Monthly Archive for January, 2010
Multiple versions of this video have been floating around on You Tube and elsewhere. If you haven’t seen it I’m sure you’ll find it a thought-provoking booster for thinking more globally.
And here’s the link for the wiki
This week I am traveling with the Get a Life Marching Band. I’m a dancer with the band. We are in Anaheim for gigs at NAMM and Disneyland.
NAMM
The National Association of Music Merchants is one of the largest exhibits in the world for music products. There are vendors for anything sound and music related….guitars, keyboards, sound boards, horns….and on and on. The larger vendors feature famous musicians to demo their products. Thursday I saw a Guitar God wailing for a large crowd (I am but a lowly dancer and did not know his name). Anyway–big stuff. We joined the Ferdinand L. Petiot band for their 40th Anniversary appearance at NAMM to open the event. The song “Thriller” had been selected for us and I choreographed a routine for our dancers. Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller, led us through the halls. Quincy Jones! Led us in the parade through the convention halls!
Later in the day we played a stage set. I saw Lenny ‘Fuzzy’ Rankins and his band perform as we waited. They could not have been more cool….jazz, R&B and charismatic stage presence. Very hip band. Inwardly, I groaned and I thought, “We’re following them?! We are the opposite of cool!” I anticipated a painful hour with the audience leaving in droves.
But that didn’t happen. As our director, Steve, told the story of the band in between classic songs like, “Louie, Louie”, “It’s Hip to be Square” and “We’re an American Band” the audience stayed and came right along with us.
We are not hip. We are band nerds. And what comes through when we perform is the sheer joy of the music. The band LOVES to play and they are pretty darn good. We dancers, twirlers and flag team love to play with them.
As we rode the bus back to our hotel Steve related a few conversations he’d had with some musicians after we finished our set. NAMM halls are filled with world-class studio musicians but the professional musicians said they hadn’t seen anything like Get a Life in 30 years of the convention. Steve and the rest of the group reminded these professionals of when they first began playing…school band, perhaps. He took them to another time and reminded them exuberance and fun that music can bring when it’s not a job. “I daresay it was an emotional experience for them.”
The sincerity of Get a Life, the unabashed corniness..all this was utterly lovable. The LA suits, rockers and professional musicians couldn’t help but crack a smile as we performed.
Here’s the lesson I relearned: Follow what you love with a passion. Be a complete geek about it. Be unabashed in your pursuit. Sincerity is disarming.
My name is Maggie and I’m with the Band.
Over the weekend I hosted the first Creativity Spa at the John Palmer House. Once again, I was touched by the power of a group to generate energy and inspiration for all the members. From the first hour, when participants introduced themselves and their creative aspiration to the final hour when they declared a specific action they would take we all traveled an intriguing journey together. The agenda included SoulCollage(TM) and peer coaching and, oh yes, yummy snacks and wine.
SoulCollage(TM) is a consistently effective tool for tapping your intuition and letting go of your logical, linear mind for a time. Images are a mainline to the psyche. Here are a few examples from my SoulCollage(tm) deck:
The cards are so versatile and provide a wonderful window to your creative self.
Thanks again to my beautiful Winter Spa participants. If you’d like to join the Spring Creativity Spa watch this space for dates.
Yesterday I heard a sad statistic: by the end of January more than half of us will have dropped our New Year resolutions. Sigh.
I get it. Change is hard.
So how do you support yourself in holding to your goals? Especially, when your goals are in the creative realm–perhaps more discretionary than goals such as ‘manage my money’ or ‘lose weight so I don’t get diabetes’.
First, I recommend accepting the fact that change is difficult and you may take a few runs at it. So what? Each repeated effort does increase learning and the likelihood of change over time.
Second, accept that working with your creativity requires structure. Here are some ways to create structure for yourself:
Make an external commitment. Writing in your journal or telling a friend is good. But what if you book a commission or commit to a presentation? I’ve promised a weekly newsletter and you can bet I won’t be backing off that. When you promise something to others it’s somehow more compelling than an internal promise.
Get a coach. Of course, I would love for you to hire me as your Kaizen-Muse coach (specialized coaching for the creatively rebellious–see Building Blocks). But you can also find a peer coach. I have a dear friend who is my peer coach. She and I have worked together and she knows how to keep me focused. Best of all, she does it with gentleness and imagination (love you Arden!). For starters, meet every other week and alternate roles.
Track yourself. They used to say at Intel that everything can be measured. I used to say, “Whatever.” But over time, I came to appreciate the value of noticing progress. Today, take a little census of your status quo. Measure your body, your mood, your bank account. Because, the Intel engineers were right: what gets measured gets done. Then review your progress with your coach 
Finally, if you haven’t made any resolutions (you Rebel) you may enjoy this charming workbook. I downloaded it over the weekend and it’s much more fun than a spreadsheet.
So pursue your creative goals.
Pursue your mundane goals with creativity.
Go Tiger! You can do it! I’m rooting for you!
Dateline: January 2, 2010
01022010
Notice anything? That’s right–today’s date is a palindrome!
The New Year brings a little fun for math fans besides calculating bowl game odds, with Jan. 2, 2010 being a “palindrome” date.
Palindrome words read the same backwards and forwards, such as “racecar” or “kayak.” Palindrome dates, such as 01-02-2010, 01022010, are reversible too, says engineering professor Aziz Inan of the University of Portland (Ore.)
“Palindrome dates are a fascinating subject for those who have (an) interest in popular or recreational mathematics,” says Inan, a noted collector of numerical dates. The last palindrome date was October 2, 2001 (10022001), and the next one falls November 2, 2011 (11022011), with a total of 12 such dates falling in this century. (source)
Anyone for some ‘recreational mathematics’?
I wish all of you the happiest of years in 2010. Let’s have fun, do some good and take notice more often.
Ta Ta 2009
Last night we said adieu to the passing year with a yummy meal at Ned Ludd and dancing with the Fun Gals. That’s right, 80′s dancing at the Wonder Ballroom. Oh, I did love the 80′s (thanks for the disco beret K!). We walked home under a lush, full moon (a blue moon–very auspicious) and I was happy.
If you haven’t appreciated the past year I encourage you to take a couple of minutes. Good work to do.
Begin as You Mean to Go
By now you may have a good idea of what you most would like to see come true in 2010. I recommend beginning this first day with a literal or symbolic step toward each goal. For instance:
- if you want to watch less TV–watch less TV
- if you want to spend more time with friends and family, go spend some time with some dear
- if you want world peace, say a prayer and make a contribution
- if you want to be healthier take a short walk
- if you want to be more organized, clean a drawer or recycle some files
- if you want to draw more make a tiny drawing or order some yummy art supplies
Explore how you can fit a tiny step of each of your top ten into this day. It is a powerful gesture.
And now, I’m off to make some Hoppin’ John for good luck.
