Henri Nouwen

"Solitude is the furnace of transformation."

 Henri Nouwen
Dutch Priest & Writer
1932 - 1996

Commentary

In my mind, solitude and silence are very closely linked.  Silence means to be without sound.  Yet, unless we are deaf, we rarely will be able to find silence in this world.  Even in the forest late at night, one will hear sound.  What we can do is limit the types of sound we hear.  I can remove urban sounds by traveling to the country.  I can turn off the radio or the television.  I can choose what sounds I want to hear. 

Solitude, on the other hand, is the state of being alone and without human contact.  There still will be noise and sound.  We can be alone in our own homes, during a walk through a park, or driving a automobile, but sound will also be there, including the sound of our own thoughts.

As creative leaders, we must learn to manage, encourage and harness both silence and solitude if we are going to be successful.  When I write, I try to limit the sounds that I hear. I don't play music as some do.  I don't listen to TV.  I have learned to write in public and to block out the white noise.  I also need solitude, particularly from loved ones.  It is very hard for me to write with my wife in the same room.  I can write in a mall because I have more space.

Creative Practice

Evaluate the role silence and solitude play in your life.  Look for ways to add more solitude.    Learn to cut out some of the noise that follows you.  Add 15 minutes more of solitude to your life.  Then attempt to spend 2 minutes in solitude and eliminate the noise of your own thoughts.

The Return of the Prodigal Son
by Rembrandt (1665)

Write a poem about silence or solitude.  Paint a picture of solitude or silence.  Evoke the sound of solitude in your music.

About the Writer

Henri Nouwen was ordained as a priest in 1957 and completed a degree in psychology in 1963.  He came to the United States in 1964 and taught at Notre Dame, Yale and Harvard.  He wrote 40 books on spirituality.  His most famous book is The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Meditation on Fathers, Brothers and Sons which was published in 1992.  He wrote the book in response to the painting, the Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt.  He traveled to Russia to observe the painting at the Hermitage Museum.

Video
Watch this short video about Henri Nouwen.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

"I am a composer.... I neither can nor ought to bury the talent for composition with which God in his goodness has so richly endowed me."

— Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

German Composer

1756 - 1791

Commentary:

We all have talents.  Sometimes we are not even aware of the talents we have.  We are so busy listening to the voices of others that we don't hear our own voice.  We are so busy trying to figure out what we need to do with our lives that we don't hear that small voice within pointing us in the direction we need to go.  Some people bury their talents beneath the demands and expectations of society.  Others think their talent is not important and they envy the talents and richness of the lives of others.

Learn to recognize and appreciate the talents you have been given.  Learn to encourage and use the talents that are yours.  Be proud of who you are and who you are becoming.  

Creative Practice:

Make a list of your talents that you know.  What comes easy for you?  What do you enjoy doing?  Ask friends and family what they think are some of your talents?  They may see things that you can't.  After you have compiled your list, ask yourself what you are doing to harness these talents.  How can you perfect these talents?  How can you use these talents in your daily life?  How can you use these talents in your life's work?

Background of Mozart:

Mozart was born in Salzburg, a former principality of the Holy Roman Empire.  His father was a minor composer and experienced teacher.  Mozart married Constanze Weber and had six children, only two survived infancy.  Mozart died in his 35th year.  Beethoven and others have been heavily influenced by his work.

Video:

Here is a video of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21.

Ten Best Books I Read in 2012

In 2012 I read 43 books, 50% more than in each of the previous 3 years.  Why did my reading increase so dramatically?  One word:  Kindle.  I read 27 of these books on a newly acquired Kindle.  Some of these books were much shorter than the normal paperback or hardback, e.g., The Heart of Haiku, A Christmas Carol, and the Playground.  Here is the list of the Ten Best Books I Read in 2012.

10.  Here's Johnny by Ed McMahon.  I was never a Johnny Carson fan and I never stayed up late to watch his show, but I found this memoir very funny.  The book is read by McMahon and I recommend that you listen to the audio version rather than read the book.  I am afraid that much of the humor is lost on the written page.  The humor is in the voice of Ed.

9.  Castaway Kid: One Man's Search for Hope and Home by R.B. Mitchell.  This is a memoir of growing up in an orphanage and how one man came to understand and accept the abandonment by his mother.  A heart-warming story.


8.  Composed: A Memoir by Rosanne Cash.  This is actually the first book I read on the Kindle.  I heard an interview with Rosanne Cash on the program, On Being With Krista Tippett.  Now, I have long enjoyed the music of her father, Johnny Cash, but have never listened to her music.  In the book she discusses her father's death.  As a result of reading the book, I bought an album, Black Cadillac, about her father's death.


