This TED Talk, by 15 year-old Dong Woo Jang, brings together several elements of recent posts and favorite topics of mine: Grit – the ability to persevere through adversity to pursue a goal. Making things – taking pride in the time it takes to craft something, whether a violin, coffin, or guitar. Creativity – in this case, taking ordinary objects and seeing in them the potential for something else in the hope that it will inspire and touch others. So here’s the backstory: Jang was bored. And since he wasn’t allowed to play video games, he entertained himself by seeking out fallen tree branches from which he intended to make bows....

I’m fascinated by the process of making things: making art, making bread, making a guitar or a violin. You name it, and I’m probably curious about how it came into being. Part of that is simply an interest with how things work and, even more, where they came from. Part of it is a fascination with the creative process. And part of it – maybe the biggest part – is that I’m interested not simply in the mechanics – the how – of making something, but in the who – that is, who has brought this thing into being, why, and what does it mean to them. All of this is to say that whenever I come across a story or video about how people...

Interested in being more creative – as a writer, artist, parent, employee, pastor, student, problem-solver? PBS’s wonderful Off Book series devoted one of its episodes to this question, culling the interviews of an author, cognitive scientist, computer scientist, and filmmaker to produce a vivid and fast-paced nine-minute video to address this question. And the answer? Well, there is no single answer, but among the many helpful insights shared was the need to push beyond the boundaries of your comfort zone, the openness to failure, the willingness to work with and learn from others, and the eagerness to work hard. As one of the...

It’s said that once, upon being asked to address a boys preparatory school on the nature of leadership, Winston Churchill offered a brief but valuable speech. “Boys, never give up. Never. Never. Never.” I thought of that when I watched this video illustrating part of an interview with Ira Glass, host of Public Radio International’s This American Life. I’ve been a huge fan of Ira’s for years. His quirky, humorous, generous, and tremendously insightful take on not just issues but life itself has been the heart and soul of This American Life, perhaps my favorite podcast for long drives. In this part of the interview, Glass makes an...

Phil Hansen’s ten minute TED Talk is as important as it is poignant. Faced with a condition that made his hand shake and thereby seemed to destroy his dreams of being an artist, he took his neurologist’s advice to “embrace the shake.” When he did, he eventually discovered a number of remarkable ways to make art that didn’t compensate or overcome or even transcend his shaking but rather employed it to lead him to new creative ventures and vistas. What Hansen discovered was that far from reducing creativity, limitations actually increase it. Limitations set boundaries, close off the obvious routes forward, and invite – actually...

I am fascinated by the art of making. Whether it be the art of making a guitar, or bread, or whatever, I think our creative capacity is one of those things God had in mind when in the Genesis story God declares, “Let us make humankind in our image” (Gen. 1:26). God creates. From the very first verses in the Bible God is creating, calling the world and universe into being. And in the very last verses, God is still creating, this time making all things new. So whenever we make something – whether it be a piece of art or dinner tonight, a project for work or a card for a friend – we are joining God in the creative task that connects us...