Heavy Little Things

 

Out Classed

Nick Saban was the head coach of Alabama's NCAA football team, where during his tenure he won six national championships, but before he was a coach at  Alabama, Saban coached at Michigan State.

One week, Michigan State was scheduled to play the Ohio State Buckeyes who were ranked number one in the nation and had ten starters who would eventually be drafted into the NFL. Saban's Michigan State team had nowhere near that level of talent, and he knew his team had little chance of winning the game.

This is a Job for a Shrink

But Saban's mission in life was winning, which was the focal point of his existence and the dominating subject of his philosophy, practices, and motivational discourses, so how could he talk about winning to his players when he knew they were overmatched?

He didn't know who to turn to for the answer, so he consulted a psychologist.

The psychologist told Saban that he was too results-oriented and put too much emphasis on winning the game when the best way to help his players was to concentrate on the process of performing at their best on every play, minute by minute.

Each player needed to do his job, focus on his individual assignment, and execute it to the best of his ability, then do it again.

The goal wasn't to win the entire game all at once, but instead, take care of the next play.

This is the same philosophy expressed by another famous championship football coach who once said:

"Take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves."

It's All in Your Head

There is another story that illustrates this same mindset.

Two farmers prayed for rain, and both believed God would provide what they needed, but only one farmer went out every day and prepared his fields to receive it.

Which farmer had more faith?

God will send the rain when He is ready, but it is up to us to prepare our fields to receive it.

I have a vision for my personal business which is to make Bob Doll Studios become the primary source of my income and to build something meaningful from the talents and experience God has given me.

But I often find myself focusing too much on the end goal without paying enough attention to the daily routines required to make that vision a reality.

When I think about everything that needs to be done—finding clients, marketing, following up, improving my website, creating workshops, selling books, building relationships, and managing the business—it can become overwhelming.

Sometimes I become impatient, I get bored with the routine, sometimes hurry the process along or avoid it altogether because the distance between where I am and where I want to be seems so great.

But when I neglect the little things, I don't move closer to my objective and instead, I move further away from it.

A structure is built one brick at a time. No one builds an entire building in a single day, and each brick seems insignificant by itself, but eventually those individual bricks become something much larger.

The same is true of our lives, our faith, and our work.

I don't have to accomplish everything today; I only have to take care of today's brick.

I have to make the phone call, send an email, follow up with the client, prepare the workshop, improve one part of the website, create something useful, show up and do the work.

Those things may not feel like progress when viewed individually, but they are progress.

My responsibility is not to control the outcome, nor can I force clients to book me, I can't guarantee success or determine exactly when my business will grow.

But I can prepare my fields and can take care of the little things.

If I faithfully do what is mine to do, day after day, eventually the bricks will become the building.

The big things will take care of themselves.

That's Not Going to Happen

Same Old Song and Dance

I once had a job that required me to do a lot of standing around and since conditions were ripe in that way, I did what comes naturally to me; I periodically pulled out my notebook and began jotting things down, then returning it to my pocket. A few moments later, after something else I noticed required me to record it, I would repeat my method of remembering things by removing my pen and notebook, writing something, and returning it to my pocket.  Eventually, a supervisor noticed me doing so. 

"You can't be writing up here." he told me.

"No note taking?" I asked.

"That's right." was his answer.

Behind the Eyes

I complied as I slowly returned my pen and notebook to my pocket and pondering the situation, I thought to myself, 

Well, here we go again. He doesn't realize that by asking me not to write or take visual notes is like asking me to change the color of my eyes or disown my mother. It can't be done.

Immovable

There is a story about a ship that was returning home from a long sea voyage and as it was approaching the coast in the dark, the captain noticed a beacon of light straight ahead on a collision course with his vessel, so he sent a message directed at the source of the light:

"From the USS Caine, Change course."

Shortly thereafter, the captain of the Caine received a reply: "Negative. You change course."

The captain relayed, "We're on a collision course and I order you to change direction 10 degrees starboard."

