Holiday Caroling Leadership Lessons I’m honored to be the soprano and manager of the Philosopher’s Tones, one of the premier holiday caroling groups around, The Philosopher’s Tones. The other night I got a nice lesson in what happens when you’re in charge. See, I now live in New York City. The Tones work in the…
Music is the universal language. If you want to understand another culture, listen to their songs. There are so many things I love about doing world music at colleges and universities. I get to expose students to new cultures and languages. I get to introduce them to music they would otherwise never hear. And they…
Simple Words Inspire Profound Changes I dedicate this episode to the people who teach us with the use of simple words. They can be our actual teachers or they can be friends or even passersby. We can learn from their off-the-cuff remarks. They can transform our ideas and broaden our horizons. We have to know…
The law of inertia states that a body in motion tends to stay in motion and a body at rest tends to stay at rest. So, I who mostly do sedentary things like writing, making music, coaching and even public speaking (which isn’t exactly running a marathon) have decided that I must be in motion…
Warm it up to create! To create, you have to warm up your instrument. In order to express our creativity, we must have good tools that we have prepared for the purpose. Just like a marathon runner wouldn’t dream of running one without warming up their body, we must warm up our instrument to create as…
If you haven’t heard, Sir Anthony Hopkins’ (the actor) composition, “and the waltz goes on,“ go here and take a listen. Why? Because it shows us something special. This man, this actor who has reached every height of his career, still wants something else. I believe he started out as a Music person and then…
(Today’s Show Up! Journal power words): Make your mind your inspiration and make your body your instrument. That’s how you create, make art, and change the world. All the thoughts and inspiration in the world don’t mean diddly unless you use them to do something, unless you make them express something. If you don’t use…
Morning meditation. I spent some time this morning meditating on the goals depicted in this sculpture I created. I love symbols and totems. I use them as concrete touchstones of my goals, And I visualize those successes as I meditate on the piece. This artwork represents my goals of writing, music, and teaching. I teach…
Have you noticed how quickly people on the internet want to point out when you are wrong? I am amazed at some people’s need to point when you have made a mistake. If you use a word or phrase improperly, they are all over you like white on rice. And I’m not talking about the…
I’m reading Steven Pressfield’s excellent book, “The War of Art.” If you have any desire to pursue your art, run towards this book with open arms. So far, it’s amazing, validating, and oh so frustrating. Pressfield points out all the hidden places we run to keep ourselves from working on our art/craft. I’ve winced more…