Another One Down

My latest “SOP” Project is finally finished! For the past few weeks I’ve stolen a moment here and a few moments there while at work and in my home office late at night to work on my most recently finished “Training Wheels” story. This one (the longest one so far) is called ‘The Stilt Garage,’ a strange title, no doubt, until you’ve read the story. I debuted it officially the other night to my two daughters at bed time and was impressed (and a little surprised) at how much of it my 6-year-old understood. As she always does at the end, she eagerly repeated to me what she had understood to be the underlying plot, moral, and varying details of this new story. My 4-year-old, on the other hand, had fallen asleep during the reading. Nice. Ah, well….she is only 4.

I’ve already got an idea for the next two stories that I’ll be writing soon. In the meantime, as they develop, I think maybe I’ll start illustrating my first one now that I have several stories finished. Believe it or not, I think illustrating them will be the hard part for me – fun - but a bit of a challenge. I’ve flirted with the idea of hiring another artist to illustrate them simple to have them get done sooner. I’ve enjoyed writing them so much that illustrating them has seemed almost a chore. Last night, however, while discussing this point with my better half, I was reminded about dumb I would feel having a series of books on the market who’s cover said, “Written by Ty Harmon and illustrated by Mr. Some Other Dude.” A good point. She’s totally right. No matter how long it takes me to illustrate them, I NEED to be the one do it.

The Amazing Glennardo!

I just got off the phone with my kid-brother Glenn, who just happens to be one of my very favorite people. I look up to him a lot. He’s shown a lot of ambition in the last few years in chasing his dreams to become a big time animation artist, and this week, all his work has finally paid off! He just told me that he’s moving to L.A. to take a job as a Story Artist with Sony Pictures!!! I’m SOOO excited for him!!! Selfishly, I’m secretly excited, too, because he’ll only be 4 hours away from me now! Just a few days ago he was on the verge of accepting an offer to work for Blue Sky Animation in New York. That would have AWESOME for him, and really hard for us. L.A. will prove to be a GREAT opportunity for him too! Here is a link to a site that shows some of the TYPES of things he'll be working on. Oh, and did I mention that I taught him everything he knows about art??? (pshhhh, right. I wish....)

Congratulations Glenn!!!

Keeping the Bunny Energized

I’ve always been a very up-and-down kind of guy. I’m the type of person who wears his emotions on his sleeve for the entire world to see ALL the time. I have a really hard time concealing it. The change in my continence is not only obvious, but often. I’m like a roller coaster… up, down, up down, up, down… If I’m feeling disappointed or depressed, it’s obvious from my deflated posture and sullen facial expressions. When I’m successful or excited, there’s a noticeable spring in my step, a grin splitting my face in half and a palpable energy around me. I can barely contain myself with the need to share my glee! Mad, nervous, stressed, frustrated, confused… it’s all the same. Obvious, and…. up, down, up, down, up down. My face is like a billboard exclaiming to all passers by how my day is going. I don’t do any of this intentionally. I’m not sure how to NOT do it. Conversely, and inconceivably, I have friends who, upon winning the lottery, would react as though they had just heard the beep of a microwave telling them that their hot pocket lunch is ready. “Oh, that’s good.” That's it?? That kind of temperment and mentality baffles me to no end. No passion, no exageration, no zeal...

I’m also a very idea-infatuated person. I’ve got more ideas bouncing around in my little head than Las Vegas has hotel rooms! Some of them are even good ideas. With all of this neural activity, one tends to shift from inspiration to ambitition, then distraction, deflation, and finally frustration… all in short succession.

I’m no Energizer Bunny! The constant mixing of all that brain traffic and roller coaster mood-swinging can be exhausting. And being this way, my ABs (Ambition Batteries) often require recharging. Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. I agree. And I’ve not only discovered the necessity to recharge my ambition batteries, but I’ve also invented several methods to do it. These work for me anyway…

Discover what inspires you, and inspire yourself with it regularly: For me, this means audio books, success stories on YouTube, and casual drives through rich neighborhoods. Although I’m always looking for new ones, I listen to the same 2 audio books over and over and over again. Each time, I get something totally new from them and ALWAYS a charge to my “ABs!” I love watching clips from interviews and documentaries on YouTube about successful people. There’s just something very inspiring about see “how they did it.” I love driving through neighborhoods of the wealthy. I like to see their lavish yards, fancy cars and amazing houses. It helps me to remember what’s possible with hard work, creativity, and innovative thinking.

