an artist isn’t someone who can draw
an artist is someone who• does human, unpredictable work• makes a connection with other people• makes a difference
you don’t want to try to get ahead in bowling
the best you can do is only 300
it’s an asymptotic function
Ben Zander says, “give yourself an A”
Seth says, “give yourself a D – acknowledge
you’ve already failed – then go and do something interesting”
we all grew up playing CandyLand
we learned to pick a card, move the pieces, work our way through the game
that’s so much easier than doing something creative
humans have “lizard brains”lizard brains are driven by 4 motivations:
1. revenge2. fear3. anger4. reproduction
it’s the first part of our brain that develops – and it always winsthere’s never enough reassurance for our lizard brain
school was built to teach kids to:– buy stuff to fit in– to follow instructions
instead, we should teach our children to:– solve interesting problems– connect and lead
shenpa, a Tibetan word that means “instant anxiety” – failure in advance – we shut down before we even start
“scarcity” mentality – hoard what you have“abundance” mentality – the more you give away, the more you have
people who run marathons figure out what to do with the tired
we need to figure out what to do with the scared
linchpins are…• people we can’t live without• people who take real emotional risks• people who give gifts (not financial ones)• people who do things when they’re not
required• people who do things to make a difference
seven ways linchpins do what they do:1. create unique interface between customer and
organization2. bring special kind of creativity3. manage products of great complexity4. lead customers (establish a try)5. inspire staff6. have deep domain knowledge7. are really good at the thing