Pablo Picasso

"A young artist must forget painting when he paints.  That's the only way he will do original work.  To blossom forth, a work of art must ignore or rather forget all the rules."

— Pablo Picasso

Spanish Artist

1881 - 1973

Girl Before a Mirror
(1932)

When I teach people to be speakers, I tell  them that first they must learn the rules of speaking and then learn that they can break all the rules.  When it comes to the creatives arts, no rules are absolute.  And all rules can be broken.  Yes, it is good to know what the rules are so that you are aware when you are breaking them.  But understand that you can break every single rule and still create a masterpiece.

But watch out for the rule police.  Their job is to find all the mistakes that you make and throw them into your face.  Maybe it is a spelling mistake or a misplaced comma.  Or maybe the arms in your painting are too short or the eyes too big.  The rule police thrive on finding something wrong, but usually are unwilling to paint or write themselves.

The key to your success in the creative arts is knowing when and where to bend or break the rules.  You must learn to push the envelope.

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Steve Jobs

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” 

— Steve Jobs

American Businessman/Inventor

1955 - 

Can we change the world?  Jobs thinks so and he has done so with the Apple computer, the MAC, the I-Pod, the I-Phone and the I-Pad.  And yet he has not touched the human heart.

I think we can change the external world a lot easier than we can change the internal world.  Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison and others like them have changed the way we communicate and interact, but they have not changed the people who communicate.  We still have liars, thieves, rapists and murderers.  We have greedy, mean and negative people. We still have people who are poor, hungry and jobless.  Technology does not change the heart.  The computer did not make us better people.  The internet did not make us better people.  Think about how many people run scams via the computer or hackers who steal people's information and identities.

Changing the human heart is an inside job.  Only I can change myself.  Only I can make me a better person.  And even then I often fail.  And some would say that only God can change the human heart.  Yet, if you look at some of the religious leaders who commit adultery and you will realize that He too has failed.  How many times have you tried to change old habits and failed?  Our human nature is often a barrier to our success.  People keep hoping the world will change and it does, just not always for the better.

So can we as creative leaders change the world?  I don't think the answer can easily be found.  We can change somethings but not all things.  But we must keep trying.  We cannot let failure stand in our way.  Let us celebrate the rebels. the misfits and the troublemakers because they look at the world through rose-colored glasses.  They see things that others do not see.  They find hope where others give up and quit.  So I celebrate hope amidst my failures.  And I still choose to believe that I can change.  Don't you?

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Arthur Koestler

"Every creative act involves. . . a new innocence of perception, liberated from the cataract of accepted belief."

Arthur Koestler

Hungarian Novelist and Writer

1905 - 1983

Creativity involves breaking down old ways of seeing and believing and discovering new perceptions and ways of understanding the world.  Creativity must first be a destructive force as it destroys the old patterns and beliefs.  We must tear down before we can build.  Then destruction gives way to rebirth and renewal and the generation of innocence and hope.  This is the paradox of creative energy: Death and Rebirth.  Destruction and Rebuilding.  Cynicism and Innocence.  Doubt and Faith.

Are you looking at the world in new ways?  Have you discovered new ways of thinking about your art?  Have you liberated yourself from the prison of the past?  Have you found hope in what you are creating?  Have you opened the door to the future?

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