Alexander Calder

"The universe is real but you can't see it.  You have to imagine it.  Once you imagine it, you can be realistic about reproducing it."

— Alexander Calder

American Sculptor

1898 - 1976

Untitled, 1968
Centro Cultural de Belem
Lisbon, Portugal

Art and literature are created at the point where the universe meets the imagination.  The way we know the external world is through our senses.  Our minds interpret what they see, feel, hear, smell and taste and create the world we imagine to be there.  Even the most realistic painter or novelist interprets the world he sees with his imagination.  Even the most imaginative artist finds the beginning of his creation in the universe.

What is the universe that you see in your mind's eye?  What fantasies do you imagine to be real in your mind?  Art is always an interpretation of the world.  It is never the world.  It is never reality.  It is a pretend world that we believe to be true.

Stephen Nachmanovitch

"Creative work is play.  It is free speculation using the materials of one's chosen form."

— Stephen Nachmanovitch

American Musician/Writer

1950 -

For many people as they grow-up, they stop playing and having fun and in the process they stop being creative.  Being playful opens up our channels of creativity and we explore new ways of seeing the world.  Play involves having a sense of humor and being able to laugh at ourselves and the world around us.  Can you laugh at yourself and your mistakes?  Play also involves celebration of life and the joys of discovery.  Do you celebrate the beauty of being alive?  Play releases the creativity that is stored inside each of us and we try new things.  Have you tried something new recently or are you stuck in a rut?

Claudia Black

"Surround yourself with people who respect and treat you well."

— Claudia A. Black Ph.D

American Author/Speaker

As creative leaders, we can be very sensitive to the comments of others.  If people negate our art, we may stop painting or writing or even creating altogether.  We face rejection from world every day.  "Oh, you are a writer?  Have you written anything that I might have read?"  We face rejection when we submit our work to magazines and publishers.  I once send out the same haiku to two different publishers by accident.  I discovered my mistake when I open the mail one day.  I received a rejection letter from one magazine and the other magazine wanted to publish the haiku.  

Rejection is very common not only for writers, but also painters and actors.  Think about auditioning for a part in a play or a movie and you are judged not only on your acting talent but also on your appearance.  You are either too short, too tall, too fat or too ugly.  

And some people won't even submit their creative work to the scrutiny of the public eye.  They refuse to give others the opportunity to judge or criticize them.

So the message in this quote is very powerful.  Surround yourself with people who respect the work you do, who don't criticize you, who support you and compliment you.  The friends we choose are very important to our success.  

St. Francis de Sales

"Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself."

— St. Francis de Sales

French Catholic Bishop/Writer

1567 - 1622

These days patience seems to be in short supply.  Most of us are in a hurry to get somewhere.  We hate to wait in lines.  We need to publish that first novel or have that first one-person show before we are thirty.  Sometimes the best things take time.  The best wines have aged for years.  We need to have patience.  It takes awhile to perfect technique.  And the person we are hardest on is ourselves.  We don't give ourselves the time to grow and develop.  Be patient with yourself and your imperfections.  Give yourself permission to make mistakes.  Have faith in your future.

Franz Schubert

1875 Oil Painting
of Franz Schubert
by Wilhelm Rieder

"I am in the world only for the purpose of composing."

— Franz Schubert

Austrian Composer

1797 - 1828

Composition of
Franz Schubert

Why are you here?  What is your purpose for being?  What is the legacy you are going to leave behind?  In his short 31 years of life, Franz Schubert composed over 600 songs, 9 symphonies and a large body of chamber and piano music.  What is the legacy you will leave behind?  We all will reach the end of the road one day.  When you look back on your life, what have you accomplished?  What have you achieved?

As creative leaders, we need a sense of purpose — a reason for being.  We need to hold onto something that gives our lives meaning?  Why are you here?  What is your purpose for being? 

Charles Demuth

Self-Portrait (1907)

"Paintings must be looked at and looked at and looked at. . . . No writing, no talking, no singing, no dancing will explain them."

— Charles Demuth

American Artist

1883 - 1935

The Figure 5 In Gold (1928)
Inspired by a poem of
William Carlos Williams:
The Great Figure

One of the lessons I learned early in my career is not to explain my poetry to others.  If I had to explain it, then either I did not succeed or the reader failed to understand.  I would attend writer's groups where we would share our work and then the group would critique it.  Some writers would keep trying to explain their poems if they didn't feel the group grasped the meaning of the poem.  I think the same is true of any art form.  You don't need to explain your work.  A painter shouldn't explain the meaning of his painting.  The viewer has the responsibility in the communication exchange to study the work to the best of his ability just as the reader also has some responsibility.  It is a two way street.  

The Great Figure

by William Carlos Williams

Among the rain

and lights

I saw the figure 5

in gold

on a red

firetruck

moving

tense

unheeded

to gong clangs

siren howls

and wheels rumbling

through the dark city.

Viktor Emil Frankl

"Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude."

