Saturday Afternoon

Today I found some old photos. One from as far back as 9th or 10th grade. I was in Bye Bye Birdie-- my first big guitar stage experience. What fun that was!

I posted this in the "Vocalist" section of the Forum, but I don't know how many people visit there. So I put it here, too.

This morning I revisited a book I read about 6 years ago named "Uncommon Genius". It's a great interesting book about the creative process.

In "Uncommon Genius", Denise Shekerjian interviewed 40 different people about their creative processes. The yardstick she used was that they were all winners of the McArthur award.

In the book she distilled 8 points she found in common with all the winners:

1) Find your talent
2) commit to it and make it shine
3) Don't be afraid of risk or failure (the game is really never over). Seen the the proper light, risk and failure bring both insight and opportunity.
4) Find courage by looking to something stronger and better than your puny vulnerable self.
5) Noo lusting after quick resolutions. Relax. Stay loose
6) Get to know yourself; understand your needs and the specific conditions you favor.
7) Respect, too, your culture. We can't, any of us, escape the twentieth (now twenty-first) century. It's tucked up around our collective chin as snugly and as firmly as the bedsheet.
Then, finally, break free from the seductive pull of book training and research and the million other preparatory steps that could delay for the entire span of a life and immerse yourself in DOING IT NOW.


Great great great book. I loved these 8 points she makes. The last one is the most important, to be sure.