A Decade Old

Creative.

Silly.

Insightful.

Goofy.

Adventurous.

Compassionate.

Energetic.

Sensitive.

Tenderhearted.

Fun-Loving.

a Gift.

Dont' Be A Ball Hog

One of my soccer coaches used to say:

"I don't care if you score the goal, I care if you get the assist...

...your job is to make your teammates look good."

Being a key player on a team means setting those around you up for success. A generous player brings out the best in others in such a way that their own weaknesses get minimized (which is greatly needed if we are going to contribute anything worth-while in this world).

Conversely, it is the "Ball Hog" who, convinced that they are the ones who will "save the day", end up doing everything, running all over the field with little direction and clarity, and in the process greatly minimizing the role of their teammates.

One creates an environment where others see the value of their play and look forward to contributing; giving way to new insight and possibility. The other creates a fractured state of frustration in which the team is nothing more than a group of uninspired individuals who have no stake or care in the direction the team is headed.

What kind of player are you? Are you going to keep insisting on doing it all yourself at the expense of your team and your common goal? Or, will you work in a way that inspires others to contribute their best because you were quick to pass the ball.

Wait In Line

Next time you find yourself in a line try something...

Wait.

You may be thinking, "Isn't that kind of obvious?"

I don't think so. Just take a look at how many people fill their time waiting in line on their mobile devices. People playing Angry Birds, checking email while listening to Green Day (that would be me), or Tweeting about how lines at the grocery store make them crazy.

You can fill your time in line with so much mindless consumption that before you know it it's your turn at the check out, and you can think to yourself, "man, time flew by".

"Waiting", in these circumstances, is really nothing more than mindless interaction with the illusion that we are actually accomplishing something so that we don't feel like our time was wasted.

While we may be completing some minor tasks, the constant influx of data keeps our mind bouncing from one thing to the next without ever having to stop, pause, reflect, and assess. Moments in our day where we are forced to wait can actually become sacred spaces for us to disconnect from life's hurried pace and take a bird's-eye-view of our day or even our life.

In our true waiting we can be free to observe the people and situations around us, as well as observe where our day has been and where our day is going. Waiting can help us connect to life's bigger picture. Waiting, emptying, pausing are often the canvas for new thoughts, ideas, and discoveries.

So whether you are at the grocery store, doctor's office, or in the parking lot of your kid's school, try using your time in line to simply wait.

Post It on the Refrigerator

Your art doesn't have to have wall space at the Guggenheim to capture the imagination of others. It doesn't need to have it's own exhibit at MoMA to create a following. And it certainly doesn't need to be hung next to a Rembrandt at the Louvre to shape the world.

The refrigerator will work just fine.

We all have a forum in which to share our thoughts, our ideas, our art. It might be the corner of a local coffee house outfitted with a stool and microphone, a bulletin board in the break room at work, or a kitchen table surrounded by family and friends.

We all have a refrigerator in which to bring our art to the public.

And so your family, friends, and co-workers; those who share the same niche interest as you are waiting. Waiting to hear from you; waiting to see just what you will post on the refrigerator that will shape the way the rest of us view the world.

What will you post on your refrigerator?

Lonely Lone Ranger?

It's tough to be a "Lone Ranger"...

...even the Lone Ranger had a sidekick; a teammate.

Why? Because creativity never develops in a vacuum. You need people to surround you, bounce ideas off of, and to tell you that you're crazy.

The difficulty is in finding the right people. You need teammates who believe in you when you fail to believe in yourself, who push you when you decide it's time for a break, and who tell you to move on when there is something waiting up ahead to discover.

So go ahead and be a "Lone Ranger"; share ideas that the world thinks are peculiar, offer suggestions that dwell far outside the box, and never let your dreams be tamed by the oppression of the status quo. But just remember, that in order to thrive like the Lone Ranger...you need to be a part of a team.

Begin

The greatest thing Steve Jobs did? Not the Apple II or the iOS software. I don't think it's his vision for Pixar or development of iTunes which changed the way we listen to music. And sorry to say, I don't think it's the creation of the iPhone or iPad.

Steve Jobs' greatest contribution is that he began.

In a garage with a friend and an idea.

No rules to follow; simply doing what only he could do.

Too many times we get hung up on trying to make something spectacular that we become paralyzed from doing anything at all. You can't change the world if you don't begin somewhere.

Whom Shall We Disappoint?

I came across this passage in Seth Godin's book, We Are All Weird, and wanted to share it with you:

If you persist in trying to be all things to all people, you will fail. The only alternative, then, is to be something important to a few people.

And to get there? To get there you must disappoint some slightly engaged normal folks, who, to tell the truth, can probably live just fine without you.

The ski area at Jackson Hole has a choice: to become even more welcoming to extreme skiers who seek out the expert trails, or to dumb the facility down to be more open to the average skiers who represent the bulk of vacationing travelers who might consider a trip.

You can probably hear the argument in your head. "But if we don't open more beginner slopes and build a new lodge, we'll lose these customers to Aspen!" It's not easy to walk away from average, because average represents mass, or the promise of mass. The chance to become the next Wonder Bread/Budweiser/Chevy is seductive, but no longer practical. The field is too crowded, and there's not enough upside after you build a middle-of-the-road normal brand.

If you cater to the normal, you will disappoint the weird. And as the world gets weirder, that's a dumb strategy.

