Getting Creative

A couple of years ago I heard Bruce Mau, respected architect, talking about the creative process that he and his team work and live by. I found it very inspiring. Thought I’d share it with all of you. An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth Bruce Mau 1. Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them. 2. Forget about good. Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you’ll never have real growth. 3. Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives… Read More

My version of a taxi ride

I’m just back from an inspiring trip to St. Louis for the International Coach Federation annual conference. For three days I was surrounded by people who, like me, love to support, encourage and inspire others to reach their potential. Can you imagine getting into an elevator with a bunch of people like that every morning and evening? They aren’t wild and crazy and over-powering you with their ‘stuff’ — they just radiate kindness and friendship. 1300 people were there — so that’s a lot of kindness in one spot. We coaches are a bunch of people who want to give the gift of seeing others expand their own gifts. That’s what I do with my clients; I meet them and quickly see what they have to offer — something they usually don’t see, which is why they are seeing me. That’s my gift: seeing what others have to offer. I’ve… Read More

Hello world!

I’m dedicating this blog to my Dad, Dr. Robert Spalten. My Dad was a dentist, architect, jewelry designer and artist, a boulder furniture builder, amazing chef and lover of books and music. He loved to sail and hang out with his various dogs and read everything from novels to medical journals to how-tos. He had several amazing gardens — giant garlic, fruit trees exotic fruits, and vegetable gardens. He built boats and ponds. If he was interested in something there was no end to what he wanted to discover. If he wasn’t interested, he wouldn’t pretend to be…couldn’t. A lot of people thought he was a little nuts and a lot of us had a problem with him at times… I did for years. But as he mellowed with the love of his second wife and daughter he learned to love better — and to love me, his first daughter. Read More