CreativeLedge Blog

Right Livelihood, Right Now!

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:50:00 +0000

This might be an opportune moment to broach the subject of “Right Livelihood.”

Presently, millions of American white collar and blue collar workers have lost their jobs or have been forced to accept shortened work weeks.

Millions of gainfully employed citizens count themselves among “The Working Worried.” They live with the very real possibility of being sacked at a moment’s notice.

Thousands of young college grads are forced to boomerang back to their parents’ homes and take marginal jobs.

Even Warren Buffett (“America’s Greatest Investor”) lost nearly 60% of his investors’ premier stock portfolio in Berkshire Hathaway.

And we all know what the collapse of the housing and financial markets means to the Boomer’s retirement plans. The silver-haired generation will be fool’s gold geriatrics.

So consider this:

Post World War II American Industrial Capitalism is over. It was an amazing ride but it is now kaput. The financial elites on Wall Street, in restricted corporate boardrooms and behind closed Congressional doors, simply robbed shareholders, bondholders, and worker pension funds of their accumulated wealth.

Think GM, AIG, Lehman Brothers, Standard & Poors, Moody, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Countrywide, etc., etc., etc…

Everyone who was anyone inside the financial community knew what was happening but simply did not care to go public. It was too lucrative to just follow the herd — off a cliff. That was what confused and confounded Alan Greenspan, the once-venerated chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank. He could not imagine in his wildest dreams that the pillars of the establishment would let the system collapse. But if you read too much Ayn Rand in your youth and don’t talk with anyone except those in your select clique for 50 years, you become a dangerous relic of the past.

Essentially, the American government has made a group of inside interests too big to fail. That is the rationale for the mega-trillion dollar bailout, courtesy of the American taxpayer and foreign stakeholders, of our treasury debt.

And it’s probably true that there was no other choice than to fork over our nation’s wallet to well-heeled muggers. The alternative was a probable global Depression.

The more obvious lessons of our ongoing tale of financial woe are:

Establishment elites pursuing lives of “Wrong Livelihood” made out like bandits.

The proverbial little guy has lost his inflated stake in both stock and housing markets.

The system cannot seem to self-correct its most obvious blunders.

I often feel like the kid who yelled out “The Emperor is naked!” The facts are obvious to all in their pink splendor.

Our national debt — including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Medicare and Medicaid, government pensions, bum mortgages and derivative swaps, credit card debt, student loan debt, and interest and principle on official national and state debt before the current meltdown — is many times the size of our real productive economy. Our kids and grandkids are going to hate us.

So, where does this leave a creative person?

Actually, it leaves us surprisingly well off compared to most wage earners.

Money was never the key motivator in our lives. We set up small businesses and took day jobs so we could paint, make films, strut on stage, write, perform, and compose music, create on the computer, write plays and screenplays, design all and sundry sorts of things and experiences…

I recorded the following interviews with eight “Maine Originals” six or seven years ago — while 9/11 was still fresh in our national psyche. The tagline for the series of vignettes is “Creative lives linked to land, sea, and community.”

That is about as good a definition of “Right Livelihood” as I’ve seen. The people who were profiled inspired me to try in my own way to contribute to civil society’s long-term prospects.

The voices that you hear in the links below just might ignite your own originality. If the current state of our nation’s finances and frayed social fabric has a bottom line, it might be this:

We need practical visionaries to create new and resilient American Dreams — the old ones are falling of their own accord into the dustbin of history.

Here are two web links:

http://www.creativeledgestudio.com/maineoriginals/originals.html

http://www.creativeledgestudio.com/maineoriginals/

Finessing A Recession Part II: What Now?

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:14:00 +0000

On June 8, 2008, I posted a surprisingly prescient blog entry titled Finessing A Recession. It was a muted, mildly upbeat musing on what looked like the beginning of a major recession.

As a longtime student of financial markets and a reluctant realist (are there any other kind?), I tried to put a positive spin on an economic system on the brink of spinning out of control.

Because the United States is an essentially commercial country founded on a perennial optimism about the future of the human condition, there is a social taboo in business circles about offering warnings of impending doom. This genuinely separates us from our European and Asian cousins who are heirs to static social systems and endless wars with neighboring nations.

It would be helpful to see how my pre-meltdown advice looks in a post-meltdown world. Here is a link to the initial blog entry:

http://www.creativeledge.com/blog/2008/06/finessing-recession.php

What follows is a short updated summary of where things are now and might be headed:

Realize that all economic downturns eventually bottom out and things get better. History suggests that most down economic cycles take anywhere from two to seven years to run their course. Ironically, it is at the point of maximum pessimism where the real opportunities are often found.

That is probably still true; but it could take a generation or two to reform and modernize our banking laws. The relentless pace of technology and scientific innovation will continually disrupt large, static, and often corrupt bureaucratic political institutions and financial markets.

When you start to hear everyone blabbing about the “greener pastures/heavens on earth” that are to be found in Tennessee, North Carolina, North Georgia, and Las Vegas, it might be the time to both roll your eyes and take out your checkbook.

That is a mixed bag. Vegas has crapped-out because the cancellation of national conventions and a tapped-out consumer sector. Tennessee, North Georgia, and North Carolina are still looking good. They have strong university systems, relatively low taxes and housing costs, and lots of open land. But these states are still at the mercy of a fickle and profligate Congress and the Federal Reserve, and could also be overwhelmed by refugees from both Florida and the Midwest. Yet they remain fairly good bets compared to other parts of the country for both young people and retirees. (Chicago and Philly also look very attractive to this writer’s eyes.)

Start researching local real estate opportunities, broad-based stock indexes and mutual funds, and the possibility of starting a creative business. In Florida, you can enjoy warm winters and rent cheap studio or office space. The trick is to have cash or a secure line of credit during a major downturn or panic, but it takes nerve and a basic optimism about the future.

True. If you are under 35 years of age, there are real entrepreneurial opportunities in this depressing economy—especially in the areas of innovative new digital media, healthcare, and public policy consulting. Time is definitely on your side, but business start-ups in this environment are not for slackers, wimps, or whiners.

As to broad-based, long-term investing in financial markets: It probably makes sense for young professionals with reasonably defined career prospects (medicine, engineering, elementary education, etc.) to maximize their contributions to their IRAs and 401K retirement accounts. For young creative types under 35 with more unpredictable career trajectories, any extra cash (probably from parents or bartending) might be better spent getting an online MBA degree or certificates in the application of high-end software, statistics, or Spanish.

Perhaps the best investment that a young person could make is in a stable interpersonal relationship. This was once quaintly called courtship, engagement and marriage. But the new model for a surprising number of educated young people is the “committed monogamous relationship” without a contract document granted by state and church.

It is clear to this graying/balding observer of young people is that the ability to form durable unions (of whatever variety) is essential to both their wellbeing and a functioning society. A nation that does not foster stable childbearing families is in serious decline. Western Europe, Japan, Singapore, and China are already on this slippery demographic slope.

In one of Kurt Vonnegut’s novels, he referred to a married couple as a “Nation of Two.” It is an apt metaphor for one of the few refuges from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

I would like to end this piece with some shocking observations by the distinguished Chicago-based writer and conservative curmudgeon, Joseph Epstein. They appeared in the March 16th 2009 issue of Newsweek Magazine:

Robert E. Lucas Jr., a University of Chicago macroeconomist and Nobel Prize winner, in his January 2003 keynote address to the American Association of Economists, announced that economic depression was not longer a problem that modern economists had to be concerned with. “The central problem of depression-prevention has been solved, for all practical purposes,” Lucas said, “and has in fact been solved for many decades.” With something that begins more and more scarily to look like precisely such a depression, Lucas—give the man credit for honesty—more recently admitted that he didn’t know what the solutions to our current-day problems are.

The reality for successful creative types is that our profitable small businesses and consultancies will not be bailed-out with taxpayer money if we screw up.

Our hard-won creative economy experiences and expertise are as valid as those of arrogant academics and faux-expert pundits. We have an obligation to our country and world to speak up and get involved in the national dialogue—no matter where on the political spectrum we are.

Most of us can function in a precarious environment without a safety net. Most of our fellow citizens cannot. They need our free-agent creativity and our delight in the possibilities of a free and democratic society.

Leopold Engleitner's Story of Optimism

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:07:00 +0000

Leopold Engleitner is the world's oldest known male Nazi concentration camp survivor whose experiences have been documented in the award winning book and film Unbroken Will.

For refusing to join Hitler's Army, Leopold Engleitner, an Austrian born in 1905, was interned in three of the most infamous Nazi Concentration Camps in Germany. His refusal to sign a simple declaration denouncing his religion and swearing his allegiance to the Reich put him in a collision course with Nazi Germany that nearly cost him his life. His iron will and his determination to stand up for just principles have become a role model for all. An old tattered suitcase became a symbol of hope for a long and impossible journey back home. At his release, he weighed less than 62 pounds, but today at the age of 103, he still lives to share his story of optimism.

