arrange • compose • conduct
Camping recently, I remembered an old habit from years earlier. I had learned that in the inevitable early-morning wakeup, it’s incredibly dark in the woods and hard to find anything. Before it gets dark the night before, I placed everything I’d need at 3am in a specific, intentional place. Then […]
The problem is, sometimes you’re too occupied to do the work precisely when it’s due. The solution is, do the work early. I don’t know why this is a breakthrough – the technical term is “not procrastinating.” And yet. It’s a game changer to give yourself permission – permission! – to […]
If you want something done right, you have to give clear, specific instructions. expect novices to be novice. give clear, specific feedback. don’t rest until they understand the intent and the method. maintain high standards while giving plenty of chances to fall. Why, what did you think I was going […]
“There are no new stories,” they tell us. It’s all just retelling of a few primal narrative arcs. And that’s probably true – look at the newest Best Musical Tony Award Winner – a retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice. What could be less new than a Greek myth? The details […]
When you did chemical equations back in 10th Grade Chemistry, you’ll remember that you might have to determine which substance was the limiting reagent. You were figuring out which material would run out first as the chemical reaction happened. In your creative life, there are many factors. Which is your […]
The fourth section of Dare To Lead is “Shame and Empathy” (it’s the fourth of five sections in Part One, “Rumbling With Vulnerability”). Dr Brown faces head-on the universal experience of shame, and then moves into shame’s antidote, empathy. This article will unpack the chapter, discuss its implications specifically for choral […]
On Friday, I had the profoundly weird experience of singing a song I didn’t realize I knew by heart. It happened at a Boy Scout Camp bonfire; the staff ended singing a traditional campfire song, and I started singing along – while having no idea that I had it memorized. […]
Every time I think I’m a literary fiction fan, I get engrossed in a great new book about Roman history. When I decided I’m a non-fiction person, I swallow whole a great piece of science fiction. “Oh, I’m a genre person,” I say, only to get obsessed with a novel […]
Personal trainers will tell you that if you strengthen one set of muscles but ignore the opposing set, you’re setting yourself up for an injury. To me, the most important set of opposing emotional “muscles” to strengthen are these: High Standards and Personal Grace. High Standards are vital to achieving […]
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell […]