I was talking with my new friend John this afternoon. He is Director of Facilities and we will not only be working closely with our job responsibilities having a symbiotic nature; but we have already learned share a kindred spirit for philosophy and appreciation of design. He shared this quote that one of his professors uttered on the first day of class when he was in school about how intentional and immersed she wanted students to put their care and passion into visual design!

"When you spit on the sidewalk I want you to worry about what kind of pattern it makes."

-Leslie Wiseman (via John Nowacki @ 1969 University of Detroit Architecture School)

"Creativity and ego cannot go together; but if you free yourself from the comparing and the jealous mind, creativity opens up endlessly."

-Jeong Kwan

I was scanning through some articles in a photography blog that I follow and caught an article by Rajib Mukherjee (https://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/creative-jealousy-and-how-to-deal-with-it-as-a-photographer/) featuring thoughts a photographer named Sean Tucker. He shared about how he struggles with creative envy. I certainly resonate with this as I go through seasons from time time to time, when because of spiraling down into jealous thoughts of others’ successes, I fail to be who I am best at being. I love the first thought shared by Chef Jeong Kwan as featured in Chef’s Table.

I commit to focussing on being the most excellent version of me.

"Remember that the mark of a [great] professional is that they run their own race; they're not constantly comparing themselves to others. They're not threatened by the work that other produce. They’re too busy doing what they do. They don’t allow jealousy to take up emotional and mental space."

-Sean Tucker

I wrote this page about what my team would look like last spring when I was considering the request to lead the Troy Production Department. I'm reviewing it again this month now that I've hired the final member of my staff. I'm grateful for each of them; and for all of our incredible volunteers. Here's to a great season of thriving in ethos, mission, and vision as we push through our busiest part of the year these next couple months...