Robert Henri

"There is no art without contemplation."

— Robert Henri

American Painter

1865 - 1929

Do you take the time to contemplate your work?  Sometimes we need to step back and process our work.  We need to let it sit for a few days or weeks or even months.  Often when we come back to the work, it is with renewed energy and ideas.  We quickly solve problems that before were obstacles.  Take a day off from time to time to give the creative juices some rest.  To paraphrase an old saying:  "All work and no play, makes Jack a dull artist." 

Steve Jobs

Steve jobs - 20 life lessons

View more presentations from Rob van Alphen

Steve Jobs

"Great art stretches the taste, it doesn't follow tastes."

Steve Jobs

American Businessman/Inventor

1955 - 2011

If you want to achieve greatness, don't follow the pack.  Don't go where others are going.  Choose the path least traveled or create a new path.  Create the world as you want it to be.  Steve Jobs was a visionary.  He took a path that few others could see.  The role of creative leaders is to lead the way to new worlds and new opportunities.  Great artists have a vision of where they want to go and what they want to achieve.  What is your vision?  What path are you on?  Are you leading the way or are you following the pack?

(Quote Source:  Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson)

J. K. Rowling

"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

— J. K. Rowling

British Novelist

1965 - 

The choices we make help determine the person we become and what we accomplish.  Did you choose to write today or to watch TV?  Did you choose to help a stranger or did you buy something for yourself?  We make choices every minute of every day.  Did you choose to brush your teeth or comb your hair?  And these decisions impact our lives.  Some decisions have an impact immediately and others take years to materialize.  When I was in my 20's and 30's I played volleyball.  I was known for diving without knee pads on asphalt and hardwood floors to save a ball.  I felt very little pain at the time.  Now 30 years later those dives have come back to haunt my knees and me.  What choices are you making to day that will impact you tomorrow.  Again, I ask:  did you write or paint today?  Or did you go to a movie?  The choices we make tell us who we are, not whom we want to be.

Boris Pasternak

"I don't like people who have never fallen or stumbled.  Their virtue is lifeless and it isn't of much value.  Life hasn't revealed its beauty to them."

— Boris Pasternak

Russian Poet/Novelist

1890 - 1960

We all make mistakes.  We stumble and fall.  None of us are perfect no matter how much we try not to mess up.  And from one perspective life would be boring if everyone was perfect.  Think about what the world would be like if no one lied, had affairs or committed murder.  What would writers write about?  Even the best of us have skeletons in our closets.  And it is our failures that make us artists, writers and musicians.  We have a need to communicate these failures to the world.  How have your failures influenced and shaped your art?  How have your mistakes colored the life you live?

Gunther Grass

"Even bad books are books, and therefore sacred."

— Gunther Grass

German Novelist

1927 - 

Let me expand this quote to say that even bad art is sacred.  I believe the creative process is a sacred act.  I think we have too many critics who are quick to criticize.  If someone has the stamina to write a novel, the person is a success.  It's like running a marathon.  Just finishing is success.  If a person has the courage to paint a picture, the person is successful.  If I ask 10 different people what they think about a painting, a novel, a poem or a song, I would probably get 10 different opinions ranging from terrible to great.  We try to make arts competitive by ranking them in terms of quality.  The arts should not be competitive.  Respect the creator.  Honor the creator.  Respect the creative process.

Vaclav Havel

"Vision is not enough — it must be combined with venture.  It is not enough to stare up the stairs, we must step up the stairs."

— Vaclav Havel

Czech Playwright/Poet/Politician

1936 - 2011

Over the years I have met people who wanted to write a book.  They dreamed of being successful writers, but they never put pen to paper.  Having a vision of what you want to accomplish is very important to success, but vision without action is disaster.  Don't desire to be a write.  Write and someday you will be a writer.  Don't desire to be an artist.  Paint and someday you will be a artist.  Dreaming about what you desire is of no value unless you act upon your desire.

Vaclav Havel was a rare writer who had a vision and took action.  Not only did Havel put his vision into writing, he also took action and became the ninth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic.  

Don't just dream of success, but take action and climb the stairs one step at a time and you will reach the top.

Here is a news report and tribute to Vaclav Havel.

Wanda Koop

"There's an assumption that because I'm an artist, I've got all the time in the world."

— Wanda Koop

Canadian Painter

1951 - 

If people know you are an artist, writer or musician, they don't think you work.  They assume they can stop by anytime and you will drop what ever you are doing so you can entertain them.    They believe you should have no problem serving on various committees because you have time on your hands.  What they don't understand is that creative work is also mental work.  Even if you are not physically working, you mind is working overtime.  As creative leaders we need to learn to say no.  Don't allow others to steal time away from your work.  Stand strong and firm even if they beg.

