Tag Archives: genius

Writers–A must watch interview of S.King & GRRM

This is a great video of Stephen King and George R. R. Martin interviewing each other that you simply must check out. They are two iconic authors of our time and have opposite writing styles. The first video is the interview in full, the second one is a short clip of a dumbfounded GRRM asking King, “How do you write so fast?”

King has published 54 novels and six non-fiction books and has written nearly 200 short stories. Many of his stories are set in his home state of Maine. His novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption was the basis for the movie The Shawshank Redemption which is widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time–it is one of my all time favorites.

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The Shawshank Redemption was nominated for 7 Oscars in 1995

George R. R. Martin is best known for his international bestselling series of epic fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire, which was later adapted into the wildly popular HBO dramatic series Game of Thrones. Martin has been called “the American Tolkien”and Time Magazine named him one of the “2011 Time 100,” a list of the “most influential people in the world.” GRRM (as he is known) lives in my hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico– we are blessed by his very generous community presence and participation! He helped fund the successful Meow Wolf–an arts production company born in Santa Fe, New Mexico that has spread to Denver and Las Vegas.

http://chieforganizer.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/MeowWolf_A2A5289.jpg

Example of “live” Meow Wolf art installment in Santa Fe, NM

These two authors have opposite writing styles: King writes several books a year and Martin infuriates his fans due to his slow writing pace. This leads Martin asking King a question he’s always wanted to know regarding his writing process.

It’s a great example of how there is not one writing style that works: On one end of the spectrum some authors work freely–“organically,” and on the other end–other authors structure detailed outlines (skeletons) that they follow and add dramatic meat to (like James Patterson).

Enjoy the highly entertaining conversation between these two funny characters: At nearly an hour-long, this spontaneous and friendly interview dives into the details of both author’s writing crafts. The two discuss each others work, aspects of their personal life, writing interests and more. Warning: there is profanity.

Which of these two authors do you more resonate with and why? Please do share your thoughts about their interesting discussion.

Thank you for reading my post. My core message of ‘everyone is creative’ resonates with people of all ages and walks of life. I invite all to become–the best version of themselves and find true meaning by pursing long term creative quests–in my recent book and website.

Want to make something creative?

What shall I make for my next creative project? It is easy to get stuck at “What the heck should I make next”?

Instead of focusing on “what” should I create, I humbly suggest asking yourself WHY–three times. Get very quiet and still and ask your head, heart and gut separately: Why do I want to make or create this thing? Let the voice of each intelligence center answer this question for you very distinctly.

What does your head say to you about this creative thing?

What does your heart say about it?

And what does your gut intuition say about it?

Write down each distinct intelligence center answer and reflect on each.

Want to make something

Clearly articulating why you’re creating what you are will light your path and continue fanning the flames inside you, and likely will touch others deeply too. Regardless if your creative thing is purely for your own enjoyment or you want it to be a commercial success–if you don’t start with why, you have no compass.

I’m writing my first science fiction book. When I start to doubt myself on why I’m writing this book I ask my head-why am I writing this? My answer is mostly because I love the space/astrophysics/spiritual subjects involved and by doing the in-depth research involved I get to learn new things, “the latest and greatest”. I ask my heart, why am I writing this? I want to find more clarity and meaning about the cycle of life and the suffering involved in it. If I can find some peace in it, perhaps it will help bring peace to others too. I ask my gut, why? My gut says there are some older, deeper truths inside me that I can tap into, feel and know to be true. My intuition quietly says–this is important to you, your curiosity about scientific and spiritual facts and how they can co-exist in different realms. I can now go forward knowing I am doing the right thing by writing this book.

Imaginative thinking is at the core of art, science, and a number of other disciplines, but the science of imaginative thinking is a secret. I believe by tapping into (the usually un-reflected upon) WHY from our head, heart and gut perspectives can tap into our untapped imaginations.

Starting with why can lead to levels of excellence we never considered attainable, especially for long term creative projects. By emphasizing the WHY behind our motivations to succeed, versus the WHAT approach, which is less passionate, less inspired (and probably a more habitual approach) we can have confidence in our creative product. We can be authentic in our approach, which will–at the very least–delight us and perhaps even really inspire others.

