From a Nobody to a Somebody

A discussion emerged recently within my Mastermind discussion group about what happens in the mind of a person who suddenly regenerates from a nobody to a somebody. How does a person completely turn things around in their life to such an extent that they're a new person unrecognizable from a previous way of life?

There are many people throughout history who have experienced it and even some we know personally. It happened to Teddy Roosevelt who was ultimately known to be very outgoing, athletic, robust and full of energy but there was once a time in his life when he was a sickly, asthmatic homebody who rarely participated in outdoor activities in favor of an easy bedridden life. He came to a point as a young man to change his situation when he said to himself "I will make my body". His condition at the time was inconsistent with his future desires.

There are other examples and probably the best known is the conversion a Saul from The Bible. In our discussion we mentioned someone we knew personally who underwent this same transformation.

But the question still remains, what triggers the reprogramming? It's a question I've been pondering for years and since the discussion with my friends, I seriously decided to find some answers, so I began looking and in surprising short order, I found satisfying explanations. 

A satisfying process I found is:

• Ordinary- The status quo. A person's ordinary life is unsatisfying or inconsistent with his or her values or hopes but he or she is complacent and isn't motivated to change it. 
• Crisis- Something occurs in our protagonist's life that forces a reckoning with the status-quo of his or her ordinary life.
• Recognition of other options- Alternative lifestyles, beliefs or values are recognized by the protagonist either discovered on his or her own or presented by other people. 
• Engagement with a new option- The person is then faced with the decision to accept the new option which is decidedly inharmonious with the status quo.
• Identification with the new option- He/she accepts the new belief system, mindset or lifestyle and then commits and adapts to it as part of his or her new identity in contrast to the previous lifestyle.
• Transformation of behavior- From this point the new mindset compels the protagonist to display new habits and routines, makes different choices and adopts new behaviors reflecting his or her conversion. 

The conversion can arise gradually or happen suddenly and in severe cases the status quo has become completely unacceptable, untenable or unsustainable. It has characteristics of the Hero's Journey espoused by Joseph Campbell.

 

Hawaii the Grand Canyon and Me

My sister is going on vacation to Hawaii next month and another family member just got back from a vacation to the Grand Canyon and then there's me. I can't afford a full tank of gas. That's what I think about when I feel like taking an extra long break or let negative thoughts creep into my mind to discourage me from consistently producing something that for now isn't showing any signs of improvement. It prompts me to continue with the process in spite of the current results, if any. 

It reminds me of years past before I entered the ranks of the self-employed when I had a job. I was constantly watching the clock looking forward to quitting time. During working hours, even if it was a job I appreciated or even liked (welding was a good example), I would spend much of the time daydreaming of other endeavors which could not possibly have bode well with my productive output at work. I would dream of ideas and creativities that would allow me to control my own destiny but then when the day was through and I punched out, I would do painfully little in the area of realizing my daydreams. I would then repeat the cycle the next day. 

Now that I have been self-employed for several years, I realize there was very little difference the past job made in lifestyle or standard of living. I still had the same financial struggles and anxieties as I experience today however there is one major difference. Today I am in control of my destiny.  The manner in which I control it is a subject for yet another post.

 

Go Ahead and Vomit

It's a baseball statistic that Babe Ruth struck out three times for every homerun he hit. Sports is a good analogy for life in general or a specific endeavor I'm undertaking because, in my case, fear is a big part of my decision making process, unfortunately. 

Fear shouldn't be positioned that way because for the overwhelming majority of time the things I fear turn out to be not very scary at all. The reward comes from disregarding my fear and proceeding to "embrace the suck" thereby increasing my chances for success. It ain't rocket science. 

"So what?"

I remember in boot camp, the drill instructor said acknowledged that the physical training we endured was hard and we might throw-up or even pass out from exhaustion but "so what", he said. "Go ahead and throw up. Go ahead and pass out. It won't kill you. When you're through vomiting or regain consciousness, finish the task."

His point was to give it all we had in spite of the risk of failure or discomfort. It doesn't mean it's over. Just keep going. 

 

The Middle Earth Syndrome

It's common, not just for me but for many others as well, while listening to a sermon, to get the sense that the pastor is talking directly to me about my situation and one remark he made not long ago was 

"Don't sit under a tree waiting 

for God to give you a sign. 

He's already given you enough 

to do for ten lifetimes."