Surround yourself with like-minded “birds of a feather”: You don’t play in the mud with pigs without getting dirty, and you don’t surround yourself with smokers without eventually smelling like one. The same can be said about cleanliness, education and success. Becoming what you want to be can be greatly accelerated by associating with those who are already living it.

Keep your eye on the prize through lists: Achieving many little goals leads to achieve the big ones. Slow-going or not, a step in the right direction every day will eventually result in arriving at the desired destination. I’m a total list-maker. Every day I create a new list, check things off when they’re done, and then start over again the next day. Writing things down not only frees up my mind for more active brain traffic, but it also helps me sleep more soundly, feel more accomplished, actually achieve more goals, and, in the end, keep my “ABs” charged.

Simple Words of Wisdom

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic and power in it. Begin it now.”

~ W. H. Murray

Most Recent Logo Design

I just finished this logo design for a company in California called "House of Chocolate."

I've been told that the difference between a customer and a client is "repeat business." Most of the logo design work I do is for one-timers. Not too many people need more than one logo design unless they're ambitious enough to have more than one business venture going on. Consiquently, I typically don't hear back from my customers after finishing their logo designs. Every once in a while, though, I'll get an extra ambitious customer who, after having worked with me before and loving what we came up with, will commission me for another project, thus officially becoming one of my "clients." I love these business relationships. Typically all that is required are the details of the new design and we're off and running.

This logo was done for a "Client." This particular client was a delight to work with. She didn't even contact me to let me know she needed a new logo in an email. Instead, I suddenly had a 50% deposit arrive in my Paypal account with a little note from her saying that she need another design. What a lovely surprise! Wish all my business dealings could be so easy. Thanks House of Chocolate! Mmmmm... Kind of makes your mouth water, doesn't it?

"Training Wheels" #5

Well, today was a holiday (Labor Day) and I used my free time to write. Knowing how important my creative time is to me, my wife was kind enough to "allow" me to hide in my office for a large part of the day. Eventually I came out long enough to get some "extra Saturday" work done in the garage, but by then I had already had my fill of being creative.

I finally finished writing my 5th "Training Wheels" children's story today! I've been working on this one for a while, and I'm really happy with it. It's called "The Tree-Man's Trade." I tested it out tonight on my two little daughters for their bedtime story tonight. They were entertained, and that is all I could ask for. My oldest, being my biggest fan, paid extra close attention to the story, and when it was finished, told me that she was very proud of me for writing such a great story. What a good kid.

Now I've got to get these first 5 stories illustrated and find myself a good literary agent. Not sure what that's going to run me, but I'm assuming it won't be cheep. I'm going to start my 6th title tomorrow. I've already got a lot of ideas for it.

Latest Word Tangle

The Theory of Mediocrity

There's a funny (and I use the word "funny" very loosely here) relationship between most bosses and their employees. It's been said that the word "JOB" is an acronym for Just Over Broke. This would fit right into my perspective on employment. The way I figure it, employees work just hard enough to not get fired, and employers pay just enough to keep their employees from quitting. It’s a horrible tug-of-war between two parties who have only themselves at heart and only mediocrity in mind.

Quote for the day:

"Sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn."

- Robert T. Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad)

Casual Friday

Reason #476 to not work for someone else;

Office “Equality” (Psshhhh….right!)

Like every Friday morning, I started out the workday in a good mood. Not only is it Friday, but “casual Friday.” Every Friday is casual Friday at my office. Like many offices, though, the word “casual” is used quite… well, casually. All it really means is that you’re allowed to wear jeans instead of slacks, a t-shirt instead of a dress shirt, and, if you’re feeling really lazy (which I always am on Friday mornings) a hat. So, this morning, I’m wearing one of my many Hard Rock Café hats, as usual.

