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?  

Katharine Graham

"To love what you do and feel that it matters — how could anything be more fun?"

— Katharine Graham

American Publisher

1917 - 2001

Do you love to paint?  Do you love to write?  Do you love to act?  Do you love to draw?  What is your passion?  If you do not enjoy writing or singing or painting, then maybe it is time to get out of the creative business and find something you love to do.   The creative world is difficult and if you don't have fun being creative, you will feel like you have been hit by truck. 

What we as creative leaders do is very important.  We touch people's lives and help them feel better about themselves.  We solve problems and show the world a better way.  We bring beauty and ideas into the world.  We help people escape their mundane worlds for a short time.  We inspire people to be better than they are.  We give hope where there is none.  We help people visit new worlds and experience new places.

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.

Christina Baldwin

"Story is the mother of us all.  First we wrap our lives in language and then we act on who we say we are.  We proceed from the word into the world and make a world based on our stories."

— Christina Baldwin

American Writer

The world we live in is the world we have created by the stories we tell ourselves individually and collectively.  Both personal, family and community history is made up of remembered stories that we have told ourselves over the years.  We make decisions about our lives based on the stories we believe to be true.  As creative leaders in our society, what stories are you telling in your writing and painting?  The stories that you and I choose to tell help shape the future of our world.