Jazz and life

This is a great, great, article. Give it a read. But, I'd argue that it's about more than productivity.

Much of life is improvisation. It's not just wildly making stuff up as you go along. Perfect example: Kind of Blue. Miles Davis gave his band a framework in which to play, and allowed them to use their skills and creativity to paint sounds. The result? A masterpiece, and one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time (and a great CD for a jazz newbie).

I picked off some good points from this...

• Flow--is about finding the rhythm and moving with it.
• You can't improvise alone. Your songs, words, movements actions are all responses to others around you and the environment around you. You are never truly alone, even if physically you are.
• What's the old saying--rules are made to be broken?
• Trust your instincts.
• Limits force creativity. What can I do in this defined space?
  
• Take the mundane and mold it and shape it into something magical. Breath new life into the routine.
  
• Another old saw--in jazz, there are no mistakes, only opportunity.

The last point is a key--mistakes are learning experiences. Hard ones, but good ones. Use them.

As a bonus, here's the first track from Kind of Blue, "So What"