Lucille Ball

"One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged.  Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself."

— Lucille Ball

American Actress

1911 - 1989

It is very easy for creative leaders to become discouraged and depressed when their ideas don't work out.  Yet what good does it do to wallow in self-pity and discouragement?  We become less productive and might even stop creating all together.  The challenge is to find ways to keep our chin up and to keep moving forward.  Having spent the first 35 years of my life as a pessimist, I know it takes work to become an optimist.  And it is easy to backslide.  Being down on ourselves does us no good.  We need to keep the faith.  We need to believe in ourselves.

Here's part one of a documentary of Lucille Ball's life.

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Hans Hofmann

"I can't understand how anyone is able to paint without optimism.  Despite the general pessimistic attitude in the world today, I am nothing but an optimist."

— Hans Hofmann

German Painter

1880 - 1966

Being an artist, a writer or an actor requires a lot of optimism.  You have to believe that you will be successful.  You may struggle for years with no recognition or money and yet you must keep working.  You must have the faith that one day the world will discover your talent.  Many people give up too soon.  The negativity of the world wears them down.  You must believe in yourself even when no one else does.

The Golden Wall
(1961)

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Vincent Van Gogh

Self-Portrait

1889

"If you hear a voice within you say, 'You cannot paint,' then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced."

— Vincent van Gogh

Dutch Painter

1853 - 1890

Most of us have a voice inside that plants seeds of doubt in our hearts.  "You can't paint.  You can't write.  You can't draw.  You can't speak.  You can't sing...."  The list goes on and on.  Today we call it self-talk.  One expert says that 75% of what we say to ourselves is negative.   We need to silence that negative voice by proving him wrong.  Don't listen to that negative voice that is determined to make you fail.  Keep writing.  Keep painting.  Keep drawing.

When I teach people how to be better speakers, I talk about that second voice sitting on their shoulders.  When I first started speaking, I heard two voices — the one coming out of my mouth and the one sitting on my shoulder.  The one was positive and upbeat.  The second was nervous and negative.  The more often I spoke, the less vocal the second voice became.  Today I rarely hear that negative voice.  And when I do, I give him a quick kick and he is gone.

And the same is true of my writing.  I used to hear the voice of doubt shouting in my ear.  Today, I can barely hear him mumble.  And when he does appear, he is skin and bones and dressed in rags.  Soon he will be homeless.

The First Steps, After Jean Francis Millet

(January 1890)

I have written two poems in response to this painting, The First Steps, by Van Gogh:  A Father's Dream from the point of view of the father and A Mother's Grief from the point of view of the mother.  Just click on the titles.

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Jack Penn

"One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks."

— Jack Penn

South African 

Surgeon, Sculptor, Author

1909 - 1996

To be human and to live with other humans is to face challenges and difficulties.  We experience death, love and heartache, not necessarily in that order.  How we respond to the challenges that life deals us is a measure of the type of person we are.  Do we pick ourselves up and make something of what has happened or do we remain in the mud, wishing to die?  As creative leaders, we have the gift of creativity which can help us turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.  So get out your chisel and chisel away at that stumbling block in your way.  

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Helen Keller

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.  Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."

— Helen Keller

1980 - 1968

The first 35 years of my life I was more of a pessimist than an optimist.  I saw the glass as half empty, not half full.  I've had to learn optimism and the need to see the glass as half full.  It is something that I struggle with still today.  Often my first reaction is that something can not be done.  I have learned that I need to believe in myself before I can accomplish anything.  I seek to find hope in a negative world.



It is easy to find all the reasons something can not be done.  It is easy to be a pessimist.  Pessimists believe that they are the realists and that optimists have their heads in the clouds.  The truth is that it is much harder to believe something can be achieved.  It is much harder to be an optimist.  And research shows that optimists actually achieve more than pessimists.



As creative people, we need to have faith that what we create has value.  We need to believe in our ability to create something that can benefit others.

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