Monday Perspective

Early Saturday morning, I’m sitting in my favorite chair staring out the window. I felt relaxed enjoying the shining sun and the beautiful blue sky. I contemplated what I would do with the rest of the day and it hit me. I hadn’t completed my Weekend Fun assignment. If you remember from Friday, the assignment was to take a picture of something from an unusual or non-traditional angle and see how it changes your perspective on that subject. So I quickly grabbed my camera and started shooting everything in sight. I first started with a pencil. I took low angle, high angle, oblique, side, front and back angle shots; all trying to capture the image of a pencil from a distinct yet unusual view. It didn’t work. First thing I learned was that my camera lens is not designed for close ups and far away shots of something so small as a pencil lose a certain centering. So I put the pencil away and continued on.

The first subject I found that produced an interesting shot is below. Can you guess is in this picture? They’re very old, very beat up golf clubs. It’s obvious from this shot I think. 

This next shot is also obvious but the result speaks for itself. Looking down on the door knob, the view seems strange but familiar. 

These next two are my favorites. I shot this with the candle sitting on the toilet tank. These angles make me feel as if the light is suspended in an unnatural way. And like a moth, I find myself drawn to the flame in each picture, wanting to stare at them for a while. Maybe it’s the orange light off the wall, or how bright the flame is. 

This last one is just an off angle shot of a painting I have in my hallway. I’ve always found it kind of strange seeing photographs of paintings. I guess it seems redundant to me. Anyway, I like the odd shapes and colors of this painting. 

So, what did I learn from this little experiment? Well, for one thing, I learned using strange angles to take pictures hardly ever produces quality shots. These five shots are a fraction of the forty or so I actually took. I’ll be the first to admit they aren’t super incredible. However, taking time with each shot, I learned that you can really present something mundane or common in a much fresher perspective if you keep trying. The more I look at the candle shots the more I like them. Did you try the experiment? What do you think?

Thanks for reading. 

Questions and comments are welcome. 

Weekend Fun #1

I was thinking that this weekend we could try something a little different. So here is the assignment, if you're adventurous enough to try. 

Take a few pictures of something, the twist is that you must take the pictures from unusual, non-traditional, and/or obscure angles. The goal here is to change your perspective on one simple thing. 

I'll post my pics on Monday with my thoughts. If you're daring enough to share, you can post your pictures and thoughts too. 

See you Monday!

Thanks for reading.

Questions and comments are welcome!

Committing to the Dream

There’s an old cliché that says “Dreams really do come true”. And if you talk to some of the people closest to me, they’ll tell you they hate it when I use clichés and generalities. I understand why they say such things, but in this case the cliché works to touch off a discussion about an issue I have been thinking about for quite some time. My thought is simple: What does it take to make a dream come true? Let me first start off by telling you that I don’t have the definitive answer to that question for you. The details of each dream dictate the course of action necessary for success and if I knew how to make every one come true, I’d be rich, famous, powerful, and living the easy life on a tropical island paradise.

Okay, so I don’t have minute specifics for you but I think I can come up with a few basics. Knowing what you really want, having a plan, a support structure, and effective guidance all sound like good elements to include in your master plan. Sprinkle in determination, persistence, resolve, and of course commitment… Oh that word Commitment. It’s the bane of many a person’s existence; the fear of it, talking about it, actually doing it. It’s enough to make any boyfriend go running for the hills (oops, I’ve fallen into a cliché again). Really though, committing to the dream is at the top of the list of things required to making a dream come true. But why?

I’ll let you in on a little secret of mine. A couple of years back, my brother and I started a very small business. We tried to sell t-shirts with whimsical, funny, and irreverent sayings and designs on them. We lacked practical business experience and knowledge as neither of us studied it in college, but we had a dream. We set out to educate ourselves on all the necessary business aspects needed to make our project a success. I even started this blog to get more attention for our website. To make a long story short, I tried to make the business work, but my effort proved insufficient. I gave it my all and still failed. Or did I give it my all? You see the most valuable lesson I learned about the whole endeavor was about commitment, although I learned the lesson far too late. At the time I didn’t recognize how uncommitted I was to the project. You know how some people live, breath, and eat totally focused on their goals? Well that wasn’t me and it negatively affected my performance in making things successful. So why couldn’t I commit? The short answer is I followed the wrong dream. You see I didn’t really know what I wanted out of my t-shirt company, so it blurred my perspective.

