Building a Strong Foundation (In Life)

Before you decorate the roof, you must first build the foundations of the house deep into the ground.

In filmmaking, we call this “finding the broad stroke.” A couple of months ago, I sat at a film story-brainstorming meeting. We were all very excited about a new story we were working on. We had the details down to the characters’ colors, the time of day in which the story takes place, and we were chattering up a storm when one of the soft-spoken writers raised his hand, “But what is this film really about? In one sentence what is the backbone to the story?”

Now I ask you, what is the backbone to your dreams? Sure you can decorate your dreams with shingles, pretty flowers on the front porch, and a tire swing in the backyard, but what is it build upon? What is driving you? What is the reason?

Since I was in high school, I had dreams of being an art director. I didn’t know why I wanted to become one, just that I did and I worked really hard towards that trajectory. At age 19, I was given creative directorial duties at the community college theater program. At age 20, I was promoted at my work at Walt Disney into a supervisory creative role. At age 22-25, I directed plays at UC Berkeley. I am now currently working on two films as an art director. I had many chances at the role in the past and I messed up quite a bit in some of them. Because even when I had the title at an early age, I didn’t have a strong foundation to build my dreams upon. Growing up in a highly critical house being the shadow of my artistic older sister, I was constantly riddled with self-doubt, self-sabotage, and lack of belief in my own inner potential. I had no foundation. I may have looked like an accomplished decorated titled house on the outside, but the inside was bare bones.

It was as if I peered into the hood of a car and realized there was no engine. Perhaps the car had moved on its own because it was on a hill and gravity pulled it down into the valley at top speed. But when I found myself at the bottom of the pit, what drove my car, my dreams, up against the mountain?

It doesn’t take science to know that if you are empty or wounded on the inside, you cannot give much towards your dreams.

So how do you build the foundation for your dreams? It will differ from person to person. But first you must find the reason behind your dream. Then you must heal yourself from any physical, emotional, or mental splinters you might have had, so the trunks and roots of your dreams can grow deep into the ground. For a prominent blogger and millionaire business venture artist James Altucher, his physical and mental foundations are what were most important for him. If he is tired, and didn’t get enough sleep, or didn’t eat enough nutritional meals, he has a hard time focusing on his writing. So he makes sleep, exercise, and meals a priority. For Seal, her foundation is taking care of the physical body (yoga/jogging), meditation to quiet her inner critics (simple 5-10 minutes quiet time after she wakes up to know what to focus on during the day), as well as filling her creative life with daily adventures (visiting a bookstore, etc). When she sees new sights or experiences a new technique to approach her painting, the natural high can help her push pass the funk and challenges of going after her dreams. Her other foundation pillars also include integrity (she can’t take on a job if it goes against her values), community building (she wants other people to reach their dreams too, and she knows there are people she can count on when she’s down), optimism (you don’t know what’s going to happen within the next second, so why not hope for the best possible outcome?), and last but not least, her reason. At the heart of her dreams of being an artist, is the simple wish to share and be heard. To feel connected to other people through her art and her inner world. That’s it. Not as hard to accomplish and focus on her dreams when it’s narrowed down to a simple wish of living among other people and being understood.

What is your dream? What are your foundations to build upon?

End of the Year Reflection

Hi Friends!

This will be our last post for 2012. Hope everyone has had a wonderful year, and we'll see you with new adventures in 2013!

-
As with every end of the year, we'd like to take stock of everything that's happened within the last year and reflect/ appreciate/ and celebrate the challenges and growth it took for us to be here today.  We also want to share with you our dreams and goals/themes for the next year.

Seal's accomplishments:

• Worked on 3 films: a feature film, a cg animated short, and a live action short that involved giant green screens and riding a fast moving contraption down Embarcadero.
• Skyace Wasteland (personal graphic novel/ animation) 1st chapter written
• The Daughter and the Ogre (graphic novel) full story written & storyboarded
• Learned incorporating Gouache & Watercolor in concept art
• Painted 3 colorscripts
• Gallery Show in March: Rusted Souls at 1AM
• New painting techniques experimented with since July, finally came to fruition in December.