One of my biggest character flaws has always been a serious contention with procrastination and I'm not just talking about the simple "I'll do it later" kind. I mean the "I'll do it someday when the time is right" variety. Years of experience has taught me the "right time" is a mythical location like Middle Earth, Atlantis or the Bermuda Triangle. The procrastination with which I've suffered for years has been the debilitating, life altering kind because I am at this latter stage of life no better off than when I graduated high school. It's is a serious character flaw.

I've commonly resorted to the "God will show me what to do when the time comes" theory but that's a lie because he actually showed me what I was meant to do decades ago. Now I've got a sizable backlog of projects. 

It's all in my head!

A subject for another post related to this is the philosophy of Cus D'Amato who told the many boxers he trained to success, that boxing is mostly mental; less physical. Procrastination or productivity is also a mindset.

 

Another Texas Attribute

I often find myself scratching my head in bewilderment and frustration as to why I can't seem to loose the weight I have determined to shed. I get plenty of exercise, I eat reasonable portions of food and not a lot of sweets. After all is said and done, however, I realize there are certain things for which I have an affinity that is likely the origin not least among which are tacos. 

Those little devils, when done well, are multiple flavors explosively rolled in a compact, convenient wrap which makes the savory, handheld spicy victuals a tasty delight hard to resist and certainly it is effortless to have a third or fourth round.

Yes, as long as I live in south Texas, tacos are a delightful thorn in the flesh when it comes to  regulating my eating habits.

 

It's Not Just a Tattoo

Many times I've questioned the wisdom of my choices and one that seems always at the top of that particular list was my decision to enlist in the Marines. In a practical sense, the choices I made during my tour of duty and after my enlistment ended, gave me no advantage in the realm of career choices or advances. For example, the civilian world has no real opportunities for a rifle expert with special skills in operating a PRC-77 radio. However, I could have been very successful if I began a career in shining boots or mopping floors for a living. 

I relish my time-in not for what it could've done for me career-wise as a civilian, but because of the men with whom I served, the camaraderie, the values, customs, courtesy and traditions. Anyone who has shared the experience honorably, needs no further explanation.

In regard to the original question about what advantage I have resulting from my enlistment, it's determination. I have to say that regardless of the assignment, we were to do it no matter the cost. Our personal opinions or feelings about the viability or level of difficulty did not factor in, regardless of how I felt, my mood or attitude. The weather was no factor. It could be hot, cold, raining, or snowing and the time of day or night wasn't important, and it didn't matter where we were.  

It's singularly noteworthy that the specific value of "do or die" is more than just a tattoo and also some of these values, in my case, really did not resonate with me until in my later years of self-employment. 

 

Hey Kid, Want to see a Cool Pencil?

 

As a boy I was a normal kid in many ways. I liked sports, playing outside, riding bikes, watching Saturday morning cartoons, football trading cards and comic books but there were peculiarities I possessed which my friends could not always understand. I was a reflective type of kid who would often times read not just comic books but also actual books. I was sometimes mesmerized by stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs and H.G. Wells. I loved reading about history and I followed the space program. 

I also wrote much. At first it was simple class assignments but I also ventured into writing my own comic strip called Salt Shaker and as time went on I kept a record much like a diary to practice my creative writing techniques. 

I was a big Peanuts cartoon fan and in the case of my own Salt Shaker comics I would draw them in 4 panels, much like the Peanuts strips appeared, then paste them into a large notebook for a collection. 

As a result of these particular tendencies I became interested in pens, pencils and types of paper. If anyone wanted to abduct me as a young person, putting a pencil in my path would probably do the trick more so than offering me candy.

This Ain't Cornbread and Collard Greens

I arrived in Texas at the age of 17 and all the years I've lived here have taught me much about cowboys, hats, trucks, belt buckles and country music and now that I think about it, Memphis, where I came from, had all those things too. 

However there is one thing about Texas which defiantly sets us apart from Tennessee and that is the food: specifically tacos. I'm not talking about the cheap imitation fast food style of the mass appeasing Taco Bell or any other chains. No, I'm referring rather to the delicious victuals served at privately operated taquerias and some of the best comes from the temporary food wagons often set up in a gas station parking lot or near a convenience store. South Texas has no shortage of these small eateries . I say they are temporary but some have set up a covered area complete with tables and chair so diners can enjoy there meal before returning to there life's work.