When I got to the office, I noticed that everyone else had dawned their “Friday-best” as well. “Ace” had his t-shirt, jeans and hat on to match his funky shoes (the guys got more shoes than most women!), “Hyena” (don’t judge me…every office has its cackler…) was wearing her khaki capris, “Dung” was wearing his jeans…wait…go back. Hyena was wearing capris? Ugh… No, this wasn’t the first time, by any means, but today it got to me for some reason. Those nasty, pudgy, pale, white legs… for only showing about 6 inches length of skin per limb, they’re pretty gross. My mood soured a bit.

I must have been in a trance, because I didn’t even here my supervisor approach. Suddenly he was just standing next to me with my paycheck in hand. “And how’s Ty doin’ today?,” It fell out of his mouth almost like an involuntary reaction to seeing me. He says it that way verbatim every single day. I wonder if he even knows he's doing it? I always want to look around the immediate vicinity, and say back, “Oh, are you talking TO me? Why don’t you ask Ty directly and maybe Ty will tell you.”

“Fine, thanks, how are you?” This was my actual reply.

I’m usually pretty tame at work. I don’t talk a whole lot, though I am a bit of a jokester. I work well with others and I blend into the productivity model well. I always have good marks in my reviews. So, as I stared at Hyena’s capris, it surprised even me when out of my mouth came the words, “So, what exactly is the difference between capris and shorts?”

My supervisor, “Poptart” was a bit taken back. Of course I don’t call him Poptart to his face. Ace and I call him that because he always seems to pop up whenever we’re off-task or chit-chatting. He followed my gaze to Hyena, looked back at me, and replied. “Capris hang below the knees.”

“That’s it?” I snapped. “So if I were to wear shorts that hang below the knees, that would be fine?”

“No, shorts are not allowed.” He said.

I knew this, and I knew he knew I knew it. This seemed like a technicality, though, and a matter of work-place semantics. Seeing Hyena in capris had totally changed my mood because it reminded me of something that has bugged me ever since I started working here. Other co-workers had been breaking the company’s dress code long before this incident, but I’d always just ignored it before. Today, for some reason, I had to say something.

“Why is it that business casual is different for women than it is for men?” I said semi-sarcastically. When no reply came quickly I went on. “This office is full of women who where spaghetti strap tank-tops, capris, low-cut blouses, short shorts, open-toe shoes, and even outfit-matching hats on a regular basis! And that’s not even on casual Friday! Why can’t a man wear shorts or flip flops on casual Fridays?”

“Ugh…” sputtered Poptart.

“If you say it’s because I’m a man, you’d better be careful, because THAT is sexual discrimination.”

I pulled out the employee dress-code book and looked up the details of casual Friday and read them aloud. I tried to keep my voice light and jokey, but didn’t want to compromise the legitimacy of my point. No names were mentioned in my descriptions of the office's eye-sores, but many generalities were made. In the end, my supervisor jokingly threatened to put us all in uniforms. I told him that was a GREAT idea, as long as all of us had to do it.

After all, men and women are equals now, right? Isn't that what they've been fighting for all these years; the right to be treated equally in the workplace??

Psshhh… Yeah, right.

Recent Logo

I just finished a logo design for yet another gift basket business. Usually women, the owners of these gift basket businesses are always a delight to work for. Then again, creating logos for any business is usually a good gig. If you think about it, anyone who needs a logo is probably starting a NEW business, and if you're starting a new business, you're probably excited about it.

Hence, 99% of all my logo clients are excited and a joy to work with! Gotta love that! Not to mention, my logo work becomes my own employee in disguise. I send my work out there and people see it. The owner of the new logo is proud of their logo and they show it off with enthusiasm. They WANT people to see it and WANT to talk about it when asked about it. There rarely any need for me to advertise beyond that. After all, it's true what they say; word of mouth really is the best form of marketing.

Quote of the day:

"Show me your friends, and I'll show you your future."

- Unknown

Amor

Last night I finished the design of the "Amor" word tangle at the request of someone who had been browsing my Etsy storefront. His request was actually for the word "Amore" (notice the "e" at the end), which is Italian. So, I decided to create two versions of this tangle reasoning that the Spanish version (with no "e") would probably also be valuable as a finished tangle. So, I've got two new word tangles... sort of.

