Late Boomer Bloomer

In today's youth obsessed society baby boomers are often looked upon as yesterdays news and past their prime with little left to contribute, but nothing could be further from the truth. In his book Late Bloomers, Rich Karlgaard explains how the over 50 generation has qualities, knowledge and experiences tempered by time that cannot be ignored and has provided great contributions in modern culture. Many late bloomers find it a time when they truly find their stride in life and begin to really excel.

 Here I come, a man in my fifties, beginning in earnest to make a splash in an industry consumed by youth, however people of my demographic need a voice as well. Stay tuned for more about  and for my beloved generation.

No Medals for Trying

A ship that sails last longer than one that sits in port. An unoccupied house falls into disrepair faster than one that is lived in. A person who avoids stress and discomfort will grow unhealthy years before his time. Many times the pressures of decisions and everyday life can leave us wishing we didn't have to go through such stress but whats the alternative?

Is This Twinkie bigger or Is it me?

It's unfortunate that it takes a pandemic to compel me to pivot my business in a direction I've always intended it to go from the outset. One arena of my business has been in dire need of remodeling but out of complacency and a lack of urgency I've neglected to do so. I've been content to play the business as usual game. Now that circumstances are changed as well as I, I'm discovering that business as usual would be fatal to my livelihood.

I'm discovering the groups of associates and business acquaintances with whom I've become involved over the years have a less influential position in the course I and my life's work are headed. In the past I've had a bond with this tribe of  colleagues as our target customers were comparable therefore preserving a connection justified reasonable business sense even if the impact was minimal. 

For years I've whittled my list of social media acquaintances (I'm hesitant to use the term "friends") to smaller and smaller proportions for the purpose of uncluttering  my view of those with whom I held little in common. I don't feel a real obligation or desire to remain abreast of the trivial affairs of  people in whom I have little involvement with and in turn they feel the same about me. Our common target customers have changed. My needs have changed. Our synergistic affiliation is no longer necessary if it ever really was. I've even come to discover that some of my relationships are actually harmful and continuing to pursue them, feigning interest, is a waste of my time and energy not unlike consuming harmful comfort food that although its nice is either useless or inimical.

Time to cut out the comfort food and find healthier solutions and I'm actually excited about it. Being somewhat of a minimalist I travel further and faster when not diverted by extras. I can focus more precisely on obtaining my objectives while serving those with whom I hold symbiotic exchanges.

Irresponsibility

Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who developed the Hierarchy of Needs and simply put it stated that a person must have his/her basic needs met (food, clothing, shelter, love) before he/she can proceed to find their self actualization. Self actualization is basically finding one's purpose in life and  fulfilling it. He therefore asserts that if a person is aware of his/her ability or a purpose then it is their obligation to fulfill that purpose.

So little to do, so much time to do it

Just as with any career or business enterprise there are many things involved in trying to succeed as a professional commercial artist. It involves a lifestyle change especially when my normal job, which has nothing to do with cartooning, is pretty much dead in the water because of covid-19. It forces me to get busy pivoting and finding new avenues of approach to earning an income. It involves new habits, lifestyle changes, new business model, new hours, new goals, new acquaintances. With all this newness it leads to one cold hard fact: new habits are sequential not simultaneous.

If that's the case then it's realistic not to expect any real gains for many months or even years  especially if it take 66 days to create a habit as prescribed in The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan but who wants to wait that long?

Fortunately most of the new habits it takes to obtain success are mental and the tasks associated with it don't have to be done repeatedly but it does take time. There is a lot of that going around lately.

What Did You Just Call Yourself?

 A young Walt Disney once told his family he was going to make a living as a cartoonist. He told them at a time when cartooning was almost unheard of and appeared only in newspapers as editorial illustrations. Motion pictures were still silent at the time and there were no animated cartoons shown in movie houses. His father asked him "how are you going to do that?" to which Disney replied "I don't know". History goes on to show that he not only made a living as a cartoonist but he radically changed the entertainment industry and created a pan generational empire.

Another story: When President Kennedy set a goal for America to walk on the moon before 1970,  America had spent a total of only 15 minutes in space and we hadn't even put a man in earth orbit yet. Many thought it impossible. The technology for going to the moon didn't exist, we had no plan on how to do it and there was Kennedy saying we're going to get there and be the first to do so. Not only was the goal reached but we to this day are the only nation to do so and it propelled the USA into a leadership role of manned spaceflight.

Two good, real life stories about doing something no one in their right minds would do. We have to know what we want but you don't always have to know how to do it. Just start it.

I Scream but you're not listening!

