Harley King

Self-Portrait
Oil Pastels
(2011)

"Sometimes we fight who we are, struggling against ourselves and our natures.  But we must learn to accept who we are and appreciate who we become.  We must love ourselves for what and who we are, and believe in our talents."

— Harley King

American Poet, Speaker

1949 - 

I have struggled much of my life to find myself and my place in this world.  I have never been satisfied, always wanting to do more, to accomplish more.  I wanted to be a famous writer.  But instead, my success came through my speaking.  While I have published 14 books, my readership is small and my paycheck is even smaller.  Yet, somewhere a long the way I learned to accept who I am and to trust that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.  I touch people's lives with my words.  

I wrote the words above when I turned fifty.  Today I turn 62 and I feel that I have learned not to struggle against myself, and have accepted who I am as well as my strengths and limitations.  I have learned to hug myself and to love who I am.

Have you learned to love yourself and to believe in your talents?  Do you appreciate the life you live and accept your strengths and weaknesses?  None of us are perfect and the lives we lead are not perfect, but we are leading the life we have chosen through our thoughts and actions.  


Here is a link to my reading of my poem, Indecision, inspired by the Renoir painting, Umbrellas.  Click on Indecision and it will take you to a page on my website.

Maurice Chevalier

"A man must have his dreams — memory dreams of the past and eager dreams of the future.  I never want to stop reaching for new goals."

— Maurice Auguste Chevalier

French Actor, Singer

1888 - 1972

What does your future hold for you?  Have you ever wished you knew the answer to that question?  How would change your life if you could predict the future?  Do you read your horoscope regularly?  Do you wish you had a crystal ball into which you could gaze?

I do believe that we often know what is going to happen to us before it actually happens.  Years ago I kept a dream journal where I recorded a dream of marrying my wife a month before I met her.  I am convinced that some of our nighttime dreams can predict the future.  Learn to listen to your subconscious.

But I am also convinced that we can predict our future by setting goals.  Goals give a focus and a direction to our lives.  Our lives are like a journey.  If we have a road map, we are more likely to reach our destination, to achieve our dreams.  Goals serve as the road map.  But like any trip, there can be detours, flat tires and accidents.  The road map is not the journey, only a guide.  And sometimes it is the side trips that are more interesting than the interstate.  And the people we meet along the way will touch our lives and teach us much.

So what is the road map for your life?  Where are you headed?  Are you on a side road or the main highway?  Are you hitchhiking through life or are you driving a Corvette?  Who is sitting in the seat next to you?  Who is in the backseat?  When you reach the end of the road one day (and we all will reach the end of the road), what is the legacy you will leave behind?  Will you have achieved your goals?  Will you have produced the art you dreamed of creating?  How will you remember your life?

Here is a video of Maurice Chevalier with Hermione Gingold singing, "I Remember It Well."  Enjoy.

Flannery O'Connor

"Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days."

— Flannery O'Connor

American Novelist

1925 - 1964

Do you remember your childhood?  Some people block out memories of their childhood?  Others have a difficult time forgetting even the most painful memories.  As artists and writers we can mine our past experiences for inspiration for our art.  What events out of your childhood can you use in your stories or your art?  Remember art should transform the actual events into more than just the mere facts like spinning straw into gold.


Here are links to three story poems where I transformed childhood stories and events into more than family history — where I discovered a truth greater than facts.


Mary Lou
http://web.mac.com/hgking/HarleyKing/Mary_Lou.html

Sister
http://web.mac.com/hgking/HarleyKing/Sister.html


Brother Al
http://web.mac.com/hgking/HarleyKing/Brother_Al.html

Salman Rushdie

"Those who do not have power over the story that dominates their lives, power to retell it, rethink it, deconstruct it, joke about it, and change it as times change, truly are powerless, because they cannot think new thoughts."

— Salman Rushdie

Indian Novelist

1947 - 

Are you revisiting the stories that you tell about your life?  Are you able to change the stories that you tell about your life?  Are you able to think new thoughts about your talents and your capabilities?

We all face challenges in life -- challenges that impact the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives.  How we tell the story either gives us power over the events or makes us powerless.

In 2006 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had robotic surgery.  I chose not to be a cancer victim.  Within a month of the diagnosis, I decided that the cancer was a gift that would open up new worlds and give me opportunities to meet new people.  I do not see myself as a cancer survivor.  I am very lucky to have received such a gift for what it has taught me.  I am a life-long learner and the cancer was just another experience in my life.

What challenges in your life do you need to reframe -- to retell?  We are all here to learn lessons.  What lessons are you learning from the challenges you face.  How are you retelling your stories to give you more power over the challenges?

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.

Marian Wright Edelman

"Remember your roots, your history, and the forebearers' shoulders on which you stand.  And pass these roots on to your children and to other children."

