Earning It All

January 7, 2014

You deserve nothing, but you have earned it all. Where do you go with the statement?  Feel like somehow your effort entitles you to rewards?  Do you get angry at the notion that you deserve nothing? I love a new year because it is the beginning, a chance at redemption, a prayer that things will […]

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The Phoenix

December 11, 2013

I am obsessed with the allegory of the phoenix for business, creative businesses in particular.  For those that do not know, the phoenix is a mythical bird born of its own ashes.  It lives then burns and is reborn again.  Many philosophers, mystics and theologians have weighed in, but my favorite is from Eliphas Levi […]

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Why Do You Do What You Do?

December 3, 2013

What a fascinating question – why do you do what you do?  For those in creative business, the answer is almost never to make money.  Sure, money is important, but it is not the main driver even if a ton is being generated.  No, the words I hear a lot are love, passion, compulsion, a […]

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Power

November 25, 2013

Power corrupts.  It is all a power struggle.  Own your power.  Be powerful. For most of us, the idea of power is sticky.  Some see power as an entitlement, a zero-sum game with specific winners and losers.  Others believe in collaboration, communal, shared power where everyone wins and loses together.  Almost never do we think […]

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Depth of Commitment

November 20, 2013

In our flip-flop world, the louder you profess your love and desire to your clients, your art, your creative business, the less I believe you.  Unless. Unless you are willing to walk the walk, know your core, live by your process, honor your boundaries, and stand behind (i.e., be willing to be judged for) your […]

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The Four Transitions

November 14, 2013

Every creative business is a series of ever-increasing distillations.  The purer and cleaner the distillation, the purer and cleaner the result.  Here is the ideal all creative businesses need to shoot for: You start with the known universe of clients looking for the art you create.  Somebody needs flowers.  The client sifts through choices, referrals, […]

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Persistence vs. Tenacity

November 8, 2013

I am obsessed with the New York Times Crossword Puzzle.  I worked on at least one puzzle per day since 1990 – that is over 7,700 puzzles and counting.  I can finish most days (even Saturday) and find it a personal challenge even after all these years to see if I can finish. When I […]

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I Do Not Know

October 29, 2013

My eight-year-old daughter was struggling with her homework.  She was frustrated and said, “I cannot figure it out.  I just do not know.  I feel so dumb.”  To which I said, “The smartest people in the room are always the ones that say I do not know.”  Did not help her frustration or give her […]

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The Why

October 22, 2013

Persistently curious, subtly skeptical is how I would describe myself.  If I do not know the answer, I will do my best to look it up.  Google and Wikipedia are godsends to me.  Equally helpful is to perpetually ask why.  Why is it done this way?  What does it mean?  What does it communicate? What […]

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The Other Side Of Judgment

October 15, 2013

They might hate it. Four words that strike fear in the heart of any artist.  The question is, what do you do with that fear?  Go for it anyway, full throttle?  Keep it in the drawer?  Or hide a little bit – soften the edges so to speak – give yourself a little out? Here […]

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