William Sloan Coffin

"All of life is the exercise of risk."

— William Sloan Coffin

American Author, Clergy, Peace Activist

1924 - 2006

Have you ever let fear stand in the way your doing something that you desired to do?  Most of us have.  And yet if we stop and think about it: all life is a risk.  While eating carrots, you can choke and die.  Walking down the street at 6 a.m., you can be hit by a speeding car.  Taking a shower, you can slip and fall and hit your head.  You can visit a doctor and be told that you have cancer and have only six weeks to live.  All life is fraught with risk.  So why haven't you tried that new technique of painting?  Are you afraid you will fail?  Why haven't you sent your novel to a publisher?  Are you afraid of rejection?

Fear is powerful and often stops us from doing what we want to do?  We all have dreams and hopes, but sometimes we are not courageous enough to take that first step into the unknown.  That first step is often the most difficult.  In our minds, we think of all the things that could go wrong.  We should instead focus on our dreams and what we want to accomplish.  What steps are you going to take today to overcome your fears?  

Catherine Lanigan

"I learned that writers make something out of nothing.  We make dreams into reality.  That's our nature, our mission.  We were born to it.  I will never give up my dream again.  Never." 

— Catherine Lanigan

American Writer

1947 - 

Catherine Lanigan gave up on her dream of writing while in college because a college professor told her she had no talent.  Years later after encouragement from a journalist, she returned to writing. 

We all have people who try to destroy our dreams and it takes courage to stand up to them.  If you are a beginning artist, writer, actor or singer, don't ask if you have talent.  No one can judge that but you.  Ask if you have the passion and persistence to keep creating even when others discourage you.  Ask if you have the heart and the courage to stand up for what you believe in.

Writers and artists make something from nothing.  They take a blank canvas and fill it with color.  They take a blank sheet of paper and fill it with story.  Believe in your dream.  Believe in yourself.  Believe in your creative gift.

Leonard Baskin

"Art is man's distinctly human way of fighting death."

— Leonard Baskin

American Artist

1922 - 2000

Isaac
(1973)

Some of us have a desire to live forever and look for secrets to preserve our youth.  Others consider and even attempt suicide.  Some people run from death hoping to escape the long reach of its arms.  Others look death in the face and challenge it.  None of us will escape.

Creating works of art offer us a way to extend our lives beyond our deaths — to keep our legacy alive.  When others read our novels, listen to our songs, or view our paintings, we are given a second chance at life — a second chance to touch the lives of others with the truth as we know it.

Create as if you were dying today.  Paint from your heart.  Write from the depths of your soul. Sing with all the joy you can muster.  None of us know when our time is up — when the light of our life is extinguished so live each moment to the fullest.  Enjoy the gifts you have been given.  Love those who love you.

Ella Winter

"Choose well: your choice is brief and yet endless."

— Ella Winter

Australian Journalist, Author 

1898 - 1980

I believe everything we do in life is a choice and that we need to take responsibility for our actions and not blame others.  The challenge is to make the right choices or at least to make choices.  When I graduated from college I was afraid to choose a direction to my life.  I didn't know what I wanted to do.  If I went down the wrong path it would be a disaster.  What I have learned is that the choices I made have led me where I need to be.  The challenge is to choose.  If you keep choosing you will eventually end up where you are supposed to be.  If you don't choose and let life happen, you may end up where you don't want to be.

Many people blame others for the circumstances in which they find themselves.  They are what I call "IF ONLY THINKERS."  They preface everything with the phrase: if only.  If only I had more money.  If only I had a college education.  If only my boss liked me.  If only I had better parents.  If only....If only....If only....

Usually we only have a short time to make a decision before the door closes and the opportunity passes.  Sometimes the opportunity will come around again and other times it won't.  I once had an opportunity to work for a trade magazine but I turned it down because I was happy with the job I had.  And the opportunity to work for a trade journal never came around again.  I sent out resumes, but noone responded.  I don't know how my life would have been different if I had accepted the position, but I have no regrets.  I am satisfied with the life I have lived.

The choices we make often send us in directions we never imagined.  New opportunities arise for us to seize.  Each choice we make leads us closer to where we are supposed to be.  We make a life by making choices.  What choices are you making today that will open up new doors for you tomorrow?

James Baldwin

"One can give nothing whatever without giving oneself — that is to say, risking oneself.  If one cannot risk oneself then one is simply incapable of giving."

— James Baldwin

American Novelist

1924 - 1987

All art is risk.  As creative leaders we risk being vulnerable to criticism and ridicule.  We risk doubt and failure.  We risk being misunderstood.  Yet, there is no creation without risk.  There is no art without giving of oneself.



