The Dragon's Body Was Too Short
Updated: 3 days ago
as told by Bill,
I thought, how hard could it be to build a dragon out of papier-mâché? I had the mindset needed to solve problems. As a Chief Operating Officer, my creativity arose through the 22 acquisitions of underperforming companies we completed in eight years. What do we need to get done? How do I fit all that in to make a smooth transition from the old company culture to the new?
The skill to transform issues to solutions translated to my art hobby.
My twin grandchildren, aged six, were interested in dragons. I Googled “papier-mâché dragon” and found a book that I used as my guide. When I was done, I realized the dragon’s body was too short, so I extended the neck. And then one of the legs was too long so I had to cut it down. A typical course correction based on my executive experience.
Over the next five years, I got more confidence. I have now created over 25 animals. In turn, these paper-mâché characters became the lead-ins to the picture books I write for children. Each has a story with lessons in empathy, inclusion, and leadership.
One book is about five monkeys
who want to go on vacation with their nana and papa. They must decide between 11 different places to go. My book teaches them about collaborative thinking and consensus decision making.
I've coached enough people to become effective leaders, so what I see now across both the political and business organizations is very worrisome. There is a huge gap in this world where people are way too self-centered.
How do you grow people?
I'm dedicating the rest of my life to focusing on that issue. I am starting with first and second grade teaching concepts of how to get along and how to be inclusive. One of my papier-mâché creations is a Merpuppy, that is half dog, half fish. I wrote a book about how this Merpuppy comes to live in a forest and gets ridiculed by the animals because he's so different. A lightning strike hits the forest in the middle of the night. The Merpuppy smells the fire. He runs around and saves all the animals by carrying them across the river on his back. Now they invite him to stay with them in their community.
I read the Merpuppy story to children at an elementary school in Santa Cruz. When asked what the book was about, one child said, “Just because someone treats you bad doesn't mean you shouldn't do the right thing.” Another child said, “I agree that what makes you different makes you special.”
These children got it. I almost melted in my chair.
Author page: www.billmince.com
Papier mache: www.mypaperma
Facebook: bill.mince
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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/billmince
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YouTube: @Bill-TeosinteMedia
Substack: https://substack.com/@billmince
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