Margaret Atwood

"Perhaps I write for no one.  Perhaps for the same person children are writing for when they scrawl their names in the snow."

— Margaret Atwood

Canadian Novelist, Poet

1939 - 

Have you written your name in the snow?  Have you carved your name on a tree?  Have you scratched your name on the sidewalk?  Have you painted your name in the heavens?  Most of us want the world to know who we are.  And on one level that is why we paint, write and sing.  So that 100 years, 500 years, even 1000 years from now someone knows our name.  We want to leave a legacy of work.  We want to be remembered. 

I have read of writers, artists and actors who were famous while they were alive but forgotten within 20 years of their death.  I have also read of people who were unknown in their lifetime, but remembered hundreds of years after their death.  Vincent Van Gogh is a perfect example.  He died believing he was a failure and had only sold one painting in his lifetime.  More than a hundred years after his death, he is one of the most celebrated artists in the world.

Let me ask you a question.  If you had to choose between fame and fortune in your lifetime or having your creative work celebrated a thousand years from now, which would you choose? 

Paulo Coelho

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it."

— Paulo Coelho

Brazilian Novelist

1947 -

When one door closes, another one opens.  There is a method buried within the madness of the world.  The universe wants us to succeed, to find our way home, to taste the fruit of the vine.  Yet most of us do not listen with our hearts.  We hear only the shrill sounds bombarding our ears.  To be successful, we must first understand the power of desire.

Do you have the passion to be a creative leader?  Do you desire to write?  Then write as if your life depended on it.  Do you desire to paint?  Then paint as if your heart will explode if you don't put paint to canvas.  When our actions are aligned with our passion, then the universe opens and we are lifted into the heavens.  We are able to find beauty in the mundane like a jar of pickles, a can of tuna or a bottle of orange juice.  

When one door opens, another one closes.  The end can be found in the beginning.  We all travel circles within circles.  And nothing changes but what must remain the same.  So believe that your gift of creativity is yours to share with the universe and accept that the universe is a flower within your heart.

Marc Chagall

"The role of the artist is tragic today because, while the world's horizons have been extended, the human heart is as small as ever."

— Marc Chagall

Russian Artist

1887 - 1985

The Prophet Jeremiah
1968

In the last 150 years the world has known many technological and scientific advances.  We have put men on the moon and invented thousands of items that make life easier for human beings from the light bulb to the iPad.  But the human heart has not changed.  We remain selfish, angry and territorial.  We kill, murder and steal.  We still break the Ten Commandments as well as the laws of man.  We are cruel, mean and unforgiving. 

Artists create beautiful paintings that inspire us all, but are abusive to their wives and girl friends.  Writers create powerful stories that touch the heart, but are rude, crude and demeaning to those around them.  Actors may explore the emotional depths of characters they play, but are unaware of their own self-destructive tendencies.

Stained Glass Windows
in Saint Stephen Cathedral,
Metz, France

Human beings have two natures: a violent one and a compassionate one.  And both often reside in the same person in varying degrees.  And we have not changed in thousands of years.  Every time we take a step forward and seem to be improving, we take a couple of steps backward.  Consider all the greed that helped create the latest financial recession.  

I learned years ago that I can't change the world.  The only person I can change is myself.  I ask myself, "What can I do today to make myself a better person tomorrow?"  And every day is a struggle.  Some days are better than others.  And some days I slip back into old habits and behaviors that are destructive to myself and to others.  Each day is a new beginning.  A new opportunity to be a better person than I was yesterday.  All I can hope for is that I am able to make a difference in somebody's life.  That I can touch one heart today.  Give hope to one soul.

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?

Ursula K. LeGuin

Photo by Eileen Gunn

"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

— Ursula K. LeGuin

American Novelist

1929 -

We all need a sense of purpose, a goal of what we want to accomplish, but we must not lose sight of today and what we are doing.  Stay focused on the current moment while keeping the dream of what you want to accomplish in your mind.  We must enjoy the creative journey because the achievement fades quickly.  When the first novel is written, you need a new goal, a new creative journey.  When the painting is finished, we need to start another.  When the play is over or the film finished, we must find another part to play.  Are you enjoying today or are you dreaming of tomorrow?

