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The Extraordinariness of the Ordinary…Saturday Football Zen

Bill Fenwick & Drue Kataoka — Sun, 29 Nov 2015 06:52:30 +0000

Tonight’s game between Stanford and Notre Dame had 8 changes in lead. The outcome was determined in the last second by a field goal.

But for me the satori moment came at the end of the game during two interviews on ABC, one with kicker Conrad Ukropina and the other with Coach David Shaw. The takeaway lesson? It’s the Ordinary that is the most Extraordinary.

“Were you nervous, did you have any doubt at all?” asked the reporter.

Conrad responded, struggling to catch his breath, “Oh no not at all, we practice every week in high pressure situations. It was just another kick, just another kick.”

In other words, what made his kick so successful was its ordinariness. For Conrad, this super high-pressure, game-hanging-in-the-balance kick, was literally “just another kick” i.e. one of thousands.

So why is this so shocking? Because it is in great contrast to the many things around us that are constantly screaming at us to be extraordinary. In Silicon Valley, everything has to the best, the top, the winner, the most, the uber ….or forget it.

This distorts our view and we ultimately end up undervaluing the so-called “ordinary.” In many cases people want to run for the hills when they see or perceive something ordinary coming their way. In this case “just another kick” is ordinary from a technique perspective because it is indistinguishable from the many, and not standing out in any way. In other words it is consistent. Ironically, calmly delivering the ordinary is what creates the extraordinary.

Similarly, the reporter asks Coach Shaw “You must be feeling pretty good right now Coach?” It is in all respects, a leading question. As the viewers we expect something elated or at least very upbeat. Coach Shaw’s response is the opposite. It’s deadpan, it’s almost catatonic. “I’m doing all right,” he says cooly. As if someone was describing the experience of waiting at a Greyhound bus stop for 3 hours.

In other words, his response is “ordinary.” It’s “nothing special.” But that’s just what makes it extraordinary in my view.

Coach Shaw adds, “I’ve got another game next week, I can’t do highs and lows.”

The influence of the legendary former head Stanford Head Coach Bill Walsh, on Shaw is clear. Shaw was a wide receiver for the Cardinal in 1993 under Walsh. I had the great pleasure of meeting with Coach Walsh on multiple occasions for Stanford Athletics projects and for a portrait I completed of him, the year before he passed away. Like Shaw, Coach Walsh was incredibly calm under pressure. He would practice the extraordinary over and over again until it became “ordinary.”

Art Exhibit in Davos: 2012 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum

Bill Fenwick & Drue Kataoka — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 05:11:16 +0000

Earlier this month I was in Davos, Switzerland for the 2012 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, where I was invited to have an exhibition of artworks in the main corridor of the Congress Center. During the conference, I gave a solo session entitled Art & Everyday Creativity: Rebuilding the Link, was a panelist in a session entitled Artwork through the Network moderated by Loic Lemeur on the following day, and participated in the lively Cultural Leaders dinner. Also scheduled on the program was an interactive “Art Walk” where I walked a group through my exhibit.

Facts about this year’s Annual Meeting

Over 2,600 participants from nearly 100 countries attended the Annual Meeting including: 1,600 business leaders, 40 heads of state or government and over 85 ministers and 40 top international organizations. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting provides world leaders with a platform to shape the global agenda at the start of each year. The Annual Meeting 2012 convened under the headline The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models.

My Participation in Davos 2012

My exhibit in Davos was in the central area of the Congress Center across from the Schwarzhorn room.

The Passion of St. Medusa and Dalian Kelp Harvest

With Prof. Klaus Schwab, WEF Founder & Chairman, and his wife Mrs. Hilde Schwab in front of
Footsteps in the snow

At Entrance to the Congress Center:

Davos Snow: Concerto Grosso in C# Minor – Allegro – Largo – Allegro (View from my Hotel) and
Skies of Atlantis: Underneath the Cement, the Earth Breathes.