My first official S.O.P. project

So, after weighing my options over the weekend, I carefully narrowed down my list of ideas, and have decided that my first S.O.P. (Succeed On Purpose) project ought to be children’s books. Of all my ideas, this seems to be the one that I have the most control over. Control, in this case, translates into a higher probability of success simply because there are fewer outside factors to inhibit me. I’m only dealing with my time, my talent, my motivation. I’ve always enjoyed writing, and illustrating comes naturally to me. I’ve already written several things that will all go into this project.

Happy with my new focus, I told my wife on Friday night about my S.O.P. strategy. She thought it was good too, until she heard which of my ideas I had settled on to start with. She’s never shared my vision for this one, and that’s okay. Don’t get me wrong, she thinks I’m a good writer and artist, but she thinks the particular project I’ve decided on isn’t the most promising. Let me explain.

As a big ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ fan, I realized some years ago that there is a virtually un-tapped market out there waiting for someone to dive into. It’s the rich (or soon-to-be rich) kids, the smart kids, and kids with proactive parents and anyone else who just wants to start educating…well, sooner. I believe kids are much smarter and capable than we give them credit for. I think kids now days are brighter, and that their general learning curves are shorter than ever before. I think they’re capable of learning things earlier than we actively teach them. Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad” started teaching him as a young boy to be financially literate. He started early and on purpose, and he kept things simple at first. The resulting foundation that was built was sturdy and has far exceeded mere endurance.

Accordingly, my idea is to create a series of books based on the principles and concepts that we, sponges of information, don’t typically learn until a little later on. I think many things are not learned earlier simply because they’re not taught any earlier. But kids pick up on much more of what they’re exposed to than just what they’re actually taught. For instance, how many kids sense marital tensions between their parents and figure out there’s a problem? How many parents discover that the “code” they’ve been using (be it Pig-Latin, sign or just spelling things out) to keep their kids in the dark hasn’t worked for months, and all of a sudden, Junior knows there’s no Easter Bunny? My own six-year-old, who hasn’t even started 1st grade yet, is already sending me text messages on my wife’s phone and building a miniature empire in the online world of Webkins for heaven’s sake!

I told "K" that my idea is to create these books to introduce young kids to principles (which they will eventually learn anyway) through rhymes and fables. Will they understand the principles immediately when reading the rhymes and fables? Not likely. Does that even matter? Not at all. How many kids understand the lesson behind “Oh, The places you’ll go” by Dr. Seuss? The POINT is to entertain them, like any other book. If the underlying message is perceived at all, it’ll be merely to introduce them to the principles…perhaps only via osmosis. I’ve always believed that when it comes to children’s books, you sell the words to the parents and you sell the illustrations to the kids. Eventually, though, the words will sink in. Entertain them now with illustrations and clever rhymes and perhaps someday, while in an elementary or middle school class learning about some fundamental principle, they just might look BACK at these childhood stories and say something like, “Oh, hey, this is just like the story of the….” The trick here is to keep things simple, and not to give in to the temptation to over explain or complicate. Teach just the principles.

The types of books "K" would like to see me writing and illustrating are the kind of books that have withstood the test of time and sales. They’re the type that focus more on morals, values, attributes, and personal character. While I can appreciate her perspective as a mother and consumer, and certainly her sense of “what already works and sells”, I also feel like that defeats my whole novel idea; the idea that kids are capable of handling more complex principles. Both of these perspectives are useful, but only one is novel. Anyone can write about the ABC’s or the 123’s. Anyone can write about opposites or colors. Anyone can create characters and wrap them in a cute story that teaches bravery, honesty or helpfulness. But that’s been done…over and over and over again. I want to tackle the challenge of simplifying general priciples for KIDS! Not everyone can do that.

In the end, I think there’s a very good chance that "K" will be right. I think my idea will be a tough sell. But, it’ll either sell or it won’t. Those are the only two outcomes. I’ll never know if I don’t try, and I’ll always regret it if I opt to conform. I like the idea, so I’m going to go for it. This project will be much more interesting to me than writing something that will ultimately become camouflaged in the sea of conventional children’s books.

