Leontyne Price

"I am here and you will know that I am the best and you will hear me."

— Leontyne Price

American Soprano

1927 -

Self-confidence is a key trait of creative leaders.  We need to believe in ourselves and the work we do.  We need to be confident that we will be successful.  But we also need to be humble.  Self-confidence is a great characteristic to have, but if one is not careful the self-confidence can turn into arrogance.  Self-confidence coupled with humility makes for a better leader.  Many times if one digs deep enough one finds that the arrogant person actually lacks self-confidence.  He covers up the lack of confidence by acting tough.  If one is truly self-confident in one's ability and skills, one has no need to be arrogant.  One is instead humbled by the gift he has been given.

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Ethel Barrymore

"You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself."

— Ethel Barrymore

American Actress

1879 - 1959

Many of us take ourselves too seriously.  We need to learn to laugh at ourselves.  We all make mistakes.  We all screw-up.  When we learn to laugh at our mistakes, we begin to heal the pain.  None of us are perfect, even those of us who try to be.  For years perfection has been one of my goals whether I was speaking or writing and I have had to learn a hard lesson that it is okay to make a mistake.  I have had to learn to relax and to laugh at myself.  In fact, mistakes make us better people, more human.

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Jim Henson

"My hope still is to leave the world a bit better than when I got here."

— Jim Henson

American Puppeteer

1936 - 1990

Everyone should desire to leave the world better than they found it.  For me that is why we are here.  We are here to help others in their time of need.  How are you leaving the world better than you found it?  Did you plant a tree?  Give someone a ride?  Write a story that made someone cry?  Paint a picture that touched someone's heart?  We will all reach the end of the road some day.  What is your legacy?  How will you leave the world a better place?  What gifts have you given back?  Did you make someone smile today?  Did you give someone a hug?  Did you listen to someone who needed to get something off her chest?  Did you say thank you to your parents, your mentors and your friends?

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Pierre Auguste Renoir

Self-Portrait

"You come to nature with your own theories, and she knocks them all flat."

— Pierre Auguste Renoir

French Artist

1841 - 1919

Human beings develop a lot of theories, but often those theories fall flat.  We are not as intelligent as we sometimes thing we are.  We don't know as much as we think we know.  We need to be more humble and less arrogant.  Humility is an important characteristic for a creative leader to develop.  Too much egotism leads to arrogance and intolerance.  Even the masters make mistakes and have flaws in their characters.  No one is perfect.  We all have room for growth and change.  Cultivate humility.  Cultivate forgiveness.

Dance at the Moulin De La Galette
(1876)

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Katsushika Hokusai

Self-Portrait

"I have been in love with painting ever since I became conscious of it at the age of six.  I drew some pictures I thought fairly good when I was fifty, but really nothing I did before the age of seventy was of any value at all.  At seventy-three I have at last caught every aspect of nature — birds, fish, animals, insects, trees, grasses, all.  When I am eighty I shall have developed still further, and I will really master the secrets of art at ninety.  When I reach a hundred my work will be truly sublime, and my final goal will be attained around the age of one hundred and ten, when every line and dot I draw will be imbued with life.

— Katsushika Hokusai

Japanese Artist

1760 - 1849

Humility — a trait many creative leaders do not possess, yet a behavior we all should cultivate.  In fact, the lack of humility has caused the down fall of many creative leaders.  They start believing what their admirers say and acting in accordance with what is said.  In the words of my childhood:  they grow too big for their britches.  They begin to believe their own press.

Learn to cultivate the trait of humility.  None of us are perfect.  We all make mistakes — both in our personal lives and our artistic creations.  It takes a lifetime to become a master and even then we may not achieve that designation.  Be thankful for what you have been given and seek to be humble.

Great Wave of Kanagawa

Sometimes we become so caught up in the day to day activities of living that we forget how short life is. We are here today and gone tomorrow.  In the eons of time, we live for only a second.  That fact alone should make us humble.  And if you look at our place in the universe, we shrink even more.  Practice humility.

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John Maxwell

"The fear of rejection or failure creates inaction."

— John Maxwell

American Author, Speaker

1947 - 

Fear is a very powerful force that affects the lives of most creative leaders.  Some people are afraid to leave their houses.  Some people like me are afraid of heights.  Others are afraid of elevators.  This list could go on and on.  A person who claims that he is not afraid of anything is either delusional or a liar.  We are all afraid of something. 

It takes courage to look fear in the face and still do something when you are afraid.  If you give into fear, you will freeze on the spot and not move.  Creative leaders face a lot of rejection of their ideas and work.  But we must keep going.  What is the worst thing that can happen?  People don't like us.  So what?  Every famous writer, artist, singer or actor has people who don't like them.  No one is liked by everyone.  So why should you and me expect to be liked by everyone?  In fact, think about the famous people whom you don't like.  You, in a sense are rejecting them.



I learned a powerful lesson from a professional speaker.  He told me that 10% of your audience will not like you.  They may not like the color of your hair.  Or the sound of your voice.  Or the tie you are wearing.  And it has held true for me.  Ten percent of my audience don't like my loud voice.  So I focus on the other 90%.  I don't let my fear of rejection prevent me from speaking.



Rejection is a good thing.  It keeps us humble.  We are not perfect so we shouldn't let success go to our heads.  It lets us know that we are ahead of our time.  We have found people who don't like our work and that is okay.  So don't let fear stop you from creating and producing new work.



(For those who read my blog regularly, I apologize for not leaving an entry yesterday.  I have spent the last two days in the hospital because of dehydration.  I checked out about three hours ago and am healthy again.)

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Piet Mondrian

Self-portrait, 1900

"The position of the artist is humble.  He is essentially a channel."

— Piet Mondrian

Dutch Painter

1872 - 1944

Sometimes creative leaders let their egos get in the way of their painting, their writing or their art.  They believe they know all and are all powerful.  They berate others and often are hostile to the ideas of others.   An artist needs to be humble and realize he or she has been given a gift.  Pride and ego will ruin the gift.  Like Piet, many artists and writers talk about simply being a channel for something greater than themselves.  Have you ever created something and afterwards wondered where it came from?  When we learn to let go of the conscious egotistical self and become a channel for creativity, we will surprise and amaze ourselves with the gift we have been given.  Don't seek to understand the source of this gift.  Simply accept the gift with humility.

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