I guess it might be fair to say that if you can’t commit to a dream, really pour your talent, time, energy, and thought into it, that thing probably isn’t really your dream. It’s not a pleasant thing to fail, but in a way all of that might have been necessary. That experience taught me two valuable things. First, I realized I really wanted to commit to writing, something that would fulfill me professionally and creatively. Second, l learned truly committing to something meant that all my actions should reflect my efforts in achieving my goal. To put this into a different perspective, I refer back to the conversation where my brother curtly stated that I was not a writer. And what did I do in response to that statement? I wrote a novel. See that’s commitment. I know, and knew then, writing was part of my identity. I just needed a push (some might say violent shove) to solidify that perspective in my own mind. I’m not a businessman, but I am a writer.

Can you think of anything you want or wanted that ultimately proved out of reach? What kind of commitment did you devote to it? Was it really worth it? I’d say for a dream to be worthy of your total commitment it really must excite your passion, almost to the point of obsession. Don’t go crazy mind you, just let that commitment really fuel your drive for success. So, it comes down to a simple choice: are you willing to commit to your dream?

Thanks for reading.

Questions and comments are welcome. 

What Does it Mean to Get Ahead?

“The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves” – William Penn

Life is about quality experiences and honorable achievements you work towards.

Life is not about getting ahead of everyone else. Life is not about accumulating every attention-getting trinket in existence. Life is not about comparing yourself to others as if they are the official measuring stick of accomplishment. Granted, I’m being completely subjective here. I know to others life might very well be solely about acquisition of power, wealth, fame, stuff; who knows. I’m sure having ultimate power might be cool, for a while; being able to buy whatever my heart desires would fulfill my wants, for a while; having people adore me and fawn all over me might be gratifying and feed my ego, for a while. 

But I’ve observed that a lot of times people compare their status with others (usually ones ahead of them) and feel as if they are not as successful or accomplished as they should be; then they lose sight of what they have in favor of what they might be able to attain. So they persist in their drive to acquire more and more, never really appreciating what they have now. This ladies and gentlemen is what is called the rat race.

My suggestion is to never start running that race, because once you do, you immediately lose. Striving to be successful is an admirable goal; one I agree with and continually work for. However, I’ve learned to follow an ideal of what my future successful self looks like, but only compare myself to where I have been and what I have achieved in the past. You see an ideal is just that; an ideal, it is not real and most of the time it’s not attainable in a realistic sense. Think of how you structure your future self’s image. Is it perfect? Maybe not but it’s probably idealistically constructed, meaning ‘if things were perfect’ played a small part in its creation, even if you weren’t consciously aware of it. So striving toward that ideal gives you focus and a goal, which is good. Comparing yourself to the past and what actually was keeps you grounded, examining real world facts.

It is unfortunately very easy to fall into the trap of thinking things like “Everyone has so much more than me,” “I’m never going to have as much as that guy,” or “I’m never going to make it.” That’s jealously talking there. In the grand spectrum of success, there will always be those ahead, and behind you. This is a fact. Worrying so much about what other people have accomplished and comparing yourself only to those that are more successful will ultimately lead to you feeling like a failure. Now it’s okay to model your actions after successful people (they’re a success for a reason); any other comparisons on success is just shortchanging yourself.

I once fell into that trap. I’d look at all the successful authors out there and lament that they succeeded where I still failed. I saw their body of published works and compared that to my unpublished writing. And I was miserable. What I failed to look at was just how much more I wrote in the last two years compared to the eight years preceding them. In the last two years I’ve written a weekly blog entry almost every week, I’ve written a Novel, and two short stories. The previous eight years I wrote only a fraction of that. So in comparison to myself the last two years have been a resounding success. And I gained fulfillment from those valuable and rewarding writing experiences. Sure I’m not published yet, but I’m light years ahead of where I was. The key there is me, not those published authors. My being jealous of them served no purpose except to make me feel like crap. So I changed my perspective. And guess what? I changed my life, yet again.  