Fresh from his lectures at Harvard University and in Florida, Leopold Engleitner will be visiting Los Angeles and appearing at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust (May 14 and 24) the Moorpark College (May 22 and 23), UCLA (May 20) and the Lammle's Sunset 5 Theatre in West Hollywood, where his prize-winning documentary Unbroken Will and his 2006 USA Lecture Tour film will be screened from May 15 to 21, 2009 at 1:00 PM, 4:30 PM, 7:30 PM, 10:00 PM.

These excellent articles covered his first event on May 4, 2009 at Harvard University:

Holocaust survivor, 103, tells students of resisting Nazis
The Boston Globe

Oldest living Holocaust survivor speaks at Harvard
The Harvard Gazette

For further information please visit www.unbrokenwill.com.

Art Not Hate: Creative Responses to Conflict

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:28:00 +0000

Our times and our selves are defined by conflict.

We are highly evolved mammals with big brains that can do the most ethereal abstract mathematical reasoning, produce masterpieces of music and art, envision astounding future possibilities — including our own mortality.

Still, we are sensate and aggressive creatures who crave the tactile intimacy of our clan and fear outsiders — and will not hesitate to violently attack perceived strangers.

This issue of Views From CreativeLedge explores the tension between our conflicting human tendencies to create and collaborate or to kill each other and destroy the hard won achievements of human culture.

In a world that has witnessed between 119,000,000 and 265,000,000 state-sponsored homicides (depending on who is doing the counting) between World War I and the present, this is not an academic question.

Below you will find an array of web links to stimulate your thinking and to constructively engage your community wherever you find it.

Perhaps the most compelling quote on the subject of overcoming our conflicted nature is from Charles Darwin:

“In the long history of humankind, those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have always prevailed.”

Video: Saved by Wallenberg

Audio: Offerings for Wallenberg

Genocide in a Post-Holocaust World: Five Voices Speak Out

CreativeLedge Art Not Hate videos

“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer,
it sings because it has a song.” – Maya Angelou

Like 74 million other baby boomers, my life has been defined and
changed by conflict. We are the Post-World War II generation.

Read more | Buy the book

Dreaming up ideas: a talk from Sung Park of Umagination Labs

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:05:00 +0000

Sung Park of Umagination Labs recently spoke at MIT Sloan School of Management about effective techniques for coming up with innovative ideas. His engaging presentation offers creative ways to approach the brainstorming process. Take a look:

Thanks to Ted Chan of 2bl.org for the tip.

9 Pricing Strategies for Artistic and Creative Professionals

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:45:00 +0000

By Ted Chan, MIT Sloan School of Management
2bl.org

Pricing a creative product is one of the great challenges in life, and is itself an art form. Getting it right requires an understanding of finance, behavioral economics and social psychology. Pricing contains a number of paradoxes that can prevent you from maximizing your profits. This article provides some food for thought as you consider how to price and market your good.

Pricing at 00 and 50 is the only option for luxury goods. An experiment performed in an art studio revealed that high-end art with prices ending in 00 and 50 sold far better than anything with other numbers. Art is an acquisition where people want to feel they are buying quality rather than getting value. Ninety-nines and 95s are good for conveying value and might be effective for lower priced goods such as mass market clothing, simple prints or small photographic works.

Understand your costs. One thing I’ve noticed about creatives is that they think very little about costs. Paints, materials, packaging, transport, framing and just about everything else you can think of are expensive. There’s also overhead — a studio, electricity, display space rental and cost of sales. Don’t forget studio fees as well. It’s important to lay out the costs of the entire ecosystem when assessing what price point is sustainable for creating quality art work.

Avoid double marginalization with downstream sellers. Something that isn’t even understood well in Fortune 500 companies is transfer pricing. Double marginalization is the concept that if you overcharge your downstream sellers (distributors, such as art resellers and studios) they will charge a price that is sub-optimal to the end consumer. This means everyone’s profits will suffer, and your art will be less price competitive. A better way to approach the problem is to figure out with your downstream seller what the optimal price would be to the end buyer, and create a revenue split that you think is fair.

For some goods, raising prices may increase demand. An example was a brand of fountain pens in Britain that raised prices and expected a drop in demand. However, demand actually increased for their high-end metal and wood pens. Demand decreased for their plastic pens when they raised prices. This is likely to be true with many luxury and creative goods where perceived quality is more important to a buyer. It’s really important to study what matters to your customers.

A higher price impacts those who enter your network. For service businesses, a higher price signals exclusivity and can act as a gatekeeper to ensure high quality. For instance, a millionaire dating service that charges men $25,000 for an annual membership will keep poor college students out and attract women who are pre-qualified to be interested in meeting such men. This applies to creative services or networking groups as well. Be wary of anything that’s free. You often get what you pay for in terms of the quality of the constituent base.

Luxury goods are not just about conspicuous consumption. People once thought that luxury purchases were related to the desire to show off conspicuous consumption. A more nuanced understanding includes self-perception and milestones. The feeling of “I can buy this, I’ve made it” is also a key part of the luxury good purchase. Make your high end customers feel that way and you will be in better shape.

For gift items, a low price may not be desirable. One must think carefully about the purchase process for their goods. When giving a gift, a low price is not always desirable. This is the case in Asia with alcoholic beverages often given as gifts, such as scotch and brandy. People generally know the prices of these goods, and pricing your brand/goods higher may actually increase price. This, of course, implies that pricing information would be assumed to be available to the gift receiver. If you own an art studio, this especially applies when a millionaire brings his rich boyfriend/girlfriend in searching for a gift!

When you do put things on sale, 30% saturation is about the max. With sales, too much removes the perception that a buyer is getting a good deal. Research at MIT indicates that above 30% “sale saturation” in your store or website removes the effectiveness of this sale topic.

When pricing, give three options. Many interesting studies reveal that adding a ridiculous third option can make a second option more appealing. Originally, the Economist sold an online subscription for $59, and print/online bundled subscription for $129. The split in sales was about 40% for the $59 online subscription and 60% for the $129 subscription. They then added a $129 print only subscription option. You would think that it the new split would be 60% online, 40% for the bundle and zero for the print only. Instead, zero picked the print only, but 80% bought the $129 option.

Another example is adding an extremely expensive (2x or 3x) third option that is only slightly better than the second option. This leads users to choose the middle option rather than the cheapest option, leading to significant increases in revenue. This is a common strategy for companies like HP and Xerox to get you to move up from a low-range product.

Ted Chan writes his own blog about social entrepreneurship and economics at www.2bl.org. He can be contacted at tedchan@gmail.com with any follow-up questions.

Hopeful Views from CreativeLedge

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:43:00 +0000

The birthplace of the American experiment was on the rocky coast of New England. It is a place of mercurial weather, merciless gales, treacherous rock ledges, pea-soup fogs, and snug harbor communities.

Many of the people who gave us our durable democratic form of government and a spirit of innovative enterprise were fishermen and mariners. Remnants of this traditional self-reliant and self-confident seafaring Yankee culture are still found in Maine.

This post is inspired by my decade-long connection to the Pine Tree state. The following items are intended to remind Americans that we have a long history of building durable and beautifully designed structures that manifest genuine integrity and creativity.

In many the ways, the profligate waste, shortsightedness, and national incompetence of the last 20 years is an historical anomaly. We can choose to revisit time-tested traditional and progressive American mindsets and verities in new ways.

It is there that we will find the will and ways to innovate and grow our still great nation out of its current trajectory of political malaise and economic decline.

The first item for viewing is Musings on a Maine Peapod. It is an intergenerational American dialogue about what matters. There is also a relevant blog entry about the video.

The second item is an expression of pure creative joy about the coast of Maine. It includes original dance, music, and art.

Thirdly, there is a compelling video dialogue featuring Betsy Biemann (President of the Maine Technology Institute) and Gary Mormino (Director of the Florida Studies Program at USF). Every state in the union needs to innovate itself out of its current economic crisis. These distinguished public policy experts explain how it might happen.

Fourth is an interview with Jerry Cumbo, who manages the shop at the world-famous Wooden Boat School in Brooklin, Maine.

And last but not least, there is my CreativeLedge Studio on Long Island, Maine. This little bit of rock in the Casco Bay is where the entire U.S. North Atlantic was fueled for the liberation of Europe in WWII.

In these turbulent days, it is important to recognize that our country has survived hard times before because her citizens rose to the challenges and did what needed to be done — creatively.

My Steele Peapod: Musings on a Maine rough water rowboat

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:00:00 +0000

What is a Steele Peapod?

A genetically modified vegetable that can be grown for ball bearings? Some sort of cunning trick to discourage deer from munching their way through the garden?

Actually, I'm referring to Maine Peapod rowboats built by Jim Steele.

Many old salts consider Jim to be the best builder of small wooden boats on the Maine coast—which is to say, one of the best builders in the world. But a friend of mine just told me Jim has finally lost his battle with cancer. Jim Steele was the only person on the planet who knew how to build a traditional, double-bowed rowboat with modern tools and materials.

Here is a link to the moving obituary from the Ellsworth American newspaper.

A national creative treasure is gone. But not his boats. They will outlive anyone reading this column by at least a century—or two.

