Harley King — Seeds of Hope

We live in difficult and challenging times.  Some have begun to despair that the world is coming to a violent end. I remember another moment in the late 1960's when I felt the world would end. What I have learned over the years is that the world continues.  There are always moments of hope to be found. We must choose to plant seeds of hope.

I believe that everything we do is a choice we make. We have little control over what happens to us. We have little control over the hostile world in which we live. The only thing we control is our response to what is happening. So my choice is to plant seeds of hope with my words and deeds. I choose to celebrate the spirit of love.

We also need to understand that even though we plant seeds of hope, we will not eliminate the hatred and hostility in the world.  So do not give into the false hope of changing the world overnight.  

If we choose to plant to seeds of hope, we will touch the lives of a few people. Every farmer knows, there are different types of soil and not all of it is fertile. I know that sometimes the seeds that I plant fall on stoney ground and the seeds fail to take root. I have learned that I can’t give hope to people if they are not ready to receive it. Sometimes it may take years for that seed to grow. And sometimes the seed is eaten by birds and squirrels. Have faith that some of the seeds you plant will grow and bloom.

Leonardo da Vinci — Miracle of Creativity

The ability to create is a miracle that has been given to the human race.  We have the ability to create something that did not exist previously.  From our early days in the caves to the high tech world of digital art, humans have had a need to share their stories and express their emotions.  Whether we sit around the campfire and mesmerize others with our stories or we sit in front of a computer and compose a novel, we are experiencing the miracle of creativity.

Some of us have tossed this miracle away by denying our ability to create.  Some of us have allowed others to destroy this miracle through their words and actions.  And some of us allowed our need for perfection to keep us from expressing ourselves.  The miracle of creativity is a gift that is sacred and we need to honor, respect and give thanks for what we have been given.

If you have lost the miracle of creation, you need to rediscover it.  You need to go deep within yourself and restore the miracle that is your birthright.  If the miracle of creativity has died a slow death within your soul, you need to resurrect it and celebrate the gift of life.

The miracle of creativity is the gift that gives the human race life.  Without creativity, there would be no progress — no growth.  Without creativity, we would not be human. Give thanks this week for the precious gift you have been given.  Celebrate the healing power of creativity.  Draw a picture.  Write a poem.  Tell a story.  Sing a song.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry.  He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"

— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

American Civil Rights Leader/Preacher/Author

1929 - 1968

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

One of those games we play is:  "Where were you when . . ."  On April 4, 1968, I was a nineteen year old college student at Goshen College in Indiana.  Two months earlier I had the privilege of marching with Dr. King at a Vietnam War protest march in Washington D.C. The murder of Dr. King on my birthday in 1968 impacted me both emotionally and spiritually.

For the past twenty-five years I have been sharing this quote by Dr. King in my speeches on leadership.  I believe that work is spiritual in nature.  The work we do helps to cleanse our souls and free our spirits.  Many people see work as a negative condition.  They hate Mondays and grumble about having to go to work.  Many people wish they did not have to work.  But if you have ever lost a job and sat idle for a few months, you appreciate the value of work in your life.

As creative leaders we have a special opportunity to share the fruit of our labor with others. Most of my life I have dreamed of being able to give up my bill-paying job and write full time.  Fortunately, this never happened.  I think I am a better person for having the discipline to get up an hour earlier than everyone and writing before going to work.  Sometimes what we wish for is not in our best interests.  The bill-paying work and the creative work are both important and both have helped to make me a better person.

Be proud of the work you do.  Celebrate the work you do.  Be happy with the gifts you have been given.

Georgia O'Keefe

How much do we miss because we don't take the time to see it? How many sunrises or sunsets have you spent time just enjoying the beauty? Or are you like me — running from place to place, not spending time enjoying the beauty of nature? I have lived through over 24,000 sunrises and 24,000 sunsets. I would be lucky if I saw 200 of them. I could probably count on one hand those I remember. How much we miss because we are busy elsewhere!!

How many birthdays have you missed? Yours? Those you love? Our birthdays are one of the important days of our lives.  It is the day we came into this world. Some of us don't like birthdays because we had a bad experience as a child. My wife tells the story about how her family forgot her birthday one year when she was a child.  They failed to celebrate her life.  For the past several years I have made the choice to take off work on my birthday? I take the entire week off, not just the day. 

