Henry Ford — Opportunity

Henry Ford built his first car inside a rented building. When the car was finished, he realized that the door was not big enough for the car to go through so he destroyed an entire wall. He did not let the wall stand in the way of test driving his first car. Do you learn from your mistakes? In every failure is an opportunity to grow and change. When something knocks you off your feet, pick yourself up and begin again.

Brianna King

What the world needs now is more imagination and creativity.  Every day we face problems and challenges in our personal as well as our professional lives.  Too often we continue to respond to these problems in the same way that we have always responded.  We keep doing what we have always done and keep getting the same result.  Instead, we should be searching for new ways of solving the problems.

What challenges do you face as a creative leader?  What obstacles stand in your way of achieving the success you dream about?  Are you so focused on the problems that you fail to see the opportunities around the corner?  Shift your focus to the possibilities.  Choose a new path into the future.  Imagine a better world.

Albert Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”  

What are you doing to expand your imagination — to open the doors of creative thinking? What are you doing to escape of the black hole of negative thinking?  Here are five ways to increase your imaginative thinking.

1. Develop an attitude of curiosity.  Be curious about everything.  Look for connections that others do not see.
2. Question and challenge accepted beliefs, assumptions and practices.  Just because you have always done it a certain way does not mean you should continue to do it that way.
3. Explore the world.  Travel to places you have never been.  Read books in fields of learning that you normally don't read.  Engage people outside your field of expertise in conversations and learn from them.
4. Conduct daily doodling practice.  Doodle for 5 - 10 minutes.  Doodling helps to relax your mind and start your creative juices flowing.  Drawing can free your mind of entrenched ways of seeing. Create new ways of seeing by doodling.  Focus your attention on the doodling.  Don't worry about being artistic.
5. Conduct daily writing practice.  Write everyday for 10 minutes.  Don't worry about grammar, spelling or punctuation.  Start with the phrase, "In the future, I".  Keep writing for the full 10 minutes.  When you run out of things to write, start again with the phrase, "In the future, I".

Remember that your imagination and creativity will help you solve most of your problems and help you build a better world.  Begin now to cultivate your imagination.  

Suzanne Valadon

The Blue Room
(1923)

"I paint with the stubbornness I need for living, and I've found that all painters who love their art do the same."

— Suzanne Valadon

French Painter

1865 - 1938

Commentary:
To be a creative artist, you need to be persistent because many obstacles will get in your way including your own need for perfection.  The creative journey is only for the stubborn.  How long are you willing to work at your painting?  Your writing?  Your acting?  Or do you give into family pressure?  Societal pressure?  Doubts?  Fears?

What are you willing to sacrifice for your creative work?  What are you willing to give up?  Life is never easy and the same is true for the creative leader.  There are many days when you will take one step forward and three steps backwards.  Do you have the stubbornness to keep going even when you see very little light at the end of the tunnel?

Biography:
Suzanne Valadon was the daughter of an unmarried laundress.  When she was 15, she joined the circus, but was forced to quit a year later after falling off a trapeze.  She eventually became a model for artists including Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec where she studied their artistic techniques.  She is best known for painting female nudes but also painted landscapes, florals and still life.  She sometimes worked as long as 13 years on a painting before showing it in public.

Suzanne Valadon was the model for these paintings by Renoir:

   

Alex Haley

"The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor-paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune, there are thousands more whose longing is never requited. Even those who succeed often know long periods of neglect and poverty. I did."

Alex Haley

American Writer

1921 - 1992

Commentary

The path to financial success is never easy for writers, artists or actors. In fact, for every Stephen King, John Grisham, James Patterson, Paul Newman, Tom Cruise or Angelina Jolie, there are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of creative people who do not make a dime from their writing, acting or painting. And for some, financial success may be short-lived — one movie, one song, one novel. So if you are in the game for money, you would be better off investing in the stock market or real estate. 

Creative work is not for the faint-of-heart. If you need people in your life, skip writing and painting. Enter theater, film or music which require group participation. Writing and painting are lonely pursuits that involve a minimum amount of people contact. Writers and painters spend long periods by themselves. Writers spend long periods in their own heads visiting worlds that do not exist and talking with people who are imaginary. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?

Creative Practice
Be sure that you are in the arts because you can't live without it. Does it keep your spirit alive? Does it restore your soul? Does it make you happy?

