Harley King — New Habits

Robert Henri — Education

I believe that each of us is in charge of our own education. We choose what we want to learn and what we don't want to learn. Even in the best of schools, students fail because they don't apply themselves. And in the worst of schools, students still graduate and go on to accomplish great things. Yes, a teacher can inspire you and mentor you, but in the end you are responsible for your own education.

And I believe learning is a life-long process. When a person stops learning, he stops living. What are you doing to further your education in your chosen field? What are you exploring outside your field of expertise? When was the last time your read a new book? Or talked to a stranger? Or developed a new habit?

This past June I attended a 3 day workshop on the art of Zentangle in Providence, Rhode Island.  I had been studying Zentangle by reading books since 2012.  The workshop increased my understanding of the unique art form in ways I am only beginning to understand.  Books sometimes can take you only so far.  You need to experience and explore the subject in other ways.  

Zentangle #221

A few years ago,  I met a minister who had lived for fifteen years in Japan. I learned about his life as a minister and living in Japan. He shared how he had witnessed the cremation of a dead person. The Japanese custom is to wash the body and then have it cremated. The family gathers at the crematory to witness the burning of the body. Then the family is given a portion of the ashes and bones in a small box and the remainder are buried in the ground. I learned something new by listening and asking questions.

Creative leaders need to be constantly learning new things. What have you learned recently that you can incorporate into your writing or painting or acting?

Carol Emshwiller — Change the World

Sometimes as creative leaders, we hope we can change the world — to make it a better place for everyone. Unfortunately, our vision of what we want the world to be and what it actually is rarely match. And even the most powerful people can not change the world to fit their vision. We can have an impact on the lives of some people and can alter the small corner of the universe where we eat and sleep. Maybe as Emshwiller suggests, we need to lower our sights. If I touch one heart, changed one life, I have made a powerful difference.

If I want to influence the world that I inhabit, I must first change myself. As creative leaders, we must work on becoming who we need to become before we can change those around us. It is very difficult to change someone else. Husbands and wives understand this. Those who learn to accept their spouses for who they are will be happily married. Those who spend all their time trying to change the behavior of those they love, often end up bitter and angry.

Change is something that we enjoy when we are the ones who initiate it. If someone else tries to change us, we put our foot down and refuse. As creative leaders, our art, writing and music can touch people's lives and inspire them when they are ready to hear and see. We all plant seeds and yet, we may never hear if the seeds grow and bear fruit. So we must hope that we have inspired a few.

What do you want or need to change in yourself?  What steps are you taking to change your behavior?  What are you doing to transform yourself into a better writer or artist? How will you be different tomorrow than you are today?  It is never to late to change your habits, your hopes and your dreams. Start today.

Bernie Siegel

Nature has a way of renewing itself quickly and swiftly. In the late 1960's Lake Erie, which is up the road from where I live, was declared dead. Today it is alive, although it is facing new challenges. If you have ever seen how quickly a forest renews itself after a fire, you will understand the meaning of this quote. In fact, I believe nature uses adversity has a way of cleansing itself from rot and then creating new opportunities. One simply has to observe the seasons to understand how nature renews itself.

And since we are a part of nature, we also have this gift. When adversity strikes, we can seize the opportunity and renew ourselves as needed.  We can change course and discover new paths to follow.  Each job change in my career has opened new doors for me.  One path has led to another. Adversity has created opportunity to change and grow.  Being fired from a job opened new doors.  Each failure was a new beginning.

Learn to let go of your old tired habits and plant new ones.  Are you stuck in a job you don't like? Seek a new one.  Are you tired of painting the same subjects over and over?  Find new subjects.  Step outside your comfort zone.  Are you tired of writing the same storyline over and over?  Expand you subject matter.  Sometimes we find ourselves in a rut.  We need to renew ourselves.  We need to let go of where we are so we can find our way to where we want to be.

Nature teaches to importance of rejuvenation and revitalization.  What are you doing to keep your art fresh?  Are you challenging yourself to write new books about subjects you have no experience with?  What are you doing to keep from becoming bored with what you do?  Develop habits that will keep you revitalized.  Renew your spirit with hope for new beginnings.

Leo Tolstoy

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

— Leo Tolstoy

Russian Writer

1828 - 1910

Commentary:

Most of us at some point in our lives have a desire to change the world — to change how the world works and how others behave.  Some of us outgrow these desires and others spend a lifetime of activism.  Some of us become cynical and dropout.  Others rant and rave against the system.  Yet few of us ever think about changing ourselves.  