How much have you missed in the lives of your children or grandchildren because you were too busy to stop and enjoy a few precious moments with them?  Life is about the memories we make with those we love.  For some of us we will wake up one day and realize that our children have grown up and have gone on living without us.  

Life is a gift that we need to celebrate and appreciate.  Take a few precious moments this evening and watch the sunset.  Wake up tomorrow and watch the sunrise.  Choose to slow down and enjoy the moments in your life.

Joye Moon

How do you begin your day? With a cup of coffee? A cold beer? With steak and eggs? Or a doughnut? Do you drag yourself out of bed wishing you could spend the day sleeping? Are you wide awake and full of energy?  Do you hit the snooze button again and again trying to steal a few more minutes of sleep? Do you sing in the shower and dance about the room?

While my wife and I are both early risers, we approach our mornings differently. She loves sound and light.  She turns on the TV so noise fills room.  She turns on the lights around the house chasing away the darkness.  I, on the other hand, prefer silence so I can give free rein to my thoughts.  Mornings are my creative time.  Ideas seem to spring out of nowhere.  I don't want to talk. I don't want any external noise disrupting my thoughts.  My thoughts are enough noise. We both are enthusiastic about the day, but approach it differently.

Some people get up in the morning and say: "Good morning, Lord. It is great to be alive!" They are full of energy and enthusiasm.  Other people get up and say: "O Lord, it's morning again." They start the morning in reverse and keep going backwards. Which person are you? Someone who appreciates each day she has been given? Or someone who finds no joy in living and finds fault with the world? 

How you begin your day can have a positive or negative impact on your creative work. Do you begin your day with meditation? Or prayer? Do you take a walk? Or lift weights? Do you eat a healthy breakfast or do you skip the most important meal of the day? 

Be thankful for every day you wake up. The alternative to waking up is being six feet under. Celebrate the day and give thanks for all you have been given. Every day is an enchanted gift — an opportunity to begin again.  Greet the morning with enthusiasm and hope.

Harley King

What do you do when you are faced with a water puddle blocking your path?  Do you walk around it?  Jump over it?  Or make a big splash?  As adults many of us have forgotten how to celebrate life and enjoy the gifts we are given.  A water puddle is something to be avoided so we don't get wet, muddy and cold.  As children we probably loved splashing our way through water puddles.  We enjoyed the moment.  As adults we must learn to find those moments again and enjoy them.

We often get caught up in the day-to-day struggle to survive — working hard to put a roof over our heads and food in the mouths of those we love — that we forget to enjoy the simple things like a sunrise or a rainbow or a water puddle.  Sometimes we feel that life is passing us by — that we are riding on the fast train to nowhere.  We need to climb down off the train occasionally and stomp through water puddles.

Life is filled with many blessings if we stop, look and listen — if we pay attention to the world of nature.  When was the last time you climbed a tree or went for a hike?  When was the last time you watched a butterfly flit from place to place, held a flower in your hand, or listened to a cricket chirp?  Life is filled with hope if we would only believe.  

Take time to celebrate life, to enjoy its blessings, and to live passionately because before you know it the journey will be over and the opportunity squandered.

Harley King

There are hundreds of reasons that we should believe in our talents.  As creative leaders, we should celebrate our unique visions of the worlds we inhabit.  We should be proud of our accomplishments and our victories.

Yet, many of us are plagued by self-doubt and a lack of confidence.  We feel we are not good enough.  Even when we are successful, we are afraid that others will discover that we are frauds.  We race through life hoping that the truth will not be revealed and that we can escape embarrassment and shame.

We fail to realize that we have many reasons to love ourselves.  We are so busy focusing on our mistakes and weaknesses that we don't ever discover the truth.  We see only our faults and failures.

Open your eyes and see beyond your mistakes.  Take a moment and give thanks for who you are and what you have been able to accomplish.  Count all the reasons you should love yourself.  Then accept the gift of talent that you have been given and appreciate your strengths.  Be confident.  Be strong.  Love yourself.

Facundo Cabral

"When life shows you a thousand reasons to cry, show it you have a thousand and one reasons to smile."



— Facundo Cabral
Argentine Folk-Singer, Writer, Novelist
1937 - 2011

Commentary

Nobody's life is perfect and without problems. We all face challenges. Being rich and famous does not protect anyone from facing life's challenges. Being poor and hungry does not ensure anyone happiness. Being a writer, a singer or a painter does not save you from suffering and pain. Being religious does not protect one from misery. 