The Steele Maine Peapod is considered to be a perfect design—the ultimate combination of grace, form and function. Here is a video about my Peapod, one of the few crafted for both rowing and sailing.

According to experts, the Maine Peapod is believed to have appeared first about 1880. It was commonly used for lobstering among the reefs where a larger boat could not go. The most common length was 15 feet. Peapods are fine rough-water rowing boats. They were designed to be stable enough for the rower/fisherman to row standing up or to put one foot on the gunwale to haul a lobster pot. The design may have been influenced by the birch bark fishing canoes of the Penobscot and Quoddy Indians.

I first met Jim about six years ago at his shop in Brooklin, Maine. Brooklin might ring a bell for some of you—it was where E.B. White wrote "Charlotte's Web." This isolated coastal Maine hamlet hasn't changed much over the years. It is still the small wooden boat-building capital of the world, and home to the taciturn, resourceful people who haven't budged from the spot for centuries.

As I recall, his two-story shop encompassed about 4,500 square feet. It was uncluttered. Nothing was out of place, and any tool needed was within easy reach. Jim was also a legendary homebuilder. (More on that in a moment.)

He could bend and join wood for boats like Stradivarius could do for violins. There were no wasted movements as he worked, absolutely no wasted materials, no shortcuts, no tricks to save a few bucks. Even though I was "from away," the job was completed on time (to the day) and at the agreed-upon price (to the penny).

Four winters ago at the City of St. Petersburg's marina, I met an architect who had worked in Maine in the '80s. During our chat, the subject my Jim Steele Peapod came up. The architect was stunned. It was like I owned the Hope Diamond. Steele was a legendary figure.

The architect had his own story: When Jim Steele framed a house, every nail that he hammered into a stud was positioned at exactly the same height. Of course, the wood members were all covered with sheetrock, then plastered over, then painted. But it didn't matter whether you could see the workmanship or not. Things always had to be done exactly the right way.

Jim Steele had little use for theorists, but his life personified the words of the great 17th-century Dutch philosopher, Baruch Spinoza: "That which is excellent is as difficult as it is rare."

Here are some relevant and intriguing web links:

The WoodenBoat School in Brooklin, Maine

Audio interview with Jerry Cumbo, the shop master at the WBS

Audio interview with Sam Devlin, a master boat builder from the Pacific Northwest who teaches at the school

"One Man's Meat" by the incomparable E.B. White

CreativeLedge and Creative Tampa Bay Align, with Catalytic Results!

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:43:00 +0000

Creative Tampa Bay was created in 2003 amid discussions of bolstering the creative economy, at a time when such incentives required community cooperation and strategic, long-term thinking. Five years later, keeping the creative economy healthy still requires a great deal of persistent effort and initiative. That is why CreativeLedge founder Bob Barancik has been chosen as one of this year’s Creative Catalysts.

Deemed as “thought-provoking” by Creative Tampa Bay, his CreativeLedge website has become an increasingly notable source for educated discussions and relevant media. As a “Creative Connector,” Barancik has invited environmentalists, authors, professors, entrepreneurs, and artists into the ever-growing dialogue on how to assess the unique needs of a community, maintain cultural integrity, provoke social change, and recognize the potential for economic progress. CreativeLedge is honored to be chosen by Creative Tampa Bay, and hopes to remain a catalyst in the movement for a brighter future.

View the Creative Catalysts Awards Program

Video: Nancy Kipnis introduces the Creative Catalyst awards

Web Goodies!

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:22:00 +0000

The following “web goodies” were selected to tickle your creative gray cells. The articles all focus on different facets of innovation and the creative economy. They are worth a look.

“Triumph of the Creative Class” by Joel Kotkin
Even this conservative curmudgeon can (grudgingly) see the rise of a brainy, creative, confident, and culturally liberal class to positions of national influence and power.

“It’s No Time to Forget about Innovation” by Janet Rae-Dupree
The worst times for the economy can be the best times for innovation.

PopTech! Tech Blog: “10 Commandments for the President Elect” by Michelle Riggen-Ransom (video)
Juan Enriquez, Harvard economist and debt crisis expert, dissects the global financial meltdown and offers ten essential and painful steps to rebuild the world economic marketplace.

“A Strategy For Success: Innovation Will Renew American Leadership” by Dr. Rocco Martino (PDF)
The United States needs a national strategy focused upon developing new technologies and creating new industries.

“After the Fall” by Dr. Moises Naim (editor of Foreign Policy Magazine)
The United States government must respond to the financial meltdown with more funding for innovative businesses, but must not over-regulate markets and destroy the American engine of wealth creation.

“A Brief Survey of Innovation” by Lawrence Husick
This thought-provoking list of humanity’s Top 25 innovations will stimulate one’s thinking!

“Top Theorists Examine Rippling Economic Turbulence” PBS Transcript
As the financial sector shifts, so does the reach of the jolt to economic structures around the world. Economist Nassim Nicholas Taleb and his mentor, mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, speak with Paul Solman about chain reactions and predicting the financial crisis.

“Where the Pros Are Putting Their Money”
Top financial experts explain what moves they are making in their personal portfolios during the financial crisis.

“Sub-prime Crisis Explanation” by The Long Johns (video)
An absolutely hysterical satire about the financial meltdown that is as accurate as it is funny!

“Serving Aging Baby Boomers”
According to the venerable consultants and McKinsey, Baby Boomers have rewritten society’s rules at every stage of their lives, and will rewrite retirement as well. (Free registration is required to read the full article.)

The Skoll Foundation
This is the number one website for social entrepreneurs who want to change the world for the better.

“Is Florida the Sunset State?” by Michael Grunwald
Time Magazine looks at the Sunshine State through dark glasses, but one has always had to have sunglasses to live in a poor man’s paradise.

The Three Little Pigs, Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:27:00 +0000

For those of you who somehow missed or have forgotten the early childhood fable of “The Three Little Pigs,” let me give you an executive summary appropriate for an age of diminishing attention spans and expectations:

There were three stature-challenged boars who symbolized the three basic middle class approaches to home mortgages.

As per usual, The Big Bad Wolf with the bad breath was the traditional metaphor for life’s uncertainties and hazards… like hurricanes, tornados, car crashes, flash floods, disco music, punk bands, Donald Trump’s hair, sub-prime mortgage brokers, derivative debt-swaps, earthquakes, etc.

The piggy who built his house of straw was of course the fool. We are talking major fire and structural problems when vegetable matter is not mixed with clay. No sane mortgage or insurance company would touch it.

The porker who bought a seemingly solid wooden tract home in a nice middle-class suburb was the conformist. Although there are some inherent flammability concerns and potential termite problems, the structure is still insurable for a price.

And of course, the wise piggy built out of brick in a faux colonial style. He had no problem getting a good insurance policy for an affordable price. (This of course assumes that the brick house is not near the San Andreas Fault; a point entirely missed by the Grimm Brothers.)

The stark moral of the piggy fable (obvious, even to kindergarteners) is that prudence will quite literally keep a roof over your head in stormy times.

It is all very neat and tidy, and rather charming in a picture book sort of way. But alas, the economic lessons for most American home and condo owners are not so neat and tidy, or filled with sunny childish certainty.

For all the “wise piggy” real estate owners who are financially solvent and able to manage their debt obligations (a quaint concept from all together different times), the U.S. government is providing you with a spectacular lifetime opportunity:

You get to bail out all the lard heads with the over-leveraged straw, wood, and brick bungalows and McMansions.

The vast majority of hard-working, semi-solvent American taxpayers are now stuck with the bills from our national debt binge; and that includes all you high functioning creative types.

Our nation’s unfathomable and imprudent debts are conservatively estimated at over $1,000,000,000,000.00 (one trillion dollars) for bum home mortgages and another $60,000,000,000.00 (sixty trillion dollars) for inscrutable derivative “debt-swaps.”

Many of these “financial weapons of mass destruction” are owned by European, Arab, and Chinese financial entities.

These lenders from abroad are indifferent to our “exceptional” national hopes, dreams, delusions, pastimes, and brands of Christianity. In the end, their mantra will be:

“Show Me The Money!”

And pay, we will.

6 Views of an Apple

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:00:00 +0000

I photographed this apple about six years ago just outside of rural Bethel, Maine. It was a real visual cliché but I still like the image.

But even a simple piece of fruit can provoke some creative musings on the nature of human perception.

Consider these six views of an apple:

The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao-Tse saw an apple hanging from a branch and was reported to have said — “Let it ripen and let it fall.” He would perceive the essence of all human existence with an unflinching eye.
A hungry hiker gazing upon the apple would see a free snack. Maybe it was planted by Johnny Appleseed for famished wayfarers.
A local journalist might scribble some snappy free associations for an autumn “local color” piece for the Sunday paper or a blog entry: Apple of my eye, An apple a day keeps the doctor away, etc.
An 18^th century Eastern European rabbi might see the fruit and coin a catchy proverb for his congregation: “To a worm in an apple, the whole world is an apple.” The same insight also apparently applies to horseradishes.
A natural scientist wandering by would probably want to know the Latin name of this particular tree, how old it is, and if the roots are shallow or go deep.
An economist or business person might survey the unblemished apple and start posing these hard-headed questions:

Can the tree pay for itself? Is it worth investing in fertilizer, pruning, insecticide? Is it worth the effort and money to grow certified “organic” fruit? Does it make more sense to cut it down and mill it into boards for high-priced apple wood tables, chairs, and cupboards?