— Marian Wright Edelman

American Author and
Founder, Children's Defense Fund

1939 - 

As writers, artists, dancers and actors, we need to know our roots, our history and the people on whose shoulders we stand.  To whom do we owe a deep debt of gratitude for paving the way.  Who are your mentors?  Those who have taught you about your profession?  Have you said thank you?

And have you passed on your knowledge onto others?  Have you been a teacher or a mentor?  Do you readily share your knowledge or do you keep your knowledge hidden?  Age and years of experience do not matter.  Even the novice has something to teach the master.  Any master who does not feel he can still learn something is not a true master.  We all must be open to new experiences and new ways of thinking.

This quote also applies to our family history.  On whose shoulders do you stand?  Were you like me to be the first in your family to attend college?  To whom do you owe thanks for who you became.  Without your parents, your grandparents or your great-grand parents, you would not be here.  Do you know your family history?  Have you collected your family stories?  Have you passed those stories onto your children and your grandchildren?

Benjamin Spock

"Trust yourself.  You know more than you think you do."

— Benjamin Spock

American Pediatrician, Author

1903 - 1998

 

Spock wrote these words to the mothers of baby boomers in his best selling book, Baby and Child Care, and he launched a generation.  And his advice is just as important to creative leaders.  As artistic people, we need learn to trust ourselves -- our intuition.  The knowledge we have to write, to draw and to act is inside of us.  We need to learn to hear that small voice when it speaks and then to do what it says.  Too often we second guess ourselves and do what we think we should do.

Believe in yourself.  Believe in your talent.  Believe in your creative gift.  Believe in that small voice deep inside.  If you learn to trust yourself, you will be successful.

John Maxwell

"The fear of rejection or failure creates inaction."

— John Maxwell

American Author, Speaker

1947 - 

Fear is a very powerful force that affects the lives of most creative leaders.  Some people are afraid to leave their houses.  Some people like me are afraid of heights.  Others are afraid of elevators.  This list could go on and on.  A person who claims that he is not afraid of anything is either delusional or a liar.  We are all afraid of something. 

It takes courage to look fear in the face and still do something when you are afraid.  If you give into fear, you will freeze on the spot and not move.  Creative leaders face a lot of rejection of their ideas and work.  But we must keep going.  What is the worst thing that can happen?  People don't like us.  So what?  Every famous writer, artist, singer or actor has people who don't like them.  No one is liked by everyone.  So why should you and me expect to be liked by everyone?  In fact, think about the famous people whom you don't like.  You, in a sense are rejecting them.

I learned a powerful lesson from a professional speaker.  He told me that 10% of your audience will not like you.  They may not like the color of your hair.  Or the sound of your voice.  Or the tie you are wearing.  And it has held true for me.  Ten percent of my audience don't like my loud voice.  So I focus on the other 90%.  I don't let my fear of rejection prevent me from speaking.

Rejection is a good thing.  It keeps us humble.  We are not perfect so we shouldn't let success go to our heads.  It lets us know that we are ahead of our time.  We have found people who don't like our work and that is okay.  So don't let fear stop you from creating and producing new work.

(For those who read my blog regularly, I apologize for not leaving an entry yesterday.  I have spent the last two days in the hospital because of dehydration.  I checked out about three hours ago and am healthy again.)

William James

"The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated."

— William James

American Philosopher and Writer

1842 - 1910

When was the last time you received a compliment?  Today?  Last week?  Last month?  When was the last time you gave someone a compliment?

We all have a need to appreciated and thanked for what we do.  Unfortunately, our society is very poor at delivering compliments and praise.  And people praise artists and writers even less.  If you want to receive more compliments, you must give more compliments.  We live in a very negative world where people feel it is kool to be in your face putting you down.  If we are going to change the world, we must first change ourselves.


I know that many writer groups are very negative and hostile.  They seem to enjoy tearing each others work to shreds.  And that does nothing but discourage the new writer.  Writers need a lot of support, encouragement and nourishing.  I don't believe in criticism -- negative or positive.  Most writers and artists are their own worst critics.  They can tell you all the things that they did wrong before you do.

I challenge you to look for the good in others and compliment them on what they do good.  Compliment the good you see in their writing or their art.  Be sincere and honest.  Don't lie.  Even in the worst of painting you should be able to find something to compliment honestly.  So start today.  Don't wait.  It will cost nothing, but the positive rewards will be great.

Michael Chabon

"A book itself threatens to kill its author repeatedly during it composition."

— Michael Chabon

American Novelist

1963 - 

Do you an unfinished novel laying on a shelf in your office?  Do you have unfinished paintings hidden in a closet somewhere?  I spent 4 years working on a novel before I quit to write a book on pet loss with my wife.  Many published and unpublished writers have books they have never finished.  And the same is true with painters.  In fact, painters often paint over old paintings.

