Caroline Myss

"Always go with the choice that scares you the most, because that's the one that is going to require the most from you."

— Caroline Myss

American Author

1952 -

Through out life we are faced with choices.  Some are easy to make and some are difficult, but the choices that require courage are the ones that will teach us the most.  Being an artist can be a courageous choice if our parents and siblings stand against us.  Choosing to leave a secure job with benefits to paint or write full-time can be a courageous act.  The choices we make help to define who we are and who we become.  What choices are you making today that require courage?  What choices are you making that will challenge and teach you the most?  

Leo Buscaglia

"Happiness and love are just a choice away."

— Leo Buscaglia

American Author

1924 - 1998

Have you chosen to be happy?  Or have you chosen to be miserable?  Happiness, I believe, is a choice.  We may have little or no control over what happens to us, but we do have control over our attitude.  We have control over how we respond to what happens to us?  We can wallow in self-pity or we can pick ourselves up and put a smile on our face.  Have you chosen to be happy?  Do you enjoy life?

Susan Minot

"I also find solace in painting because it's an alternative to writing.  It doesn't involve words, and while it requires concentration that makes the time you are doing it disappear, it does not involve the mind the same way, or require logic in the same way.  Painting allows me to convey something not from my head, but from my hand, through images."

— Susan Minot

American Novelist

1956 - 

I have taken up painting late in life but like Susan I find it a great alternative outlet for my creativity.  I can paint for 2 to 3 hours and be totally lost in what I am doing.  Here is video of Susan Minot talking about both her writing and her art.

Bob Dylan

"I don't know where my songs come from.  It's like a ghost is writing a song.  It gives you the song and it goes away.  You don't know what it means."

Bob Dylan

American Musician

1941 - 

Often we don't know the source of our creativity and so pretend that it came from a muse.  Have you ever written something and had no idea where it came from?  Have you ever painted something and surprised yourself with your own originality?  You are no different than the greatest writers, painters or musicians.  Be happy that the muse visited you.  Celebrate the gift of creativity that you have been given.  

William Trevor

"I believe in not quite knowing.  A writer needs to be doubtful, questioning.  I write out of curiosity and bewilderment."

— William Trevor

Irish Novelist

1928 -

I believe that all creative leaders need to doubt and question.  If we just accept the world as is, there is no progress.  It is only through doubt that we are able to follow new paths and create new opportunities.  Cultivate the doubt in you life.  Use it to find your way.  Some people have a difficult time living in the uncertainty of doubt.  They want everything to be black and white.    Unfortunately, that is not the real world.  Uncertainty is a given.  You and I don't know when we will die.  Or when we are born.  Security is momentary.  Success is fleeting.  Learn to live with doubt.  Learn to question.  Learn to be curious.  Then maybe you will be happy.

Mark Strand

"Increasingly, I have felt that I don't see a painting until I turn away from it and don't read a poem until I close the book.  What I know or retain of either depends on what I am able to invent in their place."

— Mark Strand

Canadian Poet

1934 -

Memory is a teller of tales.  What we remember of a painting or a book has less to do with what is in it and more to do what is in our memories.  As readers we bring so much to a book and often we change the intention of the author and the meaning of the book through our reading.  Think about the books you have read or the paintings you have seen.  How much do you remember of the work itself versus your own experiences at the time?  The same is obviously true of songs.  Songs bring back memories of a time and place.  Song connects a generation.  Song connects lovers.  We shape our experience of art probably more than the art shapes us.  What do you remember of the last book your read or the last painting you saw? 

What does this have to say to us as creative leaders?  Don't let the comments of your audience and critics trouble you.  If the comments are negative, they are a reflection of the heart of the person expressing them.  If the comments are postive, they are a reflection of the heart of the person expressing them.  The comments are not about our art but about who they are as people and how they see the world.

Joan Miro

Self-Portrait

"Poetry and painting are done in the same way you make love; it's an exchange of blood, a total embrace — without caution, without any thought of protecting yourself.

— Joan Miro

Spanish Artist

1893 - 1983

One must give himself completely to his art and not hold back.  Throw caution to the wind.  Embrace the muse.  Make love to your art.

Kissing

Harry S. Truman

"I have never forced myself to think when my energy was low.  I simply will not tackle a problem involving an important decision until I feel completely relaxed."

—  Harry S. Truman

American Author/President

1884 - 1972

Do you know when you are the most creative?  Do you pay attention to your energy levels and when you work best?  For years my most creative time was in the morning and I would schedule my creative work during this time.  In recent years, I have found myself to be most creative in late afternoon or late evening.  As a creative leader, you should schedule your creative work during your best hours — when you have the most energy.

Harry S. Truman is one of my heroes.  Years ago, someone asked me who was President when I was born and I had no idea.  Once I discovered that it was Harry S. Truman, I began reading every book I could find on the man and he soon became my hero.  Here is a slide show I recently created to tell the love story of Harry and Bess.

The Power of Persistence

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Thomas Kinkade

"Balance, peace, and joy are the fruit of a successful life.  It starts with recognizing your talents and finding ways to serve others by using them."

— Thomas Kinkade

American Painter

1958 - 2012

Service to others is a privilege.  Have you found ways to serve others with your talents?  Have you found a way to use your gifts for the betterment of the world?  Have you given the world the best that you can give?  Remember to help others in their time of need.  

Here is Thomas Kinkade discussing his painting, Snow White Discovers the Cottage.  

