Creativity Books

In Keep Swinging, Jay Myers tells a story that everyone aspiring to be an entrepreneur should read. With gripping detail, he describes the real life challenges that can (and often do) face those who step up to the plate in business, and the essential qualities required to overcome them. A home run!


Bill Catlette
co-author, Contented Cows MOOve Faster

"Author Jay Myers uses a conversational tone to detail his personal experience as an entrepreneur in his new book Keep Swinging: An Entrepreneur's Story of Overcoming Adversity and Achieving Small Business Success

Keep Swinging is a little different than most books on this topic because Myers shies away from explaining all of his good decisions and instead focuses on some of the mistakes he has made and the pitfalls he has faced. Stories of a poor business plan, a misguided buyout, and an embezzlement crisis all blend together to create a compelling tale that reads more like a fiction book.

At the same time, Keep Swinging offers solid business lessons and advice that any entrepreneurs could put to good use. Myers also touches on subjects like home life, family support, continuing education, and community involvement.

The book is only 157 pages, but it includes a lot of valuable information and entertainment value to boot. I would highly recommend Keep Swinging to any entrepreneur who wants to read about both the highs and lows of owning a business."
- Karen Schweitzer,
Your Guide to Business School.

Russell C. Kick is the CEO and Founder of the Self-Discovery Research Institute. In 1968 he had a near-death experience that was to affect the rest of his life. In Self-Discovery: There's Far More To You And Life Than You Ever Dared To Dream, he lays out an original system of self-discover and self-development he calls The Holistic Way (aka The WAY) in which practitioners will learn how to elevate their awareness, engender peace, and enhanced their sense of well-being, creativity, intelligence, and enlightenment. Highly recommended reading for anyone seeking to improve the quality of their inner lives within the framework of an outer world, The Key To Self-Discovery focuses upon realizing life's purpose through powers such as free will, creativity, love imagination and memory. Kick reveals the use of music to instill harmony in life, the value of living proactively, and employing the empowering energy of the mind to translate the values of the spirit into the freedoms of personal choice, self-discovery, and more.

Russell C. Kick is the CEO and Founder of the Self-Discovery Research Institute. In 1968 he had a near-death experience that was to affect the rest of his life. In Self-Discovery: There's Far More To You And Life Than You Ever Dared To Dream, he lays out an original system of self-discover and self-development he calls The Holistic Way (aka The WAY) in which practitioners will learn how to elevate their awareness, engender peace, and enhanced their sense of well-being, creativity, intelligence, and enlightenment. Highly recommended reading for anyone seeking to improve the quality of their inner lives within the framework of an outer world, The Key To Self-Discovery focuses upon realizing life's purpose through powers such as free will, creativity, love imagination and memory. Kick reveals the use of music to instill harmony in life, the value of living proactively, and employing the empowering energy of the mind to translate the values of the spirit into the freedoms of personal choice, self-discovery, and more.

awesome book, I bought several as presents and everyone loved them, great for kids 9 -16 years old.

I bought this for my classroom and my kids LOVE creating their own poetry during free-time or literacy!

A wise old man once told me..those who know how will always work for those who know why! Know what YOU want so that the Why of your life is crystal clear. Monath sets it out as plain as day...now all we have to do is turn the pages and set it into motion. I can't think of a better way to start the new year!!

Condensed, light & easy reading. The book is packed full of practical shortcuts & suggestions to stop self-induced failure. The author cites numerous ways to raise your consciousness, turn liabilities around, and accentuate the positive. This power packed book goes beyond inspirational to help anyone improve the mosaic tapestry of their mind. After realizing how I can control & improve my mind, I find that these simple ideas really work!

In "Leadership For Innovation: How To Organize Team Creativity And Harvest Ideas", author John Adair draws upon his many years of experience and expertise advising business, governmental, education, health, and volunteer organizations throughout the world to present an superbly organized, informed and informative instruction manual for dealing with the contemporary challenges all modern businesses face that requiring them to either innovate or face stagnation, the adapt to the changes brought on by a fiercely competitive, highly volatile, and continually evolving marketplace be it local, regional, national, or international in scope. Adair examines the links between leadership, creativity and changing using his distinctive style to explore every aspect of developing and implementing business leadership and team-driven profitable growth. Simply put, "Leadership For Innovation" should be considered mandatory reading for anyone charged with the responsibility for their business to be competitively profitable regardless of its product or service.

