A bull entered the china shop, and things began to break. Delicate porcelain plates perched high against the walls. Dainty teacups rested in blue, velvet boxes. Everything had been carefully selected and arranged. But customers had stopped buying, and the shop had lost its way. So, the owners made a call that changed everything.

Contemplation can feel heavy, ranging from inspiring to depleting, but it's actually light on action. It's easy to get stuck there, where no actual progress lives.

Continuous contemplation is waiting for the perfect moment when there is no perfect moment. Instead, we must weigh our options, decide upon a risk we're willing to take, a sacrifice we’re willing to make, and begin with what we have, where we are.

The attention to the craft gives meaning to what otherwise is a commodity. Just like any service or product, you can deliver what you offer like a commodity or a craft. This becomes the heart of your brand.

I relished being a business-minded, analytical, problem-solving professional, but I also longed to be a successful creative artist. It felt as if each side was preventing me from moving full speed ahead in those respective directions. Forging ahead with one side didn’t feel right when it would cause me to abandon the other. What was my career without the balancing effect of music and creativity?

Creativity is not separate from leadership, strategy, or meaningful work. It’s a part of how people process experience, build connection, and imagine new possibilities. Dr. Daisy Fancourt reached out to me two years ago after reading my blog about my journey from law to music and wanted to interview me for her ground-breaking book. “Art Cure.”

The beat is an expectation of the pace and intensity at which you’ll move. The day transitions into a series of regularly scheduled tasks from morning school bells to “lights out.” Each of these moments in life represents a beat, interconnected through a string of time, flowing at a pace and intensity that you probably didn’t choose. A rhythm has been thrust upon you.