The answer was "Negative. I order you to change course."

At this, the captain of the ship let his ego get the best of him and he proudly replied, "I am Lieutenant Commander Phillip Francis of the United States Navy, commander of the USS Caine and I order you to change course!"

Afterwards, the message came back, "I am a lighthouse. You change course."

Nothing New

That story perfectly illustrates the situation with my most recent supervisor and it's only one of many stories about the derision and contempt I've received since grade school and throughout all my years of employment because of my natural tendency to always have a notebook and pen very nearby. I'm an artist who writes and to somehow attempting to prevent me from harmlessly taking notes at any given time is like asking a lighthouse to change course. 

The Conversion of Bob part 3

 

A conversation about Picasso and Millionaires

Recently I was working with two other artists at a company event and in the time we had before work started, we were talking amongst ourselves and one of them said of himself “a man of my talent should be a millionaire by now.”  

He also said, “if Pablo Picasso made a fortune with the junk he put out then why can't I?”

Overlooking his negativity he actually presented a good question because I’m not a big fan of Picasso, either. Most of the modern artists who are successful really don't produce any particularly beautiful works of art that I would consider masterpieces, worthy of the price tags.

The not-so-secret truth about failing 

Well, my fellow artist and I agreed as far as Picasso is concerned but that leads to another question; why do some artists succeed and others do not? Then, while in that conversation (I’m reluctant to call it a “conversation” because he was doing all of the talking) it occurred to me how negative he was being, and I slowly began to realize something else. Most of the artists with whom I associate at such events are unmistakably pessimistic. Granted, there is always healthy amounts of sarcasm among creative people by nature, but those with whom I work are downright negative.

The not-so secret truth about success

At the same event, after work began, there was a gentleman I was drawing, and he was genuinely captivated in what I was doing and was asking uncommonly intelligent questions about my trade. Not the usual rote, elementary inquiries such as, “do you like what you’re doing?” and “how long have you been drawing?” As it turned out he too liked to draw and was indisputably interested in my experience. He asked me, “do you see something that most people don't look for?” and “do you have a predisposition to noticing hidden values?”

I could’ve told him that there is a distinctive, esoteric quality that separates an artist from normal people but to me that would be exceptionally presuming. Not being a naturally pretentious person, I simply said “it just takes practice like with anything else.”

Of course, the question invariably came up about how I discovered caricature drawing to be a profitable venture which led to my brief story about how for most of my adult life I was unaware of the possibility that I could earn money by doing it and how my upbringing was such that I was told I needed to get a job because I couldn't make a living as an artist.

Don't interrupt me while I'm ignoring you

Before I made my point with the man, another artist with who was working alongside me, overheard our conversation and interrupted. He was supporting the idea that a caricature artist cannot earn a living (a decent one anyway). Not only did I find his comments a little undermining to the experience I was trying to convey to my customer, but as a fellow artist I would expect a little more respect for his own profession.

I, on the other hand, when allowed to complete my thought (my constituent’s unsought input notwithstanding) told the gentleman they were wrong; one certainly can make a living as an artist.

They set the bar

So why the negativity? Why are my contemporaries sold on the idea that they will not succeed? Why do they think that this is not an industry by which one can’t make a decent living? I cannot say with any authority why they believe it, but I know everything originates with one’s belief system, does it not? If one believes he can't succeed he's right. Of course, it isn't necessary to reach the same level of success attained by Disney or Schultz or even by Tom Richmond for one to be considered successful. (If you don't know who Tom Richmond is look him up) In the context of the conversation I was having yesterday, success can be defined as earning a decent living and one doesn’t have to be the richest artist in the country to do that.

