Being Artfully Frustrated

There are times where I find myself utterly passionate about my work, my art, to the point where I’m frustrated to no end. Why can’t it be this way? Isn’t it obvious. Yet I push on, refine, and labor to birth that vision into the world. Bit by bit.

In order to whittle down an experience to the essential it must be beat with “the simple stick” as described in Ken Segall’s Insanely Simple. Anyone who cares about “the work” and acts on upon that care is performing a work of art.

“The magic of Steve Jobs wasn’t being right. It was being sure.” – Seth Godin, The Icarus Deception

Tim Cook said of Steve Jobs, “He would flip on something so fast that you would forget that he was the one taking the 180 [degree], polar position on it the day before,” onstage at the D10 conference interview. “It was an art; he would never know that he fought the opposite. I saw it daily.” ( Source video. )

Create Art, Happiness Follows

When reading Stumbling on Happiness, by Dan Gilbert, while waiting on the bus, the thought hit me:

If you seek happiness, you’ll find despair.
If you chase after money, it will never show up.
If you obsess to be successful, life will be average.
If searching for your true love, loneliness is found.

For some reason, universally, the things that we chase the most are often what eludes us. We seek the end result of the effort, not the underlining motivator. “To make a million dollars” is a bad reason to start a business. There is no focus and you will spin in a thousand directions to make money. “To make the best socks on the planet” is a perfect reason. Create it, refine it, find your audience and the money will take care of itself.

Minimal Journaling

Lists are great. They can be used for a wide variety of purposes. This year, I decided to create a list of notable experiences that have occurred.

Have been keeping track since February. I only write what is new or noteworthy to me. Often we get so busy with life we forget that the little things add up.

Branding You

Glut of Media

We live in a time of a hyper influx of information. There is only so much we can consume on a daily basis. Part of that reality requires us to be able to process interactions accordingly.

With the advent of social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest, and Email ( yes ), we are bombarded with a constant stream of information.