Freud’s Couch

Return to Old & New Orleans: Secondline for the Arts

The Passion of St. Medusa and Dalian Kelp Harvest

Let Us Out! A Magic Box artwork

Outside the Congress Center: Most snow in Davos in decades

Art Presentation for the Asian University for Women

Bill Fenwick & Drue Kataoka — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:03:30 +0000

This past Friday I gave a presentation on art as a cultural bridge to a group of young women from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. I was speaking to students visiting Stanford University from the Asian University for Women located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. For many of the students, it was their first overseas trip. They were attending a four-week program at Stanford led by Richard Saller, Dean of Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences.

This special group of young women have been selected among the 350 undergraduates of the Asian University for Women, a young and exciting organization founded in 2008. The Asian University for Women, while modeled after American liberal arts colleges, has a British-style leadership structure common in South Asia with an honorary Chancellor who presides at ceremonial events and a Vice Chancellor who has the responsibility of running the University. Mrs. Cherie Blair, a leading UK human rights lawyer and wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, was appointed the first Chancellor in January 2011. Earlier in the week I attended a gathering at the home of Prabhu & Poonam Goel with Dr. Condoleezza Rice, AUW Patron, Dr. Mary Sansalone, AUW Vice Chancellor, Janet Montag from the AUW Support Foundation Board and AUW International Advisor Sara Abbasi (Chairman Developments in Literacy). Former Secretary of State Dr. Rice’s comments on art were very insightful and moving.

In Friday’s presentation at Stanford, I showed slides of some of my recent works of art such as Footsteps in the Snow, which I had presented earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Footsteps in the Snow is a painting of the Alpine landscape around Davos. In the center of the painting there is a footbridge/path that leads into the summits on the horizon. But while the mountains are painted in ink, the path is made of mirrors and the footsteps are made out of light arranged to shine from behind the layers of silk scroll and mirror. The students liked the idea of seeing themselves reflected in the path when standing in front of the work. In fact, each of them is on a distinct and bold journey. And the theme of bridges resonated with them, as they are bridges between their culture/country and the world. Few of the women in their hometowns have had the opportunities the AUW students now have, and the chance to cultivate a voice that will be heard.
For example, I received a touching email from AUW Asian Studies major Parwana Fayyaz, whom I met earlier in the week. She is originally from Ghazni Province– as she points out, known as “the home of the Taliban” in Afghanistan and beyond. She had talked about the terrible memories of war in Afghanistan at the gathering at the Goels’. There she she had also recited from her autobiographical essay/poem, “My Afghanistan is a broken ship. I want the world to know that, although we are sometimes invisible, women too are traveling in this broken ship, and we are part of this land.”

The AUW students very much believe in the power of art to build important cultural bridges. I liked that they re-enacted a drama project featuring Sri Lankan students– both Sinhalese and Tamil. They used a dramatic format to reflect on the 30-year bloody conflict that ravaged the landscape and economy of their home country. But interestingly, Sinhalese “played” the role of the Tamils and Tamil students acted the Sinhalese. One student said “While every one of us has a story linked to the war, we were blind to see that a change was possible…prior to attending AUW.” The AUW experience clearly takes the importance of diversity to a new level.

After presenting the slides of my artworks, I ended my presentation by talking about applying a very traditional Japanese art form into modern contexts. Some of my works refer to traditional subject matter, but incorporate new techniques. One student said that she loved this idea of looking forward and back at the same time. We ended the day with photo-taking and hugs, and the students surprised me by asking when I would be coming to Bangladesh. I don’t know the answer to that, but someday perhaps I will.

Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Awards: Inspiration for All

Bill Fenwick & Drue Kataoka — Thu, 26 May 2011 23:57:58 +0000

ValleyZen applauds the work of the Anita Borg Institute and its leading position at the intersection of women and tech. In 2009, we covered their Women of Vision Awards.

