Robert Rauschenberg

"I've not been cursed with talent, which could be a great inhibitor."

Robert Rauschenberg

American Artist

1925 - 2008

Estate

(1963)

Sometimes being blessed with too much talent can have a negative impact on a person's creative output. If painting or writing comes too easily, the person may quit out of boredom.  Or he may not work up to his potential because it requires so little effort.  He doesn't push himself.  Or if the talent is recognized early, expectations may be set so high by the powers that be that the person can not live up to the expectations.

If a person has to work hard to achieve great works of art, he may appreciate his accomplishments more.  He knows the amount of effort that went into the work.  He knows the obstacles he had to overcome.

So the key to success is not talent, but desire, hard work and persistence.  If you have the desire, work hard to perfect your skill and keep going long after everyone else has quit, you will be a success.

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? 

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.

Harley King

Self-Portrait

Oil Pastels

(2011)

"Sometimes we fight who we are, struggling against ourselves and our natures.  But we must learn to accept who we are and appreciate who we become.  We must love ourselves for what and who we are, and believe in our talents."

— Harley King

American Poet, Speaker

1949 - 

I have struggled much of my life to find myself and my place in this world.  I have never been satisfied, always wanting to do more, to accomplish more.  I wanted to be a famous writer.  But instead, my success came through my speaking.  While I have published 14 books, my readership is small and my paycheck is even smaller.  Yet, somewhere a long the way I learned to accept who I am and to trust that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.  I touch people's lives with my words.  

I wrote the words above when I turned fifty.  Today I turn 62 and I feel that I have learned not to struggle against myself, and have accepted who I am as well as my strengths and limitations.  I have learned to hug myself and to love who I am.

Have you learned to love yourself and to believe in your talents?  Do you appreciate the life you live and accept your strengths and weaknesses?  None of us are perfect and the lives we lead are not perfect, but we are leading the life we have chosen through our thoughts and actions.  




Here is a link to my reading of my poem, Indecision, inspired by the Renoir painting, Umbrellas.  Click on Indecision and it will take you to a page on my website.

Joseph Conrad

"I don't like work — no man does — but I like what is in work: the chance to find yourself."

— Joseph Conrad

Polish Novelist

1857 - 1924

Unlike Conrad, I do like to work.  I find that if I don't work I become bored and more tired than when I work.  Although, I do from time to time find myself procrastinating, particularly with creative work.  The creative side of me doesn't want to sit down and do the work.  But I strongly agree with the second half of the quote.  Work does give me a chance to explore who I am as an artist and writer.  Work helps me to understand myself better and to appreciate my talents and gifts.  Work also challenges me and pushes me to go farther than I thought possible.

I believe we ought to celebrate work.  All work is honorable if approached with the right attitude.  Housework and housekeeping is very important work.  So is child-rearing.  Raising and educating the next generation is probably the most important work of all.  I am in awe of people who are knowledgeable about the work they do.  When I meet a sales clerk in a store who knows his product, I compliment him.  I love to listen to the sales pitch of great sales people.  Sometimes I buy and sometimes I don't, but I enjoy the ride.  I celebrate people who work their hands — carpenters, farmers, mechanics.  I am not good with my hands because I am too slow.  Some people have the gift for gab.  I have heard some fantastic speakers in my life.  Work for me is both an art and a skill.

The work that creative leaders do should also be celebrated.  Sometimes people don't understand the creative process and so they don't appreciate the working habits of artists and writers.  Painting, sculpting and writing are not 9 to 5 jobs.  You may work for an hour here and an hour there, but your mind is always working both consciously and unconsciously.  In fact, the unconscious work for a creative leader is probably the most important work and the most difficult.  So celebrate and appreciate the work you do.

Eric Hoffer

"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings."

— Eric Hoffer

American Philosopher/Writer

1902 - 1983

We should give thanks daily for the gifts that we have been given.  The world we live in can be a difficult, negative place and yet we must find a way to celebrate the positive, to believe in that which is good and precious.  As creative leaders our gifts and talents are many.  I am thankful that I can type, that I can read, that I can write, that I can create.  Sometimes it is the small things that are most important.  

Give thanks for what you have been given.  Develop an attitude of gratitude.  Every day write down ten things for which you are grateful.  The choice is yours.  Focus on what you have, not what you don't have.  Don't like that picture you painted?  Don't think you have much skill in drawing?  Don't despair.  Focus on your talent for color or your insight into human nature.  Honor the gifts that you have.  Appreciate your strengths. Celebrate life.  

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.

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.

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. 

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.