Craig Learmont Creative

#tbt I wanted to post this letter because it contains love, encouragement and advocacy in many ways. My mom wrote this letter to my sister Carol Lynn Friesen back in 2007. She had just performed at the Burlington Sound of Music Festival. In it she talks about coming to see The Jesse Peters and I performing with Paramedic at Medicine Hat’s Spectrum festival. She also mentions that Bonnie Becker, our piano teacher was in attendance. Had it not been for my mom, my sister, and Bonnie’s advocacy, I would not have become the musician I am today. Meeting Jesse in 2005 and working with him live in concert and in the studio brought me a greater appreciation of what striving for excellence looks like. I would just like to express overwhelming gratitude this morning. Novus Global

As I post this, I notice hesitance to express any kind of weakness or vulnerability. Part of me is heavily committed to showing how I’ve got it all together, or figured it out. The truth is, as I turned 50 in November I’ve been thinking a lot about how I grew up, how I relate to authority, how I deal with shame, and how I have/haven’t come to terms with trauma that I may have repressed or denied for decades. I was thinking about this song by Peter Gabriel that discusses ...excavating some of this. As it turns out, many of my friends and colleagues have told me that having a therapist has provided guidance, healing and closure with a lot of this. So, instead of worrying about appearing weak, I am choosing to work with a therapist moving forward as a significant personal growth opportunity. My belief is that this will help me become stronger as a father, husband, musician and coach. Novus Global See more

Yesterday was the 37th birthday of the original Macintosh. I thought about how Apple had such turmoil with vision, leadership, project management and ultimately creating something insanely great. When Steve Jobs was wooing John Sculley from Pepsi, he famously asked him Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world? Long story short, John Sculley wound up firing Jobs on the recommendation of the board. As... if it wasn’t enough to be removed from the company he founded, his company NEXT, was a major failure with plenty of vision, but not a lot in execution. 1996, Apple was 90 days from bankruptcy due to a series of poor CEOs and lack of vision. They brought back Steve as CEO, bought NEXT’s technology, and that same technology powers every iPhone that you’re reading this with. Apple is now valued at over $1 trillion dollars and well on its way to $2 trillion. There were many reasons for Steve to be depressed and give up, but I am SO thankful he didn’t. What are you thinking of giving up on? I’d love to discuss it with you! . Novus Global See more

This morning I noticed my hesitance at sharing anything creative. Everyone who plays music or has a dream or vision opens themself up for shame and ridicule because we are maybe worried about other people’s opinions and judgment. Perhaps there’s a wrong note on the piano or a note was too raspy, but I choose to celebrate the imperfections. Through my coaching work with Novus Global I have been finding that forgiving myself for flaws has become a smoother process, especially in a musical space. To all my friends and colleagues who are creating, please keep doing it!!! . (Full disclosure, I did one take before this and this one had more energy.. ). Joni Mitchell

This video is pretty special to me because it’s the last thing I have to remember my mom with. She passed away a few weeks after this was taken, and I was fulfilling a bucket list item of attending the NAMM show at the Anaheim Convention Centre in 2017 (four years ago!!) when she passed peacefully at her condo. She was an amazing advocate for me in asking if I wanted to take piano lessons when I was 7 years old, and also encouraging me to keep going when I was pretty serious about quitting on several occasions. Very thankful for her love, encouragement and support. Who is advocating for you right now? Novus Global