Mahatma Gandhi

"Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes."

— Mahatma Gandhi

Indian Lawyer/Political Activist

1869 - 1948

Are you free to make mistakes or do you hold yourself to such high standards of perfection that you are bound to fail?  Many of us have to learn that it is okay to make mistakes.  We need to throw off the cloak of perfection and warm ourselves at the fire of mistakes.  We  need to embrace the healing power of mistakes and enjoy what they have to teach us.  No human being is perfect, but for some strange reason we try to be.  Maybe our parents, preachers and teachers set very high standards.  Maybe we set high standards for ourselves.  Maybe we are people pleasers and try to live up to the expectations of others.  Learn to encourage and accept your mistakes.  Have you given yourself the freedom to make mistakes?

Georgia O'Keefe

"I decided to start anew — to strip away what I had been taught, to accept as true my own thinking."

— Georgia O'Keefe

American Painter

1887 - 1986

Papaya Tree-Iao Valley
(1939)

By the time we reach adulthood, we have subconsciously learned a lot about the expectations of the people in our lives — our family, our teachers and our friends.  And we often try to live our lives as others want us to live and work.  The problem comes in when we fail to live up to those expectations.  Some people spend unhappy lives trying to please others.  A few creative leaders are able to shake off the expectations of others and discover their true self.  Who are you?  Are you trying to please your family, friends and teachers?  Or have you discovered the person who you are meant to be?  Turning your back on what you were taught can be very difficult.  Letting go of the past can be very traumatic, but if you want to attain the person you were meant to be, you must find your own voice.

Wanda Koop

"There's an assumption that because I'm an artist, I've got all the time in the world."

— Wanda Koop

Canadian Painter

1951 - 

If people know you are an artist, writer or musician, they don't think you work.  They assume they can stop by anytime and you will drop what ever you are doing so you can entertain them.    They believe you should have no problem serving on various committees because you have time on your hands.  What they don't understand is that creative work is also mental work.  Even if you are not physically working, you mind is working overtime.  As creative leaders we need to learn to say no.  Don't allow others to steal time away from your work.  Stand strong and firm even if they beg.

Here is an interview with Wanda Koop.

Beatrix Potter

"There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story.  You never quite know where they'll take you."

— Beatrix Potter

English Author, Illustrator

1866 - 1943

Few things can be more exciting than starting a new project whether that is a painting, a poem or a story.  I get caught up in the excitement of the moment and want to know where the story is going.  I follow it down a crooked path, through the woods, and into a meadow of wild flowers.  And there sits Peter Rabbit laughing at me.   Some people struggle with the blank page or the blank canvas, afraid to put down that first word or that first brush stroke.  I find that the easy part.  I am eager to get started.  I can't wait to put my words down on paper and see where the story leads me.  The same holds true for painting.  I have some picture in my mind and I want to see what happens to it the pastel or the ink touches the paper.  Beatrix said it beautifully: "There is something delicious about writing the first words...."  So what new project are you starting today?

Have you seen the movie, Miss Potter?  If not, I encourage you to do so.

Eric Fischl

"If you worry about how good the art is, you're never going to make your own art."

— Eric Fischl

American Artist

1948 - 

For many of us we have a need to be perfect and  we punish ourselves when we don't live up to our expectations.  Some people go so far as to stop creating.  Their fear of not being perfect gets in their way and they give up.  If you create from your heart, stop worrying about technique and accept the fact that you will never be perfect.  And who says that you are a good judge of your own work.  There are many examples of creative leaders being remembered for some minor work that they dashed off in a very short time.  Do you really think that Charles Dickens thought that Christmas Carol would be his most famous, reproduced again and again in film and television?  Many times what the author loves does not sell well and is poorly received by the general public.  So don't worry about how good your art is.  Just paint, write and compose.  The public will do the rest.

Ten Breaths: Damage
(2007)