The following post is by guest writer Jerri Barrett about this year’s 2011 Women of Vision Awards. Jerri Barrett is the Vice President of Marketing for the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. She came to the Anita Borg Institute after more than 20 years in high tech marketing for a variety of telecommunications companies.

Each year the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology holds the Women of Vision Awards Banquet. I have had the honor to do the marketing for this event for the last four years and the opportunity to get to know all of our award winners. For me each event is more inspirational than the last.

On May 19^th, we held the banquet and for the first time bestowed the Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women to IBM. Brenda L. Dietrich, IBM Fellow and Vice President IBM Research, accepted the award on their behalf and inspired everyone in the audience with her knowledge that diversity is integral to corporate success in today’s world.

“Do not speak, unless it improves on silence.” –Buddhist saying

We also awarded the three Women of Vision Awards for Innovation, Leadership and Social Impact last night. The speeches of these three women definitely improved on silence.

Mary Lou Jepsen, CEO of Pixel Qi, is probably better known for her work as the CTO and co-founder of One Laptop per Child. She received the Women of Vision Award for Innovation. Mary Lou shared how she faced many doubters when she took on the challenge of creating a $100 laptop that would enable underprivileged children around the world to access information. What inspired me was her ability to ignore these doubters. As she said, if there was even a 10% or even a 1% chance of success why not try? What I learned, don’t let other people’s negativity deter me from doing what I think is right and important.

Chieko Asakawa, IBM Fellow faced the challenge of being blinded at the age of 14 and went on to rise to the level of a Fellow at IBM, the most prestigious level for a technologist, get her PhD and raise two children all at the same time. She won the award for Leadership. “The world is filled with challenges. We can’t solve all of them, but we can make a difference. The world has so many people who lack certain abilities. We can’t help all of them, but we should never give up working to empower people with technology, one by one, more and more. The accumulation of empowered people will strengthen our economies and advance our societies to the next level,” said Chieko. She inspired me by her indomitable spirit and the knowledge that challenges should not defeat me but will make me stronger.

Karen Panetta, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of the Simulation Research Laboratory at Tufts University, won the award for Social Impact. Karen’s sense of humor had a profound impact when she spoke of being inspired by Anita Borg herself who’s slogan was “Do the Right Thing”. Karen has done the right thing by creating NerdGirls to encourage young women to enter the technology field and find ways to solve the world’s great problems. My favorite quote from her speech was on the subject of how to live your life. “Now, there are times in all of our lives, where we only hear negatives and criticism, it makes us feel like a box of baking soda. You know, it’s the stuff you use in your refrigerator to absorb all the foul smelling stuff. Absorbing that negative energy does nothing but hold you back, if you let it. I prefer to reflect energy like a solar cell and transform it into something positive that can change lives and if I can do it, so can you.” I resolved to not live my life like baking soda.

The personal stories each of the three Women of Vision winners shared had a profound impact. They had shared their challenges and how they overcame them. And they shared how each is making a positive impact on the world. I now feel that the challenges I face in my own life are not insurmountable but instead are what will make me a stronger and better human being and increase my own positive impact on the world.

by Jerri Barrett

OneWorldSky.com Launches

Bill Fenwick & Drue Kataoka — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 05:52:47 +0000

OneWorldSky.com has launched.

Imagine a collaborative and evolving art piece made of skies. Orphans, global leaders, students, scientists and teachers, alike — people from all races and backgrounds are participating in OneWorldSky.com and it is just beginning. Launched yesterday on the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, the project’s goal is to shine a light on the plight of women around the world.

Take 5 seconds.
Email a photo of a sky to
worldskyart @ gmail.com

Learn more HERE.

ABCNews.com featured the project today. The article can be read HERE

Last September, I met Sarah Brown, wife of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown in New York. She is the global patron of the White Ribbon Alliance. I had been developing the concept of a collaborative work of art built of skies from all over the world. I wanted this concept to have the most positive impact possible on an important cause. Listening to Sarah that day, I realized that I should devote my sky concept to the cause of improving maternal health in the world. The leading cause of death for women in developing countries is not AIDS, it’s not Cancer. It’s Childbirth. That’s shocking. And unacceptable.

