Booker T. Washington

"Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others."

— Booker T. Washington

American Writer/Speaker

1856 - 1915

If you are feeling depressed and out of sorts, commit an act of kindness for a stranger.  Or feed the homeless.  Or mow the lawn of a neighbor.  Or invite a grieving friend to dinner.  The act of helping others is one of the most powerful things we can do to increase our happiness.  Many writers and painters are often so busy with their own problems that they forget about the world around them.  If you want to solve your problems, help others solve theirs.  Give the gift of your time, your kindness, your love.

Katherine Mansfield

"Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to be different.  Life would undergo a change of appearance because we ourselves had undergone a change in attitude."

— Katherine Mansfield

New Zealand Writer

1888 - 1923

I believe that our attitude has a greater impact on our success than our talent.  I have seen very talented people fail and people with little talent succeed.  How do you get out of bed in the morning?  Are you happy to be alive?  Or do you want to crawl back under the blankets and hide from the world?  Do you see each day as another opportunity to paint or to write or to sing?  Or is each day full of gloom and doom and playing the victim?  If only the editors would buy my work?  If only a gallery would carry my paintings?  If only my spouse was more supportive of my creative work?  If only. . .  If only . . .  Change your attitude and change your life.  Believe in yourself.  Celebrate the opportunity you have to be creative.  Celebrate the creative life.

Louisa May Alcott

"I'm not afraid of storms for I'm learning how to sail my ship."

Louisa May Alcott

American Novelist

1832 - 1888

What are the storms in your life?  Can you see the lightning and hear the thunder?  Are you learning how to sail your ship safely through the storm?  Storms come and go but the ship must keep sailing.  Sometimes we let the storms we face discourage us.  Sometimes we turn around to avoid the storms.  Yet, we must realize that there will always be storms and we must learn to wait them out.  We must weather the storms in our lives.  We must learn to enjoy the rain.

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?

Jean Anouih

"The object of art is to give life a shape."

— Jean Anouilh

French Dramatist

1910 - 1987

As human beings we seek to understand who we are and why we are here.  Art helps us to understand our lives.  Stories give shape to our lives.  Art helps us to find meaning to the human existence.  How has art shaped your life?  How have you retold your story again and again?  How has your writing helped you understand who you are?

Frank Glazer

"I feel like I'm 35.  I'm playing better than ever.  I feel I've worked all my life to get to this point.  Now is not the time to quit."

— Frank Glazer

American Musician

1915 - 

When does an artist stop learning?  According to Frank Glazer who in February turned 97: "Never."  He says he is still learning to play the piano.  Are you still learning?  Are you continuing to grow and develop?  What have you learned today?  Last week?  Last month?  What books have your read?  What seminars have you attended?  What conversations have you had with other artists?  You should never stop learning.  The older I become, the more I realize what I don't know.  I hope that like Frank Glazer I will still be writing, speaking and learning at 97.  Don't give up on yourself.

Here is a video clip of Glazer playing the piano and discussing his first public appearance.

  

(Glazer made this comments in 2010 at the age of 95 to Bill Glauber of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.)

Ishmael Reed

"No one says a novel has to be one thing.  It can be anything it wants to be, a vaudeville show, the six o'clock news, the mumblings of wild men saddled with demons."

— Ishmael Reed

American Novelist/Poet

1938 - 

What is a novel?  What makes a novel a great novel? Each generation rewrites the rules that govern creative work like poetry, novels, paintings, sculpture and music.  Each generation redefines what makes great art.  Are you a rule-breaker or a rule-follower?  Do you lead the way or do you follow the leaders?  Learn to step outside your comfort zone and become more than you are.  Learn to recreate yourself again and again.  Learn to break the rules and refashion the pieces into a new and more powerful sword that opens the mind and hearts of others.

 I first read the Free-Lance Pallbearers back in the late 1960's and fell in love with its irreverence.  Ishmael Reed changed the rules with his novels.

Barbara Hambly

"Imagination is what has driven human progress since very early times."

— Barbara Hambly

American Novelist

1951 - 

If you can imagine it, you can make it happen.  Often writers imagine the future and inspire others to create that future.  Do you remember Dick Tracy and his wrist watch that he used to communicate?  Not much smaller than the cell phones we use today.  Or how about Star Trek and their communication devices?  What is your imagination creating today that will impact human technological progress tomorrow?  How about 1984 and Big Brother?  We now have the capability of keeping track of people through the GPS in their cell phones.  Who is watching you?  Cultivate and celebrate your imagination.  