Monkey's accomplishments:

• Dark Wizard's One-Stop Shop new concept/ story
• Big Umbrella Studios reaches its 2 years with current owners
• Design and printed for Facebook.
• Invited to speak at Alumni Artist/Freelancer Panel
• Story Collection: White Mask, (list, etc).
• Learned how to paint on windows
• Invited to live-paint at RAW SF. twice!
• Revamped website and integrated blog

Monkey + Seal's accomplishments

• Our very first out of state show among out heroes and legends at Spectrum Live! in Kansas City, Missouri
• Our very first out of city show in Sacramento
• J-Pop Show (July at Big Umbrella Studios)
• New Tshirt Design "Not Bad, Just Different"
• Taught drawing class to artists/ designers from Apple, Inc.
• Both of us were invited to live paint for Hyphen magazine's 10 year anniversary
• upgraded display with new IKEA tie racks
• Broke our personal records at every show this year: Zinefest, A.P.E., and BazBiz Holiday Show
• Started showcasing originals at live craft shows
• Protested city college's closing of Fort Mason campus

While we've had a lot of great accomplishments, we've also had our share of trials and tribulations as well.  Over 2012 we've dealt with fights with colleagues, deaths in the family, financial strain, and countless bouts of self-doubt, fear, procrastination, and other self-destructive behavior.  Regardless, we count ourselves extremely lucky that we're able to continue to do what we love to do, and that we can continue to support and inspire other artists to do the same.

We've recently realized that instead of focusing on single goals (single markers of accomplishment that will always be surpassed), we should instead be focusing on themes (ongoing processes that are enjoyable and that bring you happiness).


Our Themes for 2013:
Monkey: "I will create more personal work and put more of my artwork and vision into the world. I want to find and cultivate a larger audience for my dark/horror inspired art and to somehow give back to my community of artists."

Seal: "I will continue story development for films and concept art with my awesome team. I'll develop more personal work/ direction (ie. graphic novel/ story writing/ painting series) and will cultivate the art community. I also will find more inspiring people and projects to work on."

Instead of making New Year's Resolutions, we'd like to encourage you to choose a theme that you'd like to pursue.  Instead of "draw everyday" (which, if you miss a single day, you feel guilty about breaking your commitment and you give up), think about "be sustainably more creative."  Instead of "I want a million dollars," think "I will create a source or sources of income that will allow me to sustainably grow my standard of living."  Goals are finite, and if you reach them, you have to make new goals.  Themes, on the other hand, are larger pursuits which will find you achieving your goals along the way.


So if you have any suggestions or ideas that could help us along with our themes, we'd love to hear from you.  And we'd love to hear some themes that you're thinking of taking up in 2013.  By taking the leap and putting it down in the comments, you're much more likely to follow through.  Let's make 2013 our year to shine!

How to Be Selfish + Selfless

We're back!  

Sorry for the long hiatus everyone.  For all you that are our facebook fans, you'll know that Monkey ended up with strep throat two weeks ago (and most of last week as well), thus much of our focus was on healing him up.  Seal was an excellent nurse, and did much to make sure Monkey didn't die.

Anyway, today we wanted to talk about selfishness.  Our society often gives mixed messages about selfishness.  We often see stories of people who are so obsessed with something (music, art, business, technology, etc.) that they devote their lives to it and selfishly put that love over everything else.  We are told this is the epitome of the American Dream of pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps and following your passion.

We also, however, often get the message that we shouldn't be selfish.  That we should think of society as a whole, that it's saintly to give to others and to give back to the community.  We praise non-profits and community giving and we are often socially rewarded for doing "selfless" things.  Also, especially in certain communities, (religious, immigrant, and/or minority) communities, emphasis can be strongly put on the community over the whole.  Pressure to "put the community over your own needs" can be strong, and it seems like the right thing to do is to be selfless.

However, we'd like to offer a different take on selfishness/selflessness.  We propose that if you live your live following your dream, it is not only the right thing to do, but it is the most selfless and selfish thing you can do.

Paradox time?  Not really.  You see, by following your dream, inherently you are being selfish.  But this is a good selfish.  You need to be listening to your Inner Artist and following that dream of yours because that is really what you were meant to do.  Your dream is unique, and by doing what you love, you're being the best person you can be, and you need to be relentlessly selfish about this - you can't put it aside for other people, whether it's your dying mother in Bolivia or your favorite teacher, or your boss, or your pastor.  

No matter who tells you otherwise, you need to live up to your full potential and follow your dream.  

At the same time that you're ploughing ahead looking after yourself, realize that by doing that, you're offering your gift to the world.  Maybe it's your unique way you look at the world (visual artists), or your pursuit of a new taste (culinary artist), or maybe it's an exploration of what the human body can do (dancers and performing artists).  Regardless, your dream is yours alone and if you can find that voice and follow it, you will reach your full, awesome potential.  