The perfect example is marriage.  I bet everyone whoever marries attempts at some point to change the behavior of his or her spouse.  Maybe it is putting down the toilet seat.  Or trying to change the spending habits.  We have all tried to change a spouse and nine times of ten we have failed.  You cannot change other people easily because most people resisted the efforts of others to change them.  If you want the marriage to be successful, you must learn to first change yourself.  And if you are successful, you will change the other person in the process.

As creative leaders, we must learn to work on ourselves first.  If your writing or your paintings are rejected, don't blame the editors and the gallery owners.  Look inside.  What do you need to do differently?  What do you need to change?  

Lasting change comes from within, not from without.  What work habits do you need to change?  What habits of procrastination do you need to change?  What attitudes do you need to change?  Changing a habit does not happen overnight.  Some experts say that it takes a minimum of 21 days to change a habit.  Changing yourself is not easy, but with hard work it can be done.  You can change who you are by changing what goes into your mind and heart.  

I believe the heart drives change more than the brain.  Most people know intellectually that smoking is harmful to one's life and yet many people are unable to stop.  You have to emotionally want to change for change to happen.  Our emotions are the basis for change.  Love for another person can motivate someone to change his behavior.  Fear can be a powerful motivation for change.

Creative Practice:

This week choose some habit that you would like to change and begin the work necessary for the change.  Remember that it takes at least three weeks for the change to take hold.  Commit yourself to the change.  Believe that you can change.  Choose to change.  Plant seeds of hope in your heart.

Background:

Born in the Tula Province of Russia, Tolstoy was the youngest of four boys.  He was two when his mother died and nine when his father passed away.  He was raised by his aunts.  French and German tutors provided his early education at home.  At fifteen he enrolled at the University of Kazan but failed to graduate because of partying to excess instead of studying.  He attempted to become a farmer on his parents' estate but failed as well.  He did develop the habit of keeping a journal.  After failing at farming, he joined the army and fought in the Crimean War.

Tolstoy published his first story, Childhood, in The Contemporary when he was 24.  His greatest novel, War and Peace, was published in 1869.  Anna Karenina, the second of his best novels, was published in installments between 1873 - 1877 to critical and public acclaim.

After the writing of Anna Karenina, Tolstoy suffered a spiritual crisis.  He rejected the Russian Orthodox Church because he felt it was corrupt.  He developed his own unconventional  and controversial spiritual beliefs.  His later fiction was more moralistic than his earlier work.

Video:

The Last Station, a movie about the last year of Tolstoy's life, was released in 2009.  Here is the trailer.

Joye Moon

"Every day is a gift — a new beginning . . . bound out of bed with the enthusiasm of a child."

— Joye Moon

American Painter

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?  Some people get up in the morning and say:  "Good morning, Lord.  It is great to be alive!"  Other people get up and say: "O Lord, it's morning again."  Which are you?  Someone who appreciates each day she has been given?  Or someone who finds no joy in living?  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.

Emile Zola

"The artist is nothing without a gift, but the gift is nothing without work."

— Emile Zola
French Writer
1840 -1902

Many have wasted the gifts they have been given.  Some will go a lifetime and never realize the gifts they have been given.  A gift by and of itself is not enough.  Even the gifted have to work to perfect their art.  One cannot get by on just the gift.  Hours of work and preparation are needed to create the masterpiece that will live for centuries in the hearts of others.  Often those without a gift can produce great work if they work hard.  When I was in college the question on the mind of every want-to-be artist and writer was: "Do I have talent?  Am I gifted?"  We sought the answer in the words of our professors.  Unfortunately, they often could not predict who had the gift and who was willing to work hard enough to perfect their craft.  Nobody else can answer the question for you.  Only you can answer the questions:  Do you have the talent?  Are you willing to work hard to perfect that talent?

George Sand

"The ease (of writing) increases with age, and thus I do not allow myself to work at this more than two or three months of each year. . . . Indeed I only write two or three hours per day, and the interior work is done while I scribble away at my watercolors."

— George Sand

French Novelist

1804 - 1876

Some writers struggle to write after early success.  The second and third novel are difficult to write.  Other writers are prolific.  They adopt a pseudonym so they can publish more.  Some writers face writer's block and struggle to write.

Like Sand, I have found it easier to write the older I become.  When I was young, everything had to be perfect.  So I struggled to find the right word, the right metaphor.  Perfection is not my goal today.  I just want to get the story down on paper.  I can sit anywhere and I write — even in a noisy mall or a quiet art museum.