Rafael Yglesias

"The most fun thing about being a writer is that everything is interesting."

— Rafael Yglesias

American Novelist

1954 - 

 

Actors have the opportunity to become people whom they are not.  They are able to explore characters and personalities.  The same is true of novelists.  They are able to become people other than themselves.  They are able to explore what they might do if they were put in difficult circumstances.  Being a writer or an actor is fun and exciting.

Do you enjoy your creative work?  Are you having fun painting?  Is your writing interesting?

Benjamin Mays

"It is not a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream."

Dr. Benjamin Mays

American Author / Educator / Minister

1894 - 1984

We are born with dreams and hopes that change and grow over the years.  When I was in the seventh grade I wanted to be an architect.  As a highschool sophomore I committed to being a preacher.  While in college I dreamed of being a poet.  In my mid-twenties I wanted to be a theater director.  In my thirties I dreamed of being a speaker.  In my forties I struggled with writing a novel.  Some dreams take us farther than others.  Some dreams dig their claws into our souls and don't let go.  Other dreams float away like hot air balloons.  Don't be afraid of your dreams.  They give us hope.

Stephen Wilkes

"For two weeks after shooting the first group of pictures of Ellis, I was obsessed.  I couldn't sleep, I couldn't erase the buildings from my mind.  So I went back, many times, every chance I could.  What began as a one-hour editorial assignment became a five-year passion."

— Stephen Wilkes

American Photographer

 

What are you obsessed with?  What keeps you awake at night?  What haunts your waking dreams?  As creative leaders what makes us great are our obsessions.  They define who we are and whom we become.  Encourage, honor and celebrate your obsessions.

Photos of Ellis Island
by Stephen Wilkes
(Check out his book.)

Victor Hugo

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."

— Victor Hugo

French novelist, poet

1802 - 1885

I am amazed at how music more than painting and literature can touch people at a much deeper level. Filmmakers understand the power of music. Try watching a film without the music and you will understand. Unfortunately, paintings and novels don't have musical support. I am waiting to read a novel with a CD of appropriate music.

What impact has music had on your creative process? Do you write or paint to a certain type of music? Do you listen to only one type of music or are you eclectic? What music pumps you up and makes you want to dance? What music calms and heals you?



Al Hirschfeld

"Life isn't a science.  We make it up as we go."

Al Hirschfeld

American Artist

1903 - 2003

Creating art is not a science, no matter how many times people attempt to build computers that can write poetry or paint pictures.  Creativity cannot be reduced to binary numbers programed into a machine.  The human experience cannot be reduced to mathematics or science.  We create and recreate the world as we go.  Even when the world seems to be against us, we somehow survive and thrive.  Don't worry about following all the rules or what others expect and demand of you.  Be yourself.  Find your own way.

Henri-Frederic Amiel

"Learn to limit yourself, to content yourself with some definite thing, and some definite work; dare to be what you are, and to learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not and to believe in your own individuality."

Henri-Frederic Amiel

Swiss Philosopher/Poet

1821 - 1881

Sometimes the world we live in can be overwhelming.  There are too many choices.  Which direction should we take.  If I do this, then I will miss out on that.  Have you ever felt that way?  Paralyzed by too many choices?  I have.  After graduating from college, I didn't know which way to go.  I was afraid to choose because I might miss something, so I did nothing.  When we come to a fork in the road, we have to make a choice.  And when we take that path, we need to follow it to the next fork.  And again, we must make a decision.  But no one decision will destroy us.  I firmly believe that each path we choose ultimately leads us to where we are supposed to go.  In the end we become who we are supposed to be.

Amiel is also talking about strengths and weaknesses.  People tend to focus their attention on their weaknesses and try to improve them.  I believe we should focus on improving our strengths.  We need to accept our weaknesses and learn to navigate around them.  Be the person you were meant to be.  Accept your individuality and your originality.

Charles Dickens

"I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time."