In my experience I've often come across people who are going through a trying time and express their feelings unabashedly seeking a sympathetic ear but when instead they are given suggestions or advice designed to relieve their anxiety, or puts it in a favorable perspective, they abruptly end the conversation. I have been guilty of this also, particularly in my younger years when I was prone to be more dramatic when, at that time, things seemed catastrophic but were, in retrospect, no big deal.

Some problems, no matter the size, seems ferocious and foreboding when facing it but from a distance or from another's prospective appears easily solvable and not so frightful but who wants to hear that, right?  Sometimes we just want to be affirmed in our self pity. We just want sympathy and ice cream which sure goes down better than advice.

Say it ain't So

There is a well worn mantra going around in many circles that says "fake it till you make it" and there are areas where this behavior can superficially benefit someone.  However for the long term, especially when dealing with a marketable skill or chronic mental state this philosophy can lead to embarrassment, frustration and worse. There is such a thing as self deception and less than honest approaches to ourselves. In some ways it can be related to the Dunning-Kruger affect; a cognitive bias whereby incompetent people don't view themselves as incompetent. A person can, for example, tell himself he is great at drawing when his skills still need to be developed before he can hope to profit from them.

Psychologists stipulate that affirmations are beneficial if the person reciting them is honest and realistic. Someone suffering from depression who constantly repeats to herself how happy she is will actually become more depressed because she reminds herself how unhappy she actually is with each affirmation of happiness. Happy people don't have to tell themselves how happy they are, they're just happy. This lends credence to another mantra: "what you resist will persist"

A Decision to Decide

According to psychologists there is a condition called decision fatigue that occurs when we constantly weigh the pros and cons of a every decision to be made and even after we make one we are plagued by self doubt and second guessing especially if we give ourselves a little "wiggle room".

Nate Lambert always had a problem with his weight and tried everything that was available to loose weight but never succeeded. Finally, one day after a period of research and reflection he made a firm decision to completely eliminate from his diet all forms of refined sugar for the rest of his life. After coming to this decision firmly in his mind and making it his new lifestyle he was able to loose weight and keep it off and is now enjoying a much healthier life and one of  higher quality as a result. His final decision to never have refined sugar again was a decision he finalized and was never bothered with temptation or decision fatigue again.

Harvard business professor Clayton Christianson said it's easier to stick to your principles 100% of the time than it is 98% of the time. To be 98% committed means you haven't truly made a decision and thus decision fatigue sets in opening yourself up for failure as it leads to indecision and confusion. A decision you're 100% committed to leads to enhanced self confidence and progress.

Making a Passion

In Personality Isn't Permanent by Benjamin Hardy, PhD, Dr Hardy writes that one's passion cannot be discovered but must be cultivated and shaped. A person isn't born with a natural passion for a certain vocation or interest. It isn't inherent in people and in order to find it a person must start working and it will be developed. The operative word here is work.

Many have described my love for drawing and cartooning as a "passion" when I don't see it that way because I'm actually not passionate about it at all. If I did what I was passionate about I'd be cooking all the time, which is a pastime I truly love doing. I get excited about it and it brings me peace and joy to get in the kitchen and mindfully make a meal for someone. However I would never consider making it a career or getting a job as a cook. Drawing, however, not being a passion, can be described as my life's purpose. This purpose is constantly evolving to meet specific needs and new avenues of fulfilling that purpose are always being discovered. It's an effective way for me to tell my story or even someone else's story but it is basically a means to an end. The end is to have a life of purpose and significance.

Who's Your Friend?

I recently posted this illustration to social media for followers to see and the feedback was pretty consistent; there are many of us who can't make the claim that we have five close friends. We may have acquaintances or work associates but to call them "close" friends would not be accurate. The claim, however is not toward five close friends but your five closest friends.

Regardless of that, one of my followers presented a keen question; who are my five favorite authors to whom I often refer. Who are among those to whom I look up and invokes within me my behavior as would a friend or mentor? Well, it is an insightful look at a humorous situation. in that case I would say I'm an average of:

1. Zig Ziglar
2. Mark Manson
3. Rich Karlgaard
4. Dr Benjamin Hardy
5. Tracy Doll

What's the focus?

I've been a subscriber to the above philosophy for quite a while but my said belief has recently been challenged. In the course of reading Personality isn't Permanent by Dr. Benjamin Hardy, he professes that it is impossible to proceed without being mindful of the result. He states that to in order to take steps toward a goal one must always envision the goal clearly every step of the way; always having the target in focus.

I believe this to be true. One must have a clear vision of a particular objective in mind then map out the steps necessary to reach it. However in my experience, although it is important to frequently visualize the goal, I find it critical to focus undistracted on the work at hand. If that project is related to achieving the end result then it puts me one step closer to realizing the desired outcome.