Pablo Picasso

"Success is dangerous.  One begins to copy oneself, and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others.  It leads to sterility."

— Pablo Picasso

Spanish Artist

1881 - 1973

When a creative leader becomes successful, it is easy to fall into the success trap.  Your audience wants you to sing the same songs, paint the same pictures or write the same stories.  And you may be afraid they won't appreciate the new you and your new work.  So you don't try to ideas.  Or you try something new and your audience rejects you.  You need to be constantly reinventing yourself and your art.  Picasso was know for reinventing himself.  He never stayed with one art form or one artistic technique.  He was always seeking the new.  He did not let success define him.  He defined success.

Francis Bacon

"I want a very ordered image, but I want it to come about by chance."

— Francis Bacon

British Artist

1909 - 1992

Life is a paradox.  We want order but desire chaos.  We like the world to be logical but seek  the thrill of the unexpected and the unexplained.  We are not satisfied with what we have and desire more.  We are not happy with who we are and desire to be someone else.


Are your work habits chaotic or orderly?  Are your creative works orderly or chaotic?  Are you living a chaotic life or an orderly one?  Is the order imposed from within or without?  

Lewis Carroll

"Stories are "love gifts."

— Lewis Carroll

English Author

1832 - 1898

Today, in the United States, we celebrate Father's Day.  What better gift to give a father than the gift of story.  Story touches the heart in way that most gifts cannot.  Maybe you could tell your father a funny story about something that happened to you.  Or maybe you should tell a story that communicates how important your father is to you.

My father was always working to provide for his family.  First, he was a farmer, raising champion hogs to sell at market.  When he could no longer support his family through farming, we moved to town and he build houses for people in the community.  Yet, my father would take time out of his busy schedule to attend all my basketball games from junior high through high school.  Even my freshman year, he would show up to the freshmen games even when other parents and students did not attend.  I will always remember him sitting in the bleachers.

When my father was in high school back in the early 1940's, he played basketball and was the captain of his team his senior year.  My father passed away in July of 1990, almost 22 years ago.  But his memory lives on in the stories I tell.  What stories of your dad are you telling today?

And if you are a father, do what Lewis Carroll is doing in this picture.  Treat yourself to a long nap.

Meredith Monk

"At a certain point, you have to go to the edge of the cliff and jump — put your ideas into a form, share that form with others."

— Meredith Monk

American Composer

1942 -

Artistic folks are often perfectionists who are slow to let their work out into the larger world.  We need to learn to take a leap of faith — to believe enough in our work to let others experience it.  Sure, the work will find critics and those who don't understand and maybe even controversy, but that is okay.  The work must see the light of day.  So take the leap and jump off the cliff.  Share your work with others.

Here is Meredith Monk performing Lost Wind.

Peter S. Beagle

"There are no happy endings, because nothing ends."

— Peter S. Beagle

American Novelist

1939 - 

In life nothing ends.  Endings only occur in stories.  Life is ongoing, changing and reoccurring.  What once was is now again.  Memory keeps the story moving, growing, but never ending.  We rewrite our stories every day, finding new ways to end them, but never ending them.  

What stories in your life are you retelling, re-imagining, recreating, reinventing, but never ending?  What once was, now is again.

Paula Abdul

"You end up becoming who you are by jumping into that circle of fear — that's how it's done."

— Paula Abdul

American Singer/Dancer

1962 -

Have you embraced your fears or do your fears control your every move?  It is by facing our fears that we become who we are meant to be.  Holding our feet to the fire makes us stronger and wiser.  Step into that circle.  Look fear in the eye and demand that he set you free.  You are stronger than your fears.

Here is Paula singing and dancing.  Enjoy.

Akbar Padamsee

"The conscious mind is like a monkey bitten by a scorpion.  It is never still.  As a result most of our unconscious feelings escape us.  An artist needs to be in silence."

— Akbar Padamsee

Indian Artist

1928 - 

The conscious mind often is a hinderance to creativity.  It is restless and never sits still, flitting from one thought to another.  And as a result we are not in touch with that deep source of creativity within our souls.  Silence is the key to unlocking our creative muse.  We must let go of the conscious mind and travel to the heart of who we are.  We must find ourselves within the silence.  

Here is a video of Padamsee painting and discussing how he paints.

Leontyne Price

"I am here and you will know that I am the best and you will hear me."

