Lessons from Shonda Rhimes

Lessons from Shonda Rhimes

Shonda Rhimes is the creator and producer behind Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and Bridgerton. Known for her blunt approach to creativity and a philosophy of radical risk-taking, she builds television casts that actually reflect the real world. This profile gathers her direct advice on the daily discipline of writing and the realities of success.

Part 1: The Craft of Writing

1. On being a writer: "You want to be a writer? A writer is someone who writes every day, so start writing." — Source: [AzQuotes]
2. On the rhythm of writing: "Writing is the hum. Writing is laying track. Writing is the high." — Source: [Goodreads]
3. On television production: "Every single writer I met likened writing for television to one thing—laying track for an oncoming speeding train." — Source: [Goodreads]
4. On truthful narratives: "The best stories are often true… The narrative of human life is most beautiful when told truthfully and without boundaries." — Source: [Industrial Scripts]
5. On character empathy: "You can't tell stories and really walk in someone's shoes and not have a love for them, even if they're doing horrible things." — Source: [Industrial Scripts]
6. On story fundamentals: "You really need to be able to say the who, and the what, and the why, and the when, and the where, and the how. If you can't answer those questions, you don't have anything to talk about yet." — Source: [Bang2Write]
7. On the reality of the work: "Don't sit at home waiting for the magical opportunity. Who are you? Prince William? No. Get a job. Go to work. Do something until you can do something else." — Source: [Silk and Sonder]
8. On story incubation: Wait until the story is fully formed in your mind before putting pen to paper, allowing for a much faster writing process once you begin. — Source: [Thrive Global]
9. On knowing the ending: Have a clear destination before you start writing so that every part of the narrative builds toward that specific goal. — Source: [Media Update]

Part 2: Doing Over Dreaming

1. On taking action: "Ditch the dream and be a doer, not a dreamer." — Source: [Dartmouth College]
2. On the illusion of dreams: "Dreams are lovely. But they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty." — Source: [Dartmouth College]
3. On making things happen: "Dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It's hard work that makes things happen." — Source: [Dartmouth College]
4. On common advice: "They tell you: Follow your dreams. Listen to your spirit. Change the world. Make your mark... I think that's crap." — Source: [Goodreads]
5. On successful people: "While they are busy dreaming, the really happy people, the really successful people, the really interesting, powerful, engaged people? Are busy doing." — Source: [Goodreads]
6. On perfectionism: "Perfect is boring and dreams are not real. Just… do." — Source: [BET]
7. On immediate action: "So you think, 'I wish I could travel.' Great. Sell your crappy car; buy a ticket to Bangkok, and go. Right now. I'm serious." — Source: [AzQuotes]
8. On starting small: "The truth is, it's better to actually do one small thing than dream about one million big things." — Source: [Ashley Brooke Nicholas]
9. On building momentum: "Every time we take one action, it becomes easier to take the next action." — Source: [Ashley Brooke Nicholas]
10. On finding passion: "You don't have to know [what your passion is]. You just have to keep moving forward. You just have to keep doing something." — Source: [Femmespire Media]

Part 3: Redefining Success and Hard Work

1. On rejecting luck: "I am not lucky. You know what I am? I am smart, I am talented, I take advantage of the opportunities that come my way and I work really, really hard." — Source: [InHerSight]
2. On claiming your effort: "Don't call me lucky. Call me a badass." — Source: [InHerSight]
3. On personal growth: "Success, fame, having all my dreams come true would not fix or improve me; it wasn't an instant potion for personal growth." — Source: [Shondaland]
4. On the magnification of success: "Having all my dreams come true only seemed to magnify whatever qualities I already possessed." — Source: [Shondaland]
5. On dual roles: "I think I'm most proud of the fact that I have figured out how to exist as both a creative person and artist, and a businesswoman and manager." — Source: [Bang2Write]
6. On earning rewards: "Good things weren't given; they were earned." — Source: [Ashley Brooke Nicholas]
7. On ambition: "There's nothing wrong with being driven. And there's nothing wrong with putting yourself first to reach your goals." — Source: [InHerSight]
8. On stepping up: "I realized I was never going to get any further than I was if I just allowed myself to be the very nice girl who wrote stuff." — Source: [Mater Mea]
9. On seizing opportunities: "All of the things that are possible are never going to happen if you're busy waiting for someone to give you something. You have to take it." — Source: [Mater Mea]

Part 4: The Power of Saying Yes

1. On the nature of yes: "Saying yes is courage. Saying yes is the sun. Saying yes is life." — Source: [Goodreads]
2. On leaving the comfort zone: "For one year, I would say 'yes' to all the things that scared me." — Source: [TED]
3. On confronting nerves: "Anything that made me nervous or took me out of my comfort zone, I'd say 'yes.'" — Source: [TED]
4. On the logic of change: "My logic is wildly simple. It goes like this: Saying no has gotten me here. Here sucks." — Source: [SuperSummary]
5. On moving forward: "Saying yes might be my way to someplace better. If not a way to someplace better, at least to someplace different." — Source: [SuperSummary]
6. On internal transformation: "Every 'yes' changes something in me. Every 'yes' is a bit more transformative." — Source: [Silk and Sonder]
7. On continuous revolution: "Every 'yes' sparks some new phase of revolution." — Source: [Silk and Sonder]
8. On relinquishing control: "There’s no way to plan. There’s no way to hide. There’s no way to control this. Not if I am saying yes to everything." — Source: [QuoteFancy]
9. On tackling problems: "In order to say 'YES' to a problem, I have to find whatever it is inside the problem that challenges me, or scares me... and then I take it on." — Source: [Shondaland]
10. On personal growth: Saying yes to new experiences and challenges serves as a powerful hook and catalyst for personal and creative growth. — Source: [Clinton Foundation]