Biography
Alex Haley, the oldest of five children, was born in Ithaca, NY.  His father was a professor of agriculture.  When Alex turned 18, he joined the Coast Guard where he had a 20 year career.  While in the Coast Guard, Haley taught himself how to write stories.  After the Coast Guard, he began a career in writing.

Alex Haley interviewed Miles Davis and the article appeared in the September 1962 issue of Playboy.  Haley also interviewed Martin Luther King, Jr, Muhammad Ali, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jim Brown, Johnny Carson, Malcolm X and Quincy Jones for Playboy.  He also interviewed George Lincoln Rockwell, leader of the American Nazi Party.  

Haley's first book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, was published in 1965 and by 1977 had sold 6 million copies.  In 1998, Time named it one of ten most influential nonfiction books in the 20th century.

In 1976, Haley published Roots, a novel based on his family's history.  His work on the novel involved ten years of research and writing.  The book was adapted for a popular television miniseries by ABC.

Video
Here is a video of Alex Haley discussing Roots on the Merv Griffin Show (1977).

Christopher Reeve

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."

— Christopher Reeve

American Actor

1952 - 2004

Life is filled with obstacles that are designed to test our desire and persistence.  Many people give up on their dreams and hopes much too soon.  Others never realize that they achieved their dreams because they do not understand their true desires.  How are you doing with the obstacles in your life?  Are you still going after your dreams or have you given up?

Albert Schweitzer

"Anyone who proposes to do good must not expect people to roll stones out of his way, but must accept his lot calmly if they even roll a few more upon it."

— Albert Schweitzer

German Author, Organist, Physician

1875 - 1965

Life is not easy.  We are confronted by many obstacles.  Even when we choose the creative path, others will put stones in our way.  Nothing is easy.  You must learn to accept the challenges you face and work tirelessly to overcome them.  Playing the victim does you no good.  Quitting because the road is hard is not the answer.  If your passion is to create artistic works, then let nothing stand in your way.   

Moliere

"The greater the obstacle, the more the glory in overcoming it."

— Moliere

French Playwright & Actor

1622 - 1673

We have all faced obstacles in our lives — some big, some small, some real and some imagined.  Sometimes these obstacles defeat us and sometimes we are victorious.  The winners never give up.  There is always a way either over or under or around or through the obstacle.  I have often backed up and found another route around the obstacle.  Sometimes I have plowed right through the obstacle smashing it.  On other occasions I have been able to leap over the obstacle or even dig a tunnel beneath it.  The key is not to let the obstacle stop you.  And the bigger the obstacle, the greater the joy in victory.  What obstacles stand in your way today?  How are you going to overcome them?

Herodotus

"Some give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before."

— Herodotus

Greek Historian

484 BC - 425 BC

The one trait that every writer, painter and musician needs is persistence.  Without persistence and determination, most creative people will quit before they are successful.  People often give up too soon.  They forget that the night is the darkest just before the dawn.  When every things appears to be lost that is the time to push the hardest — to exert that extra effort.

Most successful artists and writers throughout history have understood the power of persistence.  Herodotus said it more than 2500 years ago and nothing has changed.  You still need persistence to be a winner — to be successful.  The world is full of obstacles and naysayers.  It takes persistence to find a way around or through the obstacles.  Don't give up on your dreams and hopes.  

Jasper Johns

"As one gets older one sees many more paths that could be taken.  Artists sense within their own work that kind of swelling of possibilities, which may seem a freedom or a confusion."

— Jasper Johns

American Artist

1930 -

Fool's House
(1962)

When I begin to write a short story, I see many paths for the story to take and I have to make choices.  The excitement comes in the choosing.  Sometimes the path ends and I have to retreat and find another path.  Sometimes the path branches and again I have to choose which direction to go.  The same is true when I start a painting.  So many paths.  So many possibilities.  And the same is true of life.  So many paths.  So many choices.  Some become paralyzed by having too many choices.  After I graduated from college, I was paralyzed because I did not know what to do with my life.  Too many choices.  Or in my mind, too few choices.  Once I made a choice, the path began to take shape and I followed it where I needed to go.  And I arrived where I was supposed to be.

Dorothy Fadiman

"Each of us is an artist, capable of conceiving and creating a vision from the depths of our being."