Taking a risk requires that we step out of our comfort zone and try something new.  Taking risk helps us to grow and progress as artists.  Taking a risk means that we might fail.  Taking a risk requires courage.



What risks are you not taking because you are afraid?  What risks do you want to take but you don't have the courage?  If you knew that you would die in a year, what risks would you take today?  What truth have you not told because you are afraid of what others might say?

John Maxwell

"The fear of rejection or failure creates inaction."

— John Maxwell

American Author, Speaker

1947 - 

Fear is a very powerful force that affects the lives of most creative leaders.  Some people are afraid to leave their houses.  Some people like me are afraid of heights.  Others are afraid of elevators.  This list could go on and on.  A person who claims that he is not afraid of anything is either delusional or a liar.  We are all afraid of something. 

It takes courage to look fear in the face and still do something when you are afraid.  If you give into fear, you will freeze on the spot and not move.  Creative leaders face a lot of rejection of their ideas and work.  But we must keep going.  What is the worst thing that can happen?  People don't like us.  So what?  Every famous writer, artist, singer or actor has people who don't like them.  No one is liked by everyone.  So why should you and me expect to be liked by everyone?  In fact, think about the famous people whom you don't like.  You, in a sense are rejecting them.



I learned a powerful lesson from a professional speaker.  He told me that 10% of your audience will not like you.  They may not like the color of your hair.  Or the sound of your voice.  Or the tie you are wearing.  And it has held true for me.  Ten percent of my audience don't like my loud voice.  So I focus on the other 90%.  I don't let my fear of rejection prevent me from speaking.



Rejection is a good thing.  It keeps us humble.  We are not perfect so we shouldn't let success go to our heads.  It lets us know that we are ahead of our time.  We have found people who don't like our work and that is okay.  So don't let fear stop you from creating and producing new work.



(For those who read my blog regularly, I apologize for not leaving an entry yesterday.  I have spent the last two days in the hospital because of dehydration.  I checked out about three hours ago and am healthy again.)

Ernest Hemingway

"The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity to sacrifice.  Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed."

— Ernest Hemingway

American Novelist

1899 - 1961

As writers, artists and creative leaders we often are vulnerable to the hostile, negative behavior of people who do not understand us and what we represent.  These negative people can be our friends and family initially and the wider world eventually as our creative ideas and works try to find their place in that world.  We need to remain strong and courageous in the face of negative attacks.

As creative leaders we often sacrifice much to achieve our dreams.  We become so focused on and obsessed with our work that we ignore family and friends.  We miss out on the joys of life.  We may forget to take care of our health.  We drink and/or take drugs to kill the demons chasing us.  We suffer ridicule at the hands of those who don't understand us and what we do.

People may hate us when we tell the truth.  Often people are not ready for the truth we have to speak.  They may criticize and condemn us.  They may laugh at us.  We must find the discipline and the courage to speak the truth anyway — to open up and share our thoughts and feelings, to share the beauty we see.

Hemingway At Work

Alan Alda

"Be brave enough to live creatively.  The creative is the place where no one else has ever been.  You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  You cannot get there by bus, only by hard work, risking and by not quite knowing what you are doing.  What you will discover will be wonderful: yourself."

— Alan Alda

American Actor, Director, Screenwriter

1936 - 

Have you visited the wilderness of your intuition?  Have you listened to the voice within your spirit?  Have you descended into the depths of your soul?  Have you discovered the nature of your existence?  Creativity is a journey of the spirit to realms not seen by the ordinary eye.  If you have been blessed with the opportunity to travel this road, then you understand the healing power within your soul.  God walks with each of us.  We must learn to decipher his voice from the chaotic noise so we may enjoy the majesty of beauty.

Anwar el-Sadat

". . . the gravest injustice done to the Egyptian people was the cultivation of fear . . . rather than trying to build up the inner man, we did everything we could to make him feel frightened.  Fear is, I believe, a most effective tool in destroying the soul of an individual — and the soul of a people."

— Anwar el-Sadat

Egyptian President

1918 - 1981

Many years ago I read these words in In Search of An Identity, the autobiography of Anwar el Sadat, President of Egypt from 1970 to 1981, and since then I have been sharing his words with my audiences in my motivational speeches on leadership.

Fear is a powerful tool for destroying the soul of a person and the spirit of a creative artist.  Rulers have used it for centuries and so have parents.  "You better behave or the bogeyman will get you."