You can do it too. I dare you. 

Thanks for reading. Questions and Comments are welcome. 

Attack of the Resolutionists

Every year I hope it doesn’t come. Every year I hope against hope that the inevitable will somehow be avoided and peace will reign. I cross my fingers, watch the New Year’s Eve ball drop and pray that the Resolutionists won’t come, I pray that this year will be the year we are spared their terrible onslaught, but they always come. Once that clock strikes midnight, millions of Americans are infected with the Resolution virus and spawn a mass army of New Year joy fueled “This year I’m going to…” mania. They amass as a unified force to invade the common person’s stomping grounds and take over. 

You’ll notice them immediately. Once normal coworkers or friends will be reading some new book, touting some new diet, packing a strange lunch they must concoct in the break room; they’ll begin telling you all about the virtues and minutia of gym workouts and how amazing it is getting up an hour early to go for a three mile run. You may notice a group of them flocked together to go for a mid day lunch walk while you’re at work. They huddle together while they dominate the sidewalk but charge ahead like brain starving zombies on a quest to find fresh meat. The produce section of supermarkets will appear to have been ransacked leaving nothing but a few bruised gala apples, some smashed grapes and of course the eggplant (does anyone know how to cook them properly). Oddly enough the broccoli is usually the first to be devoured, and if you ask me that’s just fine. Resolutionists deserve that bit of torture ;-)

One place you’ll be able to spot a Resolutionist is at the gym. One of the most frequent accompanying phrases to the “This year I’m going to…” battle cry is “go to the gym more often,” much to my chagrin. See I’ve been a devout weight trainer for years. I do in fact stick with it. So you can imagine my frustration in January and February (sometimes into March for the truly fanatical Resolutionist) when the floor of the gym is inundated with newly christened health nuts bent on questing for a perfect Greek body, but lacking any common sense or any basic knowledge of body building techniques, or basic gym etiquette for that matter. I’ve found it humorous and infuriating all at the same time watching these people struggle at something they’ve ill-prepared themselves for. 

Trust me, at 12:01 am, January 1^st, on whatever year it may be saying “This year I’m going to go to the gym more often,” is nowhere near enough prep time to truly set yourself up for success. Off handed motivational decrees usually wind up on the mental rubbish heap specifically because they were rash, off the cuff quips. Yes they may have meant it when they said it, but Resolutionists lack proper motivation, resolve, and persistence. Therein lies their greatest weakness; like the may fly, the Resolutionist has a very short shelf life. By late winter, early spring their mass army has been decimated by pizza, tacos, TV, the couch, and lethargy. Temptation is their mortal enemy, and it destroys every Resolutionist army every year without fail. For the Resolutionist, as initially motivated as they are, simply cannot win. They are destined to lose because in their minds the first failure is their ultimate defeat. They fail, pack it in, and call it a year.

In response to this horrible onslaught we suffer every year, I call on you to rise up, not as a Resolutionist, but as a Healthinista! Devote yourself to overall health, mind, body, soul, perspective. Base your actions on overall life goals, mapped out for the improvement of all aspects of your life, not just some whimsical “This year I’m going to…”decree. Start slow, start right, get informed, and keep at it even if you fail. In fact if you fall off the wagon get right back up. Revel in your own persistence to keep trying even though the first or even tenth time you’re still trying to get it right. Motivate yourself through your failures to try again, Each time. Rise up, take charge of your life and help defeat the mediocre armies of the Resolutionists!

Thanks for reading. Questions and comments are always welcome. 

Don't Run the Rat Race

Sometimes, I just have no idea where the day will take me. I go to work, do my chores, take care of my responsibilities, and try to make the weekend a fun and enjoyable time, before I have to go back to work and do it all over again. They call it the Rat Race. Have you ever heard of this? It’s pretty much a zero sum game where you don’t really lose, but you don’t really win much either. To me it’s a mediocre way of living. I’ve always been goal oriented. To be fair though, there have been times where my goals sat quietly in the back of my mind, buried under a mountain of crap I called responsibilities and used as an excuse to not go after the things I really wanted. For years, I wouldn’t write a word but still fantasized about being a writer. Man I was in love with the idea of being a writer for so long. That’s the danger of being a dreamer; nothing gets done. That’s why I plan, so I don’t have to worry about where the day takes me; I try and let the day worry where I’ll lead it.