Charles Dickens

English Novelist

1812 - 1870

What are your work habits?  Do you meet deadlines?  Are you able to focus and concentrate on what you are doing?  While no two people have the same work habits, you can learn to improve your work habits by studying the habits of others.  Are you organized?  Do you have a system for keeping track of your work?  There is also the business side of creative work.  You have to be of two minds — the creative mind and business mind.  Do you know how to promote yourself?  To sell your work?  What are your habits?  How can you improve your habits?  Do you rise at 5 am before everyone else wakes up?  Do you work best at night?  Do you listen to music or do you prefer silence?  Do you take long walks to clear your mind and energize your creative juices?

Edward Hopper

Self-Portrait

"No amount of skillful invention can replace the essential element of imagination."

— Edward Hopper

American Artist

1882 - 1967

Skill will take a creative leader only so far.  Imagination is required to make the great leaps that dramatically reshapes the world.  Imagination requires being able to let go of the old and embrace the new —  to leap from one place to another.  What makes you different from others around you is your ability to imagine the world differently — to see what others don't or won't see.  Embrace your imagination and give thanks daily for the gifts that it bestows upon you.  Imagination helps you to connect the dots where most people do not even see the slightest connection.  Imagination is a sacred gift given to each and everyone.  Few know how to use its powers to the best of their ability.  Many are scared by what they see and withdraw from the clutches of imagination.  Let your imagination shine.

Summer Evening, 1947 

Paul Gauguin

Self-Portrait
(1893)

"I would like to write the way I do my paintings, that is, as fantasy takes me, as the moon dictates, and come up with a title long afterward."

— Paul Gauguin

French Artist

1848 - 1903

Crouching Tahitian Girl

Choosing titles for my poems has always been difficult for me.  I am more into the creation of the work than giving it a title.  I am more into the fantasy than the reality.  My haiku and many of my short poems do not have titles.  Why do we need to name everything?  Why do we need to title the work?  Can the work stand alone without a title?  That being said: when I go to an art museum or an art gallery I always check out the title thinking it will give me some insight into the painting.  Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

Gauguin's quote, though, takes us deeper than the title.  It is talking about the creative process.  Do you plan out your work in advance or do you let the mood of the moment take over?  Some writers write from an outline.  They are just filling in the blanks.  The creative work took place when they prepared the outline.  Other writers shoot from the hip.  They never know what the next line is going to be or where it will lead them?  I never know where I am going until I get there.  I find outlines boring and only of value when I do article writing.  Even then I keep the outline to a minimum — four to seven key topics.

Camille Pissarro

"It is only by drawing often, drawing everything, drawing incessantly, that one fine day you discover to your surprise that you have rendered something in its true character."

— Camille Pissarro

French Artist

1830 - 1903

Conversation
(1881)

The key to success is to practice, practice and practice!  If you don't get it right the first time, do it again.  Keep working.  Too often we give up too soon.  Draw, write and paint every day.  Be patient with yourself.  Give yourself time to develop and grow into the artist that you want to be.  Nothing happens over night.  Sometimes it takes years.  Sometimes it takes a lifetime. 

The time is now.  Get up off that couch.  Stop watching television.  Draw.  Paint.  Write.  Do something.  Anything.  Every minute you waste is gone forever.  Practice!  Practice!  Practice!

Charlotte Bronte

"I'm just going to write because I cannot help it."

— Charlotte Bronte

English Novelist/Poet

1816 - 1855

Do you have an urge to create?  To paint?  To write?  The desire must run deep if you want to succeed.  If you pick up a pen because you are interested in the fame and fortune, forget.  There are easier ways to make money.  Invest in stocks.  Writers write because they have no choice.  Painters paint because the choice has been made for them.   There is something deep inside all artists that demands that they create even when the odds are against them.  They cannot help it.

Amy Tan

"We dream to give ourselves hope.  To stop dreaming — well, that's like saying you can never change your fate."

— Amy Tan

American Novelist

1952 -

What do you do when your dreams don't happen the way you imagined?  Do you stop dreaming?  Or do you change the dream?  Or do you reframe your expectations to match the reality?  Dreams are all that many of us have left to hold onto.  If we give up our dreams, our lifes might as well be over.  Even if we never achieve our dreams, we need the hope they inspire in us.  We always need hope until that moment arrives when we take our last breath.  Hope keeps us alive.  

Here is Amy Tan discussing how she found meaning through writing.