The Choreographer Agnes DeMille, on the opening night of her early success choreographing Oklahoma, confessed to Martha Graham that “I had a burning desire to be excellent, but no faith that I could be.” Martha’s response:
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening
that is translated through you into action,
and because there is only one of you in all time,

this expression is unique.If you block it,
it will never exist through any other medium
and be lost.The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine how good it is,
nor how valuable it is,
nor how it compares with other expressions.
It is your business to keep it yours, clearly & directly,
to keep the channel open.

You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work,
You have to keep open & aware directly
to the urges that motivate you.
Keep the channel open
No artist is pleased.
There is no satisfaction whatever at any time.
There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction;
a blessed unrest that keeps us marching
makes us more alive than the other.