Succeed on Purpose

For the last few days, I’ve been doing a lot of research on JK Rowling. Internet searches have led me through pod casts (or “Potter Casts” as they’re called in the Harry Potter world), videos, interviews, documentaries, statistics, and images. I’m VERY interested in her, first as a writer of my favorite science fiction book series, and second as a person who has achieved phenomenal success just by doing what she loves. She’s very realistic and humble about her success. Like that.

My existing deep interest in JKR has been super-heightened over the past few days after a conversation I had with my mom and wife while the former was in town visiting this last weekend. I was discussing with them both how much I enjoyed the HP books (I’ve been listening to Jim Dale’s audio reading of ‘The Deathly Hallows” at work), and how much talent she has when, all of a sudden, my wife blurted out how creative I am. I was a bit taken back. She mentioned to my mom about a book idea I had described to her years ago. This particular idea has always been severely underdeveloped, but she (evidently) thought the idea had real potential even back when I had first mentioned it to her. Until this conversation, though, I’d never known her enthusiasm for the concept. I was flattered, to say the least. She's always been supportive of my aspirations, but never this openly interested about any of them, besides maybe LittleLDS.

Anyway, after discarding my humility about the idea, I finally consented to explain the little detail I did have formulated for the book idea. My mom seemed to think it was an interesting idea too. Both of them suggested that day that I ought to explore, even if only for fun, the option of actually fully developing and writing a book. I laughed but admittedly began working it out in my head.

I’ve been toying with the logistics writing a book for the last week or so. This is why my interest in JKR has intensified so much. I’ve been hypothesizing, fantasizing, and even daydreaming of the idea ever since. I’ve fleshed out a few solid ideas, but haven’t committed myself to the idea fully. Like always.

Like always… Hhhh…

This morning, this really started eating at me. The fact that, “like always” I’ve not fully committed myself to the idea. If I’m truthful with myself, I’ve never really fully committed myself to ANY idea. I’ve played with ideas before, and even made seemingly good strides in the development of some of my ideas. But, where my ideas are concerned, LittleLDS, I think, has been my single greatest achievement. Writing it out even now, though, seems almost pathetic. Nothing substantial has ever come of that idea. Granted, as ideas go, it’s gotten much farther than any other. It’s gone from concept to actual sellable product. That’s something, right? I mean, it’s given me a small taste of what it’s like to actually DO it. But even with all the tradeshows, marketing ploys, and commercial networking attempts, it’s still gone nowhere. Very few people even know it exists. It’s generated a negative net value overall and hasn’t got any foreseeable future without serious effort. I’m not above effort…Even I know that’s just due process, but I am a realist. It’s probably not ever going to go much further than this.

After watching dozens of videos on my favorite entrepreneurs and role models, I’ve been given a renewed perspective that I can appreciate. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from any successful person I’ve ever really admired, it is that they didn’t give up. They had an idea and WENT for it. They saw it through to completion. The scale of their success may have been unforeseen, but their disire to accomplish their goals were pre-determined and absolute.

Now, because I don’t know any of these successful giants personally, I don’t know how really focused there were during their respective journeys toward success. For all I know, they were all as scattered as I feel with my many ambitious ideas. I doubt it, but it’s possible. As I’ve reflected on this point today, however, I’ve realized that I really need to add purpose and focus to my effort. I need to CHOOSE just ONE thing I believe in and go for it. I’ve done that once – with LittleLDS – and though it wasn’t the raving success I envisioned, I am VERY proud of having done it. It feels good to have one under my belt. I still feel very satisfied whenever the planets align just right and I actually do get that one single sale each year. What really matters is that my idea…this ONE concept, was nothing more than a thought before I did something with it. LittleLDS exists because I pulled it out of my head and did something.

So here’s my NEW resolution: to succeed on purpose. This means to DECIDE in advance what I want to achieve, PLAN how I want to work it out, and then DOING what I’ve set out to do. To this end, I’ll do three things each day. First, I’ll review my goal and recharge my motivational drive, then I’ll take action toward achieving that goal with a reachable milestone for that day, and finally, I’ll document my progress and then begin again. If I step forward every day, even if each of my steps are miniscule, tomorrow will always find me closer to my successes than yesterday did.