— Dorothy Fadiman

American Filmmaker

I believe that every person is capable of creating artistic works.  Some of us may have had our creative impulses damaged as a child by either a parent, a teacher or another child.  Someone somewhere made fun of something we created.  I know I have had those people in my life, but for some reason I kept going.  In fifth grade, I was given the opportunity to write about my class for the weekly newspaper.  Our small town newspaper published a page or two of articles written by school children.  My first article was criticized by the editor as be too much like advertising.  My headlines were too bold.  I was writing ads not journalism.  I never seriously wrote for a newspaper again.

When I was a junior in high school I started writing poetry as a way to express my feelings.  When I was a senior, I submitted a paper composed solely of my poetry in a social studies class.  My English teacher asked me why I had not showed her my poetry.  I had no answer for her.

I believe inside each of us is a need to find an outlet for our creativity.  For some that might be sewing, or cooking, or fixing cars.  For others, our creativity finds its outlet in writing, drawing, painting, singing or acting.  Unfortunately, naysayers have blocked our creative impulses and we must learn to open our creative channels.

Here are clips from one of Dorothy Fadiman's films: Reclaiming Their Voice, Saving the Petroglyphs: Teaser.

Catherine Lanigan

"I learned that writers make something out of nothing.  We make dreams into reality.  That's our nature, our mission.  We were born to it.  I will never give up my dream again.  Never." 

— Catherine Lanigan

American Writer

1947 - 

Catherine Lanigan gave up on her dream of writing while in college because a college professor told her she had no talent.  Years later after encouragement from a journalist, she returned to writing. 

We all have people who try to destroy our dreams and it takes courage to stand up to them.  If you are a beginning artist, writer, actor or singer, don't ask if you have talent.  No one can judge that but you.  Ask if you have the passion and persistence to keep creating even when others discourage you.  Ask if you have the heart and the courage to stand up for what you believe in.

Writers and artists make something from nothing.  They take a blank canvas and fill it with color.  They take a blank sheet of paper and fill it with story.  Believe in your dream.  Believe in yourself.  Believe in your creative gift.

Laura Kasischke

"Writing is really just a matter of writing a lot, writing consistently and having faith that you'll continue to get better and better.  Sometimes people think that if they don't display great talent and have some success right away, they won't succeed.  But writing is about struggling through and learning and finding out what it is about writing itself that you really love."

— Laura Kasischke

American Novelist, Poet

1961 - 

If success comes too early, it can destroy an artist.  Early success can create writer's block.  Artists become overwhelmed by the success and stop painting.  People start enjoying their celebrity status and forget about what brought them there.  And sometimes they start believing their own press clippings.  Sometimes it is better to wait until you are emotionally ready and have the wisdom to handle it.  

If writing or painting comes too easy, people often lose interest and look for something more challenging.  If writing is a struggle, then success when it comes will be sweeter.  Have the faith to keep writing, to keep drawing or to keep painting even when there seems to be no hope of success.  

Ella Winter

"Choose well: your choice is brief and yet endless."

— Ella Winter

Australian Journalist, Author 
1898 - 1980

I believe everything we do in life is a choice and that we need to take responsibility for our actions and not blame others.  The challenge is to make the right choices or at least to make choices.  When I graduated from college I was afraid to choose a direction to my life.  I didn't know what I wanted to do.  If I went down the wrong path it would be a disaster.  What I have learned is that the choices I made have led me where I need to be.  The challenge is to choose.  If you keep choosing you will eventually end up where you are supposed to be.  If you don't choose and let life happen, you may end up where you don't want to be.

Many people blame others for the circumstances in which they find themselves.  They are what I call "IF ONLY THINKERS."  They preface everything with the phrase: if only.  If only I had more money.  If only I had a college education.  If only my boss liked me.  If only I had better parents.  If only....If only....If only....

Usually we only have a short time to make a decision before the door closes and the opportunity passes.  Sometimes the opportunity will come around again and other times it won't.  I once had an opportunity to work for a trade magazine but I turned it down because I was happy with the job I had.  And the opportunity to work for a trade journal never came around again.  I sent out resumes, but noone responded.  I don't know how my life would have been different if I had accepted the position, but I have no regrets.  I am satisfied with the life I have lived.

