Today has been a race against the clock. I’ve known about my Creative Spirit final for 3 months now. The assignment: “present a personal statement to lecture sized room full of professors and classmates.” The statement had to be under one minute and, “the possibilities were endless.” While most students have been perfecting their monologues, slideshows, and skits I’ve been procrastinating because thats what I seem to do best.

I woke up this morning for my 9 a.m class still not a clue what I was doing for this project. After class finished around 11 I rushed home to start story-boarding. I wanted to use this project highlight my passion for this business I’ve chosen to pursue. I finally finished the video at 5:45 which gave me just enough time to make the trek from my house on Broad Street to Anderson Hall. Check out the final product below which takes you through my early career as a journalist.

The walls of your church building communicate who you are. In fact, visitors decide in the first few seconds after pulling onto your site if your church is right for them. Are your facilities speaking the language of this “post- everything” world?

At the same time, we are also in a “pre” world. A world without final definitions…but with remarkable hope!

In the midst of these transformations, most church leaders are struggling to effectively connect and communicate. Are you?

Come join my friend Bill Couchenour and I as we participate in a Webinar sponsored by Christianity Today about surviving this post-Christian, post-modern, post-local, post-scale, post- Gutenberg, and post-Cold War world

Sign up below for this provocative conversation as we partner with Skye Jethani (author of the “Out Of Ur” blog and editor for Leadership Journal) to discern what the final destination could look like. We’ll explore how to refresh and refocus your church’s vision and align your ministry, leadership and facilities with it to create a clear and compelling environment. Find clarity with us to create hope and help engage and transform your community in ways that astonish others and leave them knowing that your church has been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

Webinar Date: November 17, 2009

Webinar time: 11:00 am

Sign up here at christianitytoday.com

By Gary Centrale

Authorities for the Brussels Tram System are to pioneer an innovative approach to public transport schedules.

Known as “creative timetabling”, the system is set to overhaul the traditional method of regular minutes-past-the-hour arrival times in favour of randomising tram times.

Public transport insiders say the system was developed following concerns over a “lack of creative spirit” within the tram scheduling community.

“Creative Timetabling will transform tram schedules,” said Anne Biorix, Head of Schedules at the Brussels Public Transport office.

“It’s the right time for tram times to change,” she added.

Prior to this new method, trams would arrive in a regular, predictable fashion at the same number of minutes past each hour.

Creative Timetabling, however, produces randomised tram times which leaves passengers without access to the timetable unable to predict when the next tram will arrive.

Trams might be scheduled for six minutes past each hour, but on reaching 15h will take a dramatic leap to twelve minutes past.

It is hoped that passengers will enjoy the “dizzy excitement” of being unable to recall the exact time of their trams, whether going to work, home, school or simply taking a tram ride for fun.

The system is also designed to work against those who memorise tram timetables, as times will automatically change each month according to a secret mathematical algorithm developed by dwarfs in a cave in the Ardennes.

There are worries among passengers however that this level of unpredictability will prevent anyone from ever catching a tram on time.

When questioned about this, Biorix said that waiting for the next tram had been a source of inspiration to some of Belgium’s most celebrated scientists, artists and musicians.

When pressed further, however, Biorix was unable to recall any names.

remember that you are a creative being.

you can create anything,

get out there and make some magic!

andrea schroeder creates art, creativity workshops, downloadable creativity kits and guided meditations to support you in knowing and remembering that you are a creative being and you can create anything. you can do it. let’s make some magic.

join in on her free creative journaling workshop now and learn how to use an art journal as a tool for healing, happiness and self-discovery.

I spent a couple of hours round at the Wizard’s house on Friday night, there’s generally some kind of informal musical gathering based around some guitars or keyboards, incidentally it turns out that his daughter, Ellouise has the voice of an Angel, I’m hoping to capture it and showcase her here one day.

Anyway last Friday’s shenanigans were a little different, we did a little bit of guitar noodling early on with our other mate Ray,  but the latter part of the night was spent bending evil sounds out of his two Grundig TK 14 2-track mono tape machines.

After searching through a handful of tapes (he has a boxful of unidentified media) and finding nothing more exciting than a ‘learn to speak French’ tape from the 1970’s we decided to hack up some pieces of tape and get some loop’s going, we made a couple, one that went right across the kitchen and round a broom handle then a shorter version that went round a large Vodka bottle.