Because I have so many ideas, the most important thing for ME will probably be to prioritize first. I need to look at all my ideas, and decide which ones are realistically achievable, and which ones are more likely just pipe dreams.

Then I need to decide which of my achievable goals I can do without the assistance of others. I know this probably doesn’t sound smart, but it seems like every time I try to achieve a goal that depends on the time, talents or motivation of someone else I fail. So, for me, I need to narrow down my ideas to just ones that can be worked out alone. I alone can control my time. I alone will motivate my actions, and I alone have full access to my talents. Therefore, I need to focus on an idea that involves only me.

Next, I need to decide which of these few ideas, have the greatest potential when finished. Which have the greatest chance to catch someone’s eye, open someone’s wallet, or ultimately close the deal? Which one has the greatest leverage with respect to my invested time & talent vs. a profit margin?

Finally, I need to decide HOW I want to bring the idea to completion. I need to create a completion schedule with waypoints, dates, and contingencies plans.

I begin today.

Shifts

Let’s face it, mankind is selfish by nature. “What’s in it for me” has been the underlying theme of humanity since its conception. However, through the ages, the evolution of technology has required us to modify the way we answer this self-indulging question. Up until the Iron Age, mankind spend most of it’s time hunting and gathering. Little thought was given to preservation or material accumulation because most of their effort was spent on basic survival. Civilizations, tribes and individuals struggled with the elements of nature, diseases & illnesses, hunger, and the trials migration. Power was exhibited mostly through physical force, and leadership was mostly determined by strength and cunning.

Through the Iron Age, men began thinking differently. There was a shift. We settled, built and traded. Trade necessitated currency, and agriculture obliged the accumulation of land. The power rested with those who had amassed most of it. Although land became the new measure of wealth, it still needed to be worked manually. Crops needed to be planted, harvested and sold. Work ethics were strong, but life expectancy was low.

There was another shift in our way of thinking, and the Industrial Age brought with it some alternatives to hard labor. Invention, manufacturing and interchangeable parts became the solution for many agricultural problems. However, the ability to facilitate hard work with less physical effort began to build an entire economy of its own. Soon, the production, maintenance and replacement of machines and their parts became its own independent industry. Big businesses wielded most of the power. Men slowly started replacing themselves in the work place with smarter computers, faster machines, smaller gadgets, and more efficient systems.

In an effort to stay competitive, another shift was inevitable. We now find ourselves in the rush of the Information Age, where the world is shrinking. Whole nations are being swallowed up overnight by other nations through business deals instead of warfare. Local and national economies are weakening under the weight of a looming global economy. With virtually everything at our finger tips, and with the advent of the internet, information and ideas are the new currencies of mankind. The power lies with the clever and the creative. Anyone with a good idea can compete. Coins and paper money rarely exchanging hands anymore. These days, transactions are made with electronic credit exchanges. The digits in one account decrease while another’s digits increase. In today’s world, mankind still hunts and gathers. The difference is that, now, we hunt for profits, thrills, and shortcuts while we gather weight, debt, and storage.

I’ve made a few key observations and followed them through a bit as they relate to me. It seems that everyone and their dog has their own business. I think this is due to two things. First people are more gutsy and creative than ever before. Second, prices of everything are sky rocketing because the US dollar is collapsing, and income isn’t keeping pace. Most families have been almost forced into either 2 income situations or starting their own “side businesses.” I’m no exception, though my motives are mostly creative. I can see where the future is headed too. Social security won’t exist when I retire, and no one works for a pension anymore. No one in my generation even works for one company for more than 5 years anymore for that matter. Investing in stocks, bonds and mutual funds is a gamble if you’re not an economics major. I’ve experienced by own shift in thought. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em."

I’ve examined my own business methods, services and products and have concluded that I don’t need to produce more, or work any harder. What I need to do is to work smarter. Over the past few weeks, my Word Designs have begun evolving a bit themselves. The more of them I do, the more elegant and symmetrical they get. For nearly a decade now, I’ve been designing these custom designs for friends, family and the occasional friend of a friend, or visitor to my website. Until recently, my designs have always been custom orders. Folks contact me, give me the names or words they would like to see in the design and I fill the order. Although I’ll always do the custom designs (because I love doing them), I’ve started to think a bit more…well, intelligently.

