happening and work with it. Thank you, Danny, for listing this – a good reminder plus letting me feel I have company on this part of my journey. I also connected with being curious. Curiosity has led me to books and the Internet so I’ve visited places as I sit at home or at the library, I’ve learned about relationships and feelings outside of my experience, I’ve discovered more about animals and plants both in my yard and neighborhood and in the arctic and tropics, and I’ve taken the risks of exploring something new. (Awaiting the risk now is using gouache.)
By-the-way, I’m enjoying your Sketchbook Skool kourse “how to Draw without Talent” – YES!
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Yes, that’s what I like about you, too. Many of the items on your list apply to me (and probably many of your readers) though the details are different and that’s why you attract so many followers. You’re a good man, Danny Gregory. Never negate the importance of your books; you’ve impacted and improved the lives of thousands of people. I’m one of those. Few authors can make that claim. Thank you.
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Danny, i love how your lists have inspired me to think about some of the same things. I also have noticed and enjoyed your scketches of your morning tea cups, and have been comparing them, as the days go by. So, you can imagine my reaction to your sketch of the crumbled tea cup sketch! I love getting to know a little bit more about you, as the layers peel away in your writing.
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Possibly because I’m very tired, but this list reminded me of a (largely tongue-in-cheek) verse from Marty Goetz’s song Jew Born Anew:
They say on Bar Mitzvah day I became a man
I’ve tried to live that way, done the best that I can
But I’ve been worried since way back when
Cause I’ve never done anything great since then
And though I could live ’til a hundred and ten
And never have need of a fountain pen*
I might never succeed in the sight of men
And they won’t let me get Bar Mitzvah’d again…
(*My daughters are rather puzzled by this line, as fountain pens are what I use to sketch!)
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Reading your books, subscribing to SBS, reading your blogs, working on your art ideas, doing something “arty” every day as you suggest has changed my way of thinking. You are such an important part of so many peoples lives. Thank you for your honesty and your caring soul.
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Danny – You have had a major impact on me, through your books, blogs, vlogs and podcasts. Few people make themselves as publicly available as you have. Your impact on art and artists alone will be felt by many. Thanks for your honest introspection. I am doing my own list, but it is not easy to so honest with oneself, and to repeat it publicly. Thank you!
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Thank you for your wonderful post! You’ve given me the incentive to be productive everyday. Ok, well, I’m going to really try!!
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You are inspirational artist, writer, and I see this as a challenge for each of us to write ten things ‘that I like about me”. Thank you….I quote you weekly about ‘just do ten minutes art a day’. Thanks again
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You have written two of the most important books in my life – and another book that I have given to everyone I know who has ever lost anyone. And I’m a serious collector of books so that’s no mean achievement.
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This is what makes you You, thank you for your work, your posts, being you.
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I like this this. It made me think. Thank you Danny.
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I still say we were separated at birth… 8 out of ten this time. (Of course it could be just because birds of a feather flock together…)
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you know, I think THIS should be our one New Year’s resolution… to write a Ten list about things I like about me, but. I think this would help us all move in a better, more forward position rather than unrealistic resolutions. Good on you Danny, you did it early!
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A great post Danny. I can identify with so many of your ‘likes’, although I fail on lots of your ‘personal likes’, I think Gina is so right when she says that ‘birds of a feather flock together’ – that’s what binds SBS together isn’t it?
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Danny I don’t know how to confirm this. I’m having problems commenting back to you.
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You are generous and you share.
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Danny, I think you are more than a decent dad, and I think you have an unparalleled generosity of spirit.
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Thanks for continuing to blog regularly!
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