The choices we make often send us in directions we never imagined.  New opportunities arise for us to seize.  Each choice we make leads us closer to where we are supposed to be.  We make a life by making choices.  What choices are you making today that will open up new doors for you tomorrow?

Paula Rego

"To find one's way anywhere one has to find one's door, just like Alice, you see.  You take too much of one thing and you get too big, then you take too much of another and you get too small.  You've got to find your own doorway into things."

— Paula Rego

Portuguese Artist

1935 -

The doors we open and the doors we close hold the keys to our success.  What doors have you failed to open that would catapult you miles down the road?  What doors if you learned to shut them and throw away the key would prevent others from zapping your energy?


The door is an amazing invention.  It keeps out those people we don't want in our lives yet allows us to choose who can enter and keep us company.  The door serves a similar function for creative leaders.  We can keep out those elements of our lives that we don't want to appear in our art and we can invite in what we want to appear in our art.

The Family
(1988)

To paraphrase the poet, Robert Frost, doors make good families.  Doors give us privacy and keep prying eyes from seeing what we don't want them to see.  Some doors are simple and others are complex.  Some doors have intricate designs and others are plain.  Doors help us to manage and control our lives.  Doors help us to hide things we don't want people to see and to reveal things we want people to see.


Can you identify the doors in your life?  Do these doors help you be more creative or do they restrict your creativity?  Do you need to replace some of the doors in your life?  Do you need to add doors to your life?










Here is a video with more of Paula Rego's paintings.

Suzanne Valadon

"I paint with the stubbornness I need for living, and I've found that all painters who love their art do the same."

— Suzanne Valadon

French Painter

1865 - 1938

Suzanne Valadon was the daughter of an unmarried laundress.  When she was 15, she joined the circus, but was forced to quit a year later after falling off a trapeze.  She eventually became a model for artists including Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec where she studied their artistic techniques.  She is best known for painting female nudes but also painted landscapes, florals and still life.  She sometimes worked as long as 13 years on a painting before showing it in public.

To be a creative artist, you need to be persistent because many obstacles will get in your way including your own need for perfection.  The creative journey is only for the stubborn.  How long are you willing to work at your painting?  Your writing?  Your acting?  Or do you give into family pressure?  Societal pressure?  

What are you willing to sacrifice for your creative work?  What are you willing to give up?  Life is never easy and the same is true for the creative leader.  There are many days when you will take one step forward and three backwards.  Do you have the stubbornness to keep going even when you see very little light at the end of the tunnel?

Suzanne Valadon was the model for these paintings by Renoir:

Dance At Bougival

Eugene Delacroix

"Finishing a painting demands a heart of steel: everything requires a decision, and I find difficulties where I least expect them. . . . It is at such moments that one fully realizes one's own weaknesses."

— Eugene Delacroix

French Artist

1796 - 1863

Greece Expiring on the Ruins
of Messolonghi
(1826)

In one of my filing cabinets is a novel that I spent four years writing but never finished.  As artists and  writers, we often start projects but never finish them.  Sometimes we lose interest.  Sometimes we are not happy with the outcome.  It does not match what we see in our mind's eye.  Sometimes we are afraid to finish — afraid to make the necessary decisions.  The joy and excitement is in the creation of something new.  The hard work is in finishing.

What paintings have you not finished?  What songs have you stopped writing?  What stories lay buried in a drawer unfinished?  Maybe it is time to pick up the manuscript or the painting and try again.  Approach it from a new angle, a new perspective.

Then again, maybe it is okay not to finish the work.  Maybe we were just practicing, preparing ourselves for greater work yet to come.  So don't beat yourself up because you didn't finish.  Things come to fruition in their own time, not our time.

Sydney Smith

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals."

— Sydney Smith

English Writer, Anglican Clergy

1771 -1845

The reason many creative leaders don't reach their goals is that they are focused on the wrong thing.  People focus on all the reasons their feel they can't achieve their goals.  They need to focus instead on their goals. 

If you are focused on your goals, you will see over the obstacles, under the obstacles, around the obstacles and through the obstacles.  If you are focused on the obstacles, you will only see the obstacles and you will not achieve your goals.

What are your goals?  What are you focused on?  The obstacles?  Or the GOALS?  Banish the obstacles from your mind.  Focus on your goals.  Achieve your dreams.