Be A Man! Create!

General George S. Patton and John Quincy Adams were poets. Churchill was a painter. Karol Wojtyla, the Polish priest who became Pope John Paul II, was, in his younger days, a playwright, director and stage actor, as was Vaclav Havel. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the German priest who just became Pope Benedict XVI plays classical piano and is (like Karl Barth) a Mozart aficionado. Jefferson designed Monticello. Secretary of State Dean Acheson was an accomplished woodworker. The young Theodore Roosevelt was a taxidermist. Albert Schweitzer was a world-class organist and Bach scholar.

And so on. Do you see a pattern here?

One of the secrets of the Great Men of the past is that they cultivated creativity and artistic expression in their lives. Sometimes the Great Men consciously chose a craft or a fine art as an outlet, a creative diversion from the intensity of their daily lives. And sometimes the Great Men had no particular objective in pursuing creative expression, it just simply happened as an overflow of who they already were. They created, just as day follows night.

You can be creative, too, and reap the incredible benefits. That is, if you use the right tools.

***

My new web site, http://www.ConversationFromthePast.com, will help you live a creative life of adventure and challenge you to expand your horizons and reach new frontiers. At Conversations From the Past, men are challenged, edified and encouraged to embrace what Theodore Roosevelt called The Strenuous Life.

We challenge each other to live lives of steadfast resolution, to overcome obstacles, to win in spite of a thousand repulses or defeats, to never fear to try a new line of attack because of a previous setback.

We urge each other to grasp, to rise and struggle, even against incalculable odds, to attempt, to make the bold move.

We also recognize that as we live the lives that we desire, we will also be the object of begrudging, resistance, hostility and resentment. Bold, intensely masculine lives create friction. It is not just historical irony that the greatest peacemakers in the history of the world have met with violent death; it is simply the way of this world.

One of the best ways to deal with these difficulties, these assaults, is to seek a creative outlet, an artistic expression.

***

But, you rightfully ask, how do I get started? Great question. The answer is surprisingly simple.

Just start and don