7.  Rashomon Gate by I. J. Parker.  Those who know me well know that I will cry at movies, but that I will rarely cry while reading books. Rashomon Gate was that rare book that succeeded to bringing me to tears. It is a murder mystery set in the eleventh century Japan. If you love historical Japan, you will enjoy this book.


6.  The Hunger Games #1 by Suzanne Collins.  I read all three of the Hunger Game books but I have only put the first one in my top ten.  I felt the other two did not live up to the promise of the first book.



5.  The Heart of Haiku by Jane Hirschfield.  This is short, brilliant introduction to haiku poetry.  I encourage anyone who wants a better understanding of haiku to read this book.

4:  Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer.  You will no longer find this book in bookstores since it was taken off the market because the author allegedly manufactured quotes by Bob Dylan.  I still think it was a great read and that all creative leaders should read it.  


3.  Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds.  If you ever make presentations using PowerPoint, then you need to read this book.  Most people use PowerPoint inappropriately.  They make PowerPoint the center of their presentation when it should only have a supporting role.  The speaker is the presentation.  

2.  Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera.  I love and appreciate the art of the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.  If you like her art or love art in general, you need to read this biography.


1.  Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.  This is the best book that I read in 2012 and it is a must read for all creative leaders.  You learn the good, the bad and the ugly.  Jobs was human like the rest of us with both strengths and weaknesses.  I don't think I could have ever worked for him, but I can learn from what he accomplished.  If you only read one book out of my list, this is the book to read.


To see a list of all 43 books I read in 2012 visit Goodreads.  

Richard Avedon

"My portraits are more about me than they are about the people I photograph."

— Richard Avedon

American Photographer

1923 - 2004

Commentary

As a speaker one of the truths that I have learned is that a speaker often talks about what he himself has to learn.  And I believe the same is true about writers, artists and other creative leaders.  Our stories and poems are more about us than about the people we write about.  The subject matter we choose for our paintings is more about us than others.  We all have lessons that we need to learn in life.  For me, that is the chief reason we are here.  We need to learn and grow as human beings.  The creative process helps us learn those lessons.  Sometimes I run across a person who says he writes to help others and there is some truth in that statement.  But the heart of why he writes is to help himself.  I often say that I teach others what I myself need to learn over and over.  

Creative Practice

This week identify 5 life lessons that you have learned through the creative process and share those lessons with others.  Has the creative process taught you patience?  Have you learned about the importance of attention to detail?  Have you learned to trust your intuition?  How can these lessons learned in the creative process be applied to your life?

Background on Richard Avedon

Avedon was born in New York City to a Jewish Russian immigrant family.  His father owned and operated a successful retail dress business.  In high school he worked on the school newspaper with James Baldwin.  He joined the Merchant Marines in 1942 as a photographer.  In 1944 he worked as an advertising photographer for a department store.  In 1946 he set up his own studio and started publishing his photographs in Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and Life magazines.  In 1952 Avedon became the staff editor and photographer for Theater Arts Magazine.  In 1962 he became a staff photographer at Vogue magazine.  In 1992 he became the staff photographer for the New Yorker magazine.

Besides fashion photographer, Avedon turned his attention to studio portraits of civil rights workers, politicians and cultural dissidents.  He was interested in how portraits capture the personality and soul of its subject.  His subjects included Buster Keaton, Marian Anderson, Marilyn Monroe, Ezra Pound, Isak Dinesen, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Hillary Clinton, Toni Morrison, Saul Bellow and Andy Warhol.  He published more than a dozen books of his portraits and photographs.

Video

Here is the first part of a documentary about Richard Avedon from the 1995 American Masters Series.

Paulo Coelho

"A boat is safe in the harbor.  
But this is not the purpose of a boat."

— Paulo Coelho

Brazilian Novelist

1947 -

Commentary

Life is about balance, not extremes.  Sometimes we can be too careful.  We stay in  the harbor and never leave because we are afraid of what might happen out on the open ocean.  Sometimes we throw caution to the wind and venture into dangerous waters.  We behave in a reckless manner that endangers others as well as ourselves.  Too much of anything is harmful.  

So have you been sitting in the harbor too long?  Have you been waiting for the perfect wind so long that you have forgotten how to sail?  Or have you thrown yourself into an adventure without adequate preparation?  Are you seasick from the bumpy ride and looking for a safe harbor?  Life is about balance, not extremes.

Some writers sit on their manuscripts too long, wanting to make sure each word is perfect. I have read stories of writers making changes even as the book is headed to press.  Perfection does not exist.  We can always make changes in the next edition.  Other writers fail to put enough time into perfecting the manuscript.  They are sloppy.  Which are you?