Do your research first. Mark Twain said, “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” Good research is about asking broad questions, and thinking critically about the answers. It’s something everyone can learn, and do quickly with Google, and countless other search approaches. If we do this well, it will save us time, energy and money by reducing unknowns and creating a solid foundation to build the right thing, in the most effective way. After all time is–by far–our most precious commodity.

Want to make something

Where have you gotten your ideas in the past? Take the time to reflect upon this, then write your answers down. Next, what are you waiting for… go do that research. If it is being in nature and for example, examining something much more intensely than others do, then go do it!

How do I know if what I make will be the right thing? Because even if we’ve done the research, we still don’t know if we’re actually making something that works for others. Keep in mind this only matters if we aspire to have commercial success, many creative people don’t. But if you do then ask yourself:

Is my new  book something that others will want to read? Example, beta readers, etc.

Is my performance art exhibit something others will be inspired to participate in? Example, do a sequence of “pilots” with other artist’s input.

What kind of targeted experiments can I run to find out?  Example, reach out to real users.

You can read Part 2 of this post here.

Thank you for reading my post. My core message of everyone is creative resonates with people of all ages and walks of life. I invite all to become the best version of themselves and find true meaning by pursing long term creative quests. Read more in my recent book and my website: The Three Sources of Creativity: Breakthroughs from Your Head, Heart and Gut.

Nothing is Original?

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” King Solomon

“There is nothing new except what has been forgotten.” Marie Antoinette

“No idea is original, there’s nothing new under the sun, it’s never what you do, but how it’s done.” Nas (Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones)


The saying, “There is nothing new under the sun” is as old as the bible,
found in Ecclesiastes 1:9 and spoken by King Solomon–but is it true?

Some people find this idea depressing, aren’t we unique beings created by our Creator to be creative after all? We know our thumb print is like no others… even identical twins, who share the same genetics (initially), have different prints.

Nothing is Original

We know each snow flake is like no other. Each snowflake falls and floats through clouds with different temperatures and moisture levels, which shapes each snowflake in a unique way.

Nothing is Original

SO it seems “the how“–of how we come together–is what matters. You have a mother and a father and possess features from both. However, the sum of who you are is bigger than their parts. You are a mysterious conglomerate of your parents and all of your ancestors–but you are even more than a physical genealogy–you are a genealogy of ideas too.

You don’t get to pick your parents, but you do get to pick where your ideas come from–what books you read, who your heroes are, the art you view and study, the music you listen to, the movies you watch, the people and ideas you surround yourself with on a daily basis. Your ideas are a mashup of what you choose to bring into your life–we are a sum of our influences.

Nothing is Original

What good artists understand is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative works build on what came before–nothing is completely original. It is the way we uniquely combine, subtract, mash and tinker with the ideas that creates something new. It’s an endless cycle of recycling–in a similar way that nature does.

I love this picture of the “rock cycle” to illustrate this idea of “nothing new under the sun.” The rock cycle is a basic concept in Geology that describes the time-consuming transitions through geologic time among the three main rock types: sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous. The rock cycle is an illustration that explains how the three rock types are related to each other, and how processes change from one type to another over time.

Nothing is Original

So here you have it: Sedimentary rocks transition to metamorphic rocks, which transition to igneous rocks and through erosion and environmental conditions transition back to sedimentary rocks–nothing new under the sun!

Just like nature we are all recycling ideas–whether consciously or unconsciously. Francis Ford Coppola says it best:

“We want you to take from us. We want you, at first, to steal from us, because you can’t steal. You will take what we give you and you will put it in your own voice and that’s how you will find your voice.”

Steve Jobs also famously said in 1996:

“Picasso had a saying — ‘good artists copy; great artists steal’ — and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.”

So lets go forth creatives “shamelessly stealing” all of the ideas we need and want and LOVE to create our own new art–the way only we can. May we endeavor to say–some day–what Isaac Newton said, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” 

Thank you for reading my post. My core message of ‘everyone is creative’ resonates with people of all ages and walks of life. I invite all to become–the best version of themselves and find true meaning by pursing long term creative quests–in my recent book and website.

Is Music Art?


A very strange instrument, “a marble melody,”
is currently captivating the internet. The artistic piece is called a “Wintergatan”–a musical instrument built using 2000 marbles!

It was built by Swedish musician named Martin Molin, 33, lead musician of Swedish band, Wintergarten. He created a wooden music box powered by marbles, yes marbles! He has accomplished this feat by employing pulleys, levers, and gears.