The results were amusing, odd and wholly worthwhile – this really is my favourite pastime, dicking about with stuff that makes noises. I’ll capture some bits on video next time I’m up there.

As it happens, he also makes bespoke oddball stringed instruments out of Cigar boxes, this picture doesn’t really do the thing justice but here’s a fretless four-string guitar that he made recently. The cigar box really makes the thing look and feel like a bonafide old fashioned instrument, which of course it is. The electrics he’s fitted suit it entirely and it plays really nice with a bottleneck. There’s a snippet of it included at the end of the first audio clip below, it’s me playing over a tape-loop of myself.

We attempted some drop-in style tape manipulation too, covering up the record head with a piece of card and so on but the tape moves really slowly across the heads and there wasn’t really much scope for anything exciting there.

What we did find was if you pressed the pause button repeatedly during a take the audio captured sped up and slowed down in a pleasing manner – the ‘I’m an alien’ and the whistling clips below are the results of that.

When we eventually ran out of amusing things to do with the Grundigs we had a short noise jam with the Thing-a-ma-kit analogue synth thing I built last week plugged into a Behringer delay pedal, it’s the kind of thing that’s pretty annoying to listen to if you’re not taking part so I wouldn’t expect to enjoy yourself if you decide to press play below…

my first creativity kit is now ready!  i am so happy about this that i am celebrating by giving away three free creativity kits.  visit the lovely leah at creative every day and enter to win.

a creativity kit contains the magic, inspiration and possibility of a creativity workshop in a downloadable e-kit.  the first creativity toolkit is called “making friends with creativity“.  this kit will support you in

• exploring your creative energy
• dissolving your creative blocks/fears
• deepening your connection with your creative spirit
• receiving new messages/insights/ideas/inspirations from your creative spirit

connecting with your creative spirit is connecting with your:

intuition
uniqueness
wisdom
imagination
beauty

as you strengthen and develop your friendship with your creativity you can draw on it in all aspects of your life.

you are a creative being.

there is no limit to what you can create.

making friends with creativity creativity toolkit is available now and includes:

• inspirational art journal video

• creativity guided meditation

• journaling prompts

• creative journaling exercise ideas

• creative prayer

$9 (US) buy now:

andrea schroeder creates art, creativity workshops, downloadable creativity kits and guided meditations to support you in knowing and remembering that you are a creative being and you can create anything. you can do it. let’s make some magic.

join in on her free creative journaling workshop now and learn how to use an art journal as a tool for healing, happiness and self-discovery.

Why is it a woman finds a great guy, one with a creative spirit, a bright mind, a sense of humor and either he is a “cling on” ultimately possessive and wants to hear the words “I love you” right off the bat, be intimately connected sexually or only looks at appearances and not a bit further? Yeah, yeah, I know men are VISUAL…..but so are women!

If a man has a great smile, gorgeous eyes and a personality and sense of humor too……those assets are what attracts a woman, a woman who wants to spend some time getting to know him, and him her. Why is it if a woman doesn’t respond in the manner in which HE thinks she should, the relationship is stalled or ended?

I have been single for 13 years now, barely made ends meet at times, now, am on an upswing to provide the necessities for myself, to pay my bills, to enjoy life a bit more…..It’s taken a lot of work, re-educating my mind and determination but most importantly FAITH….TO KNOW THE LORD WILL PROVIDE FOR MY NEEDS, my wants and desires is secondary!

I am not a FINANCIALLY STABLE WOMAN, or am I? If the afore mentioned means financially stable, then I am….if it means a huge list of material assets, a home I own, a brand new vehicle and the means to pay my own way to travel….it is not me! I like most women gave up a ton of “success” financially when raising my children….I have recouped to the degree that I realize, material toys are just that….”YOU CAN’T TAKE STUFF WITH YOU”!…..Why is it that the men I seem to meet have so little appreciation for this attitude? I would much rather spend quality time, laughing, deeply engrossed in conversation and being affectionate then having 3 homes, 3 cars, and the boredom that comes with all of the material things.

Material things....are Just STUFF!

I either meet a guy and he’s gung ho to hear the words, “I love you”, darling….or he has his heart so walled up he can’t feel anything….There’s no chance, opportunity to just let the relationship flow for whatever it is….