Alex Haley

"I look at my books the way parents look at their children.  The fact that one becomes more successful than the others doesn't make me love the less successful one any less."

— Alex Haley

American Writer

1921 - 1992

As artists and writers we spend many hours creating our work and it is only natural that we become attached.  These creative works become our offspring.  And like parents we are very proud of our children and seek to defend them from attacks by others.  What writer or artist has not been hurt by the words of critics.  And like parents, we sometimes love one work of art more than we love another.  And sometimes our favorite child is the one that our readers like the least.  

What is your relationship to your creative work?  Are you defensive?  Do you love certain works more than others?  Why?  Have you ever destroyed your work?  Tore up a canvas?  Burned a manuscript?  

Elle Nicolai

"Creativity is a fragile, delicate flower which must be cautiously cared for and protected from the harsh elements of 'human weather."

— Elle Nicolai

French/American Artist

Don't take your creativity for granted.  Protect it from the onslaught of negativity.  If the people around you make fun of your creative talent, find new friends.  The negative words of those we trust can destroy our creative desires.  Surround yourself with people who encourage and support you.  Creative talent is fragile and easily destroyed.  

Here is a video of some of Elle Nicolai's paintings.

Mary Tyler Moore

"Pain nourishes courage.  You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you."

— Mary Tyler Moore

American Actress

1936 -

Everyone faces challenges and difficulties.  No one skates through life without some pain and obstacles.  The characters we see on the TV screen or in the movies are not real.  Life itself does not have happy endings.  No matter when you were born, you will experience loss and death.  The key is finding the courage to face the pain, to live with the loss.  The pain can make us better artists and writers.  Think of all the creative people who have been able to transform the pain of childhood into a powerful motivation for creating their art.  What is the pain in your life?  How does it transform your art?  Does it make you a better person?  Are you able to grow beyond the pain?

Harley King

"May you wait patiently for your success with the belief and confidence that it will come."

— Harley King

American Speaker/Poet

1949 -

Many of us are impatient.  We can't wait.  We are in a hurry.  Yet success has its own timetable.  You can't hurry it.  So develop patience and have faith that when the time is right you will receive your moment in the sun.  Enjoy the moment.  Enjoy the present.  Don't worry about tomorrow.

Here are three of my short poems written in 2011.

What color

are your dreams,

my friend?

Bright blue?

Midnight red?

A thin pink?

I gather my fears in my hands.

###

I've grown old

with doubt,

a finger of time

between clouds

of darkness.

I open my mouth

and swallow the wind.

###

I am

the moon,

a faded light,

a distant dream.

Hold me

in your arms

that I may be free.

Ann Patchett

"In my 20s I worked as a waitress and wrote on my off-hours.  I remember asking myself, 'If you never get published or have any success, if you have to spend the rest of your life being a waitress, is this still what you want to do?'  And I thought, 'Absolutely.'  Making art is my happiness." 

— Ann Patchett

American Novelist

1963 -

If you knew that you would never be famous or rich, would you still write?  Would you still paint?  Or would you quit and go into some other line of work?  And if you honestly can answer that you would keep on writing or painting, then you are on the right path.  Keep doing what you are doing?

Does your creative work make you happy?  Do you enjoy the time you spend writing or painting?  Would you do it whether you were paid or not?  And if you can honestly answer yes to these questions, then keep doing it.

Michael Korda

"By concentrating our efforts upon a few major goals, our efficiency soars, our projects are completed, we are going somewhere."

— Michael Korda

English Editor & Writer

1933 - 

Many people try to do too much — set too many goals for themselves — and as a result they are pulled in too many directions and accomplish too little.  You will do better if you concentrate on a few key goals.  I usually focus on one goal at a time.  I don't want to be distracted and pulled in too many directions.  I encourage you to narrow your focus to 2 - 3 goals.  Life keeps us busy and demands a lot of us.  According to research, only about 2% of Americans actually take the time to write down their goals.  And some people teach that you should write goals in each major area of your life.  And while it is okay to write down multiple goals, most people can only focus and concentrate on one thing at a time.  So don't over burden yourself and expect more than you can deliver.  Achieving your dreams comes one building block at a time.

Dean Koontz

"If something in your writing gives support to people in their lives, that's more than just entertainment — which is what we writers all struggle to do, to touch people."

— Dean Koontz

American Novelist

1945 -

All art is about touching people.  Have you ever been moved by a painting?  Or cried at the end of a movie?  Or spend hours lost in a fictional world created by a writer?  In the end, the reason we create is to communicate our feelings to others — to connect emotionally with other people.  Does your art move you to tears?  Then it will probably touch others as well.

Here is an interview with Dean Koontz.

Amazing Art! What is real and what is not?

Check out this amazing sidewalk art?  What is real and what is not?

Amazing Art

View more PowerPoint from Gonca Tursoy

Amazing Beach Art

Click through these pictures for inspiration.

Amazing Beach Art

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Liz Smith

"Begin somewhere; you can't build a reputation on what you intend to do."

— Liz Smith

American Journalist

1923 -

Wanting to be a writer does not make you a writer.  You have to write.  You have to put pen to paper.  Fingers to the keys.  Wanting to be a painter does not make you a painter.  You have to paint.  You have to put brushes to canvas.  Many people say they want to write a book someday.  And often when someday arrives, they have not written their book.  Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do to day.  Steal ten minutes here and ten minutes there.  If you wait until the time right, you will never create.  The time will never be perfect.  Create today.

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.