Molin turns a hand crank that moves 2,000 marbles around on tracks and through funnels (3000 parts!) The marbles then travel around and come in contact with other instruments like a kick drum, a bass guitar, marimba, cymbals, a vibraphone and bass. It can play ANY style of music.

Be prepared to be utterly delighted and inspired by these videos. 

[youtube]https://youtu.be/IvUU8joBb1Q[/youtube]

The artist made this marvelous music-making machine in just 14 months. Find out how he did it in the short video below.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/NQ0nj6wrjyA[/youtube]


I ask you creatives’ to confirm, is music art? Please share your favorite quotes
.

Thank you for reading my post. My core message of everyone is creative resonates with people of all ages and walks of life. I invite all to become the best version of themselves in my recent book and at my website and find true meaning by pursing long term creative quests.

Creative engineering: transform old to new with FUN

In my book I guide you on gaining awareness of how our three intelligence centers, our head, heart, and gut (intuition) interact with each other to be creative, We experiment with different intersections between our centers to try on different creative patterns.

ThreeSources

By tapping into these six intersections, we can move forward confidently and triple our creative capacity. The joy of creativity is there is no time or age limits, it only requires our willingness to execute. I believe our most creative years are still ahead of us… With intentional experimentation we learn more about how we are creative and how to honor our own unique process. We learn to have FUN in the adventure of exploring our three resources of creativity. Here is a short video taking something familiar (a staircase) and transforming it into FUN use.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw[/youtube]

I believe the easiest way to change our behaviors–to become more daring in our creative pursuits– is to have FUN in the process. Every mistake takes us closer to our  goal. Which center– all three are equal in their creative capacity– do we need to experiment with more? Our head? our heart? or our gut? Which need to intersect brilliantly to create something new? What matters is our idea(s) emerge and/or change for the better. For me the piano stairs are an intersection of my gut/heart (I love music!), for others a curiosity intersection of head/gut (you’re kidding?!) What matters is the stairs have been transformed into something more motivating and captivating.

Here is another take on those old stairs, this idea will get your gut going!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4o0ZVeixYU[/youtube]

How have you experimented with ideas from your head, heart and gut in the past to create something new, from something old?

Learn more in my book.

Thank you for reading my post. I am an organizational and business consultant living in the mountains of Santa Fe, New Mexico with my husband and dogs. My core message of everyone is creative resonates with people of all ages and walks of life. I invite all to become the best version of themselves and find true meaning by pursing long term creative quests.

Your Creativity Metaphor?

“Metaphor… touches a deeper level of understanding than ‘paradigm,’ for it points to the process of learning and discovery– to those analogical leaps from the familiar to the unfamiliar which rally imagination and emotion as well as intellect.” Anne Buttimer

IncubationSome personalities are drawn to creativity like a moth is drawn to a hot light bulb. You’d rather burn up in the beauty of your creativity—as compulsively as the moth—than live a long life. You are at one end of the spectrum. Another may believe they don’t have a creative cell in their body, but wish they had some passion for something—like that moth. Where are you on this spectrum?

An intriguing way to tap into your creativity is with metaphor. What is a metaphor? It is a figure of speech or picture where a word, phrase or image meaning one thing, is used to describe an object or idea that is not literally applicable. Metaphors require a different way of looking at the world. They involve “trying on” fresh tactics to problems.

irish patriotic background of green shamrocks

I recently returned from a long trip on the California coast. I dug up my metaphor, literally, and brought it home with me to replant on my porch. You see, my creativity metaphor is the common shamrock, it helps me remember there are 10,000 ways to be creative and no mutation is required. Yes, a three-leafed shamrock– no need to find that “lucky” four leafed shamrock!

The shamrock has three equal, but separate, leaves extending from one stem. The same is true of our creativity. We have three separate but equal resources to draw upon, which are the head, heart, and gut. Each is an equal center of intelligence for creative use. Since creativity emerges from three different sources it is more complex to pin down or define.  A shamrock isn’t elegant with one-leaf (one center) or two-leaves (two centers), but needs all three leaves (intelligence centers) to be its grand self.

Shamrocks grow in fertile and open ground. We can grow creativity in the fertile and open ground of our three intelligence centers—our heads, hearts and guts, or thinking/feeling/doing. For many people, creativity is a sacred concept, which is how some feel about the shamrock. It moves with the times as needed, unconsciously and quickly towards the light, then at night the leaves will fold up and go to sleep. And so it is with our three sources of creativity. They already know what to do. They are enough. The shamrock is a beautiful intersection of three leaves at a common point– this is why it is my creativity metaphor.

floweringshamrocksThe intersection(s) of our three centers of intelligence are sources of creativity. The goal is for one center not to suffocate the other two centers, but instead to unite by creating intersections. When one allows the cross-pollination of intelligence centers, the synergy creates something entirely new. This point of union yields untapped potential. Like the shamrock, it blossoms. The fruit of its existence emerges as a new yellow arrival—a happy flower shining brightly in the sun… anywhere, anytime!

It’s true… there are 10,000 three-leafed shamrocks for every one four-leafed shamrock, but we don’t need to be a Van Gogh or Picasso or Einstein, who indeed are four-leafed shamrocks… observe the impact a common shamrock with a common idea can have. Given how powerful our ideas can be, its imperative we learn to have more self-confidence in our creativity right now.

What is your metaphor for being creative? How does it influence your thinking, feeling and doing to be creative? Please share it, your metaphor is bound to help others!

Learn more about how to develop your creativity metaphor in my book.

Thank you for reading my post. I am an organizational and business consultant living in the mountains of Santa Fe, New Mexico with my husband and dogs. My core message of everyone is creative resonates with people of all ages and walks of life. I invite all to become the best version of themselves and find true meaning by pursing long term creative quests.

 

 

Photo entries from the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Each year the Sony World Photography Awards opens up a competition for photographers worldwide (https://www.worldphoto.org/about-the-sony-world-photography-awards/sony-world-photography-awards-2015-exhibition). Every year the entries are breath taking and eye opening. I’ve posted below some 2015 competition entries… Here are 7 of the best photos from the open category, which is open to novice, youth, and professionals. Which of these are you most drawn to? What does your head, heart and gut (uniquely) say about your favorites?

The one I’m most drawn to is first. Orangutan In The Rain. I can feel the misty rain in my body center (and it feels warm and soothing), my heart center melts, loves this sweet little guy and my head center is drawn in by his ingenuity. These are three distinct messages from each of my intelligence centers regarding this photo.

Orangutan In The Rain Indonesia-based Photographer Andrew Suryono shares of his magical photo, “I saw this Orangutan took a banana leaf and put it on top on his head to protect himself from the rain!” What is your head, heart, and gut reaction(s) to this photo?sony-world-photography-awards-entries-2015-1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Times Are Hard For Dreamers by Malaysian-based photographer Ahmad Zikri Mohamad Zuki captured this photo of a woman suspended in a whirlwind of feathers. What is your head, heart, and gut reaction(s) to this photo?

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The Morning Ritual by Photographer Nick Ng from Malaysia took this photo in Kolkata, India where locals gather early in the morning to bathe in the Hooghly River. What is your head, heart, and gut reactions?

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The Trace Of An Ancient Glacier by Miquel Ángel Artús Illana took this photo of the one road that ribbons throughout Denali, a six million acre stretch of wild land. The photo was taken in Autumn to highlight the remarkable landscape and vast array of colors. What is your head, heart, and gut reaction(s) to this photo?

sony7-world-photography-awards-entries-2015-20

“Hi… Who Are You?” by Georg May from Germany submitted his photo of a curious Blue Tit bird checking out its reflection in the water. What is your head, heart, and gut reaction(s) to this photo?

sony6-world-photography-awards-entries-2015-15

Hamer Man by Diego Arroyo Mendez of Spain captured this photo of a Hamer man collecting wood in Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia. With the wood the man planned to build a defensive fence for cattle. What is your head, heart, and gut reaction(s) to this photo?

sony5-world-photography-awards-entries-2015-14

Timeless Affection by Arief Siswandhono, the girl in the picture is her daughter, Fina. Fina was once terrified of cats, but after her parents adopted 2 kittens her life was changed. Fina now considers the cats her best friends. What is your head, heart, and gut reaction(s) to this photo?

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 Isn’t it interesting the different messages our three intelligence centers relay to us about each picture?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Own your creativity

Your creativity is a composite of your head, heart and gut centers acting as distinct sources. Many don’t believe they are creative, which is baloney! However, your creativity may be lying dormant within you and in need of waking up… Get in touch with your three centers and learn to trust them as sources. You can start with the free center assessment available on this website.

My new book is available now at:
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