Creative Practice

This week raise the sail on the boat that you have left in the harbor.  Prepare to sail into unknown waters.  Is there a manuscript you can send out that you have been unwilling to submit to the eyes of critics and editors?  Is there a painting that you have been wanting to complete, but have not had the courage?  Set sail for the unknown.

Background on Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  He wanted to be a writer but his parents were opposed so he entered law school only to drop out after a year.  He traveled through South America, Mexico, Europe and North Africa.  Upon returning to Brazil, Coelho worked as a journalist, actor, songwriter and theater director.

In 1986, Coelho walked the 500-plus mile pilgrimage on the Road of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain.  Following the pilgrimage, he wrote his most famous book, The Alchemist, with a small Brazilian publisher.  The novel has sold more than 65 million copies and has been translated into 71 different languages.  He has published 30 books.

Fiona Robyn

"If we are serious about being artists, or about being true to ourselves, I believe that it is essential to spend time alone."

Satyavani Fiona Robyn

British Writer

1974 -

Commentary

Do you spend time alone?  Most writers and artists would say: "Yes, I am alone with my writing and my art?  But are you comfortable being alone with your thoughts?  Or do you run away from thinking?  We need to become comfortable in our own skin — in being alone with our thoughts.  And some would say we need to be comfortable with no thought.  Have you ever been thoughtless?  I can honestly say I have not.  My mind rarely is still.  It slows down only when tired.  Even when I sleep, my mind is working overtime.  I seem to always be dreaming.  Scientists say that we only dream during REM sleep.  I do not find this to be true.  I dream sometimes even before I am fully asleep.  I dream during those twilight moments between wakefulness and sleep.  So when was the last time you were truly alone with your thoughts?  Not listening to the radio or the television or the neighbor talking?

Creative Practice

Find fifteen minutes this week when you are alone with your thoughts.  Not writing.  Not painting.  Not listening to music or podcasts.  Not watching television.  Not reading.  Take those fifteen minutes to explore your mind, to feel the texture of your thoughts, to open your heart to what your mind has to share.

About Fiona Robyn:  

Robyn is a published novelist, poet, psychotherapist and creativity coach.  She is fond of Earl Grey tea and home-made cake.

Quote Source:

A Year of Questions: How to Slow Down and Fall in Love with Life by Fiona Robyn

Website:  Writing Our Way Home

http://www.writingourwayhome.com/p/welcome.html

Denis Diderot

Painted by Louis-Michel van Loo
(1767)

"Only passion, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things."

— Denis Diderot

French Art Critic, Writer

1713 - 1784

Commentary

Are you passionate about your creative work?  Passion is key to achieving great work.  Without passion you will likely lose your way and become lost in the desert of disillusionment.  Without passion your work will be mediocre.  

Writing a novel takes years for most people.  You have to be passionate about your characters, about the people who inhabit your novel or your novel will fail.  If you don't like your characters, neither will others.  

Writing poetry has almost no financial award and very little recognition.  Are you passionate enough about writing poetry that you can do it for years in seclusion?  Are passionate enough to continue writing even when no one reads it or appreciates your skill? Passion drives the poetic soul.  

Painting by yourself in a studio day after day can be boring.  You long to meet people and talk.  You long for noise and interaction.  Do you have the passion to keep painting even when you are drawn to put the brush down.

Creative Practice
Make a list of 10 creative activities in which you are engaged.  Using a scale of 1 to 100, rate how passionate you are about each activity.  One means no passion.  100 means totally passionate.  Focus your creative efforts on the activities that you are most passionate about.  Stop engaging in creative activities that you are not passionate about.

Soren Kierkegaard

"Life has its own hidden forces which you can only discover by living."

Soren Kierkegaard

Danish Philosopher, Writer

1813 - 1855

Commentary

We best learn about life by living — by living in the here and now.  Books will introduce us to many worlds and open up new universes of meaning.  We gain insights into many mysteries.  But life is the mentor that teaches the most profound lessons if we are open and ready to receive.  And if we are not ready, life will teach the same lesson again and again until we grasp it.

Creative work is like living life.  You have to do it.  Yes, books, classes and even teachers can help.  But the real work is in doing the work — of standing in front of easel and moving the brush or sitting at the table and moving the hand across the page.  Doing the work teaches the most profound and important lessons if we are ready.  Many people hesitate to do the work because they believe they are not ready.  And if they don't do the work, they will never learn the lessons needed to be successful.