Viktor Emil Frankl

Austrian Psychiatrist/Writer

1905 - 1997

I believe that everything in life is a choice.  We choose how we get up in the morning.  We choose how we go to work.  We choose our attitudes.  I believe we have little or no control over what happens to us.  We can be in a car accident, be diagnosed with cancer or get fired from our job.  We have no control over preventing these things from happening.  The only thing we have control over is how we respond to what happens to us.  We have 100% control of our attitude.  As Frankl says, we have the freedom to choose our attitude.

What is your attitude to your life?  Your art?  What is your attitude to the people around you? Do you choose to be optimistic and positive?  Or are you grouchy?  Discouraged?  Negative?  Are you always finding fault with people and the world around you?  Do continually make sarcastic comments and put people down?  Or do you look for the good in people?  Even the worst of people have some good in them.  

As creative leaders we choose our attitudes.  Choose today to be positive, dedicated and inspiring.  Choose to find the silver lining in every dark cloud.  Choose to be a better you.  And then you will be a better artist.

Zig Ziglar

"Most people who fail in their dreams fail not from lack of ability but from lack of commitment."

— Zig Ziglar

American Speaker/Author

1926 -

We all have dreams, things that we want to accomplish in our lives, but many of us give up too soon.  We don't have the commitment to achieve what we dream of achieving.  To be an artist in a world where you have to have a 9 - 5 job in order to live requires commitment.  You have to get up earlier than everyone else or go to bed later than everyone else in your family.  You have to steal minutes wherever you can to write, to draw, to paint, to dance.  Sometimes we have to create in isolation, without contact with other creative souls.  We have to force ourselves to write even when our body and mind is finding ways to procrastinate.  Many of us don't have people in our lives encouraging us to create.  In fact, we may have people telling us to get a real job.  We have to be our own coach and cheerleader.  We have to be willing to do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do?  Have you the commitment to be a creative leader?

Milan Kundera

"Laughing deeply is living deeply."

— Milan Kundera

Czech Novelist/Poet

1929 -

Have you laughed today?  Have you had a deep belly laugh that shook your insides?  We all need some humor in our lives.  Laughter helps to heal the pain.  The life of an artist or writer can be difficult and challenging.  Laughter helps us to survive the barbs of criticism and the arrows of rejection.  Do you know what makes you laugh?  Do you know what makes others laugh.  Seek to put some laughter into your life.  Give the gift of laughter.

Anton Chekhov

"The role of the artist is to ask questions, not answer them."

— Anton Chekhov

Russian Writer

1860 - 1904

What questions are you asking?  Are you curious about the world around you?  Are you asking questions that challenge your beliefs?  As artists and writers we can get in a rut painting the same image over and over or writing the same story again and again.  What are you doing to keep your art fresh and new?  What new roads are you walking down?  What new mountains are you climbing?  Challenge yourself today to draw something you have never drawn, to write a story you have never written, to sing a song you have never sang.

Kahlil Gibran

"Knowledge of the self is the mother of all knowledge.  So it is incumbent on me to know my self, to know it completely, to know its minutiae, its characteristics, its subtleties, and its very atoms.

— Kahlil Gibran

Lebanese Poet/Artist

1883 - 1931

The Face of  Almustafa (The Prophet)

How well do you know yourself?  Do you know your strengths?  Your weaknesses?  Your blind spots? Most of us only partially know who we are and why we were born.  Life is an ongoing process of self-discovery.  And life is a process of becoming whom we are meant to be.  We can change who we are if we desire and are willing to change.  Other people can not change us, but they can teach us about ourselves.  There are things other people know about us that we do not know?  If we listen to them, we may hear the truth.  Even our enemies can teach us about ourselves.  Sometimes the people who irritate us the most have the most to teach us.  Often when we are irritated by the behavior we see in others, we are really irritated with ourselves because we behave the same way.  The better we know ourselves, the more honest our art will be and the better person we can become.

Adolph Gottlieb

"Painting is self-discovery.  You arrive at the image through the act of painting."

— Adolph Gottlieb

American Painter

1903 - 1974

Three Discs on Chrome Ground (1969)

Any form of creative expression is an act of self-discovery if we are observant.  What do you learn about yourself in the process of painting?  What does your writing practice teach you about your obsessions — the themes of your life?  Do you hear your soul singing in your music?  What lessons are at the heart of the stories you tell?  We create works of art in order to understand ourselves whether we are eighteen or eighty-eight.  We create in order to understand our place in the worlds we inhabit.

Giorgio de Chirico

"To become truly immortal, a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and common sense will only interfere.  But once those barriers are broken, it will enter the realms of childhood visions and dreams."

— Giorgio de Chirico

Italian Painter

1888 - 1978

The Disquieting Muses (1916)

The way we see the world impacts our ability to be creative.  Logic, reason and even common sense can hold us back from where as an artist and creative leader we need to go.  Logic and reason can be chains around our wrists and ankles, preventing us from escaping the boundaries of human existence, forcing us to paint what is, not what is meant to be.  Logic and reason are the tools of the editor in our head telling us that we are not good enough, that the words we write don't make sense, that the sentence structure is wrong, that the story is unrealistic.  Logic and reason are the tools of the judge in our hearts telling us that the work we have created is not good enough.  We must break the chains that bind us and become as little children — able to see the world with eyes of wonder.

