Obama and Creativity – What is the Link?

April 24, 2012

A few months ago, one night while watching TV, I watched a story on President Obama sitting down every night and answering ten letters that he had received from the public.  I became curious , and found a more detailed New York Times article (by Ashley Parker in the April 19, 2009 issue). The article described the tens of thousands of letters, e-mails, messages and faxes that arrive at the White House every day.  Each weekday afternoon, a few hundred  end up in the office of Mr. Kelleher, the Director of the White House Office of Correspondence . He then chooses ten letters, which he slips into a purple folder and puts in in the daily briefing book that is delivered to President Obama at the White House Residence.

The real question is: what did it mean to me?  It was really quite simple. If he can take the time to do this task , why is it so hard for me and other people to find the time to be creative?  He found the time to do something he clearly felt passionate about.

This daily action has become a source of  Inspiration for me.  Brian Tracy in his book, Eat  That Frog 21  GREAT Ways To  Stop  Procrcrastinating  And  Get  More  Done  in Less Time   says  “There is never enough time to do everything  you have to do.”  He adds,  “you can get control of your tasks  and activities only to the degree you stop doing some things and start spending more time on the few activities that can really make a difference in your life.”

So is writing that poem, novel, screenplay and/or signing up for that photography, pottery, dance, writing class a priority? If the President can make time for ten letters a day to people he never met, can you devote the same amount of time to launching (or sustaining) your own creative projects?