Are you sitting at home telling yourself that you don’t have a creative bone in your body? You’re not alone. Only 10% of adults identify as create. But 96% of four year olds identify as creative. As children, we use creativity to figure out how the world works. We learn how to paint, draw, play music, and build things, all the while developing creative-thinking skills. Creative thinking skills are the…
There is a common misconception that creativity is only for artistic individuals. Oftentimes, business and creativity aren’t thought of as ideas that coexist. You may think business is for left-brained thinkers, while creativity is for right-brained thinkers. Studies have shown that both hemispheres play huge roles in creative thinking. If creativity is so ingrained in our psyche, there is no doubt that there is importance to creativity in business. Everyone…
When asked the question, does music increase productivity?, my immediate response is to shout yes, yes, yes from the rooftops…I might even be seen shaking a tambourine for emphasis, haha. As a lifelong musician, hit songwriter and veteran of bringing music to the corporate world, the idea that music increases productivity is pretty well proven for me personally. But perhaps you’re a leader of a biotech company or the…
Is return on inspiration really a thing? Yes, it’s a powerful thing. It’s a way of re-framing how you think about ROI. Chasing return on inspiration will help you create a more innovative culture within your team and within your company. If you learn about ROInspiration® and take time to integrate this into your work life you’ll see tangible return – the kind you can eventually quantify. I’d Never Heard…
One of the things I most often hear my clients say is, “I don’t know how to be creative. I’d like to be but I don’t know where to start – and I don’t know if I even have it.” Like the it is some magic thing that you’ve either got or you don’t. This reminds me of a very old joke. It’s ancient but still relevant. A visitor to…
I’m not great at memorizing a speech. In fact, it’s really hard for me. But I can sing the lyrics to hundreds of songs with ease. And if there’s a new song that I like, I’m usually able to sing the lyrics after hearing that song just a few times. I bet you can too. Music and memory have a powerful link that enables us to internalize information that would otherwise be…
I’ve had writer’s block and I’ve been procrastinating a lot lately. I’ve also been a bit of a hypocrite because I’m not practicing what I preach. I often talk with my clients about the importance of practicing creativity every day. I counsel to them, “Don’t wait for inspiration, it’s important to show up and do something…anything.” As Picasso said, To know what you’re going to draw, you have to begin drawing. But yesterday, I realized the…
Team building activities can range from the bleak to the awe-inspiring. The goal, of course, is to bring team members together in a way that inspires them to grow and develop as individuals and as a team, ultimately produces better, more meaningful results from the collective output. However, the extent to which any given team building activity recognizes success often hinges on the amount of innovation infused into it. If…
Creative inspiration…zzz…oh, wake me up. Because if I sit around waiting for creative inspiration, I’m likely to fall asleep. If you click the link above, you’ll find a wikipedia article that defines creativity as something new. But that new something is most often an outgrowth of lots of older pre-existing ideas. As a young pianist, I spent much of my time listening to the great pianists I admired, imitating and…
If you’ve found this post you’re probably wondering how to be successful in the music industry. I hope you’re not looking for a magic formula; there isn’t one. Oddly enough, or not so oddly, tips for success in music are very similar to tips for success at anything. So it seems right to start with common sense tips that apply universally. And then I’ll share some of what I’ve gleaned…
John Cashman and his team at Digital Firefly Marketing asked me to provide a story line for an infographic and I’m so glad they did. It forced me to distill the essence of the songwriting process into something simple, including steps you can follow to write your own song. Check this infographic, How To Write A Hit Song, for what I hope will inspire you to at begin or continue…