Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cliff Goldmacher. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Cliff, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
My workshops helping business teams explore their creativity and improve their ability to innovate by teaching them to write songs are deeply meaningful to me.
After a chance encounter on a flight with an executive at a large consulting firm, I began my journey leading business teams through the process of learning to write songs.
Taking bright people who don’t think of themselves as creative and showing them that they truly are never gets old.
Cliff, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
After graduating from Stanford with a degree in political science and instead of heading to law school, I decided to pursue a career in music.
Fast forward thirty years and over a thousand songs later, I feel fortunate to have had a #1 song on the jazz charts (“Till You Come To Me” co-written with the artist, Spencer Day) and a collaboration with blues artist Keb’ Mo’ (“Cold Outside” which he included on his GRAMMY-winning album “Oklahoma.”
Along with writing my book, The Reason For The Rhymes: Mastering The Seven Essential Skills of Innovation by Learning to Write Songs,” I lead workshops helping business teams enhance their creativity, solve problems and innovate better by teaching them to write songs.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
These days my mission is to rekindle creativity in people who don’t consider themselves creative. After three decades of work as a songwriter, I’ve developed an understanding of the creative process that I’m motivated to share with others in unrelated fields. Writing songs is a daunting and humbling experience for those who are unfamiliar with the process. I feel a vicarious sense of exhilaration each time I take a team of executives through the process of leaving their comfort zones and writing songs – something they genuinely didn’t think they could do before we started.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me, it’s essential to incorporate creativity into my day to day. Whether it’s writing a song or even a simple haiku (something I do every morning), creativity brings joy and texture to everything I do.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TheReasonForTheRhymes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reasonforrhymes
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReasonForTheRhymes
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliffgoldmacher/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/reasonforrhymes
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnOXe1TiwMY
Image Credits
Juan Patino Sarah Goldmacher