Un-Chain Your Yard

Is this the best solution?

Sure, I understand that you live on the corner lot of a busy neighborhood and that people cut across your lawn.

Yeah, I get that that when people regularly walk across your yard they trample the grass you work hard to keep green.

And absolutely, I can appreciate that you do not want a pathway of dead grass, making for one big eye-sore on your front lawn.

But, is the rusty chain (pad-locked to a tree and tethered buy an equally rusty stake) any better?

What message do you send to your neighbors and community when you string rusty chains on your lawn?

Maybe instead of counteracting and blocking the "offer" of others you could accept and take the "conversation" some place new.

Why not create a pathway across the corner of your lawn (think "Better Homes and Gardens"; paving stones and all) to facilitate what people are naturally inclined to do?

Every day people say and do things we wish they wouldn't. They infringe on our space and trample things that are important to us. Our first reaction is often to "shut it down", and so, we do equally clumsy things...like wrap chains around trees.

Chains in our yards cut off community and deprive relationships of what they need to be nurtured.

So today, when someone takes a short-cut through your yard, resist the easy "solution" that chains relationships from developing, and instead, challenge yourself to create a new pathway that will cultivate the growth of a relationship.

Mr. November

My son Luke recently won a calendar contest through Consumers Energy. Elementary age kids from all over MI entered drawings to be considered for CE's 2011-2012 Safety Calendar and Luke's was chosen to represent the month of November.

While Luke's picture has something to teach us about electricity (namely the "safe zone" in coming across a downed power-line), it also has something to teach us about art.

Good art educates.

It might be a song's rhythmic melodies that teach us about the movements of life, a clever satirist who points out the folly of our politics, or a photo's raw grit that reveals the human struggle. Whatever the medium, good art always speaks.

The wonderful thing is that you don't need to be a brilliant musician, a seasoned photographer, or even 4th grader entering a contest to create important art. You simply need to share what you see and the way you see it with others.

So please, teach us something, show us something, reveal to us where we've gotten wrong and inspire us towards something right.

We need your art for the calendar.

Appear Stupid

If you are concerned with looking good, fitting in, and gaining mass appeal, your contribution's capacity for brilliance will be greatly diminished.

It's when we step outside the norm, offer an idea that seems ridiculous, or implement a plan that appears preposterous that we find ourselves on the cusp of something wildly (and creatively) "new".

Sure you might get laughed at, mocked, or relegated to the corner. But, you also might gain a fringe audience that, through your collective "stupidity", changes the world.

For all of us.

Doodlers Unite!

In a recent post I discussed my propensity to doodle. Sunni Brown's short talk on TED is good reminder of the doodle's importance.

The Most Important Tool

“Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” - Steve Jobs, Stanford University commencement ceremony, 2005.

Thank You Steve Jobs

Camouflage Dragons

When I asked my son what color he was making his dragon, without skipping a beat he said, "Camouflage".

I didn't realize that "Camouflage" was a color (my hunting friends are way ahead of me on this one). However, what I can tell you is that a camouflage dragon is interesting to look at.

I've seen blue dragons, purple dragons, and yellow dragons before. But a camouflage dragon?

That's worth a second look.

Never before have we had more opportunity to create things that are worth a second look. We have access to tools via the web, through photoshop, and in our Crayola boxes that can help us bring to life what we could once only imagine.

So the obvious question: What is your camouflage dragon? What will you create today that is worth a second look?

Wise Words Wayne

"Led Zeppelin didn't write songs everyone liked. They left that to the Bee Gees."

When you try to please the masses your art suffers. When you make your art palatable to everyone it looses its prophetic voice.

Good art, ideas, breakthroughs, and innovations come because instead of being concerned with what's popular, the artist concerns themselves with what's revolutionary.

Ghoulies a Go!

I think the Groovie Ghoulies got this one right.

Are you passionate?
Do you love what you do?
'Cause I am, and I'm telling you if you're a hitman, a hooker,
a punk rock nightclub booker, be passionate, or don't do it at all.

Are you passionate?
Do you love what you do?
Would you do it if they didn't pay you?
If you're a preacher, a teacher, or, trying
to run a record store, be passionate, or don't do it at all.Find more similar lyrics on http://mp3lyrics.com/Z45Are you passionate?
Do you love what you do?
If not, then you're pretty screwed.
If you're a dreamer playing a song to a world
that's gone all wrong, be passionate or don't
do it at all.

What are you passionate about? What's keeping your from doing that today?

Kazoo Mike

This is Mike.

Mike is a professional kazoo player. He makes a living playing his kazoo for others.

While playing his kazoo, Mike also happens to collect tickets at the movie theater from those going to see the latest blockbuster film.

Some might say that Mike's job is merely to ensure no one gets into the theater without paying. But don't tell this to Mike.

Mike understands that his role at the movie theater is really a platform to give others a gift. When people unexpectedly hear the song, "When the Saints Go Marching In" flawlessly played on the tiny plastic instrument, smiles and laughter can't help but materialize. A culture of fun and silliness is being created not because Mike loves his "job" but because he loves his art.

Every one of us has a platform. Circles of influence where we can either get by doing only what is expected, or give something that cultivates the kind of culture we want to be a part of.

Maybe it's time you became a professional kazoo player too.

Safe Soccer

My only question: "What was the previous venue for soccer like, that makes the new location the safer alternative?"