In an essay, Burn Before Reading, recently published in the New York Times Book Review (March 6, 2011), Dan Kois identifies a few novelists with unfinished novels. 

• Saul Bellow
• Truman Capote
• Michael Chabon
• Junot Diaz
• Jennifer Egan
• Nikolai Gogol
• Chang-rae Lee
• Harper Lee
• Richard Price
• John Updike
• Evelyn Waugh

So take heart, my friend!  You are not the only one who did not finish a novel, a painting, a song or a poem.  The difference between those who are successful and those who are not is the successful artists and writers keep creating new works even if the old ones are not finished.  So keep writing.  Keep painting.

George Bellows

"The ideal artist is he who knows everything, feels everything, experiences everything, and retains his experience in a spirit of wonder and feeds upon it with creative lust."

— George Bellows

American Painter

1882 - 1925

Dempsey and Firpo
(1924)

Do you experience the world in a spirit of wonder?  Are you surprised by the things that happen or have you become cynical and negative?  A creative leader must be like a young child soaking up life and enjoying every moment of it.  Everything that happens to us — good, bad and indifferent — is fuel for our creative lust.  I don't believe artists and writers experience the world at a deeper level then other people.  It's more they have learned to use that experience to feed their creativity.

Creativity is both sexual and sensuous.  When we are painting and writing, we have a deep desire to create, to give birth.  We can feel the lust in our loins, the joy in our hearts.  How powerful is your desire to create?  Can you feel it deep within your body?  Does every part of you tingle with excitement?  Can you taste the lips of your lover?  

A. S. Neill

"Take from others what you want, but never be a disciple of anyone."

— Alexander Sutherland Neill

Scottish Educator, Writer

1883 - 1973

Life is about learning and everyone we encounter, whether in the virtual world or the physical world, has something to teach us, but no one is the master of all knowledge and wisdom.  No one deserves our devotion or discipleship.  We need to each independently investigate truth for ourselves.  We need to come to our own conclusions.  If we choose to blindly follow one person, we have failed ourselves.  We have let ourselves down.

From time to time in my life, I have wished I knew someone who had all the answers and I could sit at his feet and soak in his wisdom.  But I have never encountered that person and I have had to depend on my own thoughts and wisdom.  I have had to learn to investigate what truth is for myself.  And sometimes I make mistakes and sometimes I get it right.

People often feel they need heroes and gurus.  They keep looking for THE answer.  We put people on a pedestal and when we discovered their actions don't match their words, we tear them down.  We punish them for leading us a stray.  What we fail to realize is that there are no perfect people — no wise men sitting on a hill, only fools trying to get by.

As artists and writers, we must be careful not to worship other artists and writers, not to put them on pedestals.  We need to independently investigate what they have to teach and then make our own choices.  Truth is a slippery slope.  What we believe to be true today we may discover tomorrow was an illusion.

For your listening pleasure, here is one of my favorite Beatles song:  Fool on the Hill.

Paulo Coelho

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it."

— Paulo Coelho

Brazilian Novelist

1947 -

When one door closes, another one opens.  There is a method buried within the madness of the world.  The universe wants us to succeed, to find our way home, to taste the fruit of the vine.  Yet most of us do not listen with our hearts.  We hear only the shrill sounds bombarding our ears.  To be successful, we must first understand the power of desire.

Do you have the passion to be a creative leader?  Do you desire to write?  Then write as if your life depended on it.  Do you desire to paint?  Then paint as if your heart will explode if you don't put paint to canvas.  When our actions are aligned with our passion, then the universe opens and we are lifted into the heavens.  We are able to find beauty in the mundane like a jar of pickles, a can of tuna or a bottle of orange juice.  

When one door opens, another one closes.  The end can be found in the beginning.  We all travel circles within circles.  And nothing changes but what must remain the same.  So believe that your gift of creativity is yours to share with the universe and accept that the universe is a flower within your heart.

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

Pablo Picasso

"There is nothing more interesting than people.  One paints and one draws to learn to see people, to see oneself."

— Pablo Picasso

Spanish Artist

1881 - 1973

La Vie
(1903)

For me, people are central to being a creative leader.  The stories that writers share are about people and their relationships.  When I speak on leadership, I talk about leadership being defined as people working with and through people.  I love paintings and photographs that involve people.  People communicate so much meaning through their expressions and gestures.  I find people fascinating because in them I see bits and pieces of myself.  Through interactions with others I learn more about myself.  People teach me important lessons that I need to learn.

