creativity

The Art Spirit: Robert Henri’s Wisdom on Creativity and True Happiness
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The Art Spirit: Robert Henri’s Wisdom on Creativity and True Happiness

There are so many gems of wisdom in Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit that it’s hard to choose just one to share. (If you flipped through my copy, you’d see “wow,” “cool,” and “neat” scribbled in red letters in the margins of practically every page.) But perhaps the most profound insight is this: creating art…

DALL·E 2024 12 04 13.22.32 A vibrant and symbolic illustration of key images in creativity, featuring elements like a spider web, ocean waves, fertile soil, and blooming plants

Discovering your Key image: The heart of creative inspiration

There was a child went forth every day.And the first object he looks upon, that object he became.–Walt Whitman The late poet Stanley Kunitz believed that writers often have a “key image” that threads through their work, shaping their creative journey. He suggested that writers might spend an entire lifetime exploring a single key image,…

DALL·E 2024 12 04 13.26.44 A vibrant and colorful abstract illustration symbolizing the creative process, featuring swirling shapes, bright bursts of color, and a central glowin
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Embracing self-doubt as a creative ally: Insights on courage and creativity

I’ve never been a naturally confident person, and sometimes I wonder about that. Every creative thing I’ve done has required inner courage—pushing through a persistent voice that whispers there’s nothing of value here. It’s an exhausting pattern: I dismiss and deny my own work, and then I look at confident people and assume they’re more…

DALL·E 2024 12 04 13.31.00 A minimalist, colorful abstract image representing the concept of inspiration and collective creativity. The design features vibrant rays of light rad

Why Inspiration matters more than information: Lessons from leadership & creativity

In addition to feeling delighted by the new president-elect, I’ve been deeply inspired by the creative visions and voices that emerged during the campaign and beyond. People are on fire, and I love it. Early in the primaries, syndicated columnist Mark Shields highlighted a key distinction between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama: “If you’re looking…

Embracing creative emergence: Lessons from nature and human development
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Embracing creative emergence: Lessons from nature and human development

“There are two forces at work, as complexity science demonstrates: habit and creativity. Nature has laws that perpetuate existing patterns and forms (habits), but nature also evolves, bringing forth ever new and unexpected possibilities through a non-linear process called creative emergence.” — Joan Borysenko, The Huffington Post Every year, I’m drawn to the annual Bioneers…

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