What about you?  Is writing easy?  Or do you struggle to put words on paper?  Do artists struggle to paint?  I have come to art later in life so I am not trying for the perfect painting.  I enjoy the process of creating a painting or a sculpture.  And I don't worry about others because I am not looking to sell the piece.  I am painting to relax my spirit — to make me feel good.

Marcel Duchamp

"I force myself to contradict myself, so as to avoid conforming to my own taste."

Marcel Duchamp

French Artist

1887 - 1968

Nude Descending
A Staircase No. 2
(1912)

Do you ever feel that you are in rut — repeating the same stories over and over, painting the same landscape again and again?  Sometimes we fall into a rut and don't even know.  Our creative works become the same — bland and boring.  What are you doing to make your art fresh and new?  How do you challenge yourself to step outside your comfort zone?  How do you avoid old habits?

As creative leaders, you need to challenge yourself — explore new territory, try new ideas.  We all can become stale and tired.  You need to find new sources of ideas — new ways of seeing the world.

Nicholas Sparks

"When you chase a dream, you learn about yourself.  You learn your capabilities and limitations, and the value of hard work and persistence."

— Nicholas Sparks

American Novelist

1965 - 

Do you have what it takes to chase a dream?  Not everyone is willing to go the distance — to pay the price that success demands.  But whether you succeed or fail, you will gain insight and understanding into yourself.  And maybe what you learn is more important than winning the race.  We all have strengths and weaknesses, capabilities and limitations.  Most people work to improve their weaknesses.  I recommend that you focus on improving your strengths.  You may work for a lifetime to fix your limitations and still not overcome them.  Better to focus your energy on perfecting your strengths.  You don't have as far to travel and the success is more rewarding.

Here is Nicholas Sparks with some tips on writing.

Norman Vincent Peale

"Imagination is the true magic carpet."

— Norman Vincent Peale

Author, Minister

1898 - 1993

 

Our minds are very powerful.  What we imagine, think and say can impact what we do.  Creative leaders should use their imagination not only for their creative work, but also for their personal lives.  Can you see yourself as a successful writer, artist or actor?  Can you see yourself sitting at a desk typing that great novel or standing at a easel painting your best painting?

Do you want to change some habit or relationship?  Begin by imagining yourself in a new role or relationship.  See yourself successfully behaving in a new way.  We call this positive visualization.  Most of us already do negative visualization.  Do you ever worry about the future?  Worry is a negative form of visualization.

Through the process of visualization we can change who we are.  This is the power of positive thinking.  The easiest thing in the world is to be negative.  It takes a lot more will power to be positive in a negative world.  I challenge you to take five minutes each day and visualize your success.

Marc Chagall

"The role of the artist is tragic today because, while the world's horizons have been extended, the human heart is as small as ever."

— Marc Chagall

Russian Artist

1887 - 1985

The Prophet Jeremiah
1968

In the last 150 years the world has known many technological and scientific advances.  We have put men on the moon and invented thousands of items that make life easier for human beings from the light bulb to the iPad.  But the human heart has not changed.  We remain selfish, angry and territorial.  We kill, murder and steal.  We still break the Ten Commandments as well as the laws of man.  We are cruel, mean and unforgiving. 

Artists create beautiful paintings that inspire us all, but are abusive to their wives and girl friends.  Writers create powerful stories that touch the heart, but are rude, crude and demeaning to those around them.  Actors may explore the emotional depths of characters they play, but are unaware of their own self-destructive tendencies.

Stained Glass Windows
in Saint Stephen Cathedral,
Metz, France

Human beings have two natures: a violent one and a compassionate one.  And both often reside in the same person in varying degrees.  And we have not changed in thousands of years.  Every time we take a step forward and seem to be improving, we take a couple of steps backward.  Consider all the greed that helped create the latest financial recession.  

I learned years ago that I can't change the world.  The only person I can change is myself.  I ask myself, "What can I do today to make myself a better person tomorrow?"  And every day is a struggle.  Some days are better than others.  And some days I slip back into old habits and behaviors that are destructive to myself and to others.  Each day is a new beginning.  A new opportunity to be a better person than I was yesterday.  All I can hope for is that I am able to make a difference in somebody's life.  That I can touch one heart today.  Give hope to one soul.

Theodore Roethke

"Being, not doing, is my first joy."

— Theodore Roethke

American Poet

1908 - 1963

 

I must confess that being is very difficult for me.  For years I have been caught up in the culture of doing.  Setting goals and working to achieve my goals.  I find it very difficult to sit and just be.  I must at the very least doodle and who knows maybe my doodles will one day be famous.  We can dream can't we!  If I go on vacation, it often takes me a week to relax and forget my day job.  But I still feel I must be doing something.  Writing.  Drawing.  Producing something.  Rarely can I just be.