I want a friendship first….someone to “play with” like two kids in a sandbox, discovering and enjoying the elements uncovered with one another, a man who will pray in gratitude, with me for simply being alive and for all the beauty that surrounds us….one who is willing to “dig” together to uncover the surprises within each of us…..the  intelligence, creativity, the gifts we each have, male or female!

I want to be respected, cherished, loved for who I am inside of me….not whether I wear a size 2 clothes or a size 16! I am confident in the woman I am until I meet that man who tries so hard to force his “ideals” upon me….when I am not ready. To say those 3 words when I simply feel I NEED to say them to keep him interested, or worse yet to sleep with someone just because…..I need to have my emotions, mind and spirit connected to do the latter….to make it awesome for me and also for him…..

I am sooooooooooo over trying to find the fellow who will just respond from his heart without saying “you are too guarded”….If being cautious in a relationship and taking it slowly is too guarded, or wanting to know what makes the other person tick is too guarded, or being sure that the other person is walking his walk not just whispering sweet nothings is guarded, then I guess I am. I have learned many, many lessons along my path….and I definitely don’t want to fall into the same hole in the sidewalk….I want to discover the “red flags” and choose whether or not I can and want to live with them….Love is a rare commodity I am finding. My dream of wearing the glass slipper and finding my own Prince Charming a futile quest…..I now see reality with all the foibles and joys and just want truth for two….passion….peace…respect….appreciation and hilarious moments of laughter to lighten the load if you will….

Will I find love now at 62? I am really not sure…..would I like to? You bet!!!!!I want the chance, the 2nd chance if you will to practice what I have learned in so many hard ways…..I have a store house of love within my heart to share, it’s just not that appealing I guess to the majority of guys out there…..Where is the romantic heart? The reader, the conversationalist, the laugh maker, the focused, logical, attractive guy with the twinkle in his eyes the *grin* on his face? Wherever do we look to find that special man to compliment who we are,or us them?

If God meant people to live alone, to grow more mature and wise in their seasoned years, I don’t think He would have given Adam, Eve. He knows our hearts, all about us, and I just can’t let go of the thought He has someone out there, somewhere meant for only me…..The guys pants are still hanging on my bedpost waiting for Him to fill them….and if He doesn’t, I am sure He’s still sitting in His Lazy-boy laughing at my thought….then I must simply continue falling in love with me and sharing the best of who I am with those who see it and who want to know me better, regardless if there is a long time romance or not. Can I do it? YES!!!!  Do I want only that? Absolutely NOT!!!!

So if any of you read my blogs, send me your thoughts, your stories of success, your romantic encounters that fill your soul….share the hope and dreams of others so like me so we know, without a doubt, “what we want, IS WORTH WAITING FOR…..”

this wednesday is my making friends with creativity workshop at the edge gallery:

i am in the process of gathering inspiration, ideas and little bits of magic to bring with me.

i am really looking forward to this.

(more info here if you are in winnipeg and you’d like to join us in making a little magic)

andrea schroeder creates art, creativity workshops, downloadable creativity kits and guided meditations to support you in knowing and remembering that you are a creative being and you can create anything. you can do it. let’s make some magic.

join in on her free creative journaling workshop now and learn how to use an art journal as a tool for healing, happiness and self-discovery.

i have a special journal where i keep ideas for new creative projects and most of the time i love that that journal is absolutely overflowing.

but sometimes i look at it and feel completely and hopelessly behind and that i will never catch up.

sometimes it feels disjointed, like my creativity is so far ahead of where i am and how will i ever catch up?

there is so much i want to have done already.

i have to take a step back and look at my whole life and not just my art.  i have to remember that it all comes down to choices.  in new thought, this is referred to as the law of sacrifice.  we can do, be or have anything we want but that doesn’t mean we get everything we want.  every choice involves a sacrifice, we are constantly shifting and re-balancing, every choice impacts every part of our lives.

if i choose to stay home today and work solely on my wonderful creative projects i am sacrificing spending a day at the beach.  and not just any day at the beach, this is probably the last nice hot beach day we’re going to get this year.  (and i LOVE the beach)

photo i took while lying on the beach this summer when i could have been in my art room working

looking at it this way i look at the fullness of my life and not just creative progress.  and i truly appreciate the time i have spend building and nurturing friendships, playing and having fun, learning how to sing and actually enjoying doing karaoke IN FRONT OF PEOPLE, baking cupcakes and surprising people with them, gardening, going for long walks, spa days, taking naps, leading guided meditations and being actively involved in my spiritual community, taking lots of bubble baths, taking mind expanding classes and heart opening workshops… the list goes on and on.  all of these things make me who i am and make my life what it is today.

