"Let my expressions of love always surpass my pursuit of knowledge."...
What does it mean to be here? To me, being here is about a quality of presence. It’s about honoring the person, space, or activity in front of me. Sure it begins with attendance—putting your physical body in a locale. For me, it ends with generosity. One cannot truly be here (as I mean it) if they...
Each week, I review all ten of my BE Words (my core values) and choose one to focus on practicing. Usually I cycle through my list of words in order. The past two weeks were different. I’m finding myself camping out on the word Discipline. Week one I improved my discipline in the practice of tracking...
The creative process isn’t complete until you deal with your expectations. The Four-Fold Way, which I believe originated with Angeles Arrien’s book of the same name, has proven to be a great framework for me in understanding the creative process. It goes like this...
I just released a cover of The Winans’ song “Count It All Joy” on IG with my brothers IAmSon & Tarron Crayton. God, I’m grateful for an endless stream of ideas and concepts. I’m also incredibly grateful that You’ve allowed me to connect with such talented and creatively aware individuals that are willing to collaborate...
Growing up, I can remember my mom keeping an old-school tape recorder in her purse to capture song ideas that would come to her at random moments. Today, we have smartphones with thousands of hours of recording space. We have access to apps that allow us to record at a quality level people could only...
I recently finished a book entitled “Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise” by K. Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool. Historically-speaking, books with the word “science” in their title tend to intimidate me. However, this book was an accessible read with inspiring insights into just how attainable the expertise we admire really is. Though...
An area of my life in which I’ve found a mixed level of satisfaction is my ability to determine whether or not I should take a gig. It’s always a delight when I take a gig and feel great about the whole situation at the end of it. However, if you do (or have done) gigs...
What is it really? No, like for real? What is it? I had such an amazing conversation with my homie Jamahl yesterday. In this convo, I really came to a nice place of resolution around the issue. I gleaned the idea that inadequacy can only survive in a shroud of fog and darkness. If you...
I got a chance to play some rhythms on this awesome cover of "Say Something" by Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton featuring my dude Chris Mann and the talented Shoshana Bean accompanied by the lovely sounds of the Orchid Quartet! Directed, Filmed, and Edited by Ryan Parma ...