Creative Practice
This week make a list of the lessons that life has taught you.  Don't stop until you have at least ten.  And these should not be lessons that you heard or read about.  These should be lessons that you learned through experience.  Maybe it was a broken heart.  Or the death of someone close to you.  Or the fact that you were fired from your job.  Maybe it was falling in love with your soul mate.  Or not being asked to the homecoming dance.  After you have identify the lessons that you have learned.  Select one lesson and write about the experience or illustrate it.

Norman Fischer

"We all need to have a creative outlet — a window, a space — so we don't lose track of ourselves."

— Norman Fischer

American Poet / Zen Buddhist Priest

1946 -

Commentary

I believe that creativity is as important as breathing to living a happy, successful life.  We all need a outlet for creative expression — whether that is writing poetry or painting canvases or discovering creative solutions to problems.  Creativity is not limited to professional writers, dancers or artists.  We all have the need to be creative.  And most of us should and can express ourselves through various media.  Don't limit yourself to one medium.  If you write novels, take up dance and see how they inspire each other.  If you paint, learn to play a guitar.  

Being creative is not about money or skill or success.  Being creative is about opening yourself up and letting go.  Being creative is about exploring yourself.  Some of the most creative people have never made a dime from their creations.  Some professional novelists, actors and painters find that their success becomes a prison and they lose the outlet for their creativity.  They lose the reason for being a writer, actor or artist.  Create for the sake of creating.  The joy is in the process not the product.

Creative Practice

This week find a new outlet for your creativity.  Explore new ways to express yourself.  Create something in a medium you have not used previously.

Background of Writer

Norman Fischer was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1946 to Jewish parents.  He studied poetry at the University of Iowa.  In 1980 he was ordained as a Zen priest.  He served as the co-abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center from 1995 to 2000.  In 2000 he founded the Everyday Zen Foundation.  He has published 9 books of poetry.  He is married with two children.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

"If one is out of touch with oneself, then one cannot touch others."

— Anne Morrow Lindbergh

American Writer

1906 - 2001

Commentary

I have often heard beginning writers and artists say that the reason they write or paint is the need to express themselves.  I remember I was the same way.  And, I believe, the reason for this is that we are not in touch with ourselves.  The artistic adventure is a powerful way for us to find ourselves.  We write or paint to find out who we are.  Only when we are in touch with ourselves can we begin to touch others.

One of the goals of creative leaders is to touch the lives of others.  Have you ever read a book that inspired, motivated or changed you?  Have you ever looked at a painting and felt your whole world shift on its axis?  One of the reasons we create is to touch the lives of other people.  To make a difference in people's lives.  To change the world.

Are you in touch with yourself?  Do you know who you are and what your are contributing to the world?  Are you following your path?  What is the legacy that you will leave behind? Have you touched someone's life today?

Creative Practice
Write down all the reasons that you create works of art.  See how many reasons you can uncover.  Then ask yourself:  If I die in 24 hours, what legacy do I want to leave behind?  Write down your answers.  Then ask:  Am I on the right path?  What is your answer?

Background on Writer

Anne Spencer Morrow was the daughter of Dwight Morrow and Elizabeth Reeve Cutter Morrow.   Her father was a partner at J.P. Morgan who became the Ambassador to Mexico and a U. S. Senator from New Jersey.  Her mother was a poet and teacher who served as president of Smith College.  Anne graduated from Smith College in 1928.  She married Charles Lindbergh, the famous aviator, in 1929.  The same year she flew solo herself and with Lindbergh would fly and explore the world during the next decade.  Their first son was kidnapped and killed in 1932.

Lindbergh published 8 books between 1935 and 1969.  Her most famous work is Gift From the Sea.

George Washington Carver

"Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses."

— George Washington Carver

American Scientist

1864 - 1943

Commentary

The easiest thing to find are excuses for our failures.  Excuses are a dime a dozen.  "I don't have enough time."  I don't have enough education."  "My father used to beat me."  "I grew up without a father."  "I did not have enough money to go to school."  "I don't have time to write."  "I don't have time to draw."

Life is about choice, not excuses.  We choose what we do — how we spend our time.  Everyone faces problems.  The key is how we respond to our problems.  Do we bury our heads in the sand and ignore the problems?  Do we make excuses and quit?  Or do we choose to keep fighting for our dreams?  Do we find another way to solve the problems.  The choice is yours.  

What dreams have you given up on?  What excuses are you making today?  Why have you settled for less than you are capable of achieving?  

Creative Practice

Make list of all your excuses.  Then light a match and watch them go out up in smoke.  Make another list of all the reasons you want to be a writer, an artist or a creative leader.  Post this list where you can read it daily.  Stay focused on what you want.  Most people focus on the obstacles in their path; instead, focus on your goals — where you want to go.