By being the best person you can be, you will undoubtably come across ways to give back.  Whether it's performing at a charity ball, or donating your art for a fundraiser, or maybe it's creating a path for an underrepresented group of people to follow in your footsteps, you will be able to give back selflessly while you selfishly pursue your own dream.  

As Chris Guillebeau puts it, you will be able to become a true key dropper.  As your dream manifests itself via your own selfish motivations and actions, make sure that when it's possible to do so, help out others along the way.  Drop keys for people to open doors.  Don't create cells by trying to shut out people asking for advice - drop keys.  

So go out there and do something for yourself.  Put yourself on that path towards following your dream, and opportunities to give back to your communities and the people who help you along will manifest themselves.  Don't hold anything back, and go after what YOU want.  

Fear or Love? Your Choice

"If you try and give it your best shot, then the possibility isn't zero"

This weekend, Monkey and Seal will be on a plane towards Kansas City, Missouri for Spectrum Fantastic Art Live. We'll be vending next to some of our long-time art heroes. It's quite scary to be honest. We have never been to Kansas City. This will be our first out-of-state show. Most of the artists we'll be vending next to have at least 10-50 years of professional experience and have been published worldwide. Some of them have been doing art long before we were even born.They made the art that we looked up to as children. For Monkey, there is an artist that he has been following since he was 11 years old. We have also submitted multiple annual competitions for Spectrum, the magazine that is hosting the event, but have yet to break in and secure a published page. So going in there, we're pretty much unheard of. We are babies.

When we signed up, we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. We thought it was going to showcase more different levels of experience, but everyone so far seems to be well established professionals. So in the last couple of days, as reality creeps on us, there is an overwhelming impulse to run away. To say, we're not ready for this. Maybe next time.

But we have this sign that we made, posted in our humble apartment when we first moved in about six years ago, "What would you do if you weren't afraid?"

So we asked ourselves, what is the worse that can happen? We don't sell a damn thing and don't make our flight money/hotel//booth back, but we can meet our heroes, geek out over artwork and life-changing workshops. Go or not go, which choice can we live with later with no regrets?

I think everyday, there is an opportunity to say yes to either fear or love. Fear of failure. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of the unknown. Fear that the journey is long and your skill level is not where you'd like it to be. We can choose those things. But we can also choose love. Love of art. Love of accomplishment. Love of pursuing something rewarding. Love of your work to have pride for it regardless of what people think of it. Love of people, artists. To recognize and acknowledge each other as unique creators. Love of the mysterious unknown. Love of the awkward growing pains. Love of yourself and how far you have personally come from.

In life we are always either running away or running towards our dreams. Why not choose the path that promises a brighter ending? After all, if you try and give it your best shot, then the possibility isn't zero. You're opening a window. You can make "impossible things, " possible, if you take a step forward.

So what can you do today to make that step towards your dream?  What are you scared of that you can embrace?  What path will you choose today that will promise a brighter future?  Grab hold, and let's take a step forward together.

You Can Change Your Dreams

And that's vegan, gluten-free mushroom pizza, if you were wondering.

Here at Monkey + Seal, we're all about chasing dreams - more specifically, we want to inspire you to chase YOUR dreams.

But sometimes, as we're working towards that dream, you might feel uneasy.  Maybe it wasn't what you expected.  Maybe you've heard a bunch of negative things from people you respect and trust.  Maybe you've found a different passion.  Do you give up on that dream, or do you keep plugging away?

This is something that unfortunately, (just like most big answers in life), there is no simple solution.  We can't just tell you what to do, because every situation is going to be different for every person at different points in their lives.  However, let's talk it through.

First off, why are you experiencing this resistance to chasing your dream?  Is it the hard work?  Because if it is, know right now that most dreams are going to take a good amount of effort.  They don't have to, but if you want to be excellent at something, it's going to take your 10,000 hours.  So if you want to jump board just because "it's hard," while we get it, and we empathize, it's no reason to abandon your dream.

If you give up because of your natural inclination to go with what is easy and avoid the hard work, then the unfortunate reality is that you're very unlikely to reach any of your dreams.  No matter what it is, putting in the work (let us emphasize that the work doesn't HAVE to be hard, there is just usually a lot of it), is a necessary component for any dream.  If you give up now, you'll find another dream, and then you'll be more likely to give that dream up because of the work involved.