Life doesn’t always work out the way we planned. However obvious that may seem, it still sucks. I wanted to be a published author by the time I was thirty. That didn’t happen, of course I have only my procrastination to blame. It’s not only writing that I procrastinated on. I wanted to be in shape and healthy. Instead, during my early thirties, I got fat, out of shape and depressed. Things really sucked for a while there. You know why, because back then I wasn’t taking charge of my life, I wasn’t working toward my goals. Basically I was drifting on a course not my own, being driven by forces I let take control. It wasn’t until I decided I needed to be in direct control that things got better.

Note I said got better, not great, or awesome, or perfect. For as far as I have come in the last few years, I still have a long way to go. Sometimes, I still struggle with that pesky procrastination. what's worse is I do suffer occasional bouts of self-doubt, a lack of confidence, and diminished self-esteem. Why does this happen? I’m sure it happens to everyone, but sometimes I get so trapped inside my own head, it’s hard to see others' perspectives. See, we talk to ourselves, some call it a conscience, and others call it an inner monologue. Whatever moniker you use, if it’s not directed in a positive way, that little voice can whisper terrible little lies; what’s worse, we can start to believe them. I’ve caught myself, just recently listening to that whisper in my head saying things like ‘you can’t,’ 'you’re not good enough,’ or ‘don’t bother trying.’ 

Don’t believe that negativity. It’s a constant battle to ward off the negative and unproductive dark side, at least for me. I know some people that seem to be positive and cheerful all the time. If I could be I would. Unfortunately I am who I am. As you are who you are. Knowing who you are is one thing; just don’t accept it as an end product. You have your whole life to make improvements. I’ve decided to keep trying, even if it takes the rest of my life to get better. Otherwise I’ll just be a slave to the day. And who wants that?

Thanks for reading. Comments and questions are always welcome.

Don't Pardon the Interruption

Excuse me, what?

Have you ever gotten to the point where you’re so distracted, you become distracted from your distractions?  Let me explain.  There are times when I have a chore to do, or assignment and I can’t focus.  So I find my mind wandering to something else only to wander even further into something even less productive.  Here’s an example.  I knew I needed to get some writing in this last weekend, so I sat down and tried to get into the right state of mind.  As I sat and contemplated where I wanted my story to go, my eyes wandered across my desk until I realized it needed to be straightened or I’d become buried in junk.  So I started to clean up.  While doing this I imagined my characters going about their daily lives until I realized that my desk needed a good dusting soon or the dust would require an archaeologist to clear it away.  So what did I do?  I started dusting (I don’t know any archaeologists). 

After about 20 minutes I looked down at my computer screen, which now had gone dark with its energy saver mode, so I slapped down the cover and continued to clean.  Once done, I sat down and checked my text messages.  It wasn’t until I checked the clock on my phone that I realized almost an hour had gone by.  I was like WTH?  I put the phone down, lifted the lid on my laptop and just started writing.  I managed to get a good amount of words on page, but it bothered me that such distractions could take over. 

I’ve got to concentrate!

So what do you do when you’re so unfocused, you’re distracted by distractions of distractions?  I mean it happens to all of us and it can be rather disconcerting.  For me, analyzing what happened and why works most of the time.  What it really comes down to, for me at least, is having the wrong mindset.  Have you ever told yourself “I have to get this done?”  I have, but think about what that means.  It’s the ‘have’ that frames the activity, not a ‘want’.  Everyone has chores and responsibilities that have to be done, it’s a matter of fact in daily life.  Sometimes those chores suck, are boring, are difficult, and the do provide a drain on your motivation and morale. 

I know what you’re thinking, “thanks for depressing me man.”  Sorry, so now that you’re depressed, what do we do about it?  Change your mindset of course.  Remember, perspective is how we view our lives, our dreams, motivation and ultimately our mission.  So you couldn’t concentrate, lost your focus and were distracted by multiple levels of distractions.  I’ve found when something like that happens, I need to re-examine why I’m even trying to do that task in the first place.  If it’s a chore, well, sometimes you just have to hunker down and get it done.  But I’m more interested in the hobby, you know, the thing you want to do that’s supposed to make you feel better, feel happy. 