I’ve noticed that many people love Chinese and Japanese characters. They love them for their artistic appeal as well as for the words or mantras they represent. I see my designs as the English equivalent to these characters. Artistic and symbolic. So, what I’ve stared doing is utilizing my unique style to create pre-made designs that can be sold over and over again. I’ve stared designing around words such as Love, Honor, Family, Peace, and Friendship. These are all words that most everyone can identify with in some way. Combine these with my custom (but reproducible) mat and frames, and I just might have something. Design once, and sell over and over. Work less…make more.

Slugs, Crabs and Ants

Anyone who knows me really well knows that I’ve got more ideas than I know what to do with. Sometimes I share them, but hardly ever make a very big deal about them. Although I have a few successes under my belt, the vast majority of my ideas are back-burner projects. Still, I always write them down in my "Brain Vomit" book for safe keeping. That book, however, as its name might imply, really isn’t meant to be shown off. It is just a collection of randomly archived ideas that I don’t want to forget altogether. Sleeping seems easier when I don’t have a ton of ideas hovering over me at night.

Besides the obvious archival purpose, one of the reasons I keep this book is to put my ideas through the test of time. It’s been said that one way to know whether an idea is good or bad is to sit on it for a little while. Let it roll around in your mind and simmer a bit. If the idea you have still seems good after a few days or weeks after its initial conception, it just might have some merit. Recently, as I was reading through Brain Vomit, it occurred to me that I’ve got quite a few ideas accumulated that still seem very good to me…some, even after YEARS of sitting.

I’m not the only one sitting on potential success. Many of us have hidden and undeveloped talents, lofty aspirations, or just simply great ideas that we do nothing about. While there are a myriad of reasons, one reason in particular is very interesting to me. It has a lot to do with the company we keep. Now don’t get me wrong, you might be surrounded by great people, but consider this. We’ve all heard the sayings "You are what you eat," or "Birds of a feather flock together," or "It takes one to know one." Are these just sayings, or is there some truth to them? Personally, I couldn’t agree more with all of them. Figuratively speaking, I think you ARE what you eat. Or, put another way, I think you will become what you study, fantasize about, or immerse yourself in. I believe that if you want to become a great musician, your chances are GREATLY improved by seeking out the best instructors of music and listening to the types of music that inspire you. I think the opposite is also true; that if you want to become, say, a neurologist, hanging out with a bunch of deadbeat high school drop-outs will surely decrease your odds for success in THAT goal.

Birds of a feather do, in fact, flock together. The well-known maxim is really just a clever way of stating the obvious. For example, motivated achievers tend to seek out others who will push them towards their goals. They do this, naturally, to improve their chances of success. One might call it natural social selection. It may not even be a conscious effort. They often just click better with those with whom they share common personality traits and interests. In my opinion, there are 3 kinds of people when it comes to ambition.

First, there are slugs. Slugs are slothful and generally indifferent to they’re surroundings. They are apathetic. Theirs is the "don’t bother me, and I won’t bother you…," mentality. They don’t do much more than litter their path with a slimy residue of mess, and they’re very sensitive. For many people, just the word slug conjures a mental picture of "eeeww." As the very epitome of laziness, they even have their very own adjective…”sluggish.” The people who I put into this category are the ones who either ride on the coat tails of others, or go through life offering nothing of substance for one reason or another. They prefer not to act, but to be acted upon. Some are shy, some are incapable, but most are just lethargic and irresponsible. Ironically, many are easily offended when accused of being lazy or free-loading, and retaliate by "working hard" on winning frivolous lawsuits and seeking welfare checks.