Peter Ustinov

"The point of living, and of being an optimist, is to be foolish enough to believe the best is yet to come."

– Peter Ustinov

British actor/novelist

1921 - 2004

No matter what age you are, the best is yet to come.  No matter where you are in your career, the best is yet to come.  Each day we live provides us with new opportunities, new ways to grow and new things to learn.  Colonel Harlan Sanders was sixty-five when he opened his first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.  Thomas Edison was sixty-seven when he reinvented the phonograph.  At seventy-seven, Grandma Moses began painting.  At eighty, Jessica Tandy won an Oscar for the film, Driving Miss Daisy.  Winston Churchill wrote A History of the English-Speaking Peoples at age 82.  Peter Ustinov acted in the movie, Luther, at age 83.  At ninety, Picasso was still producing drawings and engravings.  At age 93, P. G. Wodehouse was working on his 97th novel when he died.  Remember the best is yet to come.  

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

"I was an avid reader of history and particularly the lives of great men and women.  I found that some were born to greatness, some attained it by accident, and some worked for it."

— Harry S. Truman

American President, Author

1884 - 1972

As creative leaders we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before.  What do you know of the lives and works of these earlier artists, writers, musicians and storytellers?  What were the challenges they faced and the difficulties they overcame?  What creative ideas did they have that have made our work easier?  What knowledge did they have that has now been lost to the dustbins of history?  Which painters, writers and musicians are your heroes?

Most people are not born to greatness.  They usually work hard to achieve what they desire, but in the end the fame they find is often by accident.  So my advice is to work hard every day and enjoy what you do.

Jack Penn

"One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks."

— Jack Penn

South African 

Surgeon, Sculptor, Author

1909 - 1996

To be human and to live with other humans is to face challenges and difficulties.  We experience death, love and heartache, not necessarily in that order.  How we respond to the challenges that life deals us is a measure of the type of person we are.  Do we pick ourselves up and make something of what has happened or do we remain in the mud, wishing to die?  As creative leaders, we have the gift of creativity which can help us turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.  So get out your chisel and chisel away at that stumbling block in your way.  

Albert Camus

"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer."

— Albert Camus

French Algerian Novelist

1913 - 1960

Inside each of us is more strength than we realize.  We are stronger than we think and often it isn't until the winter of our lives that we realize how strong and capable we were.  You can do more than you think you can.  You can achieve more — paint more, write more and dance more.  And you can bear more pain and suffering than you think you can.  Don't forget to call on this strength when you need it.

Mother Teresa

"We can do no great things — only small things with great love."

— Mother Teresa

1910 - 1997

Each painting we paint, each poem we write and each story we tell is an act of love.  Don't try to do great things.  Try to create small things with great love and you will accomplish great things.  It is important to love what you do and to feel that it matters — to know that you make a difference each day you paint or write.

Jonathan Winters

"I couldn't wait for success . . . so I went ahead without it."

— Jonathan Winters

American Comedian/Actor/Artist

1925 - 

Ah, this statement hits home.  If you spend your life waiting for success, it may never come.  Keep doing what you need to do.  If that is to paint, then paint.  If that is to write, then write.  If that is to sing and dance, then sing and dance.  The key is not to wait on success because when it comes you may not recognize.  It may be disguised in the love of a soul mate or in the gift of friends.

General Colin Powell

"There are no secrets to success.  It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure."

— General Colin Powell

American Author/Soldier

1937 - 

Some people look for the easy way, the next get rich scheme and the short-cuts to the top.  They don't exist for most of us.  If you want something bad enough, it takes preparation, hard work, learning from failure and persistence.  As artists and writers we understand this because we sometimes labor for years or even a lifetime with little or no success.  My words are simple:  keep writing, keep painting, keep living.

Theodore Roosevelt

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

— Theodore Roosevelt

American President

1858 - 1919

Some creative leaders always have excuses of why they can't paint, or write or dance.  "I will get to it when I have more . . . time or money or less responsibility."  You have to make time.  Most of us will never have enough money.  You need to do it now.  Don't wait until the time is right because it will never be.  Paint every day.  Write every day.  Even if it is only for 15 minutes.  DO IT.  Tomorrow will never come.

David Campbell

"Discipline is remembering what you want."