and then i remember.

if my life wasn’t so full i wouldn’t have such an abundance of creative ideas.

it’s the fullness of my life that inspires and sparks my creativity.

and it’s the nature of life that the same fullness that inspires all of these ideas also limits the amount of time i have available to work on them.  we live in a paradox.

so today i appreciate all that i have already done.

i continue to move forward, one step at a time.

i re-commit to enjoying the journey and appreciating the sweetness along the way.

i am going to the beach.

Sigh. But what if you want to do everything? I want to be a writer. I want to be a doctor. I want to be a dancer. I want to be a baker. I want to be a psychologist and a potter and a painter. Not enough years in this lifetime. . . .

Week 6 is about Rediscovering a Sense of Abundance. I whine a lot on here about my financial situation-that’s no secret. I also use my lack of monetary funds to excuse myself from pursuing my creativity: “All too often, we become blocked and blame it on our lack of money. This is never an authentic block. The actual block is our feeling of constriction, our sense of powerlessness.”

Man, oh man, does that ring true for me. But I’m going to try to not let money problems stop me from creating. I have lots of paper and pens; there’s no reason for me not to write. I have a sketch book and pencils; there’s no reason for me not to draw. I have flour, sugar, butter and eggs; there’s no reason for me not to bake. So what if I don’t have artist-grade paper and pencils, if I don’t have a food processor to make perfect pastry crusts…whatever my resources are, they’re enough to get me started.

What a lovely day! My daughter, Melissa, and granddaughters, Kate and Sarah, came to spend the day with me.  Melissa brought along a basket to paint, and I supplied the girls with suncatchers and paint markers.  We gathered around the table in my creative studio and had a glorious time.  Using decoupage, I made a wall hanging with fall pictures I had cut from old cards.

Heavy rain pounded on the roof, but it didn’t dampen our spirits. I didn’t want the day to end.  When our creating was finished, we had steak on the grill and more corn on the cob.  My son Aaron and his wife Becky joined us, and we spent the last of the evening hours sitting outside watching geese, turkeys and deer. 

Summer’s End

The pasture is edged with goldenrod like sunshine from a brush.

Cicadas, crickets, and bullfrogs pulse in the twilight’s hush.

Dried seed pods hang from bush and stem to let new life begin,

and songbirds flock and fly away, while sparrows gather in.

The hills beyond the creek are blurred by evening’s milky haze.

All these create a tapestry of Summer’s waning days.

Bessie Michael

Reading Deprivation:
It is the night time that suckers me in. We are basically tv-free during the day so eliminating it wasn’t hard when the sun was up. But when the sun goes down…boy, oh, boy. I think I am just into such a routine of putting my son to bed and using those 2 or 3 hours after he’s asleep to just be a sloth. Add in those days when my husband is home and then the television is just basically impossible to avoid. I had to decide what was more important: spending time (in front of the tv) with my husband or hiding out on the balcony/in the bedroom without my husband. The answer was pretty clear to me. However, I stayed true to my vow of twice-daily email checks and no reading. I will walk away from this challenge with a renewed faith in my willpower and a (slightly) clearer mind. But maybe most importantly, an awareness of more of the traps that sabotage my creative spirit.

Technically, tomorrow is supposed to be the last day of my experiment with reading deprivation…but my husband will be home from work so I’m not going to even bother to fight it another day

i am very happily working on a new workshop today called “making friends with creativity”.  this is a brand new creativity workshop, that i am putting together for the edge gallery and artist’s village. when i met with serena from the edge to discuss the possibilities, we agreed that we wanted to put on a workshop that would encourage a greater connection to creativity in artists and “non-artists” alike. (though really we are all artists in our own way)

so this is inspired by a workshop i used to do called “discovering your creative spirit“.  i wanted to take that idea a step further, rather than just discovering our creative spirit and learning about it, we can actually form a relationship with it.  creating a relationship with it allows us to understand how we can nourish our creativity, and see all the ways our creativity can nourish us.

in creating a nourishing relationship with our creativity, we open up all sorts of new and wonderful possibilities.

