Riding the Waves

                                                      Video Interview Link
                 
 As I sit here writing this new blog post, I realize that today's blog inspiration comes from the artist M.I.A. Although I have not consistently followed her musical career, I recently came across a video interview with her, discussing her perspective on the creative ebb and flow of a 'successful' creative career.

That lead me to remember that many years ago, my first job in the photography industry was at the legendary Magnum Photos Agency. As a totally green upstart, I was smart enough to know that I wanted to learn the ins and outs of the photography industry, from the best. What I learned, went way beyond the brick and mortar skills of being a photographer. I learned that a photographer's career - even the best photographers in the world - is akin to the waves in an ocean. Sometimes you're 'in' and sometimes you're 'out' of favor with editor's, clients, your peers, and the general public.

Regardless of which category you are perceived to be in, the artists with a strong belief in their vision, abilities, and growth, always seem to ride the waves over a long period of time. Their ability to navigate the waves is usually due to their innate knowledge and acceptance that each wave cycle provides an opportunity to dive in or pull back. Both choices are equally important and necessary for one's creativity to flourish.

Needless to say, this point of view is quite contrary to today's popular belief that you have to constantly be 'out there' to be relevant, or that success is solely defined by your Google ranking, auction prices, and the number of 'friends' or 'followers' you have. As M.I.A. brilliantly says in the interview, "My growth is not supposed to look like the growth chart of Mac, each quarter. Whatever happened to being a human being?".  #Truth, #Humanity,  #Creativity,  #M.I.A., #Questions.

Cheers,
Lauri Lyons
www.laurilyons.com
www.nomadsmagazine.com

I Am the Greatest! (and you are too!)

What's the difference between Greatness and Okayness (my made up word)?

Okayness requires a lack motivation to fly high. We can all just skimp along and steadily glide by on life's cruise control. There is no need for original thoughts (everybody 'borrows' from everybody anyway, right?), no need to push harder, work smarter, or challenge the status quot (God forbid!), or ask the outrageous question: 'Why not?'  In a nutshell, Okayness is the best friend of Mediocre, who just happens to be the best friend of Wack.  Are you down with that crew?

Greatness requires us to push our boundaries, go the extra distance, take a leap of faith, and at times make a sacrifice. Working towards greatness does not mean that we have to live like a monk or subscribe to a life of misery. To the contrary, working towards greatness means we willingly subscribe to courage and authenticity.

Yes, I used the 'C' word and the 'A' word. I know neither one of those words are very popular these days. In fact, the words 'courage' and 'authenticity' are usually met with a collective sigh, a rolling of the eyes, and a quick changing of the subject.

However, no matter how fast and far we think we've run away from those two words, they keep showing up. Why do they keep showing up in our lives? The answer is, because whether we like it or not, we all have the potential to be great. Great is not good, not alright, not cool - it's GREAT.

Courage is the seed of our being, from our first breath to the last. Every day, every action, every creation we make, requires courage. Whenever we shrink from a challenge, or sink into our comfort zones, or choose not to speak up, we eventually feel the pain.

Authentic is not just an adjective, it is a verb.  Authenticity is the action of fulfilling the essence of who we are meant to be.  It requires constant growth and expression. With that said, authenticity is also the task master of life, because everything done in darkness comes to light.  Sound familiar?  If we think back over our lives,  I'm sure more than a few prime examples of this theory will surface.

Deep down inside, we all know that courage and authenticity liberate us from being small versions of ourselves. They move us out of the sphere of Okayness and into the sphere of Greatness. So I ask you, which crew do you really want to belong to?

Ciao Bella,
Lauri Lyons
www.laurilyons.com

The Creative Journey Continues

Whew! It has been quite a long time since I created a new blog post. What have I been up to? Well, let's see... Publishing Nomads Magazine, shooting & publishing the Flag International book, shooting 'Inspiration' - a celebrity portrait book, mounting art exhibitions, reporting for the Huffington Post, teaching photo classes, traveling to Australia, Costa Rica, South Africa, Jamaica, Brazil (and a few other places I can't recall at this moment), and living an unpredictable life in New York City. Other than that, I haven't been up to too much.

If I had to write about all the lessons I've learned since my last blog posting, cyber space would run out of space. What I will say about that time, is that my life has been FULL. If you need a visual, just conjure up rainforests, camels, hot air balloons, crocodiles, subways, perpetually half packed suitcases, LOTS of laughs, BIG fights and sterile photo labs.

Now in my new phase, it's time to create new thoughts, new ways of being, and new ways to engage the world. So this new blog post is about someone who recently inspired me to be more proactive, more curious, and more productive. His name is Inaki Escudero, and he is the Chief Creative Officer (I like that title) and Partner, of globalWORKS.

To make a very long resume short, Inaki is basically a walking creative sponge. For the past 5 years he has read one book per week, and wrote reviews about each book. He also writes over 300 blog posts per year, runs a large advertising agency, has several children, runs marathons, and has time to participate in panel discussions that I invite him to, at the last minute. Oh yeah, Inaki is also bilingual, and a very nice man, of course.

Feel lazy yet? I sure do. In order to be able to function on a high level like Inake, I realize that most of us mere mortals don't need more energy, intelligence or time. What we need is more CURIOSITY.  Curiosity + passion + discipline, go a long way in our never ending quests for creativity. When its all said and done, the goal of living a creative life should not be about 'making it', but rather, making things we are curious about.

Ciao bella,
Lauri
www.laurilyons.com