If I were the only human remaining on this planet, life would be boring.  When I was young, I thought I would like to be a hermit and withdraw from the world, but I no longer feel that way.  I do need people.  Having said that, I must confess that I am still an introvert.  What that means is that many people take energy from me and I must have alone time to restore my energy.  Extroverts by nature enjoy people and are re-energized by being with people.  After spending two hours in a mall, I am exhausted and must withdraw to replace my energy and recharge my spirit.  One of the few places where I can be re-energized by people is when I am speaking in front of an audience.  Some audiences will take the energy that I give out when I speak and return it to me ten-fold.  Other audiences will absorb my energy and suck me dry.

Who are the people in your life?  Do they help restore your energy or do they drain your energy?  What about the people in your stories, your paintings and your songs?  Are your relationships positive and life-giving?  Or are your relationships toxic and destructive?  What are the people in your life teaching you?  Even the most difficult people in our lives are there to teach us lessons.  What are you learning about yourself?  And what are you teaching the people in your life?

Robert M. Persig

"To live only for some future goal is shallow.  It's the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top."

— Robert M. Pirsig

American Writer

1928 - 

Those of us who set goals sometimes get so caught up in the goal that we live only in tomorrow's world and forget about today.  We think that when we publish our first book or sell our first painting that everything will be perfect.  The future that we imagine is never what we thought it would be.  We still carry the negative baggage that we have today into the future.  If we have marital problems today, we probably will still have them tomorrow.  We need to learn to live with ourselves no matter what our living conditions are.  Whether we are poor or rich, we are still the same person.  If we are unhappy when we are poor, we will be unhappy when we are rich.  Learn to be happy now.  Enjoy the moment.

Have you stopped to smell the roses today?  Spring is just around the corner and the hard winter of 2011 is sliding out the door.  Are you finding joy in the moment?  Have you seen the first robins or the red-wing blackbirds?  Have you given those you love a hug and told them that you love them?  Take a walk today.  Taste the wind on your lips.  Smell the fresh air.  Dance with the rain drops.

Goals are important but they should not dominate our lives to the point that we ignore the beauty around us.  Don't live in the future because it has not come yet.  Don't live in the past because it has already gone.  Live in the moment where you are.  Love yourself for who you are now.

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.

David Frost

"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally."

Sir David Frost

British Journalist, Writer

1939 -

There is a paradox here.  If you seek success, you rarely find it.  If you do what you love, you will be successful even if it is not in the way that you imagined it.  As I grow older, I begin to define success less as money and fame and more as loving relationships.  The same is true of my artistic work.  It becomes less about the money and fame, then it is about the process of creating.

What is your passion?  What is your love?  Are you following your passion?  Are you doing what you love even if it is for only five minutes a day.  I dreamed for years of writing full time, but it was not to be.  But I have spent lots of hours writing.  The value is in the writing, the creating, not in doing it full time.  I challenge you to find 15 minutes every day to do what you love.  Don't wait until you can do it full time because it might never happen.  Do it now and success will follow.  Just be ready for the unexpected.  If life throws you a wrench when you are making other plans, just tighten the bolts and keep going.

Berthold Auerbach

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

— Berthold Auerbach

German Novelist, Poet

1812 - 1882

Of the arts, music holds the greatest sway over the soul.  It has the power to soothe the pain and free the spirit.  For many of us, certain songs bring to mind special moments and times.  What music do you listen to during times of trouble?  Do you sing in the shower or while walking alone along the railroad tracks?  What music inspires your creativity?  Do you paint to the sounds of rock and roll or write to the concertos of Bach?  What music moves you to dance with joy and to celebrate life?

Here is a link to a free ebook of Landolin by Berthold Auerbach, published by Project Gutenberg.  

And here is a Bach concerto for your listening pleasure.

Barbara Kingsolver

"Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin."

— Barbara Kingsolver

American Novelist, Poet

1955 - 

Memory is a sly devil that pretends to wear the cloak of truth, but deceives us both in our youth and our age.  He helps us forget our deepest pain and yet remember the slightest hurt as if we were crushed by a gigantic rock.  We confuse the facts and remember only partial truths.  As writers and artists our memories can serve as either our greatest muse or our evil jailer. Our memories help us create powerful stories that fill the hearts of our audiences with tears.  When our memories marry our creativity gifts we give birth to a host of angels and when our memories seek a divorce we our left standing naked in the garden.

Feed your memory well.  Give him love and affection and the occasional hug.  Listen to his footsteps as he wanders through your mind.  Visit the rooms that he constructs and marvel at his genius for disguise.  Remember to forgive him when he fails you and leaves you standing in the rain.  Celebrate his victories when he makes you look good in front of those you love, but do not give him the keys to the kingdom.

Here is Barbara Kingsolver discussing the creation of fictional characters that interact with the historical figures like the Mexican artists, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, in her novel, Lacuna.