creativity is about so much more than the arts.  (though the arts are beautiful and important and valuable)  creativity is intuition and brilliant ideas, solutions, new perspectives.  creativity is a bright shining light and a really good and wonderful friend to have.  this is a friendship that can open up new doors to new worlds.

i made a little video of me talking about the workshop:

this will be happening october 7, 7-9 pm, in winnipeg at the edge gallery and artists’ village.  check out their website.

this is going to be a fantastic evening and i really really encourage you to attend.  but if you are not in winnipeg – guess what?  i am going to be turning this workshop into a creativity kit so you can make friends with creativity in the comfort of your own home.  stay tuned for creativity kit updates.

About me. Well, let’s start with God. I love God and his goodness and loving mercy. Also, I love people. Especailly kids. I love to see happy kids and when I work with them at work or even at church it is especially amazing to see them begining their own relationshoips with the Lord. Also, I love art. After all I do have a degree in Graphic design- but I love working with any medium. I find it (art) to be a great way of expressing oneself and ultimatly a venue to reach out to people. Well, to sum it up- I guess my slogan is: Love God, Love people, Love Art.

i have so many new creative ideas and projects happening right now.  it really feels like summer. blooms abound, and i can see the beginning of an abundant harvest. just like in my garden i am eating fresh strawberries and raspberries and broccoli. i see eggplants peeking out at me from under leaves.  everywhere i turn there is a new creative idea or project or perfect little bit of inspiration.

i want to nurture this creative harvest within me. make sure all of these wonderful new ideas and projects get all the sun and water and love and time and attention they needs to flourish.

and i keep coming back to the place where it’s about nurturing myself. when i am strong and centered my creativity flows. creativity itself is natural and easy, creativity is life, it does not need my help to flourish. i need my help to be healthy and peaceful and open enough to allow it to flourish in me and through me.

so tonight instead of doing anything “productive” with all of these ideas and projects, i had a cupcake, knit, took a long bath (i used my favourite lush bubble bar, bathos) and i am going to bed early. i will wake up renewed and ready for new creative adventures.

how are you nurturing yourself today?

i open my creativity workshops with a guided meditation, i think it is really important for creating that magical inspiring space where massive amounts of creative energy can pour out of each one of us.  after a group meditation you can feel the room sparkling with possibility.

meditation calms and centers us, brings us right into the present moment.  in the present moment, our creativity is flowing freely and we are connected to unlimited inspiration.  when we are busy, stressed, or simply focused elsewhere we are not consciously aware of this.  meditation, and specifically guided meditation designed to bring us in touch with our creative spirits, helps us become aware.

when creativity is flowing freely and we are connected to unlimited inspiration, our creative journaling can take us in amazing new directions.  now we are being guided from within.  now we are working with our true potential.  this is where infinite possibility exists.  exciting stuff!

no special skills or talent are needed to follow a guided creativity meditation.  all that is required is a willingness to be open to it. go ahead and give it a try, i have created a short and simple meditation for the creative journaling workshop:

as with anything, the more you meditate the better you get at it.  in this case, “better” only means that you relax more fully more quickly as you sink deeper into yourself.  you may not notice much happening at first, but if you stick with it you will find benefits.  i really could not imagine my life without daily meditation.  it keeps me centered, peaceful, happy, creative, present in my body, connected to my intuition.  there is this feeling of lightness and bliss flowing through me that helps to smooth out whatever bumps may show up in my day.

“In one moment I realized that this universe is intelligent. It is proceeding in a direction, and we have something to do with that direction. And that creative spirit, the creative intent that has been the history of this planet, comes from within us, and it is out there – it is all the same…Consciousness itself is what is fundamental, and energy-matter is the product of consciousness…If we change our heads about who we are – and can see ourselves as creative eternal beings creating physical experience, joined at that level of existence we call consciousness – then we start to see and create this world that we live in quite differently.” Edgar Mitchell after his return from space

NASA astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell was the 6th man to walk on the moon. The above quote is from the book,  What the Bleep Do We Know by William Arntz, Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente. The quote is a beautiful statement by an American hero.