Part 5: Overcoming Fear and Taking Risks

1. On handling anxiety: "You can bathe in your fear and retreat. Or you can step forward and run through it toward the light." — Source: [Goodreads]
2. On bravery: "Each one is a choice. Only one makes you brave." — Source: [Goodreads]
3. On avoiding safety: "Don't take the safe route. Take a risk." — Source: [Bang2Write]
4. On irrational avoidance: "I would have said no to sitting in the presidential box at the Kennedy Center with POTUS and FLOTUS because the prospect of saying yes was terrifying to me." — Source: [SuperSummary]
5. On pushing boundaries: "You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them." — Source: [AzQuotes]
6. On showing up: "If I don't poke my head out of my shell and show people who I am, all anyone will ever think I am is my shell." — Source: [InHerSight]
7. On creative laziness: Avoid clichés as they are a form of laziness that dilutes your unique voice; focus on finding a distinct perspective instead. — Source: [Media Update]
8. On collaborative friction: Embrace "structured tension" and creative disagreement in collaboration, as it prevents complacency and leads to better storytelling. — Source: [The Media Stack]
9. On introspection: Face your darkest fears of who you really are, because avoiding them will only hold you back. — Source: [Goodreads]

Part 6: Normalizing Television and Representation

1. On the word diversity: "I really hate the word 'diversity.' It suggests something…other. As if it is something…special. Or rare." — Source: [Speakola]
2. On reflecting reality: "I have a different word: NORMALIZING. I'm normalizing TV. I am making TV look like the world looks." — Source: [Speakola]
3. On audience demographics: "Women, people of color, LGBTQ people equal WAY more than 50% of the population. Which means it ain't out of the ordinary." — Source: [Kito Diaries]
4. On finding connection: "You should get to turn on the TV and see your tribe." — Source: [Speakola]
5. On perceived radicalism: "It's not trailblazing to write the world as it actually is." — Source: [TIME]
6. On television standards: "I don't understand why people don't understand that the world of television should look like the world outside television." — Source: [Bang2Write]
7. On industry praise: "I have, against no odds, courageously pioneered the art of writing for people of color as if they were human beings." — Source: [TIME]
8. On representation goals: "The goal is that everyone should get to turn on the TV and see someone who looks like them and loves like them." — Source: [Kito Diaries]
9. On expanding perspectives: "Just as important, everyone should turn on the TV and see someone who doesn't look like them and love like them." — Source: [Kito Diaries]

Part 7: Leadership, Power, and Self-Belief

1. On recognizing influence: "I think power is useless unless you know you have it. I've seen that a million times." — Source: [Mater Mea]
2. On claiming authority: "The minute you realize or accept the concept that, Yes, I am a powerful person—guess what? The people who need to treat you that way to get things done... fall in line." — Source: [Mater Mea]
3. On badassery: "Badassery, I'm discovering, is a new level of confidence—in both yourself and those around you." — Source: [Silk and Sonder]
4. On owning greatness: "Everyone's got some greatness in them. You do. The girl over there does... But in order to really mine it, you have to own it." — Source: [Silk and Sonder]
5. On breaking rules: "There is no list of rules. There is one rule. The rule is: there are no rules." — Source: [Goodreads]
6. On true happiness: "Happiness comes from living as you need to, as you want to. As your inner voice tells you to." — Source: [Goodreads]
7. On inner narratives: "When you feel the need to apologize or explain who you are, it means the voice in your head is telling you the wrong story." — Source: [Goodreads]
8. On self-authorship: "Wipe the slate clean. And rewrite it. No fairy tales. Be your own narrator." — Source: [Goodreads]
9. On belonging: "Never wait for anyone to tell you you belong. If you question your right to be in the room, other people will start to question it too." — Source: [Bang2Write]
10. On systemic barriers: "I know that it's really about breaking the glass ceiling that exists in the face of being a woman and being black in this very male, very white town." — Source: [Bustle]

Part 8: Motherhood and the Myth of Having It All

1. On the role of a mother: "Being a mother isn't a job. It's who someone is... Being a mother redefines us, reinvents us, destroys and rebuilds us." — Source: [Goodreads]
2. On the myth of having it all: "Anyone who says they can 'do it all' is lying." — Source: [TIME]
3. On accepting limits: "The relief was realizing that you can only do so much at once." — Source: [Scary Mommy]
4. On the reality of success: "Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means I am failing in another area of my life." — Source: [Thrive Global]
5. On trade-offs: "That is the Faustian bargain one makes with the devil that comes with being a powerful working woman who is also a powerful mother." — Source: [Thrive Global]
6. On maternal happiness: "Part of what's important about motherhood is that you be happy. Your kids need to see a happy, fulfilled mother." — Source: [YourStory]
7. On writing women: "I keep getting asked how I write about such smart, strong women, and my response is, what's the alternative? Weak, stupid women?" — Source: [Bustle]
8. On female characters: "Time to stop using the phrases 'Smart Strong Women' and 'Strong Female Leads.' There are no Dumb Weak Women. A smart strong woman is just a WOMAN." — Source: [TheWrap]
9. On identity: "I'm a black woman every day, and I'm not confused about that... I don't need to have a discussion with you about how I feel as a black woman, because I don't feel disempowered as a black woman." — Source: [Industrial Scripts]