Ask yourself what you are afraid of?  What fears control your actions?  What fears are holding you back?  Are you afraid of snakes?  Heights?  Success?  Math?  A blank piece of paper?  Silence?  A blank canvas?  The neighbor's dog?

Creative leaders must learn to shake off the chains of fear.  Fear can prevent us from taking risks, trying new ideas, exploring new ways of thinking.  Each of us must find the courage to do what we desire to do despite our fears.

In 2010 my daughter and her husband moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota without jobs.  This is something I have never had the courage to do — to simply pick up and leave.  It took them six months to find jobs, but they did it.  I am sure there were many moments of fear, but they had the courage to keep going.

Anwar el-Sadat, Jimmy Carter

and Menachem Begin

at the signing of the treaty

at the White House.

During these days when Egypt is all over the news, it is important that we also remember history.  Anwar el-Sadat was one of 13 children born to poor Egyptian parents.  Sadat participated in the military coup that launched the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.  He served under Gamal Abdel Nasser who was President until 1970.  He became President when Nasser died and served for eleven years until he was assassinated in 1981 by military officers.  His vice-president, Hosni Mubarak, became president.

Sadat signed the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1979 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  He said at the time: "Let us put an end to wars, let us reshape life on the solid basis of equity and truth."

Walter Inglis Anderson

Self-Portrait

"Our lives improve only when we take chances . . . and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves."

— Walter Inglis Anderson

American Artist, Writer

1903 - 1965

Life is about taking chances.  Risk is a key part of success.  And, I think, most creative leaders understand this.  The very nature of creativity is risk taking.  In order to create something new, we have to break down old patterns and rebuild in a different way.  But if we are being honest with ourselves, we must admit that we do not take risks in every area of our lives.  I for one will not risk my financial stability and security.  I am an intellectual risk taker.  I will explore new ideas and new ways of thinking.  I will question my beliefs and those of others, but I am not an entrepreneur.  I will not gamble the financial security of my family and myself.   I will take risks with my writing and my art, but I won't risk my relationships with my family and friends.

Where do you draw the line?  What are you not willing to risk?  I am not willing to risk my money.  If I gamble at a casino, I am only willing to lose five dollars.  I work too hard for my money to throw it way. 

Anderson is right.  The most difficult risk is being honest with ourselves, admitting our failures and our weaknesses.  What are your blind spots?  What are you not willing to admit to yourself or to others?  What do you want to keep hidden from the world?  It takes courage to be honest with yourself.  To face your fears and failures and honestly assess your weaknesses.

Wendell Phillips

"Revolutions are not made: they come.  A revolution is as natural a growth as an oak.  It comes out of the past.  Its foundations are laid far back."

— Wendell Phillips

American Abolitionist, Orator, Lawyer, Author

1811- 1884

What, you might ask, do revolutions have to do with creativity?  Revolutions are a creative response to the status quo and happen at all levels of society.  Revolutions are happening in literature and art as each generation rejects the styles of previous generations.  Consider how Impressionism, Cubism and Abstract Expressionism started out as movements outside the mainstream.  

Revolutionaries have to think outside the box.  They have to be willing to see the world through new eyes.  The abolitionists stood up against slavery.  The civil rights activists stood up against segregation.  Wendell Phillips also said:  "Physical bravery is an animal instinct, moral bravery is a much higher and truer courage."  

What risks are you taking in your art?  Your writing?  Are you challenging the status quo?  Are you standing up for what is right?  Are you looking at the world with fresh eyes?  Creative leaders have to think outside the box.  They need to risk trying new techniques — new ways of thinking.

Wendell Phillips was born in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard Law School.  He was a powerful speaker and became a voice of the anti-slavery movement.

Alice Neel

"I thought you had to give up a lot for art, and you did.  It required complete concentration.  It also required that whatever money you had had to be put into art materials."

— Alice Neel

American Artist

1900 - 1984

The Spanish Family (1943)

What have you had to give up in order to be able to paint, or write or play music?  Our muses can be demanding — asking us to give up relationships, friendships and even family.  And sometimes our muses will drain our spirit and leave us battered and lifeless.  Art requires the artist to be faithful and loyal.   Art demands that we work hard, often with little or no respect, money or fame.  We labor on day and night hoping that one day someone will discover us.  Sometimes we hurt those we love.  We sacrifice our family on the altar of creativity.  And for what?  The hope that maybe one day someone will notice.  It takes a lot of courage to be an artist.  To be willing to sacrifice so much.  For some of us, we sacrifice our sanity or even our lives.  