Yes, we are eternal beings. Yes, everything – and I mean everything – that exists is part of Oiai`o (God). So far we’re in agreement. But here’s where Huna differs:

Human beings are made up of 3 selves. When all three selves are in lokahi (harmony) and working together, miracles happen – like walking unburned on the Fire Made Sacred. It is the Uhane (conscious self) who makes decisions, the Unihipili (aka sub consciousness) who handles emotions and sends our desires/prayers every night in the Great Hunian Prayer (TMHG) to our Aumakua (Guardian Angel/Higher Self) who then creates our reality. We here in the physical have to DO. We can’t just sit and wait for things to happen. But, knowing how to pray, how to change the future gives us an edge most folks just don’t have. Anyone can learn this if they so choose.

I’m in the process of reading the above book. While it’s interesting and entertaining, some things I agree with, but mostly it’s misleading – so far anyway. That’s really not a fair assessment since I’m only about 1/3 way through it. A friend recommended it and was blown away by it. Maybe I’ve been in Huna so long that what’s obvious to me is mind-blowing to someone new to Huna. Hmmm….

Here’s another great quote from the book:

“I heard a story recently about an insurance company that was trying to analyze a particular problem in Saskatchewan. Turns out that light aircraft pilots who ran into engine trouble would try and land on the nearest freeway they could find that was relatively empty.

One of the things that consistently happened is that once they landed and slowed down, they rarely left enough inertia to actually pull off the road. (They were probably so happy just to be alive.) Often drivers would smash into the aircraft and, when questioned by the police, they would almost always say that they never saw the plane. One moment they were driving; the next they hit something. The insurance company discovered that the reason this happens is because the last thing a driver expects to see on a freeway is a small aircraft, so they never see it.” MARK

Years ago I read about that phenomena. When Capt. Cook was approaching the islands, some of the natives on the beach could not see his ship. Large as it was, it was not part of their reality and they simply could not see it coming toward them.

Kinda makes you wonder what we’re missing now, eh? And remember…..if you’re looking FOR something specific, you will overlook things that are right in front of you.

And by the way……have you laughed today?

For decades I sought ‘the artist within’ and the source of ‘my creativity’.  I worried about my lack of formal art education.  I worked at healing my ‘creative spirit’.  I researched everything I could find written about the phenomenon we call creativity – what fosters it, what blocks it, what it IS.
 
And for decades I was puzzled by the ineffable state that bloomed when – somehow – ‘I-as-artist’ disappeared and something wholly mysterious seemed to flow in with results that would amaze and humble me.  What was going on?
 
I watched this carefully and rather warily – trying not to jump to conclusions grasped from outside my own experience.  It was like chewing on a rubbery gob-stopping life-koan that couldn’t be swallowed or spat out:  If I wasn’t making the decisions involved in a work, what was?
 
When ripeness was ripe the puzzle resolved itself in its own way.  What happened?

I woke up to the obvious, like waking up after a weird dream: Within full sensory immersion in the now-moment there is no awareness of a separate self.  There is just creative intelligence in action, sensing, assessing, making.  Not ‘my’ creativity (although it seems we must speak of it that way).  Not ‘not-mine’, either.

Resolving this riddle had nothing to do with any effort on my part.  On the contrary: I learned early-on that mental scrutiny ensured the absence of the mystery.  Over time, my wonderings quite naturally focused more and more on simply being present, simply resting there and resisting the reflex to move into analysis and speculation.

This was a real challenge for me because I have one of those brains that functions equally effectively in analytical and intuitive modes, swinging seamlessly from one to the other. Yet while it seemed that analytical activities were necessary to generate energy for the task, there came a point when they had to subside and leave space for something else to enter.  And they don’t simply subside on demand!

We are expertly trained in reflexive analysis and speculation, which usually results in our following tracks already laid down by others.  We conform.  We want to be accepted, to gain approval.  The creative questions that are unique to our field of experience and predisposition are buried, silent.  The immeasurable and indefinable movement of creativity remains impotent.

Mind that is free to court the creative questions which Life itself provides is natural mind.  Why aren’t we steered towards this free, unconditioned mind?  Why does our education fail to encourage us to unearth the questions that really matter to us? Should that not be the primary concern of our educators?

Questions like these laid out my path as an artisan and an educator.

the via creativa pages can be read in full on the wonderingmind website

“Are you continually renewing your effectiveness, or are you dangerously on the cusp of falling from great to good (and to irrelevance)?”

History shows, repeatedly, that the mighty can fall. Athens fell. Rome fell. Some are now asking if that’s the U.S.’s fate? And it makes you wonder now that GM and so many other companies are falling.