With oil at well over a $130.00 per barrel, is firewood a better bet than fruit? Can the digital photo of the apple be sold to a stock photo company and then marketed to art directors worldwide?

Can it be pressed into cider or made into apple sauce and put into glass bottles or cute plastic cups with eye-catching graphic labels that proclaims to the world that this is “Bob’s Best Old Tymie Natural Apple Sauce: Good for the Stomach & Spirit & Planet.”

Who we are and what we do in life determines so much of how we see an apple…or the world.

It is inherently difficult to believe that what we see is not what others see. And, of course, we are entitled to the first and biggest bite!

Real World Stories from the Creative Economy: Daniel Reardon

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:21:00 +0000

This blog entry is the first in a series of multimedia interviews titled “Real World Stories from the Creative Economy.”

My first guest is a good friend and neighbor from Portland (Maine) — Daniel Reardon.

Dan was the former CEO of Bass Shoes (a $400 million division of the Phillip Van Heusen corporation) and is currently a senior business consultant to L.L. Bean. He also developed and managed the retail operation of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for three years. Dan is an avid art collector and a longtime supporter of organizations that serve at-risk youth.

Related Audio

Introducing Dan Reardon (1:38)

The Community College System and Auto Dealerships (3:36)

What's Next?(5:00)

Connection to Community and Closing Words (0:50)

Images from the Interview

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Eclectic Summer Reading Suggestions

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:10:00 +0000

Summertime! And the livin’ is easy…

At least according to the words of the old George Gershwin song. And even the most inveterate workaholics and hard-chargers among us usually still take a week (or a few three-day weekends) off during the dog days of August.

Whether we end up on a beach or mountaintop, or simply at a friend’s backyard patio, there is some breathing space.

This fleeting hiatus of quiet allows us to disconnect from the seductive world of electronic media and enter a childhood place of printed words.

We can choose to turn off the laptop computer, iPhone, Blackberry, iPod, radio, and TV (yes, it is possible) and try to hear that small still voice inside of us…and let it mingle with the voice of a truly gifted author.

We can use the author’s musings to create our own imaginary dramas, meaningful dialogues, and stories. Every reader is a co-author of the book he or she is reading—not just a passive recipient of moving images and external soundtracks.

We must create the pictures and narratives in our own heads from our own life experiences, and not rely on Hollywood or Madison Ave. for our internal messaging.

Here is an eclectic palette of titles that might lure you to an armchair. They are all old friends of mine. Most of these books were given to me over the years by beloved relatives, teachers, dear friends, and a few just popped into my life through chance encounters and serendipity.

All the titles are available through Amazon; and most can be purchased used (good-as-new) for a pittance!

The books are loosely grouped into the following categories—The Creative Life, Personal Finance & Investment, Picture Books for Adults, Picture Books For Kids (of all ages), Innovation & Change, Dated but Wonderful Odds & Ends.

The Creative Life

The Elephant & the Flea: Reflections of a Reluctant Capitalist by Charles Handy. The dilemmas and delights of the creative flea in a world of organizational elephants are explored and explained. It is listed first for a reason!

The View From the Studio Door: How Artists Find Their Way in an Uncertain World by Ted Orland. Wise, real, and low key. It offers some genuinely helpful and even healing insights. (Incidentally, Orland was Ansel Adam’s studio assistant).

The Art Spirit by Robert Henri. Perhaps the best book ever written by a major American artist. I loved this slender volume when I was an art student 40 years ago and still return to it for inspiration.

If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence, and Spirit by Brenda Ueland. This is not a how-to book but a how-to-be-yourself classic. It was written 70 years ago and is still totally relevant to those of us who need and want to write.

Art & Fear: On the Perils (and rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland. I picked this book up at the Maine Photographic Workshop a few years ago and still can’t put it down.

The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Small Island by Linda Greenlaw. This slice of life from a rough and remote Maine island says volumes about what we have lost and gained in our headlong pursuit of riches. This book is suitable for ardent feminists, tough guys, and anyone who has dreamed of abandoning the rat race.

Personal Finance & Investment

The Little Book on Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns by John Bogle. I always felt that John Bogle (founder of Vanguard) did more to promote human well being than Mother Theresa. His development of ultra-low cost stock market index funds has been a boon to millions of small, middleclass investors.

The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio by William Bernstein. The author is both a Ph.D. and an M.D., and a longtime student of financial markets and human behavior. His section on “Why investors lose money” is worth the price of the book many times over.

A Random Walk Down Wall Street: Completely Revised and Updated by Burton Malkiel. This Princeton professor’s description of a chimpanzee throwing darts at the Wall Street Journal as an investment strategy is hysterically funny, and statistically sound. The book was first published in 1973 and is now in its 7th publication.

The Coming Generational Storm: What You Need to Know about America’s Economic Future by Burns and Kotlikoff. This book is scarier than anything Steven King ever wrote—and it is published by the MIT Press. The basic premise is that old, unproductive, and ailing boomers will doom the American economy by 2030—unless there are drastic changes in public policy initiated right now. This is absolute essential reading for any young adult—and for their parents who are NOT interested in squandering their kids’ inheritance and shot at the American dream.

Zen and the Art of Earning a Living: A Practical Guide to Creative Career Design by Laurence Boldt. This is a career book that will appeal to your inner hippie. Lots of great “zenny” philosophy, stories, quotes, and ink drawings. But Boldt is no dolt; both of his feet are on solid economic ground. And his cold, clear eyes look on human blindness without blinking.

Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life by Marc Freedman. This is a career book that will appeal to any aging yuppie. Although Freedman is making a highly promoted career out of advising befuddled but highly educated boomers about what comes next, it is a worthwhile endeavor. All kids of boomers should buy their parents a copy of this book. If the 75,000,000 grayheads don’t keep working and contributing to society, we (collectively) are toast.

Innovation & Change

Innovation & Entrepreneurship by Peter Drucker. The author is widely considered the greatest management thinker of the 20th century. This classic business book is essential reading for any young person who wants to go out and change the world.

Clock of the Long Now: Time and Responsibility by Stewart Brand. In 1969, I was a nineteen-year-old straight-arrow youth from suburban Chicago—and then I came across a copy of the Whole Earth Catalog. The WEC was the brainchild of another suburban Chicago guy named Stewart Brand. His oversized, softcover catalog literally blew me away (and millions of other young people as well). I bumped into Stewart about two years ago at the PopTech conference in Camden, Maine. His new “legacy” book and chronological project is of vital importance to the world. American post-industrial culture has lost its sense of time, responsibility, and place in nature. Unfortunately, the media is not paying attention this time around.

The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent by Richard Florida. This once obscure professor of economic development became rich and famous from a book with a catchy title—“The Rise of the Creative Class.” As one of the few artists that actually read Florida’s bestseller cover to cover, I was left curiously lukewarm by his blandishments. Ironically, the concept of the flight of the creative class has real gravitas and urgency, and the media and policy wonks are not paying much attention to this important book. Young creative people better choose their zip codes very carefully!

Picture Books for Adults

The Family of Man by Edward Steichen. It is the catalog of the greatest photographic exhibition of all time.

A Summer’s Day by Joel Meyerowitz. Most creative young people know Meyerowitz’s photography through “Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive.” His documentation of the 9/11 disaster is monumental and heartbreaking; but I am still drawn to his classic images of Cape Cod. The sunlight is like no other. His luminous photos will make you happy.

Picture Books for Kids (of all ages)

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. I was mesmerized by this book as a child, and still try to heed its sage advice: to live by the sea and make the world a more beautiful place. Perhaps it should be the official book of the creative economy movement.

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. If the adult world is getting you down, simply read this book out loud to a young child. Life will become a wildly creative, exciting, and magical adventure for both of you!

The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper. “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can!” No better advice can be given to a human being of any age.

Dated but Wonderful Odds & Ends

The Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute. The author is mostly remembered for his harrowing tale of a post-nuclear holocaust world, On The Beach. His first novel was about a mechanically gifted but unassuming miniature model maker and technical writer. The protagonist must leave his safe haven in England and go out into the world to seek his orphaned niece’s inheritance. It is a sweet story. Decency wins out in the end. How is that for a ludicrous post-modern literary premise?

Fables for Our Time by James Thurber. These short vignettes are models of sly humor, stylish wordplay, and sad wisdom about the folly and foolishness of human nature. Thurber’s illustrations are pure delight.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau.

Have a great summer vacation; and try to spend some free time with a real live book!

Finessing A Recession!

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:45:00 +0000

Question: What is the difference between a recession and a depression?

Answer: In a recession, I have a job and you don’t. During a depression, you are gainfully employed and I’m pounding the pavement (or web) for work.

For most of us, it is as good an answer as the one provided by the National Bureau of Economic Research:
“A recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. A recession begins just after the economy reaches a peak of activity and ends as the economy reaches its trough.”