— Leontyne Price

American Soprano

1927 -

Self-confidence is a key trait of creative leaders.  We need to believe in ourselves and the work we do.  We need to be confident that we will be successful.  But we also need to be humble.  Self-confidence is a great characteristic to have, but if one is not careful the self-confidence can turn into arrogance.  Self-confidence coupled with humility makes for a better leader.  Many times if one digs deep enough one finds that the arrogant person actually lacks self-confidence.  He covers up the lack of confidence by acting tough.  If one is truly self-confident in one's ability and skills, one has no need to be arrogant.  One is instead humbled by the gift he has been given.

Harley King

"May your journey through life be vibrant and full of colorful rainbows."

— Harley King

American Poet & Speaker

1949 -

Do you live in a black and white world?  Does everything in your life have a place and time?  Are you striving to be perfect?  Then it is time that you add a splash of color to your world.  Color brightens the heart and lightens the load.  Dance on the rainbow of love.  Sing songs of purple and violet and pink.  Drink from the fountain of red and blue and green.  Be the yellow smile on the faces of your friends.

Here is a recent poem.

Canvas

I paint

the face

of God

on the back

of my lover.

Can we find

our way home

or will

we wander

the streets

of heaven forever?

She laughs

at the sound

my heart makes

when it cries.

God paints 

my face

with a silk brush.

I embrace

the darkness.

Ray Bradbury

"Don't think.  Thinking is the enemy of creativity.  It's self-conscious and anything self-conscious is lousy.  You cannot try to do things.  You simply must do things."

— Ray Bradbury

American Novelist

1920 - 2012

Thinking too much often gets in the way of our success.  We spend too much time thinking, planning and thinking some more.  Analysis often causes paralysis.  Get out of your head and find the way to your heart.  Look with wonder on the world you inhabit and learn new things. In the worlds of that immortal ad, just do it.

Do you find yourself using the word, "try"?  I'll try to write today?  I'll try to paint this week.  I'll try to practice.  Get rid of the word, "try."  Most people when they use the word, "try", mean that they are not going to do it.  Simply commit and say that you are going to write 500 words today or that you are going to paint 2 pictures this week.  Just do it.

Here is a link to a few Ray Bradbury stories. Don't think.  Read and enjoy. 

http://byliner.com/spotlights/remembering-ray-bradbury 

e. e. cummings

"I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance."

— e. e. cummings

American Poet, Painter

1894 - 1962

Ask any teacher and they will tell you, if they are being honest with themselves: that it is easier to learn something yourself, then to teach someone else how to do something.  It is easier to write a novel then to teach someone else how to write a novel.  It is easier to paint a picture than teaching someone to paint.  So never badmouth a teacher.  They deserve respect.  What they do is special.  And the good ones have been given a gift that most of us will never have.  As another school year is coming to a close, celebrate the teachers in your life.  Celebrate those who fostered your creativity and talent.  Give thanks for those who inspired you and mentored you.

Susan Ertz

"Millions of persons long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy afternoon."

— Susan Ertz

British Novelist

1894 - 1985

Do you ever find yourself bored?  I did when I was young, but rarely am I bored today.  Even when I am in a boring meeting, I find something to keep me entertained even if it is only my own thoughts.  If you are bored, the problem is not where you live and work.  You are the problem.  You are not happy with yourself.  You are bored with who you perceive yourself to be.  Learn to love yourself.  Happiness is an inside job.

Most of us want to live longer because we don't want to die.  We don't know what happens after death and that makes us afraid.  Even people who have a strong religious faith don't know for sure what will happen.  If we knew what happened after death, we would either fear it more or take our lives so that we can get there sooner.  Fortunately, we don't know and we must live with the uncertainty.

For those of us who create works of art, whether it is poetry, novels, paintings or music, we have a shot at immortality.  Maybe our works will last beyond us.  You have probably read that Ray Bradbury died at 91.  In an article in the USA Today (June 7, 2012), David Cohen quotes Terry Pace, a collaborator with Bradbury, as saying: "He (Bradbury) knew that through his works he'd somehow live forever."

In the words of another mythical figure:  "Live long and prosper."

Harold Pinter

"Whatever the next thing is I write, it's got to be even more naked than the last."

— Harold Pinter

English Playwright

1930 - 2008

How vulnerable are you in your writing?  Can people discover who you are through your art?  How naked are you?  Do you open yourself up and share?  Or are you hidden and unknowable?  Creativity demands that we be true to ourselves.  That we share ourselves with others.  That we make ourselves vulnerable to the biting criticism of critics.  That we give and give and expect nothing in return.

Wilson Mizner

"I respect faith but doubt is what gets you an education."