Here is an interview with Wanda Koop.

Harley King

If you have been following this blog, you will have noticed that I am a strong advocate of reading books.  In 2011 I read 28 books, one less than 2010.  Here is my list of the top ten books I read in 2011.

10.  Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (novel)
9.   White Oleander by Janet Fitch (novel)
8.   72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell (novel)
7.   The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (novel)
6.   The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell (novel)
5.   Imperial Woman: The Story of the Last Empress of China by Pearl Buck (historical novel)
4.   Pearl Buck in China: Journey to the Good Earth by Hilary Spurling (biography)
3.   The Good Earth by Pearl Buck (novel)
2.   Cheever: A Life by Blake Bailey (biography)
1.   Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever (short stories)

To see the remainder of the books I read in 2011 go to goodreads.com:  http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2103162-harley?shelf=read-2011

George Matthew Adams

"We cannot waste time.  We can only waste ourselves."

— George Matthew Adams

American Writer

1878 - 1962

We all have been given talents.  Some waste their talents with drugs, booze and other addictions.  Others fail to live up to their potential, living a day dream of what could have been.  Some achieve early success only to become caught up in the glamour and the image, never to create again or achieve lasting success.  You know what talents you have been given.  Are you encouraging your talents and investing in your success?  Are you working hard to achieve your dreams?  Or are you resting on your laurels?  The choice is yours.  Will you choose to become what you are meant to be?  

Harley King

"Nothing stays the same and nothing changes.  What is old today will be new tomorrow.  What is new today will be forgotten tomorrow."

— Harley King

American Writer/Speaker

1949 -

We humans love to measure time and to reflect on where we have been and where we want to go.  If we have not published our first book by the time we are thirty, we may never publish a book.  If we live to be sixty, we are suddenly over the hill and unemployable.  Unless, of course, we are running for President.

My time on this planet has taught me that as much as things change they still remain the same.  What once was old comes back in fashion.  And what we believe to be new and exciting will soon fade away.  The story you are writing has been written before.  The painting you are painting has been painted before.  And yet each of us must believe that we are the first.  That no one has done this before.  

Yesterday, I quoted Gladys Taber who in her lifetime published more than 60 books.  Yet, until yesterday I had never heard of her.  We may be celebrated in our lifetime but forgotten after we die.  Or we may be unknown in our lifetime and remembered for hundreds of years.  Time has a way of playing tricks on us.  We think we have mastered it and it sneaks a way from us.  

As you reflect today on what happened to you in 2011 and dream about what will happen in 2012, remember that nothing stays the same and nothing change.  Don't worry about the passing of time.  Be happy with who you are and whom you have become.  Celebrate the new year with open arms.

Gladys Taber

"We need time to dream, time to remember, and time to reach the infinite.  Time to be."

— Gladys Taber

American Writer

1899 - 1980

In the fast paced, always connected world in which we live, we sometimes forget about the importance day dreaming.  Do you take  time to day dream?  To rethink your life?  To remember why you are here?  To simply be?  As the old saying goes: stop and smell the roses.    Easy to say and hard to follow.  We are so busy staying in touch via our cell phones that we don't experience the world around us.  During this next year, take time to dream and remember.  Take time to be.  

Gary Zukav

"Changing the world  begins with the very personal process of changing yourself.  The only place you can begin is where you are, and the only time you can begin is always now."

— Gary Zukav

American Writer/Speaker

1942 -

Painting and writing is about re-creating and re-structuring the world the way we would like it to be.  The creative process is about changing ourselves and in the process of changing ourselves we change the world.  How have you changed in the past year?  How have you grown and developed as a person and as a creative leader?  What choices have you made in the last year to change your life?  Do you understand yourself better today than you did a year ago?  What have you learned about yourself?  What are your plans for next year?  What do you want to be doing a year from now?

Here is Gary Zukav discussing change.

Joye Moon

"Every day is a gift — a new beginning . . . bound out of bed with the enthusiasm of a child."

— Joye Moon

American Painter

How do you begin your day?  With a cup of coffee?  A cold beer?  With steak and eggs?  Or a doughnut?  Do you drag yourself out of bed wishing you could spend the day sleeping?  Are you wide awake and full of energy?  Some people get up in the morning and say:  "Good morning, Lord.  It is great to be alive!"  Other people get up and say: "O Lord, it's morning again."  Which are you?  Someone who appreciates each day she has been given?  Or someone who finds no joy in living?  How you begin your day can have a positive or negative impact on your creative work. 