Second, and most common, are the crabs. Almost everyone knows that once you’ve successfully captured a few of them, you don’t really need a lid on the bucket or hole you’ve dropped them into. Crabs won’t let each other escape. Once one of them begins climbing towards freedom, the others will pull it right back down. Is it an act jealousy? Fear of abandonment? Is it selfishness? Or perhaps it’s just stupidity. Who knows? But it does teach a good lesson. Most of us are not only stuck in a bucket of mediocrity, but we’re also surrounded by “crabs” that won’t let us leave. Unlike slugs, crabs are not lazy. Oh, they’re busy alright. They’re so busy criticizing your efforts that they totally discontinue any of their own. Sure, they say they want you to succeed, but their actions indicate otherwise. Although their discouragement is usually not even intentional, wishing you success is really just lip service when commiseration is the underlying intention. Misery really does love company…and just to be clear, so does laziness, despair, selfishness, insecurity, and jealousy. When we begin to succeed, the crabs around us naturally come out in droves and act on instinct. "How dare you achieve your goals when I have not achieved my own?" Of course they don’t say that…but they do feel it, and they will try to pull you back into the bucket of inaction. "Let’s watch TV." "How about we grab a bite and then catch a movie?" "Let’s just hang out and play some games." Watch out!!

Finally, there are ants. Now ants know how to make things happen. They’re among the most ambitious and resourceful creatures in nature. They’re virtually impervious to distraction or fatigue. If you’ve ever dropped an object in the path of an ant trail you know what I’m talking about. They acknowledge the obstacle, and then immediately begin searching feverishly for ways to overcome the obstruction by reconstructing a new path of progress. Ants are notorious for taking on projects that are many times bigger than they are. They’re amazing enough individually, and still, they opt to synergize their strengths through a network of their equals. There are very few people that fit into the "ant" classification. These people are usually the millionaires and billionaires. They’re they ones who can make a come back after losing everything because they’ve got that ant-like trait of unyielding ambition.

There comes a time when you need to evaluate your own performance. Actually, to maintain a balanced life, this evaluation should happen regularly. The result of these evaluations can either cause discouragement and cessation of effort, or inspiration enough to ignite the spark of change for something better. Success and failure can both be objects placed in our path of progress. Both have the potential to encourage and discourage. We all have the ability to take on projects that are many times bigger than we are. The trick is to mimic the ant while avoiding the crabs and slugs.

Quote for the day:

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Liked, Right, Comfortable, or Triumphant?

The other day I was listening to a conference put on by one of my roll models, Robert Kiyosaki, and heard him say something very interesting. He said that he felt the world was made up of four kinds of needs. The needs are the need to be right, the need to be liked, the need to win, and the need to be comfortable. His opinion was that we all have these needs in varying degrees, but that some of us have a heightened or extra measure of one or two of these needs.

I have to agree with him to a certain extent, and would add that, in my opinion, many career paths tend to attract individuals with these same magnified needs in a very categorical way. For instance, I think it would be pretty safe to say that individuals with a strong or abundant need to be right end up pursuing careers in law such as attorneys, judges, politicians, and police officers. People with a pronounced need to win might include entrepreneurs, salesmen, professional athletes, professional military, doctors, and high executive positions. Those with a need to be comfortable might include engineers, designers, authors, and decorators. And those with an acute need to be liked might include those in the arts - such as actors and painters, cooks, and those in service industries.

Most of us have all of these needs in varying amounts and most of them, I would hypothesize; become more emphasized at different stages of our lives. I think that early in our lives, we tend to need to be liked more than at any other time of life. We strive for attention from family and then friends. As we enter school, sports and careers, we might shift our focus more towards our need to win, striving for grades, accomplishments and positions. As we develop and improve through our careers, we specialize and become experts in our crafts which might increase the need to be right. Perhaps, more often to validate or justify our career choices, than anything else. Then as we begin to age and retire, we might feel an increase in our need to be more comfortable. We reduce our subjection to risk, we increase our pursuit of fulfillment though hobbies, family engagement, and we certainly seek the relief of age-inducing ailments.

So, why am I writing about this? The world takes all types, as they say, and well, after thinking about it I'm trying to find where I fit within these categories. As an aspiring entrepreneur, am I a seeker of victory? As a husband and father, do I pursue the luxuries of comfort? As the clown of my family, am I driven by a proclivity for admiration? Or as a lover of information, am I motivated by a hunger to be the one with all the answers?

What needs are most prevalent in you?

Quote for the day

True freedom, when given the choice between "Option A" and "Option B", is choosing to create "Option C."

- Robert Gruden