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?  

Mark Rothko

"The most important tool the artist fashions through constant practice is faith in his ability to produce miracles when they are needed."

Mark Rothko

Russian Artist

1903 - 1970

I remember in the early days of speaking when I was conducting 2 1/2 day workshops, I was never sure what the ultimate outcome would be — would the group bond and be persuaded by the message I was delivering.  After conducting more than 25 sessions, I became confident that no matter where the group began, they would end up in the same place — passionate about creating a caring environment for their customers and employees.  I developed a faith that the program worked.  I learned to believe in my ability to connect and bond with my audience.

As creative leaders we need to believe in what we are doing.  We need to have the faith that the art we are producing is good.  When our backs are up against the wall, we will be able to produce a miracle.  Do you have faith in your abilities?  Do you believe in what you are doing?

Graham Greene

"Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation."

— Graham Greene

British Novelist

1904 - 1991

Have you ever thought of your writing or your painting as a form of therapy, as a way to help you through the challenges you face in life with at least a part of your sanity?  This goes to the heart of who do we create for?  Ourselves or others?  I think the answer for the most part is ourselves.  If we write what others want us to write or paint what others want us to paint, I think we hurt ourselves more than help ourselves.  We all have demons in our lives that we must work through.  For some it is their childhood.  For others it is the death of someone they loved dearly.  For others it is the spiritual doubts they have.  Creating works of art helps us cope with the pain that is at the heart of our lives.  It helps us face the fears that try to force us into hiding.  It helps us to keep the madness at bay for a little while.

Laura Kasischke

"Writing is really just a matter of writing a lot, writing consistently and having faith that you'll continue to get better and better.  Sometimes people think that if they don't display great talent and have some success right away, they won't succeed.  But writing is about struggling through and learning and finding out what it is about writing itself that you really love."

— Laura Kasischke

American Novelist, Poet

1961 - 

If success comes too early, it can destroy an artist.  Early success can create writer's block.  Artists become overwhelmed by the success and stop painting.  People start enjoying their celebrity status and forget about what brought them there.  And sometimes they start believing their own press clippings.  Sometimes it is better to wait until you are emotionally ready and have the wisdom to handle it.  

If writing or painting comes too easy, people often lose interest and look for something more challenging.  If writing is a struggle, then success when it comes will be sweeter.  Have the faith to keep writing, to keep drawing or to keep painting even when there seems to be no hope of success.  

Alan Watts

"Faith is, above all, openness; an act of trust in the unknown."

— Alan Watts

British Philosopher, Writer, Speaker

1915 - 1973

Creative leaders need faith in their talent and in their ability to find the answers to the problems they face in their artistic endeavors.  This requires being open to new ways of viewing the world — to believing the answer lies within the psychic.  Creative leaders must also trust the unknown.  

When you find yourself staring at a blank piece of paper or a blank canvas have the faith that you will fill it and complete your story, your poem or your painting.  You must have faith in yourself and trust that you have the skill and the talent to complete the work.  If you lose faith,  you will fail.

Do you have faith in yourself?  In your talent?  In your skill?  In your artistic vision?  Do you trust that you will produce the creative work that you are meant to produce?  Do you trust the unknown?

Listen to Alan Watts in this animation video.

Maria Luz Q. King

Dancer

(2007)

"I have learned that in life nothing is forever, so maybe our dreams are not meant to be forever.  But the memory is forever!  The memories are what we take to heaven."

— Maria Luz Q. King

Mexican-American Artist, Author

1952 - 

Homeless
(2007)

Have you ever let go of your dreams?  I don't mean quit on your dreams.  I don't mean give up on your dreams.  I mean let them go.  Maybe you have outgrown them.  Or maybe you achieved the dream for a short period of time and that was enough.  Maybe our dreams are not meant to be forever.  Nothing in this physical world is permanent.  Nothing lasts forever.  The seasons come and go.  And so do people.  

Are there dreams that you need to let go of?  Are there dreams that are holding you back from success?  Sometimes our fantasies and dreams become barriers that prevent us from becoming whom we need to become.  Are you clinging to some dream that will never happen?  Is it time to let the dream go?