Taquerias have a wide variety of tacos, tostadas, taquitos and much more and even though salsa isn't required, there is plenty to be had from mild to raging hot, which is the kind I prefer. I like to be reminded of the delicious meal I had so I can remember where to go to next time.

 

Pay Attention to Me!

It's sometimes astonishes me, if it isn't too embarrassing, that I've arrived at this stage of my life without realizing some fundamental truth about work, personal progress and rules of success. Whatever the reason may be, I have to accept the facts as they present themselves and one of those basic facts is how there are always distractions to divert me from my priorities.

My post yesterday on How to be Poor listed some habits that keep one in poverty. Among them was shifting priorities and one way to ensure my priorities are constantly changing is to let life's diversions pull me off task. There are always things that can do so, such as family issues, money issues, health issues and much more so it takes focus and mental discipline to stay on task in spite of all the distractions biding for my attention.

 

How to Stay Poor

There is an episode of Seinfeld when George realizes every choice he has ever made in life has been wrong so he resolves that from that point on he will do the opposite of what he thinks is the right thing to do. Aside from simply making a hilarious story, the "opposite" philosophy actually has a bit of truth in it.  

Charlie Munger, who has made his fortune along with peers like Warren Buffet, has a mode of decision making he calls inverse thinking. The process is if one is looking for a specific result then instead of seeking the right answer, decide, instead, how to achieve the opposite effect. For example, if one wants to be healthy, loose weight and be in good shape, it's natural to find ways of achieving those ends but the answers may come easier by asking "how can I be unhealthy".  The answer is obvious. Overeat, eat food high in refined sugar, carbohydrates, empty calories, high in cholesterol and unhealthy fat. Stay away from vegetables. Don't get any exercise, drink lots of alcohol and no water. 

Now that we know the answer to our question, just do the opposite. 

Dan Miller, my mentor, brought the subject up, by asking "why are you still poor?" and also listed 27 ways to stay poor. "If you want to be poor and stay that way here's how..." and he proceeded to list them. I wont include everything here, today, but more notable among which I am guilty are:

• start tomorrow
• read books but do nothing
• blame the circumstances
• value the opinion of others more than my own
• tolerate mediocrity
• avoid working on what matters most
• do what everyone else is doing
• believe what others think about me more than what I do
• believe I'm always right

There are many more he listed but in my experience these are some that stand out. Now, I must do the opposite.

 

We Were All Playing Different Games

 It wasn't long ago when I had a gig at an uptown event with 8 other artists and as things were winding down toward the end of the evening's festivities, we all had time to stand around and chat for awhile. When 8 other artists are together and things are slow, we tend to watch how others draw who are servicing the stragglers.  I was standing next to a much younger artist while we were watching Joe, a senior artist, draw a late customer. The younger artists turned to me and said "see how he doesn't use a pencil before using the marker". 

His remark surprised me somewhat because I myself do not typically use a pencil
before I start with the marker but to this young man, it impressed him. Instead of answering him with a retort like "I do it that way" I remarked in a sort of light hearted way, "yea, I taught him how to do that". To this he snickered a little with a sort of "yea, right" attitude.

Well, it didn't bother me much at the time but as the days went on and I've had time to reflect on it I've wondered why he should have answered me that way. Why would he answer me like that?

I've given him the benefit of the doubt, for the most part, because he doesn't know me very well or for very long but the truth of the matter is, I've been drawing since before the young man was born. I've been drawing professionally probably before he could walk. I've written a book on the subject of creativity. I've held drawing instruction classes and workshops. I'm a humorous illustrator, have my own line of merchandise, I'm a producer of animated videos for web content advertising and I'm also write a blog which your now reading and oh yes, I draw caricatures.

Aside from my experience as an artist, I'm also a Marine veteran and an entrepreneur.

All the artists on that line that day are all talented or they would not have been working there but I seriously doubt they all had the personal capital equal to my own. Maybe some did, but we all are playing different games. It's only recently I've decided to turn my attention to drawing full-time but the time is long overdue for me to stop selling myself short and assert my personal capital.

Networking

It's no secret that a good network is instrumental in the success of a small business and if I were to expand my own personal network as well as my own networking skills, success would come swifter. There is no shortage of networking opportunities available and it's simply a matter of deciding which ones are worth the investment. My services are caricatures for events, web content, humorous illustrations, art instruction, writing, merchandising and more. Surely, with all that I can do some rather productive networking for meeting the needs of other business.