We all have reasons to cry, but we have even more reasons to sing and smile. Have you seen the sun rise? Have you heard the singing of the birds? Have you listened to the rain on the leaves? Have you watched a calf being born? Have you fallen in love? Then celebrate life! Celebrate the gifts you have been given.

Biography

Facundo Cabral, an Argentine folk-singer, was shot and killed in Guatemala on Saturday, July 9th, 2011 at the age of 74. He had been born in La Plata, Argentina in 1937. He did not talk until he was nine years old, the same year his father abandoned the family. He could not read until he was 14. He was diagnosed with bone cancer in his twenties and was told that he only had a few months to live. When he was forty, his wife and one-year-old daughter were killed in an airplane crash.

Cabral taught himself to play a guitar and to sing folk songs. He became famous in the 1970's for his protest songs and had to leave Argentina for exile in Mexico. Cabral performed his music in over 165 countries in eight different languages. He inspired millions around the world with his songs, poems and novels.

Video

Take a moment and listen to this spoken word poem with English sub-titles by Facundo Cabral. Celebrate the life and words of an artist.

Joseph Conrad

"I don't like work — no man does — but I like what is in work: the chance to find yourself."

— Joseph Conrad

Polish Novelist

1857 - 1924

Commentary

Unlike Conrad, I do like to work.  I find that if I don't work I become bored and more tired than when I work.  Although, I do from time to time find myself procrastinating, particularly with creative work.  The creative side of me doesn't want to sit down and do the work.  But I strongly agree with the second half of the quote.  Work does give me a chance to explore who I am as an artist and writer.  Work helps me to understand myself better and to appreciate my talents and gifts.  Work also challenges me and pushes me to go farther than I thought possible.

I believe we ought to celebrate work.  All work is honorable if approached with the right attitude.  Housework and housekeeping is very important work.  So is child-rearing.  Raising and educating the next generation is probably the most important work of all.  I am in awe of people who are knowledgeable about the work they do.  When I meet a sales clerk in a store who knows his product, I compliment him.  I love to listen to the sales pitch of great sales people.  Sometimes I buy and sometimes I don't, but I enjoy the ride.  I celebrate people who work their hands — carpenters, farmers, mechanics.  I am not good with my hands because I am too slow.  Some people have the gift for gab.  I have heard some fantastic speakers in my life.  Work for me is both an art and a skill.

Do you love the work you do?  Do you have fun working?  Are you proud of what you do?  Are you happy working?  Or are you always dreaming about some future job.  Be where you are now.  The future will come when it is ready.

The work that creative leaders do should also be celebrated.  Sometimes people don't understand the creative process and so they don't appreciate the working habits of artists and writers.  Painting, sculpting and writing are not 9 to 5 jobs.  You may work for an hour here and an hour there, but your mind is always working both consciously and unconsciously.  In fact, the unconscious work for a creative leader is probably the most important work and the most difficult.  So celebrate and appreciate the work you do.

Biography
Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski was born to Apollo Korzeniowski and Eva Bobrowska.  His father was a writer, translator and political activist.  He was born in a part of modern Ukraine which was a part of the Kingdom of Poland.  His family moved often because of his father's political activism.  His father was imprisoned in the Warsaw Citadel.  His mother died when he was seven and his father when he was eleven.  He was placed in the care of his mother's brother.  Jozef showed little interest in school and excelled only in geography.  At thirteen, he wanted to be a sailor.  He joined the French Merchant Marines at seventeen and spent 19 years as a sailor in both the French and British Merchant Marines.

Konrad gave up the sea at the age of 36 because of poor health and a fascination with writing.  His first novel was published in 1895 under the name of Joseph Conrad.  He wrote in English, his adopted language.  He spoke Polish and French fluently from childhood.  He only learned English in his twenties.  He called English "the speech of my secret choice, of my future, of long friendships, of the deepest affections ... of my very dreams."  He wrote twenty novels.

Video
Here is a short biography of Joseph Conrad.

Robert Collier

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out..."

— Robert Collier

American Author

1885 - 1950

Commentary

The illusion, that many believe, is that success happens overnight.  This is far from reality.  Success happens slowly, gradually over days, months and years.  Have you the stamina and commitment to write or paint for ten or twenty years without recognition or reward?

Public success is also fleeting and fragile.  One day you are on top of the world and the next you have fallen and failed.  Yet, measuring one's success by the whims of the world does not bode well.  We need to measure our success by our own internal clock — by our own internal standards.  We need to give ourselves credit even if those around us don't appreciate what we have done.