Where do our dreams come from?  Our genes?  Our parents?  Society?  God?  Do we take our dreams with us when we die?  Or do our dreams die with our bodies?  I think our dreams are gifts that provide meaning to our lives.  Our dreams inspire us to do more — to achieve more, to be more.

Denis Waitley

"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker.  Failure is delay, not defeat.  It is a temporary detour, not a dead end."

— Denis Waitley

American Author, Speaker

1933 -

How do you view failure?  When you feel you have failed at something, do you stop doing it?  Failure for many people is a dead end.  They don't view it as a detour on the road of life.  How you respond to perceived failure says a lot about who you are and what you will accomplish in life.  

Every failure is an opportunity to learn something new?  To increase our understanding of the world around us.  What have you learned from your failures?  Do you use your failures as inspiration to work harder?  Or do your failures become your excuse to quit and give up?  Failure is a test of your character and your determination.

Playing sports taught me a lot about failure.  In baseball, no batter gets a hit every time he comes up to bat.  In fact, if a batter gets a hit three out of ten at bats, he is considered to be an great hitter.  In Little League, I was not a very good hitter despite my size.  My best game was two weeks after appendix surgery.  I played three innings and had 2 singles.

In basketball, no player makes every shot he takes.  In fact, if a player makes 50% of his shots, he is considered to be a good shooter.  When I was a freshman in high school, I dreamed of playing in and winning the state high school championship my senior year.  And while my team had a record of 28 wins and 1 loss, we never made it to the state championship.  That final loss and failure to play in the championship became a symbol for my loss of religious faith.  And for years I held onto that symbol and let it guide my life.  What I saw as a failure was actually a very successful year.  To play 29 games and only to lose the last one is a fantastic record.  Many teams would love to have that kind of winning record.  But in my mind's eye I saw it as a failure.

What failures are you holding onto?  What failures do you need to let go?

Benjamin Spock

"Trust yourself.  You know more than you think you do."

— Benjamin Spock

American Pediatrician, Author

1903 - 1998

 

Spock wrote these words to the mothers of baby boomers in his best selling book, Baby and Child Care, and he launched a generation.  And his advice is just as important to creative leaders.  As artistic people, we need learn to trust ourselves -- our intuition.  The knowledge we have to write, to draw and to act is inside of us.  We need to learn to hear that small voice when it speaks and then to do what it says.  Too often we second guess ourselves and do what we think we should do.

Believe in yourself.  Believe in your talent.  Believe in your creative gift.  Believe in that small voice deep inside.  If you learn to trust yourself, you will be successful.

Rabindranath Tagore

"Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark."

— Rabindranath Tagore

Bengali Poet, Novelist, Musician, Painter, Playwright

1861 - 1941

Do you believe in your artistic talent?  Do you have faith in your creativity?  Do you let your creative light shine or do you hide it under a bushel basket and refuse to share it with the world?  Creative leaders need to have the faith that they are on the right path.  Even in those darkest hours before the dawn, you need to understand the sun will rise again — that your creative work is important.  Don't give up on yourself.  Don't give up on the work you do.  You are unique and special.  No one else can create the paintings, the poems or the novels that you can create.  If you don't use your creative gift to produce art, the world will have lost much.  So pick up your pen and write.  Pick up your brush and paint.  Pick up your guitar and sing.

Here is a poem by Tagore:

My Song

by Rabindranath Tagore

This song of mine will wind its music around you,

my child, like the fond arms of love.

The song of mine will touch your forehead

like a kiss of blessing.

When you are alone it will sit by your side and

whisper in your ear, when you are in the crowd

it will fence you about with aloofness.

My song will be like a pair of wings to your dreams,

it will transport your heart to the verge of the unknown.

It will be like the faithful star overhead

when dark night is over your road.

My song will sit in the pupils of your eyes,

and will carry your sight into the heart of things.

And when my voice is silenced in death,

my song will speak in your living heart.