Lampooning hall of fame

Granted if one relies 100% on being hired for "gigs" just to sustain themselves, of course their means will always fall short of their vision, way short. I know this from my own experience. I am certain this is what they have come to rely on and hope for, but I’m sure Tom Richmond, a very successful caricature artist, doesn't think that way. Disney and Schultz didn't either and neither do Matt Groenig, Seth McFarland, George Williams, and Adam Brown. But one thing is certain. Scale is what sends a person from a meager income to better income. Not just that but diversification and several applications of their skill. Also, targeted application. Negative thinking is poison to these possibilities.

Hall of shame

Which group do I belong to? What do I want to do? Certainly, taking lessons from my constituents, I don't want to be negative or pessimistic, and it isn't just the two artists I worked with that particular weekend. Others with whom I work also do much complaining and negative assessing. Another artist I’m familiar with likes to gripe about customers and the agencies that hire him. Another is averse to different ways of doing things. He is critical his fellow artists and has a negative opinion of the latest technology that makes the job more interesting, easier and more in demand.

The theme among these brands of artists seems to be one of extreme conservatism; keep things the way they are without change and in a way that is most familiar to them because that's how they’ve done it for a long time and they've become complacent in their comfort.

Another day another dollar

Do I also do that? To them, success is simply paying the bills, and I understand how important that is but if I were to open my mind about it, especially being self-employed for so long, I know success isn't simply paying the bills unless that is all that is important to me.

Have a plan

My solution, as I see it, is to diversify my talent by not only working at events, but ones I book independently and not through an agency and teaching the art of caricature to others. For now, those are my two primary objectives.

Also, in addition to the above, once those two objectives are satisfactorily completed by obtaining events and classes with relative ease, then I will focus on publishing and selling books and merchandise that support those endeavors.

Here's a match. Now burn those bridges!

These ambitions do not get realized by grouping myself with my fellow glum artists whose only hope is to pay their bills while waiting for the next gig. In fact, how wonderful it would have been at the event I mentioned, in my conversation with the customer who showed interest, to offer him a book, written by me, explaining everything he wanted to know. It would have been like Kevin O'Leary says, “throwing gasoline on the fire”. That's another reason for urgently wanting to complete my workbook because it will contain plenty of stories and experiences about my life as an artist and how those experiences can help other aspiring artists learn to be successful by becoming a tad familiar with the landscape.

The possibilities of moving on from my friends’ insistence that he should be a millionaire because Picasso was, and how one cannot earn a decent living as an artist and success is in simply paying the bills is in all those explanations I just mentioned. I just want to remove myself from their kinship.

Are You Sitting on a Nail?

The hound that was sitting on a nail

There is a story about an old hound dog that sat on the porch all day and periodically would let out a lengthy, mournful howl. This would last all day until one day a neighbor asked the dog's owner why he displayed such peculiar behavior.

"It’s because he's sitting on a nail", said the owner.

"Well," returned the neighbor, "why doesn't he move?"

"Because he's too lazy." Said the owner. "He prefers the pain of the nail to the effort of finding another spot."

Did you ever have one of those conversations?

Not long ago, I was discussing with some friends a phenomenon that involved the improvement of one’s life and why, when someone is given verified information that can improve one’s life, whether it be personal or business, the information isn’t often utilized? It’s as if someone tells you that a large suitcase full of neatly stacked hundred-dollar bills is waiting in a locker at the downtown bus station and it can be yours. You’re handed the key to the locker and told the only condition is you must pick it up today by 4pm because it won’t be there after that time.  

Any reasonable person would drop what he’s doing and retrieve the suitcase, toot-sweet, but so often, excuses are made.

“But the trip downtown at lunchtime is murder.”

“I have a phone conference I can’t miss.”

“Gas is so expensive, and if I go all the way downtown it’ll blow my fuel budget for the week.”

“It’s dangerous at the bus station. What if I’m robbed?”

This story is somewhat of a parable, but like all parables, it is rooted in real conditions. I went away from my conversation with my friends consumed with that question, only I personalized it.

When I’m given good information that will change my life for the better, why don’t I pursue it?

