I was one of those kids who listened carefully when the adults were talking. I took in as much as I could, trying to understand the world around me. Every now and then I’d hear someone refer to “thinking outside the box.” And, in the literal way a child sometimes thinks, I would picture boxes...
Tag: creativity
The Brilliance of Illness
It’s hard to be brilliant when you are sick. Remember when you were a kid and became ill, and your mother made a bed on the couch, turned on your favorite cartoons, made you chicken soup and told you everything was going to be better soon? Is it wrong that right now I wish I...
Do You Trust Yourself?
Yesterday I was interviewing Terri Norvell for the radio show I co-host. She’s an expert on inner trust. She made a comment that really stuck with me. She said, “If you can’t trust yourself, you can’t fully trust other people.” And oh, how we need other people if we want to succeed. She went on...
The Hardest Easy Job
I attended the National Speakers Association convention this past weekend, and heard a presenter refer to speaking as one of the “hardest ‘easy’ jobs there is.” Made us all laugh. A friend of mine recently sought a speaker for a 30-minute keynote to kick off her event. When he quoted her a $5,000 fee, she...
Sing it again, Mom
I love to sing. That’s not to say I’m great at it. I can carry a tune, and I’m game enough to massacre a song or two on karaoke, but my favorite way to use song has always been to get my kids’ attention. As they were growing up, whenever they were ignoring my directives...
The Power of Art
“Black Lives Matter” may just be one of the most powerful political slogans of our time. And it all started with a Facebook post. According to an article I read, Alicia Garza was upset when George Zimmerman was acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin. She wrote a heartfelt post on Facebook that contained the words, “black...
What to Do with Your Crazy Ideas
“Have you ever watched someone’s face when they utter the words, ‘I have a crazy idea’? It lights up! Why? Because in that moment they are experiencing untethered imagination, when the words ‘what if’ seem oh, so possible.” Those are the opening lines to my new video “What to Do with Your Crazy Ideas.” It’s...
Cookies, Cards and Creativity
I know you’re out shopping today or hanging up those Christmas lights. The holiday madness is upon us. When you get a quiet moment, watch this video on how to relax and let your creative energy carry you through this crazy and very special time of year.
How Doing Something Wrong Can Sometimes Feel So Right
The other day I was invited to a party at one of those places where everyone drinks wine and learns how to paint the same picture. I’ve never been a good artist, and that night my right arm was hurting from typing all day. I didn’t want to irritate it further by holding up a...
Back to School Means Back to Work
It’s that time of year again. You can almost smell the freshly sharpened pencils, the eraser shavings, and the Elmer’s glue. Even for those of us who graduated eons ago, the end of summer still feels like back to school. Every autumn, most of the artists I know recommit to their work. All summer you...