 

I'm Not a Procrastinator. I'm Not, I'm Not, I'm Not.

I try not to procrastinate but that which I resist will persist. So goes the quote by "no one knows".  The more I try not to procrastinate, it seems the more procrastination I do. There's no secret to the cure. Just a series of marginal changes; habit development.

Procrastination itself is a habit and in my particular life it may have developed from childhood. Many of the habits I acquired then, are holdovers as an adult which doesn't bide well with my vision of success. 

"Just start it" is the mantra which seems the more helpful.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Last week I did a gig at the Astros Fan Fest which took place inside Minute Maid Park and this week I was outside the park doing the Astros home opener Street Fest. The fact is, since I've broken my arm and have been unable to work at my window cleaning job and focusing full time on drawing, I've actually been doing quite well. Not only have I had more drawing opportunities but my drawing is improving, little by little. Covid couldn't do it. Positive thinking alone couldn't do it. Trying harder couldn't do it but a broken arm is doing it. 

 

A Thousand Mile trip Begins With One Screw Up

Process is defined in Webster's dictionary as "a natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes that lead toward a particular result".  Another way of saying it is that it's an aggregation of marginal gains which I'll discuss another day.

W. Edwards Deming was an American engineer, statistician, professor, author, lecturer and management consultant who was instrumental in the study of the Japanese post-war economic miracle which in itself is a terrific story not to be covered here but suffice it to say that in the 60's and 70's, Japanese cars were preferred over American cars in the United States allowing Japan to emerge from the ashes of war to the worlds second biggest economy. Deming contributed to the miracle and instilled the same philosophy in American car manufacturing.

Deming said: "If you can't describe what you're doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing." 

I've made no secret of the fact that because of a recent injury I've suffered my entire vocational landscape has changed. Unable to perform at what I was doing, my focus has now shifted to what is available for me to do which, ironically, is what I'm more adept at doing and is something I've been eager to do for many years. However, to make it a truly successful endeavor that I can rely on for many years to come I need to take Mr. Deming's philosophy to heart and take it very seriously otherwise my newest undertaking will end up an exercise in frustration as was my previous enterprise. 

It's Always the 10%

A video project I recently completed for Tax Solutions is a good step towards making the vision I have for BDI a reality. I need to exploit it and let plenty of others know this is what I do always remembering for every 10 prospects, only 1 may become a client. 

 

Kat Home and Garden Show

Attending the Katy Home and Garden Show this past weekend, hired by Chris Bryson, is one ingredient in the plan to have plenty of gigs to fill my time. I stress just one ingredient. The path to BDI's viability as a business in it's own right involves several avenues of income streams apart from the blue collar methods and mindset with which I've been plagued and from which I must be exorcised.   

 

From Discomfort to Disgust

I was at a job in town a few days ago, my usual detestable and laborious work, when I took a terrible slip, fell on some concrete stairs and painfully broke my arm. Aside from the terrible ordeal and pain of the injury,  then perilously driving myself to the emergency room, undergoing the distressful surgery and the tormenting recovery, it has also slowed down my newly gained momentum in my graphic web-content projects. One would typically say something like "that's terrible" or "I'm sorry for your unfortunate accident". However, now that the worst is over, I'm wondering just how unfortunate it really was.

Needless to say the accident has made it difficult to type these words and do I need to mention how arduous is the task of drawing with my working arm in a splint? My real question is why did this have to happen?

I received a call from a customer who wanted to have her windows cleaned and so, as usual, I set the appointment to offer an estimate. Something I've done countless times over the years without a thought and yet something was different this time. As soon as I put down the phone I began dreading it. I know from many years of experience and wisdom that the things we are most uncomfortable about or fear are probably the very things we need to be doing and yet this went beyond it. This was, and is, disgust. A revolting, repellant internal reaction as if my body was trying to reject a virus.

I arrived at her location non-the-less and delivered the estimate and sold the job but the problem is not solved. 

I started Dollhouse Windows as a lifeboat to deliver us from a critical situation and it's done it's job, and I am fortunate to have gone this long without other injuries but the time to disembark has passed. I'm no longer willing to risk my personal well-being for a career I never liked or care to continue. The goal of exiting DHW by this year must start not later this year but immediately which begs the question of what to do about my current appointments? It's clear to me I need to announce to these customers that I will no longer be serving them and give a firm ending date in the very near future. 

