Complaining is silly. Either act or forget.
– Stefan Sagmeister.
Stefan Sagmeister is my foremost design hero. His functional, eye-catching, controversial approach to design and typography is epic. Born in Austria and a graduate of University of Applied Arts Vienna and The Pratt Institute (which I would love to attend someday), he came to the U.S. in 1993 and later established himself with his design firm Sagmeister Inc. He has created album artwork for a plethora of artists you've heard of (such as: Lou Reed, OK Go, The Rolling Stones, David Byrne, Aerosmith, Pat Metheny, and many more) in ways that pushed the envelope of utilized the utmost in creativity in everything from the typography to the printing.
In this video he talks about his need for a sabbatical from his design work and how it has been immensly beneficial for his desire to continue designing, pushing his creativity, and allowing him time to work on personal projects. I can't imagine the things I could accomplish in "a year just to create and be". I aspire to have his mind and eye for creativity and design, and to be surrounded by people who not only desire to have the same thing, but to follow through and see them to fruition.
In this second video, he talks about the learnings of his first sabbatical and the projects he came up with and created. He assembled a book with these creations and the stories behind them called "Things I've Learned in My Life So Far" which you can purchase here.