An "ahha" moment

 I thought of very little else for the rest of the day knowing how vexed I was with the very conditions we discussed. Almost immediately, I realized it when, on the way home, I stopped off at the grocery store to get a couple of things and I spent a few extra seconds in the car ensuring I had my wallet because it held my bank card and Kroger card, both of which I use to pay for my things. Suddenly it hit me; I don’t need my wallet at all because I have a digital wallet on my phone and it has the same information as my physical cards, even the Kroger card. So why was it important to me to find my wallet? Really, the only thing my physical wallet is good for is a place to put my driver’s license and what little cash I have. But even after coming to that conclusion, I still took my wallet with me and paid with my physical bank card. Why?

I gotta know

I wanted to know! I was convinced it’s because of real mental conditions. I also wanted to know because, if for no other reason, I, myself, want to change.

I found out that our tendency, everyone included, is to fail to adopt confirmed improvements due to psychological, emotional and mental factors that prioritize immediate comfort over long-term gain. In other words, we don’t want to leave our comfort zone. We’re happy there. We’re familiar with it. It’s predictable. It’s safe.

I discovered there are fancy names for the very conditions I’m addressing:

·         Present Bias

·         Cognitive Dissonance

·         Fear and Identity Protection

·         Learned Helplessness

·         Emotional attachment to habits

·         Misconception of effort

Most of these can be grouped together and explained in the earlier story about the hound dog sitting on a nail; we prefer the pain over the effort and inconvenience to moving to a different part of the porch, even at our own detriment. 

·         We tend to overvalue present comfort and undervalue future change.

·         We tend to ignore evidence to avoid changing our belief system.

·         Deep-seated beliefs are linked to self-identity and social groups.

·         A person may believe they can’t adopt new habits leading to feelings of helplessness. This is also known as learned helplessness and was coined by Martin Seligman.

·         People may stick to false propositions because they’re comfortable or familiar.

·         The immediate cost of change is mentally overshadowed by future gain.

Our brains prefer the path of least resistance. We prefer watching videos to reading books because it’s easier. It’s easier to have a Popeye’s chicken sandwich than cook our own meals. It’s easier to take a nap than go for a walk.

On a deeper, personal level, it was somehow more comfortable for me to pay for groceries with a card, than my phone. In this case the results weren't so consequential, but it is a small example of my unwillingness (at the time) to adopt a new habit because I'm comfortable with the old. I wonder what else I'm undervaluing. 

 

 

Brainless

 There is a saying that says, "Empty your mind, pick up a pencil and draw" and the purpose of this is tactical in nature in the sense that one must focus on the task at hand and to remove as best one can, all outside distractions (there are many). This also applies to anything a person does that involves their intentional focus, not just drawing, and it is a principle I teach art students. 

Like I said, this rule applies to many things but the spirit behind it involves activity, not passive mindlessness.

• Watching TV
• Doom-scrolling
• Social media
• Gossiping
• excessive phone use

No thinking zone

I was listening to an interview about how devices and A.I. are doing things for us that we used to have to do for ourselves and the man being interviewed said how great it is because it gives him less to think about. But immediately after he said it, I recognized something in that remark didn't quite jibe well with me. 

"It Gives Me Less to Think About"

Isn't thinking what sets humans apart from animals? The greatest works of humankind begins with thinking to solve problems or to be creative. 

• The cure for polio 
• The four minute mile
• The abolition of slavery
• Landing on the moon
• The Sistine Chapel
• The horseless carriage
• The Notre Dame Cathedral
• Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3

It all originated in the human mind as an independent, free thought, an idea originating in the gray matter of the brain and not in an electronic device thinking in our stead. 

"How fortunate for governments 

that the people they administer 

don't think."

                               

                              -Adolf Hitler

The goals of the forces of evil are to get people to empty their minds so the void can be filled with less valuable things. 

"Let the robot do it"

That's why, knowing full well A.I. can do my work for me and probably make it way better, aesthetically speaking, than I will ever be able to do, I insist on only doing it myself. Most of the time I won't even check it using A.I. and it's not because I'm a stubborn, crotchety old man who doesn't like new-fangled gadgets. Maybe I am. But rather It's because I like the way I do it, mistakes and all. How much value would Leonardo's Mona Lisa possess if it was done by Grok?