So I wanted to do something about it. I told Sarah about my vision and she loved the concept. I still remember we were standing on a Manhattan rooftop and she took the first sky photo to be included in OneWorldSky. Here’s the photo of Sarah.

This January OneWorldSky was one of many artworks that I chose to include for my solo session at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The response was inspiring.

And a big thank you to all of you who have sent in beautiful skies and emails. The creativity shown has been extraordinary.

Scroll down below to see another photo of Sarah.

And below her TWEET today to over a million users about OneWorldSky. Follow her on twitter at @sarahbrownuk if you are interested in women’s rights and the latest in maternal health issues.

Presenting at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos – Art

Bill Fenwick & Drue Kataoka — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:50:01 +0000

Last August, I was invited to attend and to present my art the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos. The overall theme for this Annual Meeting is Shared Norms for the New Reality. Learn more here.

I will present in 3 sessions: a one-hour solo session on my art, a panel discussion on art & illusion, and a cultural leaders dinner/discussion.

My solo presentation will focus on a brand new, and edgy, series of paintings and art installations I have created for Davos. I am very excited about it, and look forward to sharing some photos and video of the new artworks next Wednesday, which will coincide with my presentation.

Can’t believe that Davos is just around the corner already– this weekend, I will be taking off for Switzerland.

I have been very impressed by the attention and emphasis that the World Economic Forum organizers place on art and culture. To quote from their letter:

“The World Economic Forum has also always thought that arts and culture play a central role in the transformation of human society, as they are essential in raising consciousness to our sense of purpose, vision and fulfilment. They bring out of the box thinking, renewal and inspiration to corporate leaders and their teams. It is therefore essential that cultural leaders and artists play a crucial role in facing these challenges.”

I agree. I strongly feel that we need more creativity and artistic thinking in our world. Art education should be given the same attention and emphasis as science education– both are very important for creating harmonious and well-balanced individuals who possess emotional and intellectual depth.

I have heard many people from Al Gore to Meg Whitman talk about the crisis in science education in America. There’s no doubt that science and technology education is behind where it should be given America’s resources and responsibilities to the world. What is equally shocking to me is that the crisis in art and culture education is almost never part of the discussion. Tomorrow’s young leaders need to have the scientific but also the cultural “chops” to conquer the world’s toughest problems. If the young leaders we are raising for tomorrow don’t understand our art and culture, how can they understand the art and culture of the Middle East, of Asia, of Africa? Howe can they communicate, interface and collaborate with other leaders from vastly different backgrounds? Art is also the best way to break down cultural barriers and to find a universal path to what connects us.

I look forward to the coming week, and will be blogging on ValleyZen and tweeting to keep you posted about life in the Swiss Alps in January!

What issues do you think should be at the top of the agenda this year?

Post by Drue Kataoka

Peter Thiel’s Philanthropy for the Future: Audacious Optimism

Bill Fenwick & Drue Kataoka — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 03:08:53 +0000

Last night we attended a special evening arranged by Peter Thiel and the Thiel Foundation entitled “Audacious Optimism.” Held at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, this unusual philanthropic summit brought together 8 organizations to present their visions for the future.

The evening began with a reception and cocktails and then a welcome from the Thiel Foundation and Patri Friedman, grandson of economist Milton Friedman and co-founder of the Seasteading Institute.

Next, a series of lightening talks from the founders or Presidents of the eight organizations began. The speakers were: Patri Friedman from the Seasteading Institute, Dr. Chris Wood from the Santa Fe Institute, Mike Kope from the Sens Foundation, Neil Jacobstein from Singularity University, Michael Vassar from Singularity Institute , Christine Peterson from the Foresight Institute, Ben Goertzel from Humanity+, and Peter Diamandis from the X Prize Foundation.