A companion to "Leadership and Motivation: The Fifty-Fifty Rule and the Eight Key Principles of Motivating Other", another book by the same author, "Leadership for Innovation: How to Organize Team Creativity and Harvest Ideas" is beautifully executed. Specifically, it deals with innovations and how leadership affects the innovation process. It defines an innovation as "turning ideas into useful, practicable and commercial products and services" (p.13). Having done that, and done it well, I would add, the book turns to the six factors that determine successful innovation: (a) firm commitment, (b) positive thinking, (c) long-range perspective, (d) appropriate response to change, (e) ability and willingness to take risk, and (f) a supportive environment. That is all in the first two chapters. Nice!!

Chapter 3 concentrates on building creative teams. The keys there are freedom, clear communication of ideas, right balance between creativity and productivity, and innovative leadership. The discussion is backed up by two case studies: one about an organizational environment that fosters innovations (DNA Lab), and the other about an innovative leader (Soichino Honda). An important conclusion from these examples is that innovations require a firm commitment from top management, and Chapter 7 describes how to motivate creative people. The book does a superb job of outlining the characteristics of creative individuals (pp. 74-75), and what creative people expect from the organizations they work with/for: (i) recognition and appreciation, (ii) freedom to align their work with their interests, (iii) encouragement to take risks, (iv) contact with stimulating colleagues, and above all else (v) creative leadership to inspire them. And who are creative leaders? They are leaders who: take risks; accept new ideas; are not afraid to bend, perhaps even break, conventional rules; respond quickly to change; and are personally enthusiastic about their own work and the work of their followers.

The last three chapters of the book deal with team creativity, sources of ideas, and learning to accept change. There are five principles to overcoming obstacles to change (pp. 116-124). At the bottom of it all is the notation that change is generally easy to accept if and when it is life-affirming. The sources of ideas are similarly commonsensical: suggestions from other people, quality controls, education and training, and creative teams. Teams are creative if they: build on existing ideas rather than trying to reinvent the wheel; brainstorm regularly; and are active, organized, and critically constructive. Anyone would enjoy this book - more than two thumps up - way more!

Amavilah, Author
Modeling Determinants of Income in Embedded Economies
ISBN: 1600210465

I have a number of inspirational books in my library and I have found them helpful in maintaining a positive attitude toward life.

But, to me, THE LIFE OF THE CREATIVE SPIRIT is much more inspiring since it conveys a deeper and challenging message. While the author gives us guidelines to attain material success by using our powers of creativity, he also urges us to develop and use these powers to do more for others.

He charges that, for our ultimate satisfaction, true success and happiness, we should work to attain "goodness" which he maintains comes from doing our creative part toward making this a better world for everyone.

And Part Four of the book, 187 pages of quotes of many of the most successful people over the centuries, is a treasure in itself which reinforces the claims of the author.

I feel that the theme of the book is best expressed in that section by ALBERT EINSTEIN: "The life of the individual has meaning only insofar as it aids in making the life of every living thing nobler and more beautiful." And by JOHN-PAUL SARTE: "It would be my own fault if I squandered my life."

This book opened my mind to possibilities for growth I had not even dreamed of before. I believe I am a better person for having read it and I will keep it on my desk for ready reference in the future.

This book is about creative work. The highest compliment
that I can give to The Life of the Creative Spirit is that when I
finished reading it, I turned back to page one and read it again.

This book describes projects and creative work, from the
construction of a path through your garden, to making a better
garden trowel, to Michelangelo painting the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel. It defines quality and excellence. The theme of
the book is that creative work, be it the work of an artist, a
scientist, a mathematician, a mechanic, an entrepreneur, a rock
climber (taking a creative route to the top), a collector (think
of collecting and displaying a collection of fine paintings), or
work in almost any vocation or avocation can put goodness into
the world, and makes for a life in which "... most every day is
the time of one's life."

This book describes the importance of quality and excellence
to everyday life. What person has never been moved by a great
painting or by music or by reading a book or by simply using a
well designed tool? "Consider a certain garden trowel," the
author says. "Relative to alternative designs, its creators
intended it to serve suitably well across a range of features--
retaining its sharpness, resisting bending at the handle,
inhibiting rust, neither fatiguing nor raising blisters, while
costing less than other trowels." When we encounter quality, the
author tells us, "our spirits leap." How true.

