All in Creativity
I think I was 13 or 14 when my brothers excitedly came home one day with a handful of vinyls that a friend had lent them. The vinyls were singles from a couple of the biggest British heavy metal bands of the day - Iron Maiden and Saxon.
We put the Saxon single, Women in Uniform, on first followed by Iron Maiden’s now-classic track, Phantom of the Opera.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
In today's episode, I speak to the importance of being an optimist, to fight cynicism. Many view unbridled optimism as a weakness, because it requires a health measure of vulnerability. To the contrary, I believe it's a superpower.
Authenticity has become a rare commodity.
I mean, at first blush, you’d think it would be abundant in society, personal or professional. Because when what you see is what you get, there are no illusions, no need for personal estimations or second guesses. What you saw would, in fact, be what you got.
But in a world driven by social media, the lure of the instant, ADD-fueled soundbite, and the much-discussed finality (and hence, importance) of the ‘first impression’, most of us are on our toes.
If you compare a song off of Radiohead’s first album, Pablo Honey, and their third album, OK Computer - for example, a song like “Anyone Can Play Guitar”, with “Let Down” - you can hear a real sonic difference.
From the complexity of the songwriting to the musicianship, right through to the production work, you can hear an increasing level of sophistication. Essentially, you can hear the growth and evolution of the band over the years.
I don’t mean to oversimplify (though I’m about to), but it seems to me that the biggest thing about getting older is that you begin to run out of excuses.
What I mean by that is that, as the years go on, as our experiences educate us, and as we start to realize what we value, we realize that the only reason we aren’t where we want to be, is because of us. Of the choices we’ve made.
This month, I'd like to speak to a few fundamental ideas about how we work and the implications of our behaviors when we work.
Specifically, in today's episode, I speak to the idea of belief, and the fact that it's our belief in ourselves that drives our ability to achieve, excel and become who we truly are.
I have this irrational hatred of standard, preformed drum beats.
Like the ones that became popularized in the Eighties - you know those synthetic, electronic drum beats that go on and on, with no variation, no exciting fills, no changes of intensity. No humanity, basically. They remind me of the emergence of the synthesizer and how, it seemed back then, that they enabled people with no talent to make music.
This month, I'd like to speak to a few fundamental ideas about how we work and the implications of our behaviors when we work.
In today's episode, I talk about our tendency, as we get older, to focus less on what we do well and more on what we don't. It's a curious thing, because it's our strengths that will drive us forward and, therefore, what we need to build on.
It’s often referred to as the “defensive” strategy.
The sports team that emphasizes defense over offense i.e protecting their goal and stopping the other team from scoring.
Or the business that is focused on adding enough features to be able to ward off the competition.
Or the individual contributor who spends his time understanding and developing (i.e. copying) the skills of his nearest competitors.
This month kicks off 2021 with a few thoughts on mindset - and specifically getting our heads straight as we look forward to our goals and what we want to get done over the next 12 months.
In today's episode, I share a brief story about an interaction I had with a friend many years ago. The lessons from that story speaks to the constraints we put on ourselves about the things we aspire to do and who we want to be.
This month kicks off 2021 with a few thoughts on mindset - and specifically getting our heads straight as we look forward to our goals and what we want to get done over the next 12 months.
Today's episode focuses on our belief systems, the boxes we tend to put ourselves in and how an interview with a famous classical musician reminded me of the need to think differently.
I was going to start this post with a comment about how crazy and unprecedented 2020 was, but then I realized that a) it would be cliched, b) I’ve already made that point in numerous posts over the last year and, c) it would be cliched.
Instead, I’m going to focus this post on two things - the things I’m proud I’ve been able to do on this blog over the last twelve months and then share a bit of my mindset for the coming twelve.
Diving into something new can be daunting.
We don’t know ‘the ropes’ - what exactly to do, what constitutes success, whether we have what it takes, or whether we’ll even get “there”. Despite our interest and our passion, we get nervous, especially when the results are in any way public.
I know when most people think of Van Halen, they think of the song Jump, which was their biggest hit. And when it comes to guitar players, they automatically go to “Eruption” off the first Van Halen album. Those are the seminal pieces in Van Halen lore.
For me, though, while I love both of those tracks, the song that defines Van Halen - the one that got me into the band and, in fact, made me start playing the guitar, were the ‘joint’ songs Intruder/Pretty Woman.
This month's podcasts focus on war stories, recounting situations and experiences that were unique, intriguing and (always) educational.
In today's episode, I talk about going to see Liam Gallagher perform (or not), but more precisely about what we get when we pay for something, and how we need to set our expectations accordingly.
There’s a quote attributed to the Portuguese writer, Saramego, that says, “old age starts where curiosity ends”.
When we’re young, we’re ‘naturally’ curious. We’re willing to try new things, take new paths and push ourselves (often to the point of discomfort). When we’re old, according to conventional wisdom, we seek comfort and contentment. We seek safety, and are willing to trade excitement - indeed, believe we’re required to trade it - in return.
When I was 22, I decided to get my ear pierced.
I was a Business undergraduate working in Marketing & Sales, but with a wannabe musician buried deep inside who was trying to find a way to express his “Inner Bono”. And the form of that expression at that age was, ultimately, to get an earring. And so I did - a diamond stud that I wore all the time and never thought twice about.
This month's podcasts focus on war stories, recounting situations and experiences that were unique, intriguing and (always) educational.
In today's episode, I share a story from my early days in Management Consulting and specifically about working with a partner who, seemingly, liked to talk in riddles. There was, of course, a method to his madness, as I discuss on the show.
This month's podcasts delve into the seeds of entrepreneurship, where these crazy ideas come from and what they mean for us, as entrepreneurs.
In today's episode, I reflect on article I read about Lauryn Hill and the importance of creating art for yourself and not for anyone else. This is true of all truly great creators - not simply in the Arts but in business as well.
One of the things I love about kids is that they just get started.
Ask a 5 year old to paint, and they don’t worry about what they’ll paint, their technique, the precise color mix or anything else. They just grab a brush, pick a color and get going. No times wasted thinking, analyzing, pre-judging. They just do.
As we get older, we lose this. Too much thinking, analyzing and pre-judging. Before we’ve even tried.
