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The adjective people have always used to describe me is prolific.  It makes sense. As author, blogger, public speaker, video producer, consultant, columnist, strategist, storyteller, filmmaker, publisher, musician and songwriter, I’ve spent the better part of my life as a collector, creator and communicator of ideas.  And so, in the past year, I’ve been researching and writing and experimenting extensively on this topic. I’ve also been reverse engineering my own creative…

All creativity begins with the moment of conception. That little piece of kindling that gets the fire going. That initial source of inspiration that takes on a life of its own. That single note from which the entire symphony grows. That single spark of life that signals an idea’s movement value, almost screaming to us, something wants to be built here. Jolie Holland once said that the creative process was…

The formula for being prolific is simple: Small times long equals big. Rodney Crowell mastered this formula. He’s a singer and songwriter whose chart topping country tunes have earned him multiple awards, nominations and collaborations with a variety of famous musicians. His theory is, inspiration is earned. You’ve got to develop a work ethic. And that if inspiration isn’t there, you go back working with a shovel and a…

All creativity begins with the moment of conception. That little piece of kindling that gets the fire going. That initial source of inspiration that takes on a life of its own. That single note from which the entire symphony grows. That single spark of life that signals an idea’s movement value, almost screaming to us, something wants to be built here. And so, in this new blog series, I’m going…

Moleskine is the iconic brand of notebook used by legendary artists, thinkers and literary avant gardes around the world for the past two centuries. In the past few decades, the brand has become synonymous with culture, travel and imagination, encompassing a family of nomadic objects like notebooks, diaries, journals, bags, writing instruments and reading accessories. I recently stumbled into one of their newly opened retail stores and found a…

All creativity begins with the moment of conception. That little piece of kindling that gets the fire going. That initial source of inspiration that takes on a life of its own. That single note from which the entire symphony grows. That single spark of life that signals an idea’s movement value, almost screaming to us, something wants to be built here. And so, in this new blog series, I’m going…

Andrew Bird is an innovative musician, songwriter, multi instrumentalist, and quite possibly the most talented whistler in the history of folk music. He’s also a regular columnist for The New York Times, contributing occasional articles on how to write a song and other mysteries, pulling back the curtain on his creative process and the pleasures and pains of being a musician. In one particular article, he recalls the childhood…

All creativity begins with the moment of conception. That little piece of kindling that gets the fire going. That initial source of inspiration that takes on a life of its own. That single note from which the entire symphony grows. That single spark of life that signals an idea’s movement value, almost screaming to us, something wants to be built here. Edward DeBono, the godfather of creativity, has published a…

All artists create actively from the unconscious. But there are just as many tools for doing so as there are artists to use them. When I graduated from college and started my publishing company, I took an interest in meditation. I began practicing a number of techniques including deep breathing, hypnosis, guided imagery and progressive muscle relaxation. What’s interesting is, my motivation wasn’t necessarily to increase creativity, but to decrease…

All creativity begins with the moment of conception. That little piece of kindling that gets the fire going. That initial source of inspiration that takes on a life of its own. That single note from which the entire symphony grows. That single spark of life that signals an idea’s movement value, almost screaming to us, something wants to be built here. Last Words is the story of the man behind…