Thank you Wikipedia.

Here are some things to consider about creatively finessing the “Big R” from someone who has experienced and survived uncertain and difficult financial times and lived to write about it:

Realize that all economic down turns eventually bottom out and things get better.

History suggests that most down economic cycles take anywhere from two to seven years to run their course. Ironically, it is at the point of maximum pessimism where the real opportunities are often found.

When you start to hear everyone blabbing about the “greener pastures/heavens on earth” that are to be found in Tennessee, North Carolina, North Georgia, and Las Vegas, it might be the time to both roll your eyes and take out your checkbook.

Start researching local real estate opportunities, broad-based stock indexes and mutual funds, and the possibility of starting a creative business; you can enjoy warm winters and rent cheap studio or office space.

The trick is to have cash or a secure line of credit during a major downturn or panic. But it takes nerve and a basic optimism about the future.

Had I invested in Portland (Oregon) in 1974, Berkeley (CA) in 1975, or NYC in 1979, I’d be a very rich man today.

But at the time, I could not see beyond my current circumstances as a struggling young artist and designer; or really believe that things could change for the better. It was a story of wasted opportunities.

Fortunately, I did buy in St. Pete in 2004. Not at the top or the bottom of the real estate curve.

If you can entertain a 10- to 12-year timeframe, there is more than a reasonable chance that the creative economy will prosper in the Tampa Bay. That is why Amy and I are not planning on selling and moving on when things eventually improve in the real estate market.

Understand and accept the three basic realities of life as a creative worker or entrepreneur in a free market economy:

When the mainstream economy catches cold, advertising, architecture, publishing, journalism, public relations, and cultural institutions and organizations tend to get triple pneumonia.

Even during hard times, most people are still working. (Think educators and administrators, police and fire fighters, healthcare workers from doctors to janitors, civil servants, members of the armed forces, etc.)

Many professionals are likely to prosper no matter what happens. This includes upscale surgeons and psychiatrists, bankruptcy lawyers and business turn-around specialists, astute financial speculators who know a bargain when they see one, financial planners to the worried-but-well-off, and of course, sympathetic bar tenders and smiling waiters who cater to both the haves and have-nots.

You are not your job description or resume. Perhaps the most insidious aspect of a severe recession is the assault and insult to our sense of self-worth. If one’s creative services or artifacts are not required in the marketplace at a particular moment, we might take it very personally. Too personally, in fact.

Fortunately, we can always be good parents, friends, and relatives no matter what the masters-of-the-universe on Wall Street, at the Federal Reserve Bank and, increasingly, in corridors of power in China and Saudi Arabia are cooking up for the world economy.

I suppose it boils down to not putting all one’s emotional eggs in the same basket. The role of chance and randomness in human existence suggests that having a strong and variegated social network is the only financial security that is available to most us.

Lighten up about your personal plans and goals in an increasingly complex, computerized, and unpredictable global economy.

As Americans, we are heirs to the hard and harsh ethos of Puritan, frontier, and immigrant cultures. It is not easy for many of us to even momentarily relax our guard. So I am concluding with one of my favorite jokes:

One day out of the blue, God tells all the world’s senior TV executives that the earth is going to end in a great global tidal wave that will drown every living person in just 59 minutes.

There is absolutely no time to build any arks this time around.

When British citizens hear this dire message from a legitimate news sources, they quietly get dressed in their best clothes, form straight lines in front of Buckingham Palace, stand at attention with a stiff upper lips, and calmly prepare for their eminent demise.

The French, upon learning of their terrible fate, hop into bed with their lovers for one last amorous embrace.

When Americans learn of the impending disaster, they drive off to to buy snorkels and scuba gear!

In post-Katrina America, this joke is not quite as funny as it once was. But fortunately, we are still a nation of pragmatic and creative problem-solvers, not slackers.

For more comic relief, enjoy this parody by Columbia Business School's Dean Glenn Hubbard and students about wanting Alan Greenspan's job, which went instead to New Fed Chair Ben Bernanke.

Ohio with Palm Trees

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:30:00 +0000

Let's do a quick demographic survey of the Tampa Bay area:

How many people from Ohio have you met? From the Midwest in general? Children or grandchildren of Midwesterners?

I've counted 64. Make that 65, counting myself.

In fact, it seems that just about everyone I meet here is originally from Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, western Pennsylvania, or western New York state. Although Tampa Bay is about as far south into the continental United States as one can get geographically, it feels in many ways like my hometown of Highland Park, Ill., in suburban Chicago—but with palm trees.

Professional demographers say that there are at least 27 identifiable ethnic groups in the Tampa Bay area, and I believe them. But still, I know when I'm back home. Most people I meet seem friendly, smile, say “please” and “thank you,” and don't litter.

My wife Amy, who has roots in D.C. and New York City, finds these instances of civic virtue a constant source of amazement.

For me, it's simply how daily life once was in this country, and how it sometimes still is.

Last year, I dined with a fellow late 50-something Midwesterner who is a truly gifted poet and performer. Although he looked and played the part of the aging hipster, I knew from his recent performance at the State Theater in St. Pete that his wildly imaginative torrent of words was grounded in workaday reality and traditional American morality.

He rhapsodized and ranted at a huge, variegated audience of hundreds of tattooed and pierced 20-somethings and more conventional gray-headed baby boomers. He spared the delicate feelings of no one in the auditorium. In a nutshell: life is hard; marriage is difficult; raising kids is tough; a job will wear you out; an honest dollar is hard to come by in both the rust belt of the Midwest and in Florida.

But that is how it is. So suck it up and get back to work and your obligations.

Here was a man who was groomed from childhood to assume adult responsibilities as both a reliable worker and engaged citizen. There is a nobility to this that dwarfs the self-involvement and narcissism of so much of American life and careerism for the last thirty or forty years.

After exchanging the usual “guy” chitchat about our kids, our wives, our athletic prowess and injuries, we settled into an unexpected conversation about how great it was to have grown up in the Midwest in the '50s and early '60s.

We conversed nostalgically about how normal, secure, safe, and community-centered our young lives seemed back then. There was time to build snow forts and tree houses after school. And there were often sit-down family dinners without a blaring TV.

Then came the 1960s with the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK, the tragedy at Kent State, the Vietnam War, urban riots, Mai Lai, Watergate, The Pill, The Beatles, hippies, sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, and the first signs of the coming de-industrialization of our once-great manufacturing nation. Fast-forward 30 years. By the mid-90s, many of us were chronically worried working stiffs. We quietly fretted about job security, paying for our children's college tuition, insanely inflated home prices, escalating energy prices, and the chaotic state of the world.

The bubble burst in the Midwest just like everywhere else across the country.

Our youthful hopes and idealism seemed to have evaporated from our collective baby boomer brains. We weren't able to live the lives our parents had in the suburbs of Chicago, Des Moines, or Toledo.

So now you might be expecting some sort of self-righteous sermon about how everything was great in “Leave it to Beaver Land” and that now the country is going to the dogs.

Hardly.

Nostalgia is most often the unconscious reframing of unpleasant memories and feelings from the past into something more palatable. The fondly recalled golden dreams of youth are perfectly harmless occasional entertainment. But realistically, things were never that great in the past nor are they so terrible in the present.

In any event, the new millennium is different and more complex than the old. And we must cope with a global economy and multiracial society as it is, and not waste our precious time daydreaming.

The Tampa Bay metropolitan area embodies the New America, with all its warts and promise for the future. I-75 permanently connects the core values of this region to the geographic and spiritual center of the United States.

I believe that this deep and dynamic connection to our national heartland will be the anchor chain of our civil society in the tumultuous and surprising decades ahead.

Navigating the Blog

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Sun, 04 May 2008 17:01:00 +0000

The CreativeLedge Blog is a place to find catalytic people, ideas, and resources.

Our first creative catalysts and CreativeLedge Fellows are Mark Sforzini and Nancy 3. Hoffman.

Both are accomplished musicians and valued colleagues. They embody the collaborative and generous spirit that is at the heart of the CreativeLedge venture. Mark is currently working on an opera loosely based on The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Nancy 3. is engaged in performing with both her klezmer and accordion bands, and collecting umbrella covers for the one and only umbrella cover museum in the world!

Another key concern of this blog is the connection between a healthy natural environment and sustainable creative lives. Here is a link to the rustic CreativeLedge Studio that is located on a tiny island off the coast of Maine.

Moving on to the subject of the global environment and climate change, here is a web link and MP3 file on the Earth Charter U.S. The interview is with Jan Roberts, president of the organization.

It is also my pleasure to introduce two young poets and performance artists — Pedro Jarquin and Jeffrey James. They created the soundtrack to the award-winning video Torn Asunder, which deals with an increasingly frayed American civil society.

Also included is a highly amusing audio performance by Pedro (voice & lyrics) and Mark Maynor (music & mix) on global warming. It is titled “Stop Light.”

Greetings from Bob Barancik, Founder of CreativeLedge.com

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:21:00 +0000

My favorite definition of “catalyst” is a person whose talk, enthusiasm, or energy causes others to be more friendly, enthusiastic, energetic, and creative.