How about you?  Are you caught up in the culture of doing or have you learned like Roethke to enjoy just being?

Here is my favorite Theodore Roethke poem.  I love the first three lines.  This is a poem to be read outloud.  Listen to the interaction of sounds.

The Waking

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?

God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,

And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

I learn by going where I have to go.

Janet Fish

"I get up early and ease into the day for about an hour.  Then I start working.  There are a lot of tricks you have to keep playing on yourself to keep at it because every time you hit a problem you want to walk away."

— Janet Fish

American Painter

1938 -

For a creative leader, diving into a project is the hardest thing to do.  The mind creates excuses to keep the leader from starting.  I rise early and jump right into the day — either walking, jogging or writing.  I don't wait for coffee or the sun to rise.  But I am also good at walking away from the writing if I stumble into a problem or what happens more often is that I walk away just as the creative juices are starting to flow.  It is as if my mind is telling me to slow down, not to go too fast.  

What tricks do you use to get yourself into your creative project — to start painting?  When the creative juices are flowing, how do you keep going?

Marcus Tullius Cicero

"A room without books is like a body without a soul."

— Marcus Tullius Cicero

Roman Philosopher and Author

106 BC - 43 BC

Creative leaders are lifelong learners.  Learning helps to fill the subconscious with fodder for creative thinking.  One important source of learning is books.  Creative leaders spend time reading even if it is only 10 or 15 minutes a day.  I encourage creative leaders to read novels, poetry, biographies, memoirs and history.  The more you read, the more you know.  I usually average about one book a month and I usually read 15 - 20 minutes a day.  I also listen to recorded books while I drive.  Listening to books is a powerful way to learn.  

If you are not a reader, it is never to late to start.  Develop the habit of reading daily.  Set a goal for how many books you will read in 2011 and keep track of the books you read on goodreads.com, a great online method for keeping track of books you read.  And you also will meet other people who read.  If you are looking for some novels to read, I highly recommend the novels I have listed on this blog.

Robert Henri

"The real artist's work is a surprise to himself."

— Robert Henri

American Artist

1865 - 1929

Are you surprised by some of the things that you write or paint?  Or do you feel like you are in a rut?  As artists and writers we need be willing and open to change.  We need to surprise ourselves by what flows from our pens.  Sometimes it is too easy to paint the same thing over and over.  Or to write the same prose again and again.  Picasso was an artist who reinvented his art again and again.  He never clung to one style or technique.  Some novelists are the same way.  No two novels are the same.  Where as, genre writers tend to create the same person, the same story over and over.  Once they have achieved success they stop growing and changing.  Ask yourself this question from time to time: Am I surprised by what I create?  

General Colin Powell

"There are no secrets to success.  It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure."

— General Colin Powell

American Author/Soldier

1937 - 

Some people look for the easy way, the next get rich scheme and the short-cuts to the top.  They don't exist for most of us.  If you want something bad enough, it takes preparation, hard work, learning from failure and persistence.  As artists and writers we understand this because we sometimes labor for years or even a lifetime with little or no success.  My words are simple:  keep writing, keep painting, keep living.

Mayumi Oda

"Creativity is not a driving force.  It happens.  It creates itself and you have to be open."

— Mayumi Oda

Japanese Artist

1941 - 

When we become caught up in the day to day detail of living, we often forget about painting or writing.  I often suggest to people that they write or paint every day even when  they don't feel like it.  If you develop a habit of painting or writing every day, you will be ready when the spirit of creativity arrives and you will invite her into your soul.  You will awake from her visit astonished by the gift she gave you.  Be open every moment for a visit from your muse.

J. B. Massieu

"Gratitude is the memory of the heart."

— J. B. Massieu

1743 - 1818

This quote says it all.  Have you expressed appreciation and gratitude to someone today?  We should be thankful for what we have been given.  And give thanks each and every day for our blessings.  Thank someone in your life today.

Bernie Siegel

"If you watch how nature deals with adversity, continually renewing itself, you can't help but learn."

— Bernie Siegel

Nature has a way of renewing itself quickly and swiftly.  In the 1970's Lake Erie, which is up the road from where I live, was declared dead.  Today it is alive.  If you ever watch how quickly a forest renews itself after a fire, you will understand the meaning of this quote.  In fact, I believe nature uses adversity has a way of cleansing itself from the rot and finding new opportunity.  One simply has to observe the seasons to understand how nature renews itself.  And since we are a part of nature, we also have this gift.  We can renew and reinvent ourselves as needed.  Let go of your old tired habits and plant new habits.