Ludwig van Beethoven

Portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler
(1820)

"I make many changes, and reject and try again, until I am satisfied."

—Ludwig van Beethoven

German Composer and Pianist

1770 -1827

Writers rewrite their material.  Artists draw and sketch before beginning the final painting.  Musicians rewrite their compositions.  Rarely is a creative work finished in the mind of the creator.  He is continuously revising and recreating.  Most writers and artists spend their lives exploring a few key themes.  They write the same novel over and over or paint the same painting again and again.  What are the themes that you are exploring in your creative work?  

For your listening pleasure as you think, here is Beethoven's Tempest Sonata performed by Wilhelm Kempff.

You have read this article Change / German Musicians / Growth / Ludwig van Beethoven / Revisions / Work Habits with the title Growth. You can bookmark this page URL https://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2012/04/ludwig-van-beethoven.html. Thanks!

Frank Glazer

"I feel like I'm 35.  I'm playing better than ever.  I feel I've worked all my life to get to this point.  Now is not the time to quit."

— Frank Glazer

American Musician

1915 - 

When does an artist stop learning?  According to Frank Glazer who in February turned 97: "Never."  He says he is still learning to play the piano.  Are you still learning?  Are you continuing to grow and develop?  What have you learned today?  Last week?  Last month?  What books have your read?  What seminars have you attended?  What conversations have you had with other artists?  You should never stop learning.  The older I become, the more I realize what I don't know.  I hope that like Frank Glazer I will still be writing, speaking and learning at 97.  Don't give up on yourself.

Here is a video clip of Glazer playing the piano and discussing his first public appearance.

  

(Glazer made this comments in 2010 at the age of 95 to Bill Glauber of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.)

You have read this article Age / American Musician / Books / Development / Discovery / education / Frank Glazer / Growth / Learning with the title Growth. You can bookmark this page URL https://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2012/03/frank-glazer.html. Thanks!

George Elliot

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."

—  George Eliot

English Novelist

1819 - 1880

We all have dreams and things we want to accomplish in our lives.  Unfortunately, most of us either give up too soon or misinterpret our dreams.  I thought being a writer meant being able to write full time.  It does not.  Many writers had other lives.  Writing is only a portion of living. I thought being a writer meant having a best seller on the charts.  It does not.  Some great writers and artists never made a penny from their creative work.  I believe that we all become what we are meant to be.  We just need to discover what we are meant to be.  Search deep within your soul to understand who you are and what you are meant to do.  For some of us being a mother or father is the most important thing we can do.  Creative works helps to keep us sane.  For others being a teacher is the most important thing they can do.  Painting is the work that keeps them in touch with who they are.  It is never to late to be what you can be.

You have read this article British Writers / Dream / George Elliot / Growth / hope with the title Growth. You can bookmark this page URL https://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2012/02/george-elliot.html. Thanks!

Bob Marley

"When the root is strong, the fruit is sweet."

— Bob Marley

Jamaican Musician

1945 - 1981

How well do you know your roots?  On what other artists is your art build on?  Who are the artists who have influenced you?  On whose shoulders are you standing?  An artist needs to understand the history of his art.  He needs to know his roots.

How strong are your roots?  How deep are your roots?  Without roots the tree dies.  Without roots the plant withers.  Without roots there is no fruit.  Don't ignore your roots.  Don't ignore the traditions from which you come.  Are you watering your roots?  Are you growing as an artist?  Are you in touch with your roots?  

Here is Cedella Marley talking about her father.

You have read this article Bob Marley / flowers / Fruit / Growth / Jamaican Musicians / Planting / Roots / Sowing Seeds with the title Growth. You can bookmark this page URL https://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2012/02/bob-marley.html. Thanks!

Ralph Ellison

"It takes a deep commitment to change and an even deeper commitment to grow."

— Ralph Ellison

American Novelist

1914 - 1994

Change and growth require commitment.  People dream of changing their lives but usually they lack the deep commitment to do so.  Change takes hard work and follow through.  Nothing changes overnight.  Many in the American society expect instant change.  Not happy with your body weight, take a pill or have surgery.  Not happy with your body, have plastic surgery.  Change takes commitment and patience.  It is better to lose weight slowly than quickly.  Becoming a writer doesn't happen overnight.  It takes years.  Actors often are labeled an overnight success — a success which took ten or fifteen years.  Harrison Ford, the actor, spent 15 years in Hollywood before he got the break in Star Wars that made him famous.  Creative expression is a lifetime commitment.  Don't give up.

You have read this article American Writer / Change / Commitment / Growth / Ralph Ellison with the title Growth. You can bookmark this page URL https://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2012/01/ralph-ellison.html. Thanks!

Marian Wright Edelman

"Failure is just another way to learn how to do something right."

— Marian Wright Edelman

American Activist

1939 - 

Too often we believe failure is something bad.  We have been conditioned by our parents, our schools and society to believe that failure is a negative.  We need to change our perspective of what failure means.  A failure is an opportunity to try again — to start over, to have another chance.  A failure is not the end of the road unless we give up.  Failure is a great teacher.  We learn about ourselves and others.  Sometimes we learn more in failure than we do through success.  So the next time you receive a rejection slip, view it as an opportunity to learn and grow.  

You have read this article American Speakers / Failure / Growth / Knowledge / Learning / Marian Wright Edelman / Success with the title Growth. You can bookmark this page URL https://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2012/01/marian-wright-edelman.html. Thanks!

Gary Zukav

"Changing the world  begins with the very personal process of changing yourself.  The only place you can begin is where you are, and the only time you can begin is always now."

— Gary Zukav

American Writer/Speaker

1942 -

Painting and writing is about re-creating and re-structuring the world the way we would like it to be.  The creative process is about changing ourselves and in the process of changing ourselves we change the world.  How have you changed in the past year?  How have you grown and developed as a person and as a creative leader?  What choices have you made in the last year to change your life?  Do you understand yourself better today than you did a year ago?  What have you learned about yourself?  What are your plans for next year?  What do you want to be doing a year from now?

Here is Gary Zukav discussing change.

You have read this article American Speakers / American Writer / Change / Creative Leaders / Creative Work / Gary Zukav / Goals / Growth / Path / soul / Spirit / Spiritual with the title Growth. You can bookmark this page URL https://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/12/gary-zukav.html. Thanks!

Richard Wilbur

"All that we do

Is touched with ocean, yet we  remain

On the shore of what we know."







— Richard Wilbur

American Poet

1921 - 







There is a vast world of knowledge and wisdom that we know little or nothing about.  We choose to live our lives on the shore of what we have learned.  We judge everything in light of what we think we know and seldom venture out of our safe haven.  Try to see  the world from new angles.  Explore the unknown and come away a better person because of it.  Change who you are by increasing your knowledge and wisdom.

You have read this article American Writer / Beliefs / Cross-Fertilization / Development / Growth / Information / Knowledge / Limitations / Richard Wilbur / truth / Wisdom with the title Growth. You can bookmark this page URL https://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/12/richard-wilbur.html. Thanks!