And yet, I think there is another way.  We can find balance in our lives.  We don't have to sacrifice everything.  We can maintain our sanity without falling off the cliff.  Don't let the creative impulse destroy you.  Be strong.  Find a way to balance the wild and crazy spirit with the routines of daily living.  Maybe you can knit, take up yoga, play golf or simply take a walk.  Embrace the whole you, not just the creative side.  Anything taken to the extreme is destructive.

Theodore H. White

"To go against the dominant thinking of your friends, of most of the people you see every day, is perhaps the most difficult act of heroism you can have."

— Theodore H. White

American Journalist/Writer

1915 - 1986

As artists and creative leaders, we often have to stand alone against the thinking of family and friends.  This is very difficult to do and often we will be criticized for what we think and the way we behave.  This happened to me early in my life.  I grew up in the Mennonite church in central Illinois.  When I was a sophomore in high school, I committed myself to being a minister.  By the time I was a senior, I was no longer a believer in the faith of my forefathers.  This admission was very difficult for both my mother and father to hear.  

Do you stand up for what you believe even though the people around you disagree with you?  Did you become an artist despite the wishes of your parents?  Many parents prefer their children become doctors and lawyers.  It takes a strong-willed individual to become a writer or a painter in the face of parental opposition.  As Theodore White says, each of you are heroes.  Celebrate and appreciate your strength and individuality.

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.)

Ferruccio Busoni

"The function of the creative artist consists of making laws, not in following laws already made."

— Ferruccio Busoni

Italian Composer, Pianist

1866 - 1924

When I teach people how to speak, I always tell them to learn the rules of speaking, but to understand that they can break every rule.  Speaking is an art, not a science.  Creative leaders understand that there are rules and techniques governing their art, but they have the right to break the rules.  Creative leaders are willing to take a risk and attempt something that lesser artists are unwilling to risk.  If you study the long history of the arts, you will see the pattern — every generation breaks the rules of the older generations and makes new rules.  Think of the changes the impressionists, the cubists and the abstract expressionists  made to art in the last 150 years.  Think about the rules that writers and musicians have broken in the past and continue to break today.  What risks are you taking with your art?  What rules have you been willing to bend and break?  What new rules have you put in their place.  In art, nothing is absolute.

Vincent van Gogh

"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"

— Vincent van Gogh

Dutch Artist

1853 - 1890

What stories do you tell yourself about fear and courage?  We all have times when we are afraid and times when we have the courage to conquer our fears.  Being afraid does not mean we do not have courage.  Failing to act because we are afraid sometimes is in our best interest.      Taking action when we are afraid is sometimes foolish.

Paulo Coelho

"When you find your path, you must not be afraid.  You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat, and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way."

— Paulo Coelho

Brazilian Novelist

1947 - 

I remember when I was first writing I would ask the question that many people who first find the creative path ask:  Do I have talent?  And I hoped that some wise teacher would say that I was a talented writer and that I should devote myself to writing.  Now, having trod this path for years, I know that no one can affirm or deny my talent.  It is what it is.  We all have creative talent.  We can either put it to good use or squander it.

But there is a question within the question.  When we ask do we have talent, the hidden question is:  Will I be rich and famous?  And the answer for many of us on the creative path is no.  Most creative leaders will work in obscurity and receive only a pittance for their labors.  If money and fame is your desire, there are easier paths to walk.  To walk the creative path is do it because you love it.

Erica Jong

"Everyone has talent.  What is rare is the courage to follow that talent to the dark place where it leads."

— Erica Jong

American Writer

1942 - 

What is your talent and have you followed where it will lead you?  As a writer, it has happened to me.  When I get close to revealing the darkness within my spirit, I back away.  My mind finds some reason to get up from the writing table.  And I don't follow my talent into the dark cave of my imagination.  As a speaker and storyteller, there are places I don't go because I know others will be uncomfortable.  It takes courage to follow your muse —  to open yourself up and expose your secrets to a world that might laugh and make fun.  Yes, Erica, everyone has talent.

Isak Dinesen

"All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them."

— Isak Dinesen

Danish Writer

1885 - 1962

In the last 20 years, the publishing world has sought to give us more and more memoirs —   people sharing their own stories of their sorrow and pain.  They have taken Dinesen's quote to heart.  And there is a lot of truth here.  We all tell our personal story — if not to others, at least to ourselves.  When my wife and I wrote our book on pet loss, we gave voice to the pain that these pet lovers felt.  We allowed them to tell their stories.  What is your story?  What sorrows darken your face?  Have you put it in words?  In pictures?  In music?  Healing comes with the sharing of our stories.