To accomplish great things, you need to “let the paint dry” | Daniel J. Watts

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

As theaters closed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the creatives who populated their stages were plunged into a state of seemingly endless uncertainty. Aided by a delightful and metaphorically resonant piece of performance art, multidisciplinary artist Daniel J. Watts shares a personal perspective on reframing this moment of global stasis as an opportunity to reset and reflect on the potential of what comes after.

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You're welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know.

Become a TED Member:
Follow TED on Twitter:
Like TED on Facebook:
Subscribe to our channel:

TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy ( ). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

14 Comments on To accomplish great things, you need to “let the paint dry” | Daniel J. Watts

  1. A great metaphor for life. It’s funny because as a person going after the acting world, I have been told to never be the starving artist because that’s what makes you starve. If you look like you want it and need it, you won’t get it, but if you look like you want it but don’t need it, it’ll come to you. It is a truly hard lesson to learn, but truly worth it in the end.

    I am glad that I can watch the wisdom of others from home and take it all in. I will remember his words for the rest of my life.

  2. This spoke to the deepest part of me. I realize that I don’t always want to let paint dry either. I realize that I have done the work and the waiting part is hard. Let paint dry. I like that.

  3. A lovely lesson. But for the past times when we did not, we can always remember those new colors we discovered when we didn’t *let the paint dry* and the colors mixed…

  4. This man is way ahead of all of us. That’s a very good reason why he did not have an audience. I loved one man show and will email it to my daughter

  5. The man has nerve and an abundance of confidence —. my prediction is that these attributes will take him far! I wish him the best!

  6. I learned the same lesson due to Covid. You don’t have to always be in motion. Sometime you gotta seat back and relax.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


Shares
Share This