I filmed Peter Thiel’s closing remarks on my iPhone. Please check them out in their entirety here:

Not Either/Or but Both

Bill Fenwick & Drue Kataoka — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:40:10 +0000

What do you think when you see this image of a traffic light —showing STOP and GO simultaneously? I had never seen a traffic light hold two contradicting signals ever before until recently. It seemed a visual koan for life in the Valley – something you could meditate on and reflect upon endlessly. I loved it and immediately took a cell phone photo. All of a sudden a banal traffic light wasn’t so banal. I was interested to see the many meanings and possibilities people would unpack. I posted it on facebook and got brilliant and witty feedback from Shervin Pishevar, Blake Commagere, Francois De Villiers, Alexandra Siliezar, Anjelika Deogirikar, Hongbiao Chen and Silvia Console Battilana. Thanks guys. Because of this traffic light’s ambiguity, its meaning became infinite –not finite and binary. The light had broken the rules without even meaning to. It made me wonder about all of the places in our lives where we confine ourselves to EITHER / OR, to one or the other. Doing two opposites at the same time is simply not allowed. But why not?

This reminded me of a passage from Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind – a book that is a must-read for all of us in Silicon Valley and beyond. It’s understandable why it is a favorite book of Steve Jobs and many other execs who “think different.”

Here’s the passage:

Now I would like to talk about our zazen posture. When you sit in the full lotus position, your left foot is on your right thigh, and your right foot is on your left thigh. When we cross our legs like this, even though we have a right leg and a left leg, they have become one. The position expresses the oneness of duality: not two, and not one. This is the most important teaching: not two, and not one. Our body and mind are not two and not one. If you think your body and mind are two, that is wrong; if you think that they are one, that is also wrong. Our body and mind are both two and one. We usually think that if something is not one, it is more than one; if it is not singular, it is plural. But in actual experience, our life is not only plural, but also singular. Each one of us is both dependent and independent. After some years we will die. If we just think that it is the end of our life, this will be the wrong understanding. But, on the other hand, if we think that we do not die, this is also wrong. We die, and we do not die. This is the right understanding. Some people may say that our mind or soul exists forever, and it is only our physical body which dies. But this is not exactly right, because both mind and body have their end. But at the same time it is also true that they exist eternally. And even though we say mind and body, they are actually two sides of one coin. This is the right understanding. So when we take this posture it symbolizes this truth.

-Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

So the traffic light is a great symbol of the oneness of duality. Perhaps it is an enlightened light. I love the energy of the bright green man striding forward urging us to spring ahead and the tension with the bold hand stopping us in our tracks. If we freeze (as Shervin suggests) then we will be entering into a state of energized calm – moving in stillness – poised for change, which in Silicon Valley is definitely a good thing.

But the meanings are infinite. And the most important one is what you are thinking – right NOW!

How would you respond if you saw this traffic light?

Ambassador Bill Lane, Spirit of the West – 1919-2010

Bill Fenwick & Drue Kataoka — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:07:53 +0000

I was deeply saddened by the news of Amb. Bill Lane’s death. It’s hard to believe his larger-than-life presence has disappeared. But maybe it hasn’t.

As Shunryu Suzuki says in Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind:
“Life and death are the same thing. When we realize this fact, we have no fear of death…nor difficulty in life.”

In many ways, Bill Lane is the same in death as he was in life. Around the Lane history corner, at Stanford, his booming laughter echoes. In many of the open spaces he helped protect, his footprints still linger. Most of all, I believe his presence can still be felt at the Stanford Red Barn every time the sun sets. The Stanford Red Barn, a place core to Stanford and Silicon Valley history was a beloved place for him. Bill spear-headed the multi-million dollar campaign to save the barn, and he knew every inch of it and its history. In fact, that’s what I’ll miss most about Bill Lane – his exhaustive knowledge of Stanford, Bay Area, and California history. With his passing, we lose some of California’s secrets.