 

This aint Sunday School

I had an interesting moment with friends of mine earlier this week as we were discussing an audio book, The Four Agreements, by don Miguel Ruiz, we've agreed to listen to and chat about when I mentioned It's not something I particularly care for. They couldn't understand why I found it displeasing to my literary palate and I tried my best to answer the question, much to their dissatisfaction. In fact, I, myself, was unhappy with my inadequate attempt at explaining my feelings on the subject.  

Now that I've had time to organize my thoughts, if it ever comes up again, but mainly just to satisfy my own urge to know why I think this way, I can venture to put it to rest and join in a friendly discussion with my friends without being off-putting.

Last night I was reading a book on creative writing and chapter 9 was about the rules of writing. Rule number 2, Select the Specific and Discard the General and this, I discovered, is the best explanation which describes my feelings about The Four Agreements. 

In writing, an author is to show the reader something, not just tell them. For example, a tree is very general because there are many types of trees but to be more specific a tree can be described as an oak tree. Even within that context, one can get more specific because there are classes of oak trees such as live oaks, black oaks or post oaks. An effective author gets specific like that.

Interestingly enough, the same can be applied to drawing which I've taught in classes. Start with the general and gradually add more and more detail.

The Four Agreements is a general book. It gives few specific tactics I can use in this stage of my life and career. It is an appropriate book for someone just starting out but for my own applications there are many books I've consumed which is solid food to my needs. Books like Grit by Angela Duckworth, Late Bloomers by Rich Karlgaard, Personality isn't Permanent by Dr. Benjamin Hardy, The Now Habit by Dr. Neil Fiore and so many more.

I cant forget the enthralling biographies about people who inherently apply qualities in their life without much rumination over it. Chares Schultz, Dan Rooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vince Lombardi, Walt Disney, Franklin Roosevelt and the list goes on. 

 Out of respect to my friends and in the name of esprit de corps I will continue in the discussion but that's that.

 

I Don't Want Happiness. Just the Universe Will Do.

I've tentatively set the title of my next book as The First 4 Billion Years are the Hardest but I'm not certain of what it will consist, yet. Should it simply be a collection of gags, will they be single panels, quotes, comic style, one main character, a narrative? Whatever I finally decide upon, the bottom line is to just start it. 

I wrote in my personal journal, on many occasions, about one of my biggest weaknesses; my ability to plan and my utter lack of flair to actually do the plan. If I were to embark on a mission to change that crippling habit or trait, then the results would likely be miraculous in nature. The same conditions apply in the case of The First 4 Billion Years. I'm certain that if I begin assembling something today, then I will, without a doubt, formulate a workable, meaningful, purposeful and profitable idea.

Isn't life grand? Everyday in my endeavor to finish strong, I discover so many areas where life can be much more remarkable and yet with each new discovery I find more uncharted regions yet to be explored.

 

The Money is in the List

Upon reading 48 Days to the Work You Love, which was sent to me by my friend Dan Miller, I came across a list in chapter three on ten ways to get an education without a college degree. The list is as follows:

1. Read 12 great books
2. Attend seminars
3. Work on improving emotional intelligence
4. listen to podcasts or read blogs
5. Take courses in your area of interest
6. Reach out to help someone
7. Acquire new skills
8. Become comfortable with presentation skills
9. Design my own health and fitness program
10. Plan two trips

Five of the things from the list I can confidently say I am doing. One of them I am working on in an informal way which leaves four of them I'm not doing at all. There is obvious need for improvement based on this list.

 

Dan the Man

About three weeks ago, I sent a letter to one of my favorite podcast hosts, Dan Miller, about my situation with trying to be successful in this line of work, never really expecting any sort of an answer when to my surprise he actually read the letter on the air. He gave me some terrific props and compliments, as well as pointers on how to capitalize on my endeavors. The cartoon above is one he mentioned specifically. Anyone can do whatever they want for me but if they giggle at my one of my drawings, then that's the ultimate compliment.

 

Yes Regrets

Dan Pink is the author of The Power of Regrets where he points out the value of learning from our regrets. So often, we see in today's world, in the form of bumper stickers, t-shirts, social media etc, phrases such as " no regrets" or "no pain" and everyone's favorite "no fear", but the fact of the matter is that regrets. fears and pain in life are real for everyone and it makes us who we are. Anyone who claims to have none of these emotions are one of two things; a liar or a psychopath.

