Larry Wilde

"Like all creative souls, writers learn over time that while they may be failing, they are not failures.  They learn from their mistakes, and they keep on going.  When it seems they've hit a stone wall, they find a way to move ahead.  Even if it takes them down a radically different path."

— Larry Wilde

American Writer, Speaker

1928 - 

The challenge that many creative leaders face is learning to separate their creations from who they are.  If we identify too closely with our creations, we will not be able to handle criticism or failure.  We must realize that we are much more than our creations.  We are human beings with friends, families and other important relationships.  If we let the failure of our creations to depress or anger us, we are identifying too closely with them.  Sometimes our creations will not find a worshiping or adoring audience.  And this is okay.  Learn not to depend on the praise of others — editors, publishers, readers, critics, etc.  Taste is arbitrary and fickle.  Believe in your work and some day an audience will appear.  

Colette

"You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm."

— Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette

French Novelist

1873 - 1954

Humans are not perfect.  We make foolish mistakes.  We behave in ways that we know we shouldn't.  We make choices that we later question.  We take the wrong turn in the road and find ourselves at a dead end.  We run out of gas and find ourselves stranded at the edge of the road.  We trust someone when we should have been wary.  Even the most rational of beings can make foolish decisions.  And creative leaders are not immune from this disease of foolishness.  Read the biography of any writer, artist or musician and you will find story after story of mistakes.  

Are you enthusiastic about your mistakes or do you try to sweep them under a carpet so no one finds out?  Do you celebrate your foolishness with a toast?  Are you able to laugh at your foolish mistakes?  Do you find humor in your imperfections?  Do you learn from your mistakes or are you doomed to repeat them again and again?

Richard Wollheim

"Learning appears as a way of staying young, perhaps of staying alive, and also as a way of growing up, perhaps facing death."

— Richard Wollheim

British Author, Philosopher

1923 - 2003

Life-long learning is a powerful habit to develop.  Learning something new keeps us in touch with our youth and helps us to stay active and alive.  What have you learned in the last week?  Who has taught you something new about yourself or your art?  

We experience the world through our senses — hearing, seeing, tasting, touching and smelling.  And what we experience teaches us much if we are paying attention and alert to the possibilities.  Did you smell the wind today?  Did you hear the approaching storm?  Do you taste the rain on your face?

From the time we are born until we die, our purpose is to learn, to grow, and to change.  Most learning does not occur in school and we don't stop learning once we graduate.  Cultivate a learning attitude.  Unfortunately, many people do not learn from their mistakes.  They are not willing to change and grow.  To be a great artist or writer, you must be constantly learning about the world in which we inhabit.

And when we face death, it will teach us much that we have forgotten.  Do not be afraid of death.  Understand that it is a gift.  It is a door through which we pass, a gate that leads to another world.

George Washington Carver

"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong.  Because someday in life you will have been all of these."

— George Washington Carver

American Scientist

1864 - 1943

One of challenges we all face is accepting people who are different than ourselves.  And I am not talking here about race or culture or religon or nationality.  I'm talking about the little things that separate people.  Is there someone in your life who talks  too much or too little?  Are there people who you perceive to be stuck-up?  Do you dislikefat people or sloppy people?  Is there someone in your life who is too organized or too thin?  Do you think all poets are crazy and should get a real job?  Do you not like the way someone combs his hair or the clothes he wears?

As George Washington Carver points out, we are all human.  We have all been young and if we live long enough we will all grow old.  What people who complain about growing old don't realize is that the alternative is dying young.  Now the interesting idea in this quote is that we need to be tolerant of both the strong and the weak.  And it is easy to see being tolerant of the weak, but why the strong?  I think the reason we need to be tolerant of the strong is because they also make mistakes.  We have a tendency to put people on a pedestal and then knock them off.  We don't like it when our heroes are too perfect.  We prefer them to have clay feet so we can knock them down.

As writers, artists and actors, we sometimes put other actors, writers and artists on a pedestal and become disappointed when they don't live up to our expectations.  We need to become more accepting and tolerant of our peers, mentors and teachers.  We are all human and we all make mistakes.  The message is simple: judge not others.

Henry Ford

"Failure is the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."

— Henry Ford

American Businessman

1863 - 1947

Creativity is not a talent that is limited to artists and writers.  There many business leaders who have the gift of creativity.  Henry Ford was a creative genius who revolutionized the world of business and the American culture.  Ford built his first car inside a rented building.  When the car was finished, he realized that the door was not big enough for the car to go through so he destroyed an entire wall.  He did not let the wall stand in the way of test driving his first car.  Do you learn from your mistakes?  In every failure is an opportunity to grow and change.  When something knocks you off your feet, pick yourself up and begin again. 

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"Advice is like snow — the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind."

— Samuel Taylor Coleridge

English Poet

1772 - 1834

As creative leaders, we all receive advice — some good, some bad, and some dangerous.  Be careful of who you listen to.  The wrong advice can be damaging to your emotional and mental health as well as your creative output.  Good advice can keep you on track and motivated to keep producing creative work.  Dangerous advice is that which keeps us from fulfilling our potential.  We give up because some expert says we will never amount to anything.  

As creative leaders, we are also tempted to give advice.  Be careful.  The wrong advice can destroy a potential artist or writer.  I learned a valuable technique from a trainer many years ago.  He said if you are coaching someone on skill development, you should ask them two questions:  What did you do right?  and What will you do differently next time.

Most people know when they made a mistake or messed up, even if they don't consciously admit it.  And when they write or paint something, they are very critical of themselves.  So get them to focus on what they did right?  Have them focus on the good things.  Then ask them what they will do differently the next time they write a story or paint a picture?  Get the person to focus on how he can improve.   

Miles Davis

"Do not fear mistakes — there are none."

— Miles Davis

Jazz Musician

1926 - 1991

The older I have become; the more I subscribe to this philosophy.  Mistakes are in the minds of those who need to find fault.  When I write something, it is not a mistake.  It is where my mind wanted to go — where I am meant to go.  Perfection is an illusion.  It does not exist and if it did we would invent mistakes.  The world is not black or white.  It is all gray.  As a painter, you used a green paint when convention says you should have used red.  It is not a mistake.  Learn to give your mind free rein — to explore and change the universe.  We are where we are because it is where we need to be.  Things happen for a reason even if we don't know what the reason is.  So go ahead and make mistakes today.  Taste the favor of them in your mouth and be happy.