I've drawn some things and someone would say to me "Let's see what A.I. can do with it!" My immediate response is a decisive "NO". Why would I want to see what a robot can do to my creation? 

Changing the World in 8 Days

What am I spending time on?

I read a book early last year and it wasn't the best book I've read, but it had good information and recently, I went to look for it on my bookshelf, but to my surprise, I couldn't find it. I thought to myself, 

I know it was no treasure, but I couldn't have donated it to a thrift store already, could I have? 

It was a newer book, and I didn’t dislike it so I began to search for it with no luck when I had the brilliant idea of cataloging all my books so I could easily check to see if a particular book was still in my possession without turning my house upside-down. So, during the course of trying to get a foothold on this new year’s objectives, I was distracted when I began searching for a book I thought was in my collection.

 I have my daily tasks all laid out which will take time to complete, and for the last couple of days I have been cataloging all the books I own. So, instead of tending to my daily non-negotiables, I'm spending time recording every book in the house! It reminds of the story Zig Ziglar talked about when a guy he once met told him he had memorized every name of every county in every state in America. Ziglar thought it was an extraordinary claim so what else could he do? He asked him to prove it and sure enough, the man did it.

 Ziglar thought it an amazing mental achievement, but he said to himself, why spend so much time, mental capacity and energy on such a useless endeavor? What possible good could come out of knowing the name of every county in America? Wasn't there something he could spend his time on that would be more beneficial?

 That’s what I'm asking myself. I just spent lots of time cataloging all my books and for what? Couldn’t I have better spent my time on something else, something more beneficial related to my process of getting better results?

 It's that damned Marine mentality, again, that was tattooed in my psyche all those years ago. We were always expected to achieve immediate and consequential results, without exception and without excuses. I still hear that drill instructor in my ear.

Grace Please

However, there is another side to that coin, one that is a little more merciful and gracious to me.

  It's very early in the year, just a little more than a week into it and here I am already berating myself for neither meeting all my objectives I've set nor being awarded my rightful Pulitzer Prize for writing.

 I'm going to have to give myself some time, especially since some of the particulars of my daily non-negotiables are new to me.

 The fact is I can't change the world in 8 days. It may take a little more time.

Merry Christmas to me?

 

Part of my job is to be at company Christmas parties not as an employee, but as part of the entertainment. In case you're not aware, I draw caricatures of the employees.

 I must admit that some of these revelries are quite impressive as a result of the deep pockets of the corporation and sometimes I feel not only out of place but it’s as though I walked onto a set of a Hollywood production like The Godfather or The Great Gatsby because of the opulence and elegance of the venue.

I also have a confession. I sometimes feel envious of the attending underlings because they are having so much fun and they partake of the outstanding dinners prepared by first class chefs (I snuck a bite of some boiled crab and it made my toes curl) and receive the gifts and bonuses from their company.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a firm advocate of running self-employment but I sometimes would like just a taste of the other side. When I have those inclinations, it’s usually only for the duration of the event and I can focus on my own, again, afterwards.

Then I’d  begin thinking about it. There have been times in days past when I was part of a company that did Christmas parties. Certainly, they may not have been as posh as the ones described above but they were very nice indeed, but what was the ultimate price I paid for the privilege?

I might save the long answer for another time but, in short, I lost control of my future, my personal goals, my hopes for the future. The parties were forgotten about the next day, and the Christmas bonuses are long gone. In fact, when my apparent usefulness to the companies was through, I was tossed aside and coldly left without a means of income without regard to my needs or the needs of my family. Some party, huh?

So, as a quick reminder to myself, I earn more money in the two or three hours of drawings that I’m providing for the company that hired my services than I used to make all week as an employee and for the privilege of attending their Christmas party.

No thank you.