The key to coping with these emotions is not to avoid them or hide them but instead to examine and learn from them the same way an athlete would watch game film to learn how to be better next time.

In his research for the book, Pink found the great majority of regrets are not for what people have done but actually from what people haven't done. So remember that the next time you want to make a decision. 

 

I'm All About That Bass

I'm All About that Bass is a song I once heard by the Post Modern Jukebox about full bodied women and even though I'm not sure what the significance of it being in the above pen and ink sketch is, I thought of doing it anyway. Actually I may have more of a tendency to prefer more treble in music than bass but I wanted to stay faithful to the song.  

 

Many Miles to Go

There is a timeline to success. No one lives forever and as a younger man I felt I had so much time to do the right things and there was no hurry so I procrastinated. Now, not so much. The fact that I've waited and waited now leaves me with precious little time to do the things I was meant to do and now I find myself in situations that, if I had not wasted time earlier, I could utilize would be success not just for the benefit of myself but for others. I find myself playing an uphill of "catch up".

I don't know if I'm going to see the fulfillment of my idea destiny before the end but that's the very reason I must continue as though my life depends on it.

 

One Year Twenty Times

If you could go back in time and talk to yourself at twenty years of age, what would you tell yourself? This is a hypothetical game people well over 20 years of age sometimes play which is more mental blather than something anyone takes very seriously. I've seen it as a time waster on social media or sometimes as an icebreaker for a small group. I have to admit it's something on which I've pondered more seriously as I've aged but I often find the more common answers to be rote, predictable and common.

I've considered the question often enough to come up with a variant. If today, I got a visit from myself twenty years from the future, what would my future self say to me today?

I think this idea may have something to do with what Albert Einstein called a thought experiment. What would my older self tell me today? Better still, if not a little darker, if today I mysteriously visited myself on my deathbed, in the future, the last day of my life, what would the dying me say to the younger me? 

I'm considering being Santa Clause during this year's holiday season and it's prompted me to think of myself on my deathbed. Would I regret being Santa or would I be happy about not doing it? Would my old self from the future say to me "do Santa" or would my old self say "playing Santa is stupid"?

I may as well ask myself many, many more questions about taking chances, risking failure, being uncomfortable or inconvenienced for the sake of a more meaningful and purposeful life. 

Fortune favors the bold.

Shut Up and Draw is a book I wrote recently which is full of humorous art and stories about how I came to be a cartoonist. It's available on Amazon. Just click here

Do Something

As I said in yesterday's blog, doing hard things eliminates most of your competition but 95% of everybody, even if they vow to do something, change their minds in short order. It's not unlike a new year's resolution to loose 25lbs but when  it comes down to changing eating habits and exercising, most people are unwilling to put in the work. It's too hard.

 

The Secret to Good Cooking

If I do something then I've eliminated most of my competition. Most people want to write a book. Most people want to start their own business. There are many things most people want to do but never get around to it.

My father was a career fireman but it wasn't originally what he wanted to do. He regarded his job as a fireman as only temporary until he found something better but that never happened. He freely admitted it so it wasn't like he was oblivious and for that matter, most people are aware of how time slips away. A very common statement is "where did the time go".

It all comes down to the matter of displaying the behavior required to have the things for which we pray. If we have ideas, talent, a skill or any of the other ingredients it takes to make our life meaningful then what more can we ask? God isn't going to wave a magic wand and make what we want. It takes some work.

 

Setting Goals Doesn't Work...You Do

I wrote a blog post a couple of days  ago (Jan 10) about the difference between a pelican and eagle and a great way to relate it to ourselves are the goals we set and reach. Someone once said (I think it was me) "do hard things". If my objectives are too easy then I'll not accomplish much but the other side of that coin says if my aim is unrealistic and out of reach, well, again, I'll not get very far, if anywhere.

There is a caveat. No matter what my objective, if I don't implement a plan then there is no point in even setting it. There are hundreds of books, speeches and posts about setting goals but much fewer on actually putting in the work to reach said goal. 

 

Fool, Genius or Both

I've often been complimented for my drawings which isn't unusual. Even mediocre artists are often praised for there drawings. How typical it is, whether as a profession or as a hobby, artwork is verbally appreciated but when it comes down to actually supporting the artist financially by hiring him/her or buying the art itself, people generally loose their  enthusiasm. I can't count the number of times people would want me to either draw them or draw at an event only to suddenly clam up when I mention compensation.