Creative Practice

Count your blessings this week and write them down.  What are you thankful for?  What are the gifts you have been given?  What are you grateful for?  Spend time thinking about how you are already a success.  Acknowledge and celebrate your success.

Biography

Robert Collier was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Mary Ferguson and John Collier.  His father was a foreign correspondent for Collier's Magazine published by his brother Peter.  Robert entered a church seminary and expected to be a priest, but dropped out before taking his vows and moved to West Virginia to seek his fortune.  He worked as a mining engineer for eight years before moving to New York where he worked in the advertising department of his uncle's company.  He wrote sales copy selling books.  His sales circulars on the O. Henry stories brought in orders for over two million dollars.

Robert, because of an undiagnosable illness, became interested in health products.  He believed that 98% of our illnesses came from chemically treated food.  From this illness came the desire to investigate the mind and the powers that lay hidden within the mind.  He studied hundreds of books and courses on everything related to metaphysics, the occult and success.  Based on his study, Robert wrote a series of books entitled the Secrets of the Ages, which sold over 300,000 copies in his lifetime.  He received thousands of letters telling the results obtained from reading the book.  His books are still published today through the efforts of his family.

e. e. cummings

"I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance."

— e. e. cummings

American Poet, Painter

1894 - 1962

Ask any teacher and they will tell you, if they are being honest with themselves: that it is easier to learn something yourself, then to teach someone else how to do something.  It is easier to write a novel then to teach someone else how to write a novel.  It is easier to paint a picture than teaching someone to paint.  So never badmouth a teacher.  They deserve respect.  What they do is special.  And the good ones have been given a gift that most of us will never have.  As another school year is coming to a close, celebrate the teachers in your life.  Celebrate those who fostered your creativity and talent.  Give thanks for those who inspired you and mentored you.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves."

— Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Colombian Novelist

1927 -

Creating works of art is the way to give birth to yourself again and again.  Whether we tell stories or paint or sculpt we are re-creating our lives.  We are giving birth to ourselves anew.  Every work of art you create is a part of who you are and who you are becoming.  Celebrate each new creation as if you are celebrating your birth.  Be happy that you have the discipline to become born again and again.

Thomas Merton

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."

— Thomas Merton

American Writer

1915 - 1968

Have you ever lost yourself in your art and woke up wondering how you created what you did?  I have sometimes written for several hours only to read what I wrote days later and be surprised by what I wrote.  Something happens where I seem to disappear into the writing process and am only partially conscious.  Yet through the process of writing I have also been able to heal myself and in the process find myself.  Creativity is a mysterious, mystical and spiritual process that brings us closer to who we are meant to be.  If you have experienced the creative process, then you have been blessed with a gift.  Give thanks for what you have been given.

Anna Quindlen

"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself."

— Anna Quindlen

American Author

1953 -

Like many people, I have for much of my life tried to be perfect.  The perfect student.  The perfect son.  The perfect employee.  The perfect husband.  The perfect writer.  The perfect father.  The perfect speaker.  It took me years to understand that I would never be perfect.  That my character contained flaws, many of which I could not see or understand.  Perfection is impossible.  I can never be perfect in the eyes of others.  I can only be me with my unique strengths and weaknesses.  I have come to the point where I don't have to spell every word correctly.  I don't have a panic attack when I send out an email with mistakes.   I don't worry when I slur my words when I speak.  

How about you?  Have you kicked the perfection habit?  Or do you beat yourself up every time you make a mistake?  The next time you screwup give yourself a pat on the back.  Celebrate the fact that you are human.  Treat yourself to a massage.  And most of all, forgive yourself.

Nancy Grossman

"When I was a little kid I always drew on the walls, on books, on scrap paper.  I loved to draw.  It was something to rejoice upon.  It was magical."

— Nancy Grossman

American Artist

1940 -

Do you enjoy painting, drawing, or writing?  Creativity is magical and fills us with joy.  It is one of the best gifts we have been given.  Remember the joy you had drawing as a child.  That is the same feeling you should have as an adult.  If you don't have fun creating, then maybe you need to reevaluate your life and go in a different direction.  Producing creative work should fill your spirit with joy.  To create something from little or nothing is magical.  

Mary Oliver

"One must work with the creative powers — for not to work with is to work against; in art as in spiritual life, there is no neutral place."

— Mary Oliver

American Poet

1935 -

Sometimes people refuse to accept the gifts they have been given.  And some even fight the gifts or deny them.  We need to embrace our gifts and accept the responsibility that goes with the gift.  Be happy to work with what you have been given.    Celebrate your creative powers.

Here is Mary Oliver reading 2 of  her poems as well as being interview by Coleman Barks.

Barbara Sher

"Every single one of us can do things that no one else can do — can love things that no one else can love . . . We are like violins.  We can be used for doorstops, or we can make music."

— Barbara Sher

American Author, Speaker

Are you playing the music that is inside you?  Or have you hidden it away in the closet, not to be heard by anyone?  Each of us is unique.  There is no one like us.  Each of us has something to offer the world?  Do you know the gift that you are giving back to the universe?  No one else can be you.  Celebrate your uniqueness.  You are someone special.  Don't let anyone put down what makes you unique.  


Take a moment and listen to Barbara's message.

Steve Jobs

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” 

— Steve Jobs

American Businessman/Inventor

1955 - 

Can we change the world?  Jobs thinks so and he has done so with the Apple computer, the MAC, the I-Pod, the I-Phone and the I-Pad.  And yet he has not touched the human heart.

I think we can change the external world a lot easier than we can change the internal world.  Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison and others like them have changed the way we communicate and interact, but they have not changed the people who communicate.  We still have liars, thieves, rapists and murderers.  We have greedy, mean and negative people. We still have people who are poor, hungry and jobless.  Technology does not change the heart.  The computer did not make us better people.  The internet did not make us better people.  Think about how many people run scams via the computer or hackers who steal people's information and identities.

Changing the human heart is an inside job.  Only I can change myself.  Only I can make me a better person.  And even then I often fail.  And some would say that only God can change the human heart.  Yet, if you look at some of the religious leaders who commit adultery and you will realize that He too has failed.  How many times have you tried to change old habits and failed?  Our human nature is often a barrier to our success.  People keep hoping the world will change and it does, just not always for the better.

So can we as creative leaders change the world?  I don't think the answer can easily be found.  We can change somethings but not all things.  But we must keep trying.  We cannot let failure stand in our way.  Let us celebrate the rebels. the misfits and the troublemakers because they look at the world through rose-colored glasses.  They see things that others do not see.  They find hope where others give up and quit.  So I celebrate hope amidst my failures.  And I still choose to believe that I can change.  Don't you?

Naomi Shihab Nye

"I love the solitude of reading.  I love the deep dive into someone else's story, the delicious ache of a last page."

— Naomi Shihab Nye

American Poet, Novelist

1952 - 

One of the great joys of life is reading novels.  From the first page to the last, I enter another world and explore the lives of people who I don't know.  From a very young age I have enjoyed reading novels.  And as Nye says, sometimes I don't want to close the book after I finished the last page.  I don't want the novel to be over.  

I believe we ought to applaud anyone who finishes a novel whether he publishes it or not.  Writing a novel is a lot of work.  I spent four years working on a novel that I have never finished.  John Cheever spent over twenty years writing his first novel.  Some novelists can turn out a book or more a year.  Piers Anthony, author of 36 novels in the Xanth series, works on three novels at the same time.  He is outlining one book, writing a second book, and rewriting a third book.  Are you working on a novel?  Please share your experience with others who read this blog.

If you are not a reader of novels, I would highly recommend it.  In the right hand column of this blog, you can find fourteen of my favorite novels.  Dive into one of these novels and experience the joy of entering another world.

Here is Naomi reading her found poem, One Boy Told Me.  Don't skip this.

Facundo Cabral

"When life shows you a thousand reasons to cry, show it you have a thousand and one reasons to smile."

— Facundo Cabral

Argentine Folk-Singer, Writer

1937 - 2011

Nobody's life is perfect and without problems.  We all face challenges.  Being rich and famous does not protect anyone from facing life's challenges.  Being poor and hungry does not ensure anyone happiness.  Being a writer, a singer or a painter does not save you from suffering and pain.  We all have reasons to cry, but we have even more reasons to sing and smile.  Have you watched the sun rise?  Have you heard the singing of the birds?  Have you listened to the rain?  Celebrate life!

Facundo Cabral was a 74-year-old Argentine folk-singer who was shot and killed in Guatemala on Saturday, July 9th.  Take a moment and listen to this spoken word poem with English sub-titles.  Celebrate the life and words of an artist.