So what happens if it's not the work but something larger and more fundamental?  What about when you achieve your dream, and you find out that your dream has changed?  Maybe you're older and want something else, or maybe your life's priorities have changed.  That's okay too.  It's a natural part of growing.  Maybe you've realized that that dream company with all the status isn't really the best place for you. Perhaps you woke up one day realizing that it was your mentor's dream, or your parent's dream, or what you thought you wanted based on what you assumed a rational human being would want.  Maybe it is what you imagined that your ideal self would want.  A good example of this case is if you think you should want to be self-employed because tons of people (Monkey included) extoll the virtues and freedom and all the benefits of being self-employed, when you really want stability and security and to not have to worry about all the challenges self-employment might bring (legal status, taxes, permits, finding customers, etc. etc. etc.)  Perhaps maybe you're just bored now that you've finally gotten what you've always been working towards.

Regardless, we want you to know that IT IS OKAY.  Whether you've invested four hours or fourteen years, it's totally okay that your dream has changed.  It may feel at first like you've lost a lot of time, or that you wish that you discovered that it wasn't your dream earlier.  However, you probably wouldn't have ever even known that your dream wasn't right until you achieved it, and you wouldn't have wanted to live you life with a huge "What if" hanging around in the back of your mind.

Also, think about all the new things you've learned on your journey.  You've completed a journey, which is a huge accomplishment in itself, and you've probably learned about your new passion and goals from achieving your first (or second, or third, etc.) set.  Feel free to take some time to reflect on your path to where you are now, and give thanks for all the challenges you've learned from, the good and great stuff that's come out of your hard work, and all the people you've met and who have helped you get to where you are.

You might be frightened because you're starting over.  After all, to quote Linkin Park, "the hardest part of ending is starting again."  You're might be switching fields completely, going from being an expert to being a beginner again, or you could be just shifting over, utilizing a slightly different skill set than what you were doing prior.  Whatever it is, don't fret.  Change is good.  It keeps things interesting and it's okay to be a beginner again.

Remember: if you learned anything at all, (even "I hate this"), then it wasn't a waste of time.  Wrap  up what you have to, and start preparing for the next major journey in your life.

Life Doesn't Have a Montage Or a Magic Pill

We're going to make a bit of an assumption here that we all agree on something: life isn't the movies. No huge protests over that? Okay, good.

So life is not the movies, and we probably wouldn't want it that way. Why? Well, we'd be exhausted all the time if life was that exciting - you know, with all the infiltration of ex-CIA spy rings, escaping from zombies and chainsaw-wielding cannibals, and going to weddings four times a week where something dramatic and shocking happens every single time.

However, there is a type of movie (and television show) that you probably either love or hate (we love 'em): The Underdog genre. You know the story - some total underdog has a dream and manages to gain some sort of trait/advantage/knowledge from their tragic past/current situation and then is able to beat out the seemingly impossible odds to reach their dream. Slumdog Millionaire, One Piece, Paul Potts and Susan Boyle (and now Jonathan Antoine) are all such great entertainment because they tell the story of someone who society says should not succeed but fight for their dream and in the end, come out on top. It makes you feel all inspired and warm and fuzzy inside.

The thing about movies though, is that all the hardship, the long hours, the grueling work - it's all abridged. We usually get to see the training ala-Rocky in the classic montage scene or in the occasional flashback. It's all nicely packages to make you feel good. But when you're done watching, how long does that inspiration last?

More often than not, real life quickly takes over, and you find your canvas untouched, rehearsal seems like such a long bus-ride away, the little cursor blinks over and over again on your blank "Untitled document." We turn to distractions, chores, anything else to keep us from having to sit down and do the work.

We get it: doing the work is hard. Showing up everyday, even if you're tired, is hard. Pushing through the painful/ugly/tedious/annoying stage isn't fun. Playing a concert in a bar with two people watching you is tough. Not selling anything, again, at your gallery show while people snatch up other artists' work is difficult. This is the reason why films have montages. No one wants to watch someone slowly get better over long periods of time. We want to see some action!

But life doesn't have montages. To get better, we have to put in the practice. A lot of people also fall into what we call "The Trap of Beginner's Luck." Chances are, at some point in your life you'll probably find something that comes easy to you. Maybe it's bowling, or painting, or surfing, or singing, or making sculptures out of mashed potatoes. People will tell you that you're really good at it, and that'll make you feel good and want to pursue it more. However, if you do decide to pursue it more and more, you'll find that you're no longer around people who are novices. Suddenly you're around people who practice at their craft, and practice often. Then you realize that you are going to actually have to work at this, and then you get discouraged since you thought that this was going to be easy.

Even if you have decided that "Yes, the hard work is worth it" (and we sincerely hope that you have found something worth working hard for), the challenge to keep up that momentum is still there. Feeling like you're not doing enough? Frustrated that you haven't "made it" (whatever that means) yet? Well, you can't magically make stuff happen over night, and you have so many hours in a day, so there really is only one thing to do: Get over it.