There are also the countless times I've presented some art as a gift only to discover it was discarded or left in the junk drawer which is why, now, I rarely make a gift of my drawings. 

The challenge and the real goal, if the desire is to be a professional artist, is to sell the art, in considerable quantities or at a fair price. However, as summarized above, even though we, as proud artists, think our work is valuable, most people don't see it that way as they prefer to decorate there homes with the bland, mass produced prints sold at big box stores.

The key, whether the product is art or shoes, or furniture, or life insurance, is that we have to find qualified buyers. That's the rub, as they say. It takes the business side of our minds; not just the artistic part.

Don't be a Pelican

Several years ago I worked on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico and our job was to travel from one oil rig to another and inspect them for structural integrity. Some of the rigs were quite large with 100's of workers but a surprising number of them were small, unoccupied structures with barely enough room for one person to stand. It was on these rigs that I developed an opinion of pelicans, of all things.

Pelicans preferred those small rigs and gathered in flocks, perched at the highest point and sit there but that's not all they did. They pooped a lot. And I mean a lot, in large amounts and often. They have a diet of strictly fish so the smell of there "droppings" was quite pungent. As I would climb out of the boat onto those nasty rigs, the deck on which I walked was thick with white poop slime which made my job more difficult and unpleasant. Those birds would sit above me and look at me with what I thought was nothing more than a stupid expression. They had nothing to do. They were away from predators , they have no nests to protect so all they did was sit there, eat the occasional fish and poop.

Over the years I've come to the conclusion that I can be a pelican. If I think like a disgusting pelican, I'll be a disgusting pelican. If I think like an eagle, a majestic symbol of excellence, which soars high above, I'll be more like an eagle. It's all about habits. I can have pelican habits or eagle habits.

What can those habits be? I may very well ask what's my behavior. My habits of behavior can be defined by what TV programs I watch, what I do on the internet, my work habits or how I talk to my wife. What kind of food do I eat? How do I spend my free time? What books do I read? What music do I listen to?

With the priorities I've set for business and personally, I know Life is too short to be a stupid pelican. 

The Discomfort Zone

Performance anxiety, discomfort and all the associated malaise is a sign of growth. It's not the fake it till you make it con because in this line of work If you "fake it" people will know it.

Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you learn to do it well.

Isn't it Grand!

I'm a pretty good student of words as I've found great interest and some profit in writing to accompany the humorous art I produce, so it's no surprise that when I come across a word or phrase I'm unfamiliar with, I don't skim over it and ignore it. In most cases I will seek out it's definition and proper use and somehow work it into my repertoire if for no other reason than to become more familiar with it so I can recall it when the situation arises.

Recently, in my readings, I came across the word "climacteric" which is one that describes with a great deal of accuracy, my 60th birthday only one week ago today. The definition from Merriam-Webster's is "a major turning point or critical stage". It's often associated with a period in a male's life during his physiological and psychological change related to normal aging. 

I regard my 60th as the grand climacteric in my life as I am deeply aware that I am aging and  that my days will run out eventually, as we all will experience. I refer to 2022 as the year of decision when I go over on the offensive to finally turn things around for the sake of my legacy if nothing else.

 

Attention to Detail

This morning, I was unexpectedly put in a position to lead a regular meeting of business owners when the usual leaders were a no-show. I decided to share my recent discovery of James Clear's book Atomic Habits in which he describes a series of small habits, some of which we already do, that can be improved upon or started and can lead to disproportionately large improvements. 

This is my approach to this new year which I will likely adopt in much the same way I adopted Acceptance and Commitment Training a number of years ago. My reason is that I already have the tools and many associated habits and all I need do is put them together in aggregation, working together to make 22 a good year.

Resolutions are Overrated

I haven't made a New Year resolution since I don't know when; at least since I've become my own boss. This isn't an indictment against those who do, but it seems so superficial when the projects I was working on last month are the same ones I'm working on this month.  

Others may agree and suggest  "only set goals". Yes, goals are something I also set but aren't my goals consistent enough that l don't have to renew them once a year and then only at the beginning of the year?

Cervantes said "the road is better than the inn". If I regard the coming year as a journey with a destination which includes objectives along the way, in the form of tiny habits, atomic habits as coined by James Clear, designed to alter my behavior for the long term, them the result is bound to be positive.