Maya Angelou

"If you don't like something, change it.  If you can't change it, change your attitude.  Don't complain."

— Maya Angelou

American Poet/Writer

1928 -

One of the easiest things to do is to criticize, to complain, to find fault.  It is a trap that many creative people fall into.  The world doesn't always recognized our creative genius so we put others down.  Complaining becomes our defense mechanism, the way to protect ourselves from the onslaught of the world around us.  What we need to learn is that complaining is not productive.  It does not help us create great works of art.  If we don't like something about the world, we need to either change it or change ourselves.  And what I have found over the years is that it is much easier to change yourself than it is to change those around you and it requires a lot less energy and time.

So ask yourself: "What did I complain about yesterday?" Then ask yourself if you can change it and if not, then change your attitude."  I teach people that they have little or no control on what happens to them.  The only thing they have 100 percent control of is their attitude.  If you don't like where you live, then change your attitude.  If you don't like your boss, then change your attitude.  We need to develop an attitude of gratitude.  We need to appreciate what we have, not complain about what we don't have.

Natalie Goldberg

"One of the main aims in writing practice is to learn to trust your own mind and body; to grow patient and nonaggressive."

Natalie Goldberg

American Writer/Painter

1948 - 

Do you trust yourself — your mind, your thoughts, your dreams, your desires, your hopes?  Do you trust your body — how you walk, how you dance, the sound of your stomach gurgling, the pain in your left knee?  Many of us don't trust our own instincts.  We put our faith in others.  Maybe it is a parent, a friend, a spouse of even a spiritual leader.  We believe what they say to be true.  We need to learn to listen to that small tiny voice inside us that knows the way.  This voice is the first one we hear before we quickly move on to our more rational voice.  How many times have you felt something to be true in your gut but you have chosen to do what your rational mind said?  Learn to trust yourself and to believe in yourself.

(The source of this quote is the book, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, by Natalie Goldberg.  Every creative leader should read this book multiple times.)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and, if possible, speak a few reasonable words."

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

German Author

1749 - 1832

While the art we create is important, the life we live is even more important.  Every day as the saying goes, we need to smell the roses.  What do you do to keep you grounded?  To keep your spirit alive?  To fill your soul with peace?  Do you sing in the shower or a choir?  Do you read for 15 minutes or more every day? Do you view the paintings of others?  Do you complement the people around you?  Do you tell someone you love them?  

What have you done today?  Have you hugged someone?  Have you taken a walk in the park?  Did you enjoy the sunrise?  Did you eat a ice cream cone?  Did you say thank you to someone?  Did you help a stranger?  Did you kiss your spouse?  

Take care of your soul.  Nourish it.  Fill it with love.  

Henry Miller

"The one thing we can never get enough of is love.  And the one thing we never give enough of is love."

— Henry Miller

American Novelist/Painter

1891 - 1880

We all need to feel loved, but what we often fail to understand is that in order to get love we must also give love.  Love is a two-way street.  Artists and writers sometimes work in isolation and have little human contact.  The act of creation almost demands we work alone.  So it takes extra effort for us to develop and maintain our relationships and give love to those around us.  Our creative work takes so much effort that we sometimes forget about the people in our lives.  As creative leaders, we must learn to balance our need for isolation with our need to love and give love.

Oscar Wilde

"Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot be taken from you.  In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you."

— Oscar Wilde

Irish Writer/Novelist/Playwright

1854 - 1900

Most of us will never be financially wealthy and many of us will live paycheck to paycheck, but money does not and will not make us happy.  Happiness is an inside job.  Your riches can be found in becoming who you are meant to be.  As creative leaders, we sometimes think our wealth is in our creations:  novels, poems, paintings, sculptures, music and films, but in truth, our real wealth is in our souls.  The art is simply an expression of who we are.  So what are the riches within your soul?  What makes you special and unique?  Life is a gift.  What are you doing to appreciate what you have been given?  Celebrate your riches.

James Baldwin

"I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain."

— James Baldwin

American Novelist

1924 - 1987

Think about the people in your life who you don't like, who irritate you and who you may even hate.  Often when someone hurts us, our response is anger and prolonged anger can turn into hate.  If we learn to appreciate and accept the pain for what it teaches us, we can move beyond anger and hate.  If we can harness the pain, we can funnel it into our creative process.  Pain is important to our success and can help us become better people and more creative leaders.  Pain is a powerful teacher if we take the time to learn the lessons it has to teach.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

"It is not the brains that matter most, but that which guides them: character, the heart, generous qualities, progressive ideas."

— Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Russian Novelist

1821 - 1881

Think of the stories you have heard of intelligent, educated people who have done evil things.  Intelligence and even education do not make us good people.  It is what is in the heart that matters most.  Are you caring, compassionate and generous?  Your character and nature will show through.  That which lives in your heart will be visible in your art.