This book takes the reader "behind the ranges" to some
interesting places. The book makes a convincing argument that
kindness toward animals and the preservation of nature are
essential to creativity. "More than ever before, causing pain or
terror to people and animals, or enslaving them, or taking their
lives impedes the creation and consumption of artistic excellence
in society."

The author concludes the book with a reasoned argument that
knowing and preserving nature are essential to creativity.
Nature, the author says, "is necessary for our spiritual well-
being." "... Had our ancestors roamed an alabaster-smooth planet,
Pythagoras wouldn't have been Pythagoras, nor Einstein been
Einstein, nor Maxfield Parrish, James Russell Lowell, Joseph
Haydn, E.E. Barnard, Wassily Kandinsky, Rachel Carson, and M.C.
Escher been as creative as they were."

The last section of the book has 187 pages of Credos of
Creative Writers, quoting the thoughts and ideas of notable
creators like Ansel Adams, Louis Armstrong, Rachel Carson,
Abraham Maslow, John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, and many, many
others. This section alone is worth the purchase price of the
book.

I have been thinking about this book each day since I first
read it three months ago. Its discussion about quality and
excellence, goodness, beauty, and wilderness preservation has
made my work as a computer programmer all the more enjoyable.
After reading this book, I plan to fight even harder for the
protection of the natural world and for the preservation of all
species. The author is right. I would be a lesser computer
programmer without having a National Forest nearby in which to
hike and enjoy the natural world.

This book is also helping me plan for the decades ahead in
my life. Like Ansel Adams saving thousands of photographic
negatives from his days in the field, for subsequent development
in his old age, I too plan to have creative work for the years
ahead.

I also purchased several copies of this book for friends. I
gave a copy of it to a college student who is a writer. It will
show her that she is making hidden progress on her writing even
when she discards her work and starts over. I gave a copy to a
psychology professor at a liberal arts college, because it is an
excellent book for a seminar on creativity. I gave a copy to my
stock broker because she knows that companies that abuse the
natural world are not worth investing in.

Finally, I keep my copy of this book nearby because I never
tire of reading and rereading the quotations in the last part of
the book.

This is a book that should sit on every family bookshelf. The tips on organizing all the shoebox stuff one collects over the years, over the generations, are worth the price alone. Getting to the family papers, photos, documents, etc. has to be the one chore on most people's "to do" list, but because it seems such an overwhelming task, it is one projects that never seems to get a check mark.

This book very clearly and simply addresses that task and makes overwhelming... overcoming!

I really expected this book to be about capturing life stories through oral history and memoir writing. While the book does cover this topic, and quite well, I was rather taken with the sections on how to deal with heirlooms, collections, keepsakes, etc. This is an area of family history that is rarely covered and, yet, is surely one of the very crucial areas that everyone should think about and address how these things can be preserved and passed on. This book covers all these concerns and makes the task fun, creative and as easy as possible.

I suggest you grab a copy of this book and, if this is not a project you can attempt right now, at least you will have the tool on hand when that time arises.

Kristin Delaplane Conti - Oral History Methods teacher(UC Davis online), personal historian & author

Having just read Barbara's LifeCatching, I recommend it as a thorough,
friendly, attractively produced guide to collecting memories by collecting
things: photographs, scrapbooks, memorabilia, videos, words - and more.
I've never seen another book that covers this subject on such a broad
spectrum and found it fascinating. Although I'm not a collector, I now
appreciate those who are.

And as a professional biographer, I suspect the book will enhance my
ability to help my clients review their own memorabilia more productively
for the memoir I help them create.

Love In The Land Of Dementia: Finding Hope In The Caregiver's Journey by Alzheimer's expert Deborah Shouse is the true story of one woman's connection to her mother. Diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Deborah's mother gradually lost the ability to recognize or remember her daughter, yet even the in the twilight Deborah learned the joy of compassion, deepened bonds, and connection with her mother and her family. Love In The Land Of Dementia is a true story of coping with loss, grief, guilt, and shame, as well as the wonder of making new discoveries and the compassion and grace of caring for a loved one in their final years. A poignant and heartfelt personal testimony.

Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (10/06)

"Love in the Land of Dementia" reveals Shouse's deepening love and increased connection with her mother. Deborah deals with the complex issues of loss and change in a relationship change completely through this mysterious disease. She tells of learning the need for being flexible, of acceptance, and of enjoying the precious moments creating special celebrations to brighten the day for her mother and herself.

The book also provided helpful suggestions for living with and caring for the victim of dementia. Deborah tells of deepening bonds with her mother and her family while coping with loss, anguish, self-reproach, and embarrassment.

Deborah relates the occasion of her mother's eighty-seventh birthday this way, "She can't even make a birthday wish or blow out her candles. But she can lower her face to the glob of celebration nestled right in her own palm (birthday cake) and she can raise her face and laugh. `Happy Birthday Mom' I say, kissing her messy cheek and tasting its sweetness."

I, personally, am a fellow traveler on this roller coaster ride of uncertainty and frustration and was especially touched by an incident related of her father's difficulty in coping. Paul worked for some years in radio and relates his experience this way: "It's interesting enough, though far less glamorous than the average person believes. It becomes hard work day after day to fool the public into believing you're happy all the time."

Deborah goes on to say, "Years later, as Mom moved more deeply into Alzheimer's, Dad replayed his radio training. He tried to fool the nurse's aides, the kitchen staff, the other families and my brother and me into thinking he was happy or at least coping. But we knew him too well. We could see and feel the pain and anguish underneath his brittle smile. We could see the hard, hard work of all he was going through."

I appreciated the way the author shared her personal discoveries and the willingness to make herself vulnerable to the reader. She tells of an anticipated extended afternoon visit to family where she may be called on for help. "Still, I cannot walk over to the plastic sack and take out the white rectangle of protective paper. I cannot take my mother's hands and guide her into the bathroom. I am not ready to take another step away from being her daughter, towards being her caretaker."

Deborah has a unique gift of communication and is able to take difficult and seemingly impossible situations and bring tenderness to the story as the reader experiences first tears, than peace, and finally a smile as hope replaces despair and the future dread is exchanged for the preciousness of the moment.

The subtitle of "Love in the Land of Dementia" expresses the true theme of the book, "Finding Hope in the Caregiver's Journey." The book is well written, is illuminating, insightful, and inspirational. I highly recommend it to caregivers, both family, and professional.

A charming, clear guide. In less than a week, I have set up my work space, had my supplies shipped and completed my first painting session. To my surprise, from one session alone, I have gained a refreshed visual perception with a joyfully enhanced awareness of colors, shapes and patterns in everything that I see. Can't wait to see what comes next.

Mess painting, a component of the Creativity Mobilization Technique, was developed almost half a century ago by M.D. and authority on autogenic training, Wolfgang Luthe. A student of Luthe's, Virginia Barclay Goldstein has written an extremely clear and instructive how-to manual for prospective mess painters. Everything you need to know to get started painting is in this book, including a recommendation of where to get your paint. I am halfway through a 6-week mess painting class and have found it to have subtle yet profound effects. I routinely remember my dreams after a mess painting session and am enjoying a practice where no effort is required. If you enjoy colors, you will probably like mess painting. (An interest in flower (vs. vegetable) gardening is often an indicator that you will like mess painting.) While participating in a mess painting class is helpful and interesting, Goldstein's book is precise enough in its instructions that you could easily paint on your own and experience many of the beneficial effects of mess painting. For more information on autogenic therapy, see the British Autogenic Society web site.

An otherwise boisterous group of 12 and 13 year olds sit silently when I read the daily passage from this book to the 7th grade homeroom. Now I don't even have to tell them to listen. I just open the book and start reading, and they quiet each other down. We enjoy the quotes, reflect on the explanations, and often refer back to a previously read page when someone needs encouragement or a fresh perspective. This is the sort of book that has the power to instil positive ethics and character in the young people of today, while building their self esteem and problem solving strategies. It fosters positive communication and acceptance of diversity. It came with the classroom I inherited mid-year, but I'll be buying several copies to give as gifts.

I've used this book in my special education classroom and now in my school counseling program---students gravitate toward it! It's moving and thought provoking! I love having this book as a resource on my shelf!