— Wilson Mizner

American Playwright

1876 - 1933

I am a doubting Thomas.  Faith does not come easy for me.  I question almost everything.  Yet I feel my doubts have made a better and stronger person.  Others might not agree, but then they can not look inside my heart.  As creative leaders, I believe it is part of our role in society to question and not to take everything at face value.  I think that the more we are able to question the better our art will be.

Eugene Ionesco

"I am writing the memoirs of a man who has lost his memory."

— Eugene Ionesco

Romanian/French Playwright

1909 - 1994

If you had no memory, what would your life be like?  Memory is a crucial part of who we are as human beings.  Without memory we probably would not have writing or painting.  Memory helps us create both the past and the future.  Without memory we would not have stories or even history.  Yet for some of us as we grow old our memories begin to fade.  First, we lose that important short-term memory.  Even a trip from the bedroom to the kitchen is full of doubt and question.  The the long-term memory develops holes.  We lose a part of who we were.  Cherish your memories.  Put them down on paper.  Incorporate them into your paintings.  We need our memories in order to function.  We need our memories in order to create.

Richard B. Sheridan

"Won't you come into the garden?  I would like my roses to see you."

— Richard B. Sheridan

Irish Poet, Playwright

1751 - 1816

I have spent the weekend helping my wife transform our yard into several gardens.  This is not a normal pastime for us.  What gardens we have our daughter created a few years ago.  We have a large yard (.9 acre) with lots of trees.  I would prefer to live in the woods with no grass.  We almost bought a house in the woods in Indiana 27 years ago but it was too small.  We want gardens that require very little maintenance. 

As artists and creative leaders we are all in a sense gardeners.  We plant the seeds of our hopes and dreams in our writings and paintings.  We are tilling the soil of our hearts, looking for answers to our questions.  We must pull the weeds out of our writing and our painting.  We must fertilize the creative soil.  And when we are done, we can share the beauty of our creation with others.  So this week, be sure to tend the gardens of your creation.

Soren Kierkegaard

"Life must be lived forwards, but can only be understood backwards."

— Soren Kierkegaard

Danish Writer, Philosopher

1813 - 1855

Do you understand who you are and from where you have come?  Only in looking back at our lives can we begin to have inkling of who we are as we begin to connect the dots in our lives — as we begin to tell the stories of what has happened to us.  Some of the dots in my life begin with my loud voice.  As a child, I was asked to participate in church programs because I had a booming voice.  When I was a sophomore in high school I decided to become a preacher.  I have spent the last 25 years of my life as a motivational speaker.  Three dots that when I look back at my life begin to tell the story of who I was and who I became.  And there are other dots that connect me to my father and the father that I became.  And dots that point to my perception of myself as an outsider, an underdog.  What are the dots in your life that you are beginning to connect and therefore to understand?  What are the stories you are telling yourself but nobody else?  What are the stories that you are sharing with the world?

Ernst Bacon

"A teacher's hardest lesson is to limit his explanation to the minimum."

— Ernst Bacon

American Composer, Pianist, Conductor

1898 - 1990

Sometimes less is more.  For creative leaders this is a valuable lesson.  Writers often put too much into their works.  Sometimes what is not said is more important than what is said.  Too much explanation can destroy the novel.  We need to learn to leave out the kitchen sink.  The same is true for painters.  What is left out of the picture is more important sometimes than what is included.  Photographers understand this.  What can we take away from this photo to make it even stronger?  Remember less is more.  What sentences or paragraphs can be left out of the story?

Here is a short piano piece by Ernst Bacon.

Pat Conroy

"Without music, life is a journey through a desert."

— Pat Conroy

American Novelist

1945 -

What is your favorite music?  Do you listen to various genres of music depending on your mood or the time of the day?  What impact does music have on your creativity?  Does music speak to your heart and spirit?  Do you listen to music when you read a book?  Do you prefer to dance to music?  What is your favorite song?  Who is your favorite musician?  What would your life be like if you could not hear music?

Let's make music together?  Can you play an instrument?  Can you sing? Or can you dance?  Do you sing in the shower?  Or do you sing along with the radio while driving a car?

David St. John

"There were times when depression, anxiety, whatever, would keep me from writing.  I still get depressed and anxious, but I just don't let it stop me.  I've learned to move it to one side if I want to work."

— David St. John

American Poet

1949 - 

Sometimes we let our emotional and mental states become excuses for why we are not working.  We tell ourselves that we are too tired, too agitated, too depressed, too unhappy, too nervous, too worried or too upset.  The work must continue no matter how we feel.  We must work through the emotion and the pain.  We must keep working and not let our feelings become a barrier.