The simple answer is: Maybe you don’t really like what you’re doing.  Too easy?  Maybe.  You could also be stuck in a rut.  Being so used to doing something you forgot that it’s supposed to make you feel energized, revitalized, and refreshed.  Solution:  Try something new.  In my example, I was trying to write.  Now I love writing, but I found I needed something else for inspiration.  Enter the Saxophone.  Playing is still creative and expressive, only in a very different way.  Once I started playing the Sax you know what I found?  It was easier to write.  I went back to writing with new vigor and stamina. 

So, try something new, if only to remind yourself how much you like your original hobby.  A bonus is you find a new activity that inspires you even more than before.  And that kind of focus is a good was to avoid distractions.  Good luck!

Comments and questions are always welcome.  Thanks for reading.

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

- Confucius 

What is beauty?

Just a couple of days ago I went on a hike up in the Mission Trails area of San Diego.  The hills and trails are an amazing place to see the natural world, get some exercise, and really appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.  It’s a wonder how easily people, myself included, can block out the simplistic splendor the world has to offer.  In the fast paced consumerism world we live in, it isn’t sexy or profitable to advertise the beauty in things that don't easily translate into profit.  Apropos to this idea is the very word beauty.  I’ve often found my mind going directly to an image of a gorgeous woman when I hear the word beauty, and it’s not surprising when we consider every American is bombarded with pictures, movies, advertisments, and such constantly telling us that is the accepted form of beauty.  Now there’s nothing wrong with thinking of women as a form of beauty.  I for one am completely anamored with women, however, as Confucius has told us, beauty exists everywhere.  We just need to open our eyes to it.

Does Everything really have beauty?

If you think about it, saying everything has beauty might seem suspect.  Garbage heaps and sewage plants aren’t the most attractive places to be or to visually admire.  Some might argue that abandoned buildings are not very attractive either.  However, if you examine each without the accepted negative connotations associated with them, what do you see then?  Nothing exists in a vacuum, but opening yourself up to a new perspective might lead you to a new appreciation for something you once thought had no beauty at all.  Certainly you may find that some things are much easier to identify as beautiful as opposed to others.  That’s natural. 

Creating a new beauty

Now for the hard part.  Take a moment and set aside all you know about beauty, all you expect and want from beauty, all you have been conditioned to believe is beautiful.  Just try to silence the expectations and just appreciate a subject for what it is.  Contemplate the value of the object before you solely on its merits. Practice with several different things and see if it jars your way of thinking.  Really look, let yourself feel. 

Now, what do you see?

Enjoy the silence.

Sometimes it’s okay to have nothing to say.  Sometimes it’s okay to just be quiet, sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet that can come with inactivity.  Relaxing and letting your mind decompress from the day, or week depending on how stressed you are, can be a great thing.  Not every minute of every day of your life has to be chasing your dream, carrying out your mission, or on your feet.  You are allowed to relax every once and a while.  In fact, it should be part of your schedule.  You know that old saying, ‘All work and no play makes jack a dull boy?’  Well, it’s true.  You have to know when to slow down, take a moment and pause.  Reflecting on what you’ve accomplished for the day, the week, or just at the task at hand is a good way to gauge how your success is going, or not going as the case may be. 

Sometimes I have felt myself pushing too hard and not getting a good return on my time investment.  If that ever happens to you, slow down, stop even.  After I finished my master’s thesis, I wanted to just jump right into my next project.  I thought being busy was the best way to maintain my productivity.  But you know what I found out?  My brain was way over taxed and I needed time to decompress.  I realized and had to accept that I needed time to be silence, relax, and find a new perspective.  It took three months before I felt like I could realistically take on a new challenge.  But you know what?  I’m glad I took that time because now I have so much more mental energy to devote to my new endeavors, it feels invigorating!

So, you should take a look at what has worked, what isn’t working, and what might work.  Sleep on it.  It will be there in the morning.  And if you come to your task with a fresh perspective, you might just be more successful at achieving your goal.  And all of it was because you weren’t afraid to take a minute and relax.