And closer to home, could our own church be failing? How would you know?

When you are at the top of your game your very success might cover up the fact that you’re already on the path of decline. That question—how would you know?—captured Jim Collin’s imagination. It was the inspiration for his latest book “How The Mighty Fall” where Jim ponders this “how would you know” question.

Collin’s pored through his 6000 years of organizational behavior research to discover these 5 distinct stages of decline that precede the fall of any organization:

1. Hubris born of success - Success often breads arrogance causing us to lose sight of  our success factors. We selfishly take credit for our success and soon wake up and discover our vulnerabilities too late.
2. Undisciplined pursuit of more – More scale, more growth, more acclaim, more of what we believe defines success. We then grow too fast to staff the team with the right people.
3. Denial of risk and peril – We then discount negative news, amplify positive data, and put a positive spin on ambiguous data. We lose our ability for vigorous, fact based, dialogue. 
   
4. Grasping for salvation – As we recognize our impending peril, we look for saviors like charismatic leaders, bold untested strategies, and any number of silver bullet solutions when what we needs is a calm, clear headed, focused approach.
5. Capitulation to irrelevance or death – We’re now focused on survival versus building an enterprise that makes such an impact on our community it would leave a gaping hole. We must retain this deep faith we can prevail, not for simple survival, but for this compelling cause.

The 5 stages read like the book of Proverbs in many ways. And, whether we’re at the top of our game or not they beg this question ;

Could we be blind to decline in our own church, organization, or family?

It was been quite a ride at Digital Dollhouse! We are in full production on the Beach House which feels like I’m shopping for my real house with an unlimited budget.  All of us were busy working through our tasks and I would stare vaguely at our member lists-blogging and pasting with hopes of hitting a vein of new user and then BAM!!! we got linked on a girls webgame portal yesterday thanks to an incredibly generous flash artist in London.

We had 1500 new users sign up in one day.

And they played with it!  A lot of them stayed on Digital Dollhouse and made rooms and really played with it!  I know I shouldn’t sound surprised, after all I’ve been making girls technology and media products for most of my career.  But suddenly I had the incredible opportunity to watch over a thousand girls actually play with something that I’ve been thinking about, dreaming about and working towards for almost nine years.  For the first time it wasn’t a Barbie/Tinkerbell/major-brand-with-millions-of-dollars product that I was looking at but truly something born of my own head and with the enormous effort of a small and incredibly talented group of people.  It was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying.  I kept refreshing my screen in shock while the rest of the team seemed puzzled…I mean isn’t this what was supposed to happen eventually?  Shouldn’t we be expecting thousands of users playing on the site?  Isn’t that the whole point?

But here is the funny thing about working towards goals and dreams.  Often there is a fuzzy awareness that one day something might result from the risk taking, begging money from strangers, the desperately hard work and the gnawing anxiety that you might have cratered your career for the hopes of something better. Yet generally that something has a fantastical quality to it.  Mine sort of included an Oscar, a smaller dress size and the easy ability to always fly first class.  It included fantasies of hundreds of girls playing and naturally progressing to thousands and millions of girls making dollhouses and proudly sharing with friends and family. And it all would take something like…um about two weeks.

Instead traffic and feedback and usage and information comes in drips, drabs and an occasional tidal wave.  Instead of learning to swim in life, I should have been taught how to build a boat, crash it and then rebuild a better one, every few minutes.  I am not a zen surfer.  My creative spirit is not light and cheerful and effervescent.  Mine is more like liquid lead, pliable but not something you want in your running shoes.

And the site works in some ways and not in others.  Some of the girls from our tidal wave have come back, new users stream in and consultant gurus are demanding that we all (ok especially me) keep our heads down and our eyes towards our ultimate goal-a great, rich user experience.  I’m taking my finger off the refresh button, my hand out of the m&m bag and my stomach out of my throat.  As of this moment we have 6117 Digital Dollhouse members.  Wow.

Lost in Translation

Saw a great film last night, I’m a little behind with films at times-after all Lost in Translation was released in 2003, eek! A great song in there by Death by Vegas called Girls- a lovely piece of music , an interesting relaxed soundtrack and a brilliant film!