For me, CreativeLedge.com is the continuing realization of 35 years of collaboration, musings, messy mishaps, occasional successes, and continuing interaction and experimentation with an ever-expanding creative circle of colleagues and friends.

I hope that the ideas, art, and music on this Web site will tickle your fancy and encourage you to create with others.

Encouraging Words

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:19:00 +0000

When I was a little boy many long years ago, my favorite song was “Home on the Range.” (MP3)

The words and melody still reverberate in my head (although I don't wear my Davy Crockett coonskin cap and Gene Autry spurs in public anymore).

The particular lyrical refrain of “Where seldom is heard a discouraging word / And the skies are not cloudy all day” is quite relevant to our lives as creative adults — sans cowboy or cowgirl paraphernalia.
Unfortunately, many of us work in an environment where often is heard a discouraging word and encouraging words are seldom bestowed. This is a genuine pity.

Real encouragement does not cost money, and it takes little in the way of either time or effort but can yield tangible creative rewards all around.

Recently the power of encouraging words was brought home to me by two unexpected events.

First, I received an e-mail from out of the blue thanking me for making possible a highly successful twenty-year career in advertising and public relations. The name of the writer did not ring a bell, and I had no recollection of telling this stranger to go into advertising and public relations.

Here is what happened. In 1984, my wife, Amy, and I sponsored a citywide poetry competition called “Philadelphia Voices and Visions.” We got some stellar entries, mostly from grad students, librarians, community activists, and teachers. Apparently, at the awards party, a young and unassuming woman asked me what she could do to earn money when the only thing that she was good at was writing poems. I must have told her that she had the requisite talent for a career in the ad and PR biz, and she must have believed it.

Two decades later, she is a senior manager at one of Philadelphia's top communications firms and works on major international accounts. Go figure!

A second fortuitous event occurred when Amy and I wandered into a premier Philly art gallery about three years ago. We were greeted by some really large, eye-catching watercolor paintings. By chance, the artist was there — she was one of our first major clients in the early '80s. I had not seen her for close to fifteen years.

Our client had been a high-level manager in Philadelphia city government. How did she move from spotless business apparel to a paint-stained t-shirt? Apparently, it was because of something I told her years and years ago — and I have no memory of it whatsoever.

Although her first career was devoted to management, she had graduated from art school in the 1960s. When we worked together in the mid-'80s, she was professionally successful and respected, but lamented to me that her creativity and artistic abilities had evaporated under the constant pressures of the office and being a mom.

Apparently, I told her that our creativity and artistic talent never leave us, although they can go dormant for decades. Just get a little watercolor pad and fool around in odd unoccupied moments and, if you can, go to an artists' colony like the Vermont Studio Center for a creative sojourn.

At any rate, our former client is now a full-time painter (with a city pension) who is earning between $20,000 and $30,000 a year doing something truly creative. One never knows where encouraging words might lead people over time.

Conversely, I will never really know (nor will you) what one's discouraging words have done to others.

All of our “constructive” criticisms, dire warnings, petty cruelties, and mindless morsels of sarcasm have most assuredly diminished the creative potential of those around us.

For the heck of it, try bestowing some sincere and encouraging words on your family members, friends, and colleagues — then watch their faces soften and shine.

You may have opened some previously shut doors inside them. And they just might walk through those invisible portals to something better for themselves and society.

Did You See the Gorilla?

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:03:00 +0000

I will get to the gorilla later. Let me begin by talking about luck…especially your luck over the past ten years.

Virtually all of us have been to a school reunion or large family event over the past decade. It is easy to have been both attracted to and envious of those folks who are leading seemingly charmed lives.

These fortunate relatives, friends, and colleagues have fulfilling careers, happy personal lives, and good health. They radiate a sense of well-being and quiet confidence. Then there are the chronically unlucky. They are often conspicuous at these gatherings by their absence. Their lives appear to be a continuous series of mishaps, muddles, and misadventures.

I have always found it ironic that both my lucky and unlucky acquaintances often share nearly identical educations, IQs, physical statures, and family backgrounds. How do you explain the differences in life outcomes?

Fate. Chance. Love Potion #9!

Dr. Richard Wiseman, a distinguished British research psychologist and former professional magician, believes he has the answer to the riddle of how we create good luck and bad luck in our lives. It involves our perception of reality and of ourselves.

Here is the gorilla story:

Serious academic behavioral scientists created a videotape of people playing basketball. They asked subjects to count the number of passes made by one of the teams. More than half of the observers failed to notice a woman dressed in a gorilla suit who walked slowly across the scene for nine seconds. What was especially curious is that the hairy beast faced the camera and thumped her chest. This experiment has been repeated with large public groups where only 10 percent of those present saw the gorilla.

Basically, we see only what we are looking for…and little else.

Check out this amusing but highly informative interview with Dr. Wiseman, conducted by Dan Pink, from the archives of Fast Company magazine.

The article also contains the funniest joke in the world, according to Dr. Wiseman, who spent a year researching the subject.

Here are Wiseman's four scientifically identified luck factors that can create good fortune in your life and career. They are commonsense and a little "self-helpy" but worth considering. We all could use a little more luck with our creative ventures.

1. Maximize Chance Opportunities
Lucky people are skilled at creating, noticing, and acting upon chance opportunities. They do this in various ways, such as building and maintaining a strong network, adopting a relaxed attitude toward life, and being open to new experiences.

2. Listen to Your Lucky Hunches
Lucky people make effective decisions by listening to their intuition and gut feelings. They also take steps to actively boost their intuitive abilities — for example, by meditating and clearing their minds of other thoughts.

3. Expect Good Fortune
Lucky people are certain that the future will be bright. Over time, that expectation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, because it helps lucky people persist in the face of failure and positively shapes their interactions with other people.

4. Turn Bad Luck into Good
Lucky people employ various psychological techniques to cope with and even thrive on the ill fortune that comes their way. For example, they spontaneously imagine how things could have been worse, they don't dwell on the ill fortune, and they take control of the situation.

Daniel H. Pink, author of Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself (Warner Business Books, 2002), is writing a book about the rise of right-brained thinking in modern life. He considers himself one lucky guy. For more information on the Luck Project, visit www.luckfactor.co.uk.

The 11 "Commandments" of a Sustainable Creative Career

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:54:00 +0000

Each spring around graduation time, I am cornered by the anxious parents of highly creative kids. Their innovative offspring are graduating from high school, college, or art school and simply don't have a clue about jobs, career prospects, who to talk to, or what to do next.

Generally, the inventive young folks seem pretty relaxed about their future. But appearances are deceptive. The cool hauteur is usually a mask for considerable youthful insecurity. They need and want specific guidance — not a lot of pious platitudes.

Their worldly parents, however, are often on the verge of a major meltdown. These worries are grounded in reality, but it is an old and increasingly obsolete reality. The economy is simply becoming a lot more hospitable to highly skilled, creative people.

The following observations are the products of much personal experience — some painful, some exhilarating. But most of all, they come from the careful observation of literally hundreds of creative people in many domains of creative endeavor.

My purpose in compiling this list is to help young people employ their talents to benefit both society and themselves. I hope the following will be a practical help in navigating the ever-mercurial creative marketplace.

The list is long and involved and requires real effort on the reader's part. But it might very well spell the difference between success or failure in an emerging creative career.

Also, my voice shifts casually between talking to the parent and talking to the young adult. I did this on purpose — I want you to read and discuss the points together!

There are no “Creative Commandments.” But there are mindsets, behaviors, skills, and role models that can enhance your chances of earning a reasonable living and finding a place for yourself in the brutally competitive creative economy. Go to the bottom of this column for a list of superb books that you should at least peruse. (Links to Amazon.com have been provided.)

If you choose to “follow your bliss,” use common sense! Most of the blissed-out creative types that I have come across are broke, bewildered, and many times married and divorced. Bliss is a great way to choose a hobby, but not a great way to strategize a career. The gist of the matter is serving other people for money — not finding personal nirvana.

Extroverts/optimists tend to thrive in American society; introverts/pessimists tend to have a fairly miserable time. But even if you are a born wallflower or have a pronounced dark side, you must learn to schmooze, i.e., make charming small talk. Basically, it is just a matter of practice and attending an improv workshop or two. If you take a sincere interest in other people's stories and become a good listener, you can function socially. The other viable alternative is to get an agent or a socially adept mate, if the opportunity presents itself.

Drugs and alcohol are no-nos. Although I was no fan of Nancy Reagan, she had a point with her “Just Say No” campaign. Dopers and drunks can be moderately amusing in small doses, but for the most part, they are pathetic and incorrigible. Even if they somehow manage to function on a high level professionally, the people around them usually suffer a lot. Learn to manage stress, depression, and anxiety in a more healthful manner. The Jackson Pollock–Ernest Hemingway–Edgar Allan Poe–Sylvia Plath–Britney Spears–Judy Garland lifestyle can be terribly painful and lonely.

