Have you heard of the TED Conferences?  The following is taken from their website, as way of introduction:

“TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.  The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).  This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. More than 200 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted.”

My friend Clare sent me the link to Elizabeth Gilbert’s talk on creative genius, a refreshing look at how artists work, how we sometimes take genius and ruin it.  As you probably know, Gilbert wrote Eat, Pray, Love, which took off like wildfire after it was published in 2006, and she jokes about how people exclaim to her all the time, “Aren’t you afraid you’ll never measure up again?  How can you keep writing?”  She replies wryly, “Yes, I have four decades of work left in me, and probably, my best work is behind me!”

I found her remarks funny and insightful, and I thought you artists out there (aren’t we all artists?)–in whatever field you’re in–might find it honest and useful.  You’ll need about 20 minutes.

Lastly, although this has nothing to do with creative genius, and although you may be exhausted beyond reason, I’ve posted a recent interview of mine with Lori and Julia from their popular radio show in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. Take a listen here.

[Post image: Elizabeth Gilbert (photo by Laura Pedrick for the New York Times]