When You Were Four, You Were an Artist. What Happened?

Many of the ideas in this blog were originally penned several years ago in a post that I wrote for my company, BiddingForGood.   But the ideas are as relevant today as ever. 

As I prepare for another blissful summer as a camp counselor and also prepare to welcome my first grand baby, I am thinking a lot about children.  I am thinking about their pure spirits and their simple joy in the little things. I am also thinking a lot about creativity and want to share some of the wonderful insights that I discovered in Seth Godin’s book. Linchpin: Are you Indispensable!  Seth Godin, has written a number of books on marketing and is a very popular and inspiring speaker and thought leader.  He poses the following question-  at age four you were an artist. At age seven you were a poet.  At age 12, if you had a lemonade stand, you were an entrepreneur. So what happened? 

He reflects on the state of the workplace today which is often crushing the creativity of employees.  He challenges us all to be remarkable, to be indispensable, to be artists at work and in life.   Now this is not always an easy path.  There are plenty of people who will not choose this path.  There are those who want to show up every day, keep their heads down, get through the day and not really be noticed.  But in a world where there is more and more outsourcing for essential functions, and pressure to hire the least expensive resource to get the job done (better yet, get a volunteer), there is more of a need than ever for the fearless innovators to stand up, express their ideas, and share their “art”. It feels a little risky to do it but the challenge for those of us leading teams, building community and running companies is to create a culture that celebrates Linchpins.  We may not always like what we hear from them, but at least we are hearing new ideas and maybe new truths.


There is a wild and crazy event that happens every year in the Nevada desert called Burning Man.  It is a week long festival that attracts 50,000+ people who create a remarkable community on a parched piece of earth. I am lucky to have been to Burning Man several times. Many people think that the profile of a “Burner” is someone in their 20’s who is looking for sex, drugs and rock and roll.  Believe it or not, there are a lot of grown-ups like me who come for the community and the art and the radical self-expression.  One of my favorite things about this event is that there is a “gifting economy” at the center of the community.  What does that mean?  It means there is no commerce, nobody sells anything and everyone is asked to bring their gifts.  The gifts might be as simple as a homemade necklace that you share with people, or an afternoon where you make grilled cheese sandwiches to distribute to the throngs.  One year, someone came up to our campfire and asked if anyone was wearing pink.  I happened to have socks on that were pink and so I was presented with a pink etch-a-sketch.

One of my favorite experiences at Burning Man has been singing in the Playa Choir.  This is a gospel-type choir that rehearses all week long and then leads a “service” just before everyone heads home.  It is the most soulful, heartfelt group of singers I’ve ever sung with, led by a wonderful woman who brings the group together in remarkable ways. The gifts that are shared on the day of that service are breathtaking. This is another great concept in Godin’s book; the notion of “gifting”- of bringing your unique gifts to whatever you do.  This is a tricky concept as not everyone thinks of their skills or contributions as gifts or as “art”. But think again. You’d be surprised by how often your colleagues or community really does appreciate your gifts and your “art”.  Perhaps if we ourselves perceive them as gifts, we will be more generous with them and our companies and communities will be better for it.   I challenge us all to be linchpins in all that we do.