Background on George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver was born a slave in Missouri.  When George was a week old, his mother, sister and him were kidnapped and taken to Kentucky.  Only George was recovered by his owner, Moses Carver.  When slavery was abolished, George was raised by his former 

owner as his own child.  His adoptive parents encouraged education and taught George how to read and write.  He earned a diploma from Minneapolis High School in Minneapolis, Kansas.  He earned a bachelors and masters degree from Iowa State.

After college, Carver taught at Tuskegee Institute for 47 years in the agricultural department which he turned into a strong research center.  Carter researched and experimented with new uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, soybeans, pecans and other crops.  He discovered over 300 uses for for peanuts.  Carver never married.  He died at the age of 78 and was buried next to Booker T. Washington.  On his grave was written: "He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world."

Sally Field

"It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes."

— Sally Field

American Actress

November 6, 1946 -

Commentary:

Probably one of the meanest, most destructive critics that creative leaders confront are themselves.  We are often harsher on ourselves than we are on our family, peers and friends.  We compare ourselves to those around us and believe we are not as good.  We believe that others don't like us and are looking down their noses at us.  We take a simple negative statement that often is uttered and forgotten to heart and walk around crushed for days and weeks.  

Don't judge yourself through the eyes of others.  Don't let their negative comments penetrate your heart and soul.  Protect yourself from the onslaught of their poisonous arrows.  No one can know you better than yourself.  Their comments are only their perception of who they think you are.  They only see only a part of you.  They don't know you.

Creative Practice:

This week make a list of 25 of your positive traits and post them somewhere that you can read them.  Read this list aloud to yourself when you wake in the morning and again before you go to bed at night.  Carry a copy of the list with you and whenever someone puts you down, pull out your list and read it aloud to yourself.

About the Actress:

Sally Field, the Academy Award winning actress, was born in Pasadena, California to Richard Field, an Army officer, and Margaret Field, an actress.  Her parents divorced when she was four.  She was a cheerleader in high school.  In the 1960s she starred in two TV shows: Gidget and the The Flying Nun.  Gidget lasted only 32 episodes (one season) from September, 1965 - April 1966.  The Flying Nun lasted for 83 episodes and ran from  September, 1967 - September, 1970.

Sally Field starred in the title role of the 1976 TV movie, Sybil, and won an Emmy Award.  She co-starred with Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit in 1977.  In 1979, she starred in Norma Rae and won the Academy Award for Best Actress.  She won a second Best Actress award for the 1984 movie, Places in the Heart.

Video:

Here are clips from 10 of Sally Field's movies.

Theodore Roosevelt

"With self-discipline most anything is possible."

— Theodore Roosevelt

American Writer, 26th President

1858 - 1919

Commentary:

One of the weaknesses of some writers and artists is the lack of self-discipline which is the key to their long-term success.  One of the hardest things for me to do in college was to sit and study.  There were many activities vying for my attention.  The same is true of many creative leaders.  Thousands of activities are vying for our attention.  We have to be willing to forego short-term pleasure for long-term success.  We have to sit down at the keyboard and write or stand at the easel and paint.  If we don't develop self-discipline, we will never be more than a wanna-be.

Creative Practice:

Is there some creative project that you have been putting off.  Take the time this week to work on that project.  Find a half-hour every day to work without stop.

Biography:

Theodore Roosevelt was born in New York city as the second child of Theodore Roosevelt Sr. and Martha Bulloch.  He was a sickly child, suffering from asthma.  He took up boxing and exercising to overcome his health problems.  Roosevelt had a photographic memory and spent a lifetime reading books.  He graduated from Harvard.  After graduation, a doctor advised him that he had a serious heart condition and that he should avoid strenuous activity.  He did the opposite.

Roosevelt married Alice Hathaway in 1880.  She died of kidney failure two days after giving birth to their daughter, Alice.  He married Edith Carow, a childhood sweetheart, in 1886.

Roosevelt wrote and published 3 books between 1885 - 1893 while on his ranches in the Dakotas:  Hunting Trips of a Ranchman, Ranch Life and the Hunting-Trail, and the Wilderness Hunter.  

In 1995 Roosevelt became president of the board of New York City Police Commissioners in 1995 and radically reformed the police department.  In 1897, Roosevelt became Assistant Secretary of the Navy under William McKinley.  In 1898, Roosevelt formed the Rough Riders and invaded Cuba.  The Rough Riders became famous for the charge up San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898.  In 1898, Roosevelt was elected governor of New York.  He was nominated as Vice-President in 1900 under William McKinley.  When McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States.