Hermann Hesse

"Without words, without writing and without books, there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity.







— Hermann Hesse

German Poet, Novelist and Painter

1877 - 1962

We often take for granted the words we speak and the words we write.  We are so busy with our lives that we fail to give thanks for one of the most important things that human beings share — language.  Without language, communication would be much more difficult and we probably would not have achieved many of inventions that have been created.  And at the heart of language are the words we speak and write.  Writers understand the power of words and the importance of choosing the perfect word for the moment.  The  wrong word used at the wrong time has destroyed lives.  

Ticino Landscape
(1920)

And words have such power that we have made some words off limits.  Polite society does not say certain words.  And many today strive to be political correct and when our TV and radio personalities cross the line, they are fired or forced to resign for saying certain words.  The old saying that sticks and stones will hurt my bones but words will never harm is simply not true.  We all have stored in our memory banks words that were said by some authority figure like a parent or teacher that have emotionally harmed us for years and decades.

It is time to celebrate the power of words and language.  It is time we give writers their due.  They spend a lifetime working with words — seeking to understand and communicate that which is best in each of us.  It is time to believe in the great gift we have been given — language.

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."

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.

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.

Bernard Malamud

"Without heroes, we are all plain people and don't know how far we can go."

— Bernard Malamud

American novelist

1914 - 1986

Who are your heroes?  Who are the people who inspire you?  We all need heroes.  Growing up my heroes were baseball players like Bob Gibson and Stan Musial.  In college my political heroes were Eugene McCarthy, Senator, and Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader.  The poets who were my heroes in those college years were T. S. Elliot, Arthur Rimbaud and Theodore Roethke.  When I got into business, my hero was Tom Peters.  I modeled my speaking style after his.  Harry S. Truman, 33rd President, is another of my heroes.  Who are your heroes?  Who has inspired you?  Heroes are important because they role-model what we want to be.  They push us to go farther than we think possible.