Say YES to broccoli and a brisk walk. It is often hard for young, time-pressured creative arts and design students to make time to eat sensibly and to exercise. The youthful body can function at a high level of sexuality, energy, and mental acuity with a doughnut, a cup of coffee, and a few Tic Tacs, but only for a few years. After the big 3-0, muscle tone, immunity, and looks go to hell fast without a balanced diet and regular exercise. So start a healthy regime in your early 20s.

The slogan “The MFA is the new MBA” is the new BS. I am shocked that a guy as smart and decent as Dan Pink would coin such a misguided phrase. (It is the new "follow your bliss" for the new millennium.) The MFA permits you to stand in line for largely nonexistent tenure-track teaching jobs and to wait tables at trendy restaurants. There are circumstances that warrant the investment of time and effort in a graduate fine arts education, but proceed with great caution. Caveat emptor — let the buyer beware!

Pay yourself first. Uncle Sam has finally done something that actually helps creative people of all ages and incomes. It is the IRA (individual retirement account, and various other tax-deferred saving schemes). It will literally keep you out of poverty in your later years. Check out the three books on personal finance on my suggested reading list at the bottom of this column or contact any large mutual fund company. Basically, the program is a snap — just take the first dime of every dollar you earn and save it. If you start in your 20s, you will develop a humongous nest egg by the time you are in your 60s!

Own the roof over your head. I personally know at least six artists with real estate holdings of well over $1 million with next to no mortgages in Maine, Philly, and New York City. They do not have MBAs or any particular gift for financial speculation. They simply bought homes and studios in rundown but interesting cities in the early 1970s and made them beautiful with their sweat equity. None of us mere mortals knows the future of the housing market, but you will always need a place to live and work. If you can swing it, buy and rehabilitate a house or loft in an emerging neighborhood in a creative city that smart, young people (like yourself) would favor. The key point is to hold it for decades without trying to “flip it” for a fast buck. Time is on your side!

Big success happens in big cities, but saner and more community-oriented creative lives are cultivated in smaller metro regions. If you want to hit it big in almost any creative endeavor, you must move to New York City or Los Angeles and join the Darwinian fight of the fittest and luckiest. It is just how the creative marketplace is structured; there is no getting around it. But if you are into friends, family, neighborhood, and letting your creative gifts unfold in a more relaxed way, a smaller and more laid-back metro area fits the bill. These regional hotspots have a lot going for them, and I suspect they will really blossom creatively over the next 20 years.

If you want to be truly productive and fulfilled, find and unite with your soul mate. This is easier said than done, although two people can live more cheaply and more efficiently together than as two one-person households. Also, the emotional and financial wreckage associated with divorce severely saps the creative life for those of us who are not world-class dramatists. If one is not really the marrying kind — too independent and professionally focused — then be the “fascinating” aunt, uncle, or godparent. There are lots of ways under the sun to creatively express and receive love. The crucial thing is to truly connect with loved ones and make ties that bind. That is what any life, including the creative one, is ultimately about.

I saved the most important “commandment” for last: GET A MENTOR. This indispensable and influential person will professionally groom you and help open doors for you. Every creative field has its hidden signals, rules, and power brokers. Without a trusted guide, a young creative person is essentially lost and can only move forward by trial and error (mostly the latter). Most long-term creative careers have a “defining moment” that happens between the ages of 20 and 27. Do yourself a favor and read the mentor section in The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch.

Here are some Amazon.com links to books that can help you craft a sustainable creative career. Good luck!

The three most important books on the emerging creative economy:

The Creative Economy: How People Make Money from Ideas by John Howkins

A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age by Daniel Pink

The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life by Richard Florida

Three classic books on career strategies:

The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch

Zen and the Art of Making a Living: A Practical Guide to Creative Career Design by Laurence Boldt

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2007: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard Bolles

My three favorite books on personal finance and investing:

The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio by William Bernstein

A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition by Burton Malkiel

The Coming Generational Storm: What You Need to Know about America's Economic Future by Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Scott Burns

My favorite book on coping with stress:

Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Dangerous Ideas?

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:52:00 +0000

Have you ever attended a concert of earsplitting, atonal, avant-garde music, strolled into a museum gallery filled with deeply disturbing surreal paintings or inadvertently stumbled across a gruesome surgical operation while surfing cable channels?

You might have been genuinely shocked by the subject matter, but at the same time strongly attracted to it.

That was what I felt as I wended my way through "What is Your Dangerous Idea? Today's Leading Thinkers on the UNTHINKABLE."

Richard Dawkins (a world-class biologist at Cambridge University and famously unrepentant and public atheist) and Steven Pinker (MIT/Harvard psychology professor and academic provocateur) asked more than 100 of the most distinguished English-speaking scientists (and a few other intellectual heavy hitters) to briefly describe their most dangerous ideas.

Please keep in mind that a "dangerous idea" need not be absolutely true or conventionally moral. It must simply make things go topsy-turvy. It both disrupts the status quo and spurs major innovations.

Dawkins says, "Dangerous ideas are what has driven humanity onward, usually to the consternation of the majority of any particular age who thrive on familiarity and fear change. Yesterday's dangerous idea is today's orthodoxy and tomorrow's cliché."

Dangerous ideas from the past include evolution, labor unions and child labor laws, the right to vote, the automobile, the telephone, the Human Genome Project and e-mail.

Most of the responses in the book span one to two pages. They were written in a dry, cold, perfunctory style without being overblown or patronizing to laypeople.

One of the more plausible propositions was written by Dr. Simon Baron Cohen, a distinguished Cambridge University professor of developmental psychopathology. He is the real-life uncle of Sacha Baron Cohen (aka "Borat").

In a nutshell, the elder Baron Cohen's dangerous idea is that masculine leadership styles lack human empathy and lead to organizational disconnect and dysfunction. Conversely, a leader with a feminine mindset can really "feel your pain" and is often willing to do something about it. An obvious implication of this dangerous idea is that planet Earth might be better off if Dr. Debbie were running things instead of GI Joe.

In the name of political correctness and all-around mental health, I will not rehash some of more challenging utterances from this provocative anthology. For the intellectually intrepid, see pages 1, 13, 27, 50, 65 and the last paragraph on page 300.

It has been said that we all live in a world where everything is possible and nothing is certain. It behooves members of the creative class with the stomach for unsettling and unpalatable thoughts to try to put the unthinkable into a human context.

We must help to distinguish the innovative and life-affirming ideas from the merely dangerous ones that just flatter the egos of a few geniuses and diminish the many.

Trying to ethically evaluate the march of scientific and technological progress is a dangerous idea in itself. But it beats denial, unproductive worrying or the hypnotic effect of "reality TV."

Check out this book on Amazon.com.

The Banker Who Loved Hippies!

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:45:00 +0000

Michael Phillips is a maverick, even by the wildly iconoclastic standards of the San Francisco Bay Area.

He was one of the principal founders of MasterCard in 1966. This innovation ushered in a revolution of consumer credit and debt that our society is still trying to get a grip on 40 years later.

Phillips is also a staunch conservative in most ways.

He despises big government and left-wing academics; believes that the threat of global warming is greatly overstated and that the threat of Islamic radicals is seriously underplayed by the mainstream media; and that "commerce, not compassion" is the only viable road to world peace.

The tagline on his blog is, "I love commerce. Commerce and technology define the 'modern world.' Both thrive on meritocracy, diversity and openness." (phillips.blogs.com)

But Phillips has always loved and helped hippies. Perhaps this makes Phillips the real grandfather of the creative economy movement. The first hippies were American-born and -bred freethinkers and apostles of self-determination. They did the initial R&D for an increasingly technological and leisure-based society.

Their "free love" led to the cultural norm of serial monogamy. Their tofu, sprouts, brown rice and granola gave us the Whole Foods organic lifestyle. Their proclivity for electronics gave us the Apple computer, aka "the hippie computer," and the Well, which was the first widely used interactive Web site. Their penchant for comfortable, flowing clothes and spaces lead to Dockers pants and the flexible, low-partition office landscape, not to mention Casual Friday. Herbal tea, tai chi and mind/body therapies morphed into the multibillion-dollar alternative medicine movement. And the list just goes on…

New York Times columnist David Brooks offers an insightful and humorous look at this cultural and economic revolution in his book "BoBos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There." ("BoBo" is an abbreviated reference to Bourgeois Bohemians.) Check out reviews of the book on Amazon.com.

Getting back to Michael Phillips and the early '70s hippie San-Fran scene puts us in the Briar Patch.

This was probably the first and only real business incubator that was created without government, corporate or foundation funds. In fact, Phillips literally gave away his consulting expertise…which for a banker is probably the ultimate gift of love.

Phillips helped free spirits harness their ambitious visions and energy to the demanding structures and disciplines of a profitable and sustainable business.

His expertise help create the Palo Alto Computer Learning Center, where Steve Jobs met Steve Wozniak; the original store that created The Body Shop chain; and Margo St. James' prostitute's union.

Today's Tampa Bay is no "Hippie Haven." But it is a "Boomer Town."

Perhaps some aging baby boomers with stellar establishment credentials (but who were somewhat anti-establishment in their youth) will start interacting with the current crop of young hipsters/activists/artists/entrepreneurs.

