Creativity

Dear musicians, authors, bloggers & me.

Creativity/ Leadership September 30, 2011 • Comments

If you create something new with the hope that you won’t lose any of the audience that liked the previous thing you created, you’ll lose something else in the process.

Your voice.

Don’t create something that is so safe you won’t lose any followers.

Don’t create something that is so similar to your last thing that you won’t lose any fans.

Don’t create something so photocopied that you won’t lose any readers.

Fear of protecting your platform can’t be what drives your creative process.

Only create things you can’t not create.

Even if that means losing some of your audience. (And sometimes even means using double negatives.)

Question:
What’s something you’re creating right now?

2 Children’s Books Every Adult Needs to Read

Creativity/ Resources September 28, 2011 • Comments

Let me be clear about one thing:

I’d watch the show “Penguins of Madagascar” even if I didn’t have kids.

Even if I wasn’t the father of a 5 year old and an 8 year old, that show would be on rotation at my house. It’s funny, well written, and full of penguins that will occasionally judo chop other animals.

I digress.

Sometimes as an adult you bump into things designed for children that you end up needing more than your kids. It’s a book or a movie that speaks to you in a way you didn’t anticipate but can’t forget. That’s how I feel about two books by a guy named Peter H. Reynolds.

Keep Reading —›

The best breakdancing I’ve ever seen.

Creativity/ Random September 27, 2011 • Comments

A few weeks ago, I opened for a rapper at a an outdoor music festival. I joked on Twitter that people would finally get to see my breakdancing skills. The rapper, a guy named Lecrae, responded to me on Twitter and said, “Go for it. I’ll give you a 5 minute set!”

I panicked and quickly confessed that my greatest breakdancing skill was talking about breakdancing, not actually doing it. But that’s not the case in this breakdancing/pop n lock/dubstep video. This guys is unbelievable and I think my favorite moment happens at 1:30.

Take a look and enjoy a little Tuesday random video.

 

How to wreck your ego in the best possible way.

Creativity/ Leadership/ Social Media September 16, 2011 • Comments

A few years ago, I had a phone conversation with a screenwriter from one of the largest movie studios in the world.

He wanted to talk about turning my first book Stuff Christians Like into a movie.

At first, I was excited but then I started getting really drunk on my own sense of awesomeness. I was getting arrogant and lost in the idea of the movie, until I talked to my daughter L.E., who was 5 at the time. Here’s how our conversation went:

Keep Reading —›

Do authors need blogs?

Blogging/ Creativity/ Social Media/ Writing September 12, 2011 • Comments

A friend asked me that question the other day, and I thought it might be good to answer it via video because it’s one that comes up a lot. Check out the clip, and let me know in the comments if you think authors need blogs .

What makes a story, a story?

Creativity/ Resources September 1, 2011 • Comments

Usually when I find out about something cool, it means my friend Ben Arment has known about it for three years. He’s connected and creative and brilliant like that. So it makes that he always beats me to great music. Case in point, a few weeks ago I discovered a band named Listener. (You can watch the video right here.)

I told my friend Stephen about the band and he immediately said, “Oh, Listener? He’s preforming at Ben Arment’s event, ‘Story.’” (Check out the site for the event. The design of the site is beautiful, there are still tickets available and the event will talk about the elements of what makes a story, a story.)

Recently Dan Smith, from Listener, sat down to answer a few questions about storytelling. Here’s what he had to say:

Keep Reading —›

The secret about blog posts.

Blogging/ Creativity/ Social Media August 26, 2011 • Comments

The posts you think everyone will go crazy about, will get the least amount of traffic, comments and likes.

The posts you throw together quickly that you can’t imagine anyone will connect with will be smash successes.

I don’t know why this happens, only that it does.

And when it happens to you, fear not, you’re not the only one.

It happens to every blogger on the planet.

 

Question:
Has this ever happened to you?