creativity

This category lists the blog posts that tell more about creativity, how to keep in flow, what’s blocking artists in their creativity and how to unblock.

Apple trees, diamonds and straight edge

When describing what they do, some musicians compare themselves with an apple tree. They start with the blossoming enthusiasm for their music. They have to invest first, in order to harvest the ripe apples later on. That’s when they share their talent with the world. Other musicians compare themselves with a diamond. They want their music to shine. They want to show the world how precious they are. One important aspect combines both comparisons and it often forgotten: for the […]

One hour extra today

Do you feel it too? Rush hour, all day long, hurrying from one appointment to the next from one task to the next, and in between checking social media for the latest news. Oh, one friend is enjoying lunch in a tropical place, another one is planning to go to a concert next weekend, and there is another stupid action from a politician. Yesterday I was rushing to an appointment around the corner, skin therapy for a nasty scar. While […]

Mental coaching is dark and dangerous! 2

Mental coaching is quite common in sports. Many athletes use it to enhance their performances. They become more motivated and happier with mental coaching, they are more focused, run faster, react quicker. The effect of mental coaching has been proven by the registered improvement of the performances. With artists it’s different, especially with rock-musicians and DJ’s. While athletes perform at daytime, rock musicians and DJ’s are creatures of the night. They love the darkness. Many musicians are afraid that the […]

Art is trial-and-error

Last week I got a bit philosophical, with the flu clouding my head. Somehow I could accept from myself to be less than 100% perfect. And while looking around me, I noticed that everyone is actually messing around a bit, trying to adjust to expectations, trying to find a bit of happiness, trying to make ends meet. Even if someone has a great plan, in the end it’s about trial and error. I see the trial-and-error approach with our IT […]

A fresh start – how to make it work?

A new year feels like a new start. A clean slate of 12 months. Somehow we all think that in the new year, we will be able to avoid all mistakes and to seize all opportunities, unlike previous years. Every year again, we truly believe that the new year can become different, better. Even after the hang-over on new years day we still believe in it. But how can it become better, if we think and act the same? If […]

Limitations – block or inspiration?

How do you deal with limitations? They can become a real block! This week a friend saw a post on FB. One of his friends asked to share bad jokes with him, but the jokes had to be political correct, not racist, not sexist. My friend is a good joke teller and usually has a good pile of jokes in his mind. I think that all his jokes are political correct, not racist, not sexist. But he blanked and couldn’t […]

Positivism and burn-out

When I was giving a guest lecture to students of music management at TAMK last month, the subject was positivism. I planned to tell a lot about research of positive psychology and how that can help artists and people working with them. When comparing people who work with art or artists with people working in other businesses, you see that people who work with art and artists follow their passion. They do what they like. They have a very positive […]

Creative and sensitive

Are you creative? Do you see yourself as an artist? I believe that we are all creative, all of us. We are all born to be creative. It’s what makes us humans. Creativity can be expressed in all facets of life, in the dress you pick to wear today, in the dinner you prepare, in the way to do your work. And of course it shows in paintings, songs, dancing, films. If we are all creative, what makes artists more […]

Break out of your social-village-bubble

The phrase that the world is a village is often used when you have friends all over the world. It’s easy to travel. As musician you are touring around the world, or you are dreaming about touring around the world. In a social sense, the world is a village too. You are connected with colleagues, friends and family, wherever they are. You share your background and your believes with them. But do you know people with a different background, with […]

Keep inventing yourself

Last year I was a panelist at Summerschool of BKKC. The purpose of Summerschool is to improve the entrepreneurship of artists in all kind of creative fields, from sculptors to flutists, from interior designers to painters. The main obstacle for the present artists is to find enough clients. They all feel very creative, but in order to find clients, they have to come out of their studio or workplace to connect to real people. The best way to do so […]

Why solitude is important to artists

How do you feel when you are alone? I  mean really alone, without friends around you, without a computer or smartphone? FOMO, Fear-Of-Missing-Out is one of the main reasons why we are afraid of being alone. Others might have fun without us. We might miss an important event or some breaking news. That’s scary. Important events on FB are often not more than a photo of the dinner a friend is eating. Breaking news is about the holiday plans of […]

Get better in what you are good at – because it’s fun!

Get better in what you are good at already. That’s the motto of one of the big Dutch all-round speed-skate champions Gianni Romme. He’s a successful speed-skate trainer now. If you are not Dutch, you probably didn’t notice. Last weekend were the World Championships in all-round speed skating in Berlin. With speed-skating, the skaters compete in pairs in an oval of 400 m. dressed in tight jump-suits. All-round speed-skating means, that it’s about the overall winner in 4 distances. For […]

Musicians need stress – and relaxation 3

If you want a life without stress, don’t become an artist, don’t become a musician! As a musician, you better know how to deal with stress! You need stress if you want to be a good musician. The most common form of stress is to live up to expectations – from others or from yourself. Don’t underestimate your own expectations. At all levels you meet expectations: how you want to sound, how you want to play your instrument, what kind […]

How enthusiasm can slow you down

Doesn’t it feel great when you put your heart and soul into something, music for example, and you feel the enthusiasm? You’re in a flow, the world is at your feet. This is what you need to succeed. How can enthusiasm slow you down?? There are two different versions of enthusiasm. The first version is the enthusiasm that I describe above. It’s the enthusiasm you feel after you’ve accomplished something. The inner fire is burning, you feel happy. You feel […]

Shine like a star

Have you heard of winter-depression? Are you infected too? I can get quite down if the days are so short as they are right now. No wonder that the celebration of the winter solstice is so important in most Nordic cultures. It’s the start of the days getting longer again. Many Christmas customs have their origin in the celebration of winter solstice in Nordic countries. Pines and pine branches stand for the hope of everything getting green again in spring. […]