Do you begin your day with meditation?  Or prayer?  Do you take a walk?  Or lift weights? Do you eat a healthy breakfast or do you skip the most important meal of the day?  Be thankful for every day you wake up.  The alternative to waking up is being six feet under.  Celebrate the day and give thanks for all you have been given.

George C. Scott

"The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it."

— George C. Scott

American Actor

1927 - 1999

The world usually has its fair share of doomsayers who predict the end of civilization as we know it.  Like Chicken Little, they are constantly claiming the sky is falling.  But what few people consider is how strong the human spirit is.  No matter what is thrown at us, we pick ourselves up and keep going.

I don't care what kind of challenges you are currently facing in your life.  I don't care what has happened to you in the past.  The difference between the winners and the losers is that the winners pick themselves up and keep going.  You are stronger than anything that has happened to you.  You can overcome any difficulty or challenge you are currently facing.  You are a winner.  Believe in yourself.  

Louis Armstrong

"My whole life, my whole soul, my whole spirit is to blow that horn."

— Louis Armstrong

American Musician

1901 - 1971

Do you put all of yourself into your art or do you hold a part of yourself back?  The more you give of yourself, the more powerful your art becomes.  Painting and writing are not nine-to-five jobs.  You must be involved in your art 24/7.   Every conversation and every book you read impacts your creative expression.  Every broken relationship and every love affair affects the art you create.  So are you blowing your horn with your body and soul?  Are you giving everything you have?

Listen to Satchmo sing "What A Wonderful World" and enjoy the photos.

Howard Aiken

"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas.  If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats."

— Howard Aiken

American Professor/Computer Engineer

1900 - 1973

Writers sometimes worry about someone stealing their ideas or their work.  And while this may happen from time to time, it is not as prevalent as people might think.  In fact, truly original ideas are almost never stolen because nobody believes in them.  Today the Impressionists painters are celebrated throughout the world, but in their day there were considered failed artists.  Van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime and that was to his brother.

Today the light bulb is taken for granted, but in the late 1800's most people would have thought you were crazy if you told them that you came from a world lighted by electricity and light bulbs.  In fact, Thomas Edison originally developed the light bulb to light baseball fields. 

Howard Aiken knows of what he speaks.  He was the conceptual designer in 1944 behind the Mark I computer originally called the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator.  Think about what it would take to sell the concept of a computer when it had not even been invented.  Nobody would steal the idea.  You would have to ram it down their throats.

What truly original ideas do you have?  Don't worry if nobody believes your idea will work.  That only means it must be original and only you can bring the idea to life.  Don't live in fear of someone stealing your ideas.  Live in fear that you will not give birth to an original idea.

Marcel Proust

"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

— Marcel Proust

French Novelist

1871 - 1922

In this holiday season when families come together in fellowship, friends share toasts of happiness, and lovers make vows of eternal love, we should be grateful and give thanks for all we have been given.  If you don't have someone this holiday season, I encourage you to reach out.  Don't hide in the attic, or the basement or the closet.  Make new friends.  Choose new directions.  How you spend this season of joy is your choice.  Celebrate what you have been given.

Placido Domingo

"I hope I have given back half the joy music has given me."

— Placido Domingo

Spanish Musician

1941 -

Does your creative work give you joy?  When you have completed a session of painting or writing, do you feel good?  I think it is a privilege to be a creative leader.  Our work brings us so much happiness and joy.  Celebrate your work.  And remember that creativity is about giving back a little joy to others.

Listen to Domingo sing.  You can feel the emotion even if you don't understand the words.

John Keats

"I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of imagination."

— John Keats

English Poet

1795 - 1821

One of the most powerful forces available to creative leaders is their imagination.  Your imagination will open up new worlds and provide you answers to many of the challenges you face in your creative work.  You must learn to cultivate your imagination.  You must nurture it and feed it.  Imagination grows through exposure to various ideas and various experiences.  


Steve Jobs, after dropping out of college, audited a course on calligraphy because he was interested in the subject.  What he learned in that single course gave rise more than a decade later to the multiple fonts available on the Mac computer.  And since Windows adopted much of its style and look from Mac, the computer world was given an array of fonts from which to choose.  How much different life would have been if computer users could not change fonts.


What are you doing to expand your imagination?  What ideas are you exposing yourself to?  How are you growing your imagination.  If you don't use it, you may lose it.  Feed your imagination today.