I really recommend you watch it. It’s directed by Sofia Coppola and has some great camera shots in it! I’m a bit obvious to films, shots and angles but am being educated by Adam who appreciates it more than I do– it’s great learning though, I love spotting how something visually has been perfectly planned out and the creative result is mind-blowing. Other directors to check out: Spike Jonze & Chris Cunningham.  Cunningham directed videos such as Bjork All is full of love with the white robots, Portishead- Only You (WOW) and that random PlayStation advert from way back then- remember this?-  They’re category of their own! Jonze directed Adaptation another great film watch recently by me hehe, he has created videos for  Bjork, Fatboy Slim and Kayne West.

I guess if you are a creative person and are gifted with the ability to express you thoughts feelings and passing moments of genius through art, design, music etc: the creativity shown in others stirs the creativity in you. It’s an dancer appreciating and seeing the gift expressed in a well structured, perfectly arranged creative short film, or a writer feeling the creative heart behind an emotion drenched soloists melody.

A creative person does not just stay tuned into their own creative expression, this leads to us becoming stagnant and only expressing a small frame of the intended image. They spot it in every minute of their day and take those moments as if building a memory box and trim it to the collage they are piecing together.

Good read! Nice cover too!

My bus reading book at the moment is The Gift: How the creative spirit transform the world by Lewis Hyde- it’s an excellent book, not written from the perspective that creativity is a gift, not a commodity to be manufactured and sold but something that is crafted at and given away and is continuously being given away. It’s a great book, I recommend it as a good read, its not written by a Christian author but the concept and the heart of it is the same- It is a bit full on to read in an entire sitting but that maybe just my attention span  he he. So it is mark as my bus reading book so I read a chapter there and back from work.

H x

this morning i felt like making this little video about our creative spirits, the importance of freeing them and their value out in the world.

at the end is a little meditation for freeing your creative spirit.

I read an interesting blog tonight from the Boston Globe about a CEO of a large hospital, Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and how he has chosen to handle the need to trim and save and still keep employees. It’s a marvelous read and he seems to have an innovative way of thinking. Thank you Paul Levy for using your brain and awesome common sense.

He actually has taken time to know his staff of 8,000. Observed the “peons” at work and learned from them and believe it or not, has asked them for input in preserving the hospital. Imagine.

What if the government officials and other highly paid and compensated CEO’s began to see the “gift” they could give, the legacy they could leave long after they leave this planet earth, by taking pay cuts, giving up some of their benefits and actually walking in a brand new pair of “corporate shoes”?

How many would benefit from the sacrifices made at the top? There would be a drop in unemployment because people could keep their jobs. Prices of goods might even decline because of the “supply and demand” principle and people wouldn’t be losing their homes, they would have a roof over their heads. Now that would be actual proof of living a “Wonderful Life”….putting the needs of others ahead of your own.

After all people, it’s “just stuff”.…you can’t take it with you…..Ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul into a cemetery? NOT!!!!! Why not all unite like we did after 9/11 and help where we can. It all begins with strong and determined leadership. Cuts in spending, being cost effective in choosing bids for government work and products, sharing what we do have with our neighbors…..”Paying it Forward”. And perhaps little by little the Ordinary People will show how extraordinary our thinking really is……Let’s show ‘em guys….God has opened a window in Boston it’s time we open others out there wherever we live, just waiting for us to begin anew.

Let’s hear it for a creative spirit and unselfish leadership, the fundamentals the people of the world have admired….now, GM, Chrysler, AIG, Walmart, Senators, Representatives, Mayors, Governors, Presidents of CitiBank, Bank of America, all lenders , CEO’s etc etc, step up to the plate and join the game. What do you say?

Wouldn’t it be ultimately more profitable, more resourceful and less stressful for all of us if we could have more CEO’s who have empathy to lead the team to the winning inning before the game is called for lack of participation?

Think about it “peons”…..write a blog….write a letter….call your congress people, bank presidents, send emails….it’s our opportunity to unite and join forces for the good of our fellow brothers and sisters in America.…Are you with me? Then let’s just do something…..start tomorrow….be active with your thoughts and ideas and lets show the world how extraordinary we each are, let us all shine. As we round the bases, one at a time to win the game of survival of a great America. While doing so, we will lift the buschel from our own lights and one never knows when an idea born from despair and frustration might be one of many that save this nation. We can and we will, do it together as our forefathers did in their beginning….It’s a new beginning and I for one want to play a role, do you?