Bill was an ambassador, a philanthropist, an environmentalist, a publisher, a father, a family man, a friend to people in high places, a friend to humble folks, a friend to students, a friend to open spaces, a lover of diverse cultures.

There’s hundreds of articles about him. So I’m just posting a photo essay of some favorite and inspiring moments with him. I was honored to collaborate with Bill on an artistic project that he commissioned me to paint: “The Red Barn & Electioneer: Down History Lane.”

Amb. Bill Lane and Drue’s print: “The Red Barn and Electioneer Down History Lane”

“The Red Barn and Electioneer Down History Lane”

Bill at the Red Barn Festival with Drue – before the presentation of the print

Jean Lane and Drue

Drue, and husband Svetlozar Kazanjiev with Amb. Bill Lane at one of the Red Barn Festivals

Amb. Bill Lane shows Drue one of the original copies of “The Horse in Motion” and an amazing bottle of wine from Stanford’s collection

Jean Lane and Bill Lane at Sunset Magazine

Drue’s print at the Red Barn

Stanford Red Barn

Playing Bach with Jean Lane at the Lane Home

DRUE KATAOKA

Michael Moritz at Rosewood on Steve Jobs and Zen

Bill Fenwick & Drue Kataoka — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:03:29 +0000

“I had this extraordinary passport to go anywhere” Michael Moritz said today at the luncheon hosted for him today by Silicon Valley Bank at the Rosewood Hotel. Moritz was talking about his early days as a correspondent for TIME Magazine, and the significance of working there in those days. “Back then the dream of every PR person was to get their client on the cover of TIME…so everyone would willingly open their doors.”

At first glance it is seems unusual that one of the world’s most successful venture capitalists started off as a journalist. But Moritz’s meticulous research as a reporter laid the foundation for his superstar career as a VC. As Moritz studied entrepreneurs and the people funding those entrepreneurs, he was building invaluable knowledge about the little-known world of startups. “I met Arthur Rock, Tom Perkins (Kleiner Perkins), Don Valentine (Sequoia Capital)…I always had a bit of a taste for things that weren’t well-known. The more interesting stories were the ones that were the less well-known ones…The last thing I would want to be is a White House Correspondent.”

Back then, what wasn’t known was “how a little company got started and what went into it. I began to understand that there was a colorful human tale to be told about the embryonic times of a young startup company. At that time no one had really focused on the first 60 months of the travails of getting a little company off the ground.”

Over three decades ago, one of the companies that Moritz was allowed “unfettered access” to was Apple Computer. The result was The Little Kingdom: The Private Story of Apple Computer. The book told the story of two college dropouts, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak taking a garage hobby to the Fortune 500.

(ValleyZen’s Bill Fenwick personally incorporated Apple in 1976 and worked closely with the two visionary Steves. More on that in a later post!)

Fast forward to today, Moritz is talking about his new book Return to the Little Kingdom, which offers his contemporary perspective on Steve Jobs, Apple’s comeback, Jobs’s “unceremonial dismissal from Apple,” his long struggle with NeXT and finally triumphant reemergence in the 90s.

It’s well known that Steve Jobs has had a long-term interest in Zen. In Return to the Little Kingdom, Moritz talks about Jobs’s interest in Buddhist literature and attraction to Zen Buddhism. The book that most influenced Jobs was Shunryu Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Moritz writes: “Jobs started to believe that intuition formed a higher state of intellect and meditated in a crawl space above Kottke’s bedroom, which was furnished with incense and a dhurrie rug.”

We’ll end with an intriguing remark from Moritz about what makes Steve Jobs special. “He is a technologist and a poet.” He is not only a technologist, but someone “with a weakness for the liberal arts” and that’s rare!

Have you read Michael Moritz’s new book? Let us know what you think. If you haven’t, let us know what you hope it includes.