Our Bay Area could become a hotspot for successful new and creative businesses over the next decade. But we need to create our own Briar Patches. Thank you, Michael Phillips, for showing us what is possible when the marketplace meets flower power.

The F-word & what to do about it!

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:37:00 +0000

I'm not talking about the four-letter F-word. I'm talking about the seven-letter one.

The short vulgarism has become so commonplace in American daily life that it doesn't even raise an eyebrow in most social situations, on radio shows or in Hollywood movies. But the other F-word can still make the most sophisticated and streetwise person blush, squirm and sob behind locked doors.

Still don't know what it is?

Let me spell it out: F-A-I-L-U-R-E!

Virtually no one in American society wants to be a failure or associated with failure. The country is about SUCCESS!

That is why creative people will always be a very small part of the mainstream American economy — although they will play an increasingly pivotal part.

Real creativity is about repeated failure. It is built upon endless experimentation, play, free association and the thinking of truly uncomfortable thoughts. Jim Adams, who was a distinguished professor of engineering at Stanford University and a key player at the Jet Propulsion Lab in NASA's heyday, expressed this sentiment during a lecture more than 30 years ago: The truly creative person has an appetite for sustained ambiguity, contradiction, complexity, frustration and initial failure — basically, everything that would send a regular person racing to a psychiatrist for a big bottle of Zoloft.

Adams was both a proponent and a skeptic of small-scale creative ventures. As one of Silicon Valley's most esteemed academics and consultants, he educated and influenced some of our nation's most creative and successful entrepreneurs. But he knew the statistics of success, which have not budged much in three decades.

Only about 8 percent of working Americans are involved in a startup business in any given year. Fully 50 percent of these ventures will fail within five years, and 50 percent of the remaining ones will fail in 10. Almost none of these creative enterprises will be around with the original entrepreneurs at the helm 20 years later.

There are roughly 240,000 professional artists in the U.S., out of a total work force of approximately 150,000,000. Even without a calculator, you can grasp that the number of creative people who are strong enough to defy parental hopes and dreams for a safe, high-status profession is statistically insignificant.

It is no wonder that being a teacher or administrator in the truly creative domains of painting, sculpture, music, dance or literature generally pays a lot better than actually engaging in creative activity in the marketplace. This is in stark contrast to the salary of a typical professor or dean at a college of law, medicine or business to a mid to high level practitioner of the discipline. They are penalized for being in academia.

In mainstream businesses and government agencies, creativity can be a career killer. Any executive or manager who is repeatedly associated with new and failed ideas is usually fired or quietly whisked off to organizational Siberia. That is why high-powered, outside consultants can earn a fortune championing innovative designs and iconoclastic policies. They are professional fall guys and gals. The person in charge has covered his or her tailbone by temporarily retaining prestigious hired guns.

The reason that the stigma of failure is so pervasive and so debilitating is its social utility.

In technologically advanced societies the “creative deviant” individual is often shunned, shamed, or made into a figure of fun. How many parents of any class really want their children to be “starving” artists, “struggling” actors, musicians, singers, dancers, or “independent” filmmakers as opposed to doctors, lawyers, business executives, engineers, or scientists?

Literally, the first question an adult creative person is asked in most social situations is — “Can you really earn a living at that?”

In America, it is somewhat easier to be a creative nonconformist because of our frontier mentality and multicultural history. But it still exacts a high price. I never met a truly rugged individualist who had an easy life — although they sure put a positive spin on it.

A well-functioning and orderly society can tolerate and employ only so much creativity and atypical behavior. The consensus reality is that most of us have to play by the rules most of the time...and it is probably a good thing.

The big, innovative leaps and breakthroughs are achieved by a handful of geniuses. Think Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, Marie Curie, Duke Ellington, Pablo Picasso, George Lucas, etc.

At this point, you might ask: What does a “regular” creative individual do to both survive and prosper? Well, there are no easy or entirely satisfactory answers; but there are always creative possibilities.

An ambitious and creative grad should probably try to land a job with a high-profile, innovative company such as Apple, Disney, Google, Hallmark, Electronic Arts, Chiat/Day, Ogilvy & Mather, National Geographic, Wieden+Kennedy, HarperCollins, Fox, MSNBC, etc. These established creative operations have the resources to groom talent and make creative failure just a routine business expense.

Those fortunate creative baby boomers in their 50s who are professionally successful must figure out how to gracefully pass the torch to their younger colleagues and move on to their next challenge.

Midcareer creative professionals between the ages of 30 to 45 will typically have the hardest row to hoe. This age bracket coincides with the formation of a family. Life at this stage is high on responsibilities to others and low on personal flexibility. All I can say, if you choose to have a child and open a business at roughly the same time, is that you will get gray hair and a furrowed brow like the author of this column.

For the childless midcareer creative professional, these are your salad days. Don't waste your valuable energy bickering with a spouse or significant other; take exotic vacations, and please contribute the maximum dollar amount to your IRA and/or 401(k). I know that these little bons mots sound like something you would find inside a fortune cookie, but seriously consider them.

Finally, do yourself a favor and read the Harvard Business Review OnPoint/Executive Edition/Spring magazine, which is devoted to “The Creative Company.” I bought a copy at Borders.

If you want to enhance your chances for creative and financial success at any point in your career and not be the dreaded F-word, you must know and understand what the real decision-makers in American business might be thinking.

Here are five relevant books you can find on Amazon.com —

Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas by James L. Adams

Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself by Daniel Pink

The Elephant and the Flea: Reflections of a Reluctant Capitalist by Charles Handy

The Tao of Abundance: Eight Ancient Principles for Living Abundantly in the 21st Century by Laurence Boldt

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius translated by Martin Hammond

Take this job and...

noreply@blogger.com (CreativeLedge) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:27:00 +0000

Roughly half of our nation's workers are not satisfied with their jobs. Young workers are the least satisfied, while older workers are considerably more satisfied (probably because they get to retire sooner).

For many of our parents and grandparents, the idea of job satisfaction was meaningless. It would not compute. One worked to eat and was truly grateful to have a steady job. Satisfaction revolved around home, family, friends, church, baseball and the neighborhood bar.

It would be easier to explain a Carnival cruise to a nomadic desert Bedouin than to explain "self-actualization" and "human potential" to a man who fought in World War II or a woman who struggled to raise a family during the Great Depression.

But for younger workers who benefited either directly or indirectly from the general affluence of the 1990s, there is a yawning chasm between their job expectations and the reality of increasing technological complexity in the workplace.

Two long-term trends are now on a collision course in the American workplace.

The first is the widely held belief in "The American Dream," the idea that hard work, honesty and personal initiative will pay off through ever-rising standards of living for today's workers, their children and their grandchildren.

The second trend is an increasingly productive and efficient Global Economy — which is just a contemporary manifestation of the "scientific management" pioneered by F.W. Taylor in the early part of the 20th century. In contemporary terms, this boils down to two basic concepts —

If you can measure it, you can manage it better.
Any task that can be mathematically modeled can be automated.

Taylorism is not some sort of historical curiosity; rather, it's the major source of anxiety and heartbreak for both low-level service workers and high-level technical professionals. Just consider the plight of Publix grocery store personnel, whose performance can be so carefully monitored and analyzed that they must continually exceed their own benchmarks or be penalized. See Publix pay fallout: Readers give their 2 cents over losing a quarter.

Ironically, the dilemma of American engineers is becoming increasingly similar to issues encountered by cashiers. If they are not constantly improving and adding measurable economic value to their tasks, the work will go overseas or be handled by ever-more-powerful computers. The business logic is crystal-clear — if we want to enjoy an abundance of inexpensive and high-quality consumer products, a sizable number of American workers should expect stagnant wages and deteriorating benefits.

Perhaps the one bright trend in this conflicted picture of American labor is the growth of the Creative Economy. The traditional mantra for independent creative types has always been "I am as good as my last job."

We never expected to have lifetime employment, sweetheart union contracts or someone else to think for us. For the most part, highly creative and artistic people operate at the margins of mainstream business. We provide all sorts of services and products that are concerned with beauty, grace, and human expression. Our financial expectations for our work roles coincide nicely with a workplace that increasingly rewards the most productive and inventive.

Furthermore, we creative types generally like or even love what we do and we take pride in the fruits of our labor. I rarely meet a seasoned professional painter, graphic designer, musician, filmmaker, writer, choreographer, art therapist, etc., who was suffering a "crisis of meaning" about their craft. Maybe a crisis of direction, style or vision, but not a crisis of meaning.

Sure, there is the usual complaining about how the world refuses to recognize one's super-sized genius. But whining and self-aggrandizement have always been an integral part of the creative scene. (Check out the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini.)

I am frequently confronted by friends and acquaintances who are conventionally successful lawyers, doctors, accountants, managers and teachers. They are all grandmasters of the passive-aggressive game. My apparent crime against humanity is that I seem to be enjoying life a lot more they are. And that doesn't seem quite fair in their cosmic scheme of things.

But I assure these "winners" that as a balding and beleaguered member of the creative class, my life isn't getting any better…it's just that their jobs are getting worse.