— David Campbell

Creative leaders sometimes struggle with discipline.  They procrastinate.  They know they should pick up the pen and write or pick up the paint brush and paint, but they find excuses.  This quote hits the nail on the head.  If you are procrastinating, remember what you want.  What is your dream?  What is it you want to accomplish?  Why are you here?  Focus on your goals and you will have the discipline to do what you need to do.

Marc Chagall

"If I create from the heart, nearly everything works, if from the head, almost nothing."

— Marc Chagall

Russian Artist

1889 - 1985

Sometimes the mind gets in the way of creativity.  We are constantly talking to ourselves about our work and usually this self-talk is very negative.  "Oh, I shouldn't say that.  What will my mother say?"   Or "I am no good at painting faces."  One expert says that 75% of what we say to ourselves is negative and this negativity hurts our ability to create.  We need to learn to use positive self-talk, to appreciate the talent we have been given.  Since there are enough negative people in the world who will put us down and criticize our work, we don't need to do it to ourselves.  I challenge you to listen to your self-talk and whenever it is negative, change it and make it positive. 

George Elliot

"What do we live for if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?"

— George Elliot

English novelist

1819 - 1880

When it comes time to knock on those pearly gates and you look back across your life, what are you going to remember?  For most of us, it will be the people we've known and had some relationship with.  Will you have left this world a better place?  Will you have left the lives of those you love better?  Creative people, whether writers, painters or actors, often are known for their art, not their relationships.  I recently was reminded of this by the Jackson Pollock movie.  In his relationships with people, Pollock was a disaster.  I believe that an artist can be both creative and emotionally stable, but it takes working on relationships as much as we work on perfecting our art.

Bernard Malamud

"Without heroes, we are all plain people and don't know how far we can go."

— Bernard Malamud

American novelist

1914 - 1986

Who are your heroes?  Who are the people who inspire you?  We all need heroes.  Growing up my heroes were baseball players like Bob Gibson and Stan Musial.  In college my political heroes were Eugene McCarthy, Senator, and Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader.  The poets who were my heroes in those college years were T. S. Elliot, Arthur Rimbaud and Theodore Roethke.  When I got into business, my hero was Tom Peters.  I modeled my speaking style after his.  Harry S. Truman, 33rd President, is another of my heroes.  Who are your heroes?  Who has inspired you?  Heroes are important because they role-model what we want to be.  They push us to go farther than we think possible.

Robert Persig

"The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands."

— Robert Persig

American Writer

1928 - 

This is a lesson I learned many years ago when as a young man I set out to change the world.  To change anything, one must first change one's self.  Are you unhappy with your job?  Begin by changing yourself — improve your skills, educate yourself.  Are you unhappy with your marriage?  Change yourself.  No one is perfect.  What are you doing that makes your spouse mad?  Change it.  Most married people set out to fix their spouse.  You can't change your spouse.  You must first change yourself.  

Another part of change is that only you can change yourself.  No one else can change you.  Not your parents, though they try.  Not your boss, though he may try.  Not your spouse.  Only you can change you.  And you will only change when you are ready.

Martha Stewart

"I love the challenge of starting at zero every day and seeing how much I can accomplish."

— Martha Stewart

1941 -

In many respects, each day is an opportunity to begin again.  Yesterday is gone and we can not change what we did.  Tomorrow is not here yet.  So we need to focus on what we can do to day to become the person we were meant to be.  It does not matter that we did not paint or write yesterday.  Don't beat yourself up over what is past.  Begin each day anew.  

Salvador Dali

"At the age of six I wanted to be a cook.  At seven I wanted to be Napoleon.  And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since."

— Salvador Dali

1904 - 1989

What did you want to be at age six?  I spent the first eight years of my life on a farm.  My first memory of being interested in a career was when I was in junior high.  I wanted to be an architect.  When I was a sophomore in high school I decided to be a preacher.  And the funny thing is that for the last twenty plus years I have been a professional speaker.  People will come up to me after I have spoken and say that I have missed my calling.  "You should have been a preacher," they say.  I smile and thank them.  I have learned that in some ways I am a preacher.  I am also a farmer and maybe to a certain extent an architect.  I plant seeds of hope in people's hearts.  I build up their self-esteem and help them rebuild their faith in themselves.  What did you want to be growing up?