Cut The Leash

Happy Birthday, Anita Thompson!

Happy Birthday to the ARTIST and my dear friend, Anita Thompson!

Cheers!

Jim

We are a curious bunch

We see what our knowledge tells us we're seeing.

What we believe the world to be, and how we react to that belief in everything we do depends on what we know, and when that knowledge changes, for us our world changes. 

We are all the result of what we know today.  What we knew yesterday was different and so were we.  We were different because what we knew yesterday was different from what we know today.

Every time our knowledge changes and with it our view of the world, something is also created within us that helps make us the way we are in today's world.  What we are changes because what we know changes.  The more open we are to changing our beliefs about our changing world, the more likely we are to continue to be relevant and to be able to make a difference in the world.

What we know changes and continues to change because we are curious and we don't let fear and anxiety hold us back from seeing the world the way it is and not the way it used to be or wish it to be.

Your friend,

Jim Caruso

 

Chill out in the mediocre or stand for something

When things are going well, sticking to the middle of the road too often feels like the right place to be.  It feels like safe and sound territory.  But it's the land of standing for nothing.  It's the most dangerous place.  When we stand for nothing we're guided by what we think others may think of our idea rather than the quality of the idea and how consistent it is with what we stand for. 

Fresh ideas change our world in some way.  That change always makes some people nervous.  Generally speaking, the fresher the idea and the more it challenges conventional wisdom, the more uncomfortable it makes some people.

It takes guts and courage to get out of the middle of the road and stand for something. 

Your friend,

Jim Caruso

 

 

 

Let's be unrealistic

Let's be as creative as possible.  Let's think BIG.  Let's be dreamers.

"Within reason."

"But let's be realistic."

Those phrases are toxic to the creative process.

Let's think big, be as creative as possible and be dreamers.  Period.

And let's not worry about how a new idea is going to be received by others.  Any new creative idea, if it's worth anything, is going to make others nervous.  It's going to be a hard sell.  There will be resistance.  That's a sure sign that we may be on to something.  Few people will immediately embrace an idea that feels like it's turning their world upside down.

Let's be as "creative as possible" often means being unreasonable and unrealistic and taking the path of most resistance. 

All the best,

Jim Caruso