If you have questions or comments, please reply.  Thanks for reading.

What is greatness?

Philosophers have been trying to answer that question for ages.  The idea of Greatness occupies the minds of many, controlling their thoughts, actions, and entire lives.  But the question remains: What is Greatness?  Also, how does one obtain it, retain it, recognize it, utilize it, and wield it effectively?  The big problem here is defining Greatness.  Whose definition is correct?  Do we go with the militaristic view and say Greatness is when someone can command others, lead him/herself and others to victory over competing forcers?  Do we go with the economic view and say Greatness is when someone can accumulate the most wealth by manipulating the system to its fullest?  Do we go with the religious view and say Greatness is when someone represents themselves as the best human reflection of their god, or follows the tenants of their religion as devoutly as possible?  The possibilities and avenues we could go down in trying to define Greatness are vast and wide.  So the obvious course of action is to try and understand what Greatness means on a personal level.

Is that easier?  Probably not, but it’s certainly less involved than including all the above examples.  I like to think of Greatness in terms of personal evolution.  To me, I’m in competition with no one but myself.  I believe that I am the single greatest resource I have.  I can provide the psychological foundation, motivational framework, and positive perspective I need to achieve something greater than I did yesterday.  Sounds lofty doesn’t it?  Sure, and I’ve failed at it more times than I’d like to admit.  But as I’ve said many times, it’s the attempt to succeed that is a success.  It may sound cliché, but you only have to get up one more time than you fell down.  So, how does this help define and ultimately achieve personal Greatness? 

Knowing that when it’s all said and done, you are in competition with no one but yourself, all you need to do is improve; One day at a time.  Look at it this way: Take a moment and reflect on your life  up until now.  If that’s too much, take the last year, six months, week, if you will.  Are you doing better, have you accomplished a goal, or even set one?  If the answer is no, than you are not living up to your own potential.  If that’s the case you can never achieve personal greatness.  But why is personal greatness important you might ask?  Why should you even be concerned with the loft pie in the sky idea of greatness?  Because, we’re talking about your life!  You only get one and if you don’t make the most of it, life will pass you by and you’ll have nothing to show for it.  Is that what you want?  I’m sure not. Personal Greatness is the culmination of your mission.  You don’t have to command armies, have a massive vault of gold, recite scripture verbatim, or whatever anyone else’s definition of greatness may be.  What you should strive to do is be better today than you were yesterday and be better tomorrow than you were today.  It’s a worthy endeavor to improve your life, for your own life’s sake.  Greatness is a state of mind you can have where you know your life had and has positive meaning.  It is possible and you can and should do it.  So, be Great!

Feel free to leave a comment or question.  I'd love to hear what you're thinking!  Thanks for reading.

Where Does Inspiration Come From?

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

Closely linked to Creativity is the Inspiration necessary to create.  I've often wondered 'where' Inspiration comes from.  To be totally honest, Inspiration comes from everywhere, anywhere and nowhere.  At first this may seem like a cryptic and convoluted non-answer, but bear with me.  Life is really just a person's perspective.  It's the sum of all their experiences, knowledge, intellect, hopes, dreams, fears and relationships, to both others and their environment.  People see life through their own perspective, not Bob's, or Jim's, or Sally's.  If one were to remain isolated in their comfort zone, that comfort zone would shrink and they would be less and less likely to try new things, keep an open mind about different perspectives and generally become closed off.

This is where inspiration does NOT live.  Inspiration is closely linked to experience, variation and  emotional variance.  If you become exposed to more and more things, your understanding increases and the ability to see things from differing points of view grows.  The possibilities of 'what if' become stronger and it leads you to think in new ways.  Once the power of 'new' takes hold, Inspiration becomes easier.  All of the things in your life now take on the possibility of inspiring a new thought or idea, dream or scheme.

Try this:  Go into a room you have been in many times.  Look around.  If it all looks the same change your perspective.  Stand on the chair and look down.  Climb up on the counter and look around (please be careful).  It's the same room, but you're looking at it from a totally different and probably new perspective.  You changed your perspective of that room and your view of it changed too.  Keep that feeling alive and inspiration will come.

I believe in you.  It can happen.  Just change your perspective.

Thanks for reading.