Not to be jerks, but really, that's all you can do. You have to just keep working hard and keep on keeping on. Just keep on practicing, keep on hustling, and keep on chasing your dream, and you will (we promise) slowly get closer and closer.

For a practical solution, keep a journal, or samples of your old work. Seriously. It may sound stupid and a waste of time and space, but make a habit of revisiting your old work at least once a year, and you'll be surprised at the results. We look at stuff we did in our freshman classes (holy crap, that's five year ago!) and the difference to what we do now is amazing. Because we are living our own lives, the changes are imperceptible - we gradually learn more techniques and get more experience under our belt; we put in our 10,000 hours. However, when you compare old work with new work (especially after five years), you'll see how much you've improved.

So while we can't promise a magic pill that'll suddenly find you success, all we can tell you is to keep on fighting the good fight, and before you know it, you'll be leaps and bounds closer to your dream than you would have ever imagined.

Hacking Your Own Timeline

For everyone out there who found this because they thought they were going to hack their facebook timeline, many apologies. Today, what we want to talk about is hacking your own personal timeline..you know, as in your actual life outside of the digital madness that is facebook.

You see, many of us, artists especially, have this imaginary timeline in our heads. Lots of it are socialized stuff that we grew up or had put in place by our parents or relatives. These are things like "getting married by 30," or "retired exactly at 65," or "graduate college by 22." Stuff like that. By indirect (and sometimes direct) messages, we've trained our brain to have these specific landmarks in time where certain things need to be achieved. However, we never stop to ask ourselves if these markers are really valid or even realistic.

While Monkey + Seal always encourages people living their dreams, dreams also need to be tempered by reality. If your dream is to be a world-class photographer, chances are you won't have the opportunity to really develop your skills if you're a freshman in art school. Now this is not to say that schooling is necessary, because it isn't, but the point is that if you are just starting off in pursuing your dream, your dream isn't going to come true on day 1, or even day 600.

When we set goals with timelines, we have to make sure that we temper our sometimes crazy-high expectations of ourselves with what is humanly possible. Going back to the 10,000 hour rule - if you want to be an amazing painter, you seriously need to log in thousands and thousands of hours painting. Assume that you have just started painting and your goal is to be a famous fantasy book cover illustrator, do you really think it's realistic that you can achieve your goal in a single year? It is possible (as we think anything is possible), but is it realistic? Say that you only need maybe 5000 hours to get your first illustration gig - that's still about two and a half years, assuming that you're painting 40 hours a week. Bump that up to an amazing 80 hours of painting a week, for 52 weeks out of the year, and then you're still at over a year. Is painting 80 hours a week - more than 11 hours a day - realistic for you? For more than a year?

We live in an age where we want everything now. With downloadable music and movies and TV, we don't need to wait to drive to the video store or to wait for shipping. We're conditioned to want everything now. We want to be millionaires today, to be successful today, to be famous today. We want our business to be profitable yesterday, to be scheduled for talk shows a week ago, and to be invited to conferences as a special guest a month ago. These things take time, and in order for us to be successfully sustainable, we need to set realistic timelines for ourselves.

So how do we do this?

Step 1: Figure out how much work, on average, you'll need to put in to your goal.

Take the time to write out your goal. How far away from it are you? This first step is extremely, extremely important. How many hours do you need to put in per week? Be honest with yourself. If you want that novel on the bestseller's list, how many hours does it take you to write 500 words? Multiply that by 80 and you'll have the amount of time you'll need to produce a 40,000 word novel. Now, how much time will it take you to edit that much writing? How many revisions do you think you'll need? Research publishing companies. What's the average time between an acceptance of a novel and the books hitting the shelves? Add all this together, and you will figure out how much time you'll need.

Step 2: Double that number.

We told you to be honest, and our bet is that you probably underestimated the time needed. Even if you don't factor in procrastination time, artist's block, and life emergencies or events, you also need to take into account sustainability. You're probably betting on some crazy, over-productive work schedule along with what it takes you to produce a small amount of work. However, as your probably know, larger scale projects usually just take way longer than you could imagine. Writing 10,000 words or painting 5 new portfolio pieces is very, very different from writing 40,000 words or painting 20 new portfolio pieces. If you thought it was four times as hard to do the larger product, you're probably mistake. It's more like 10 times as hard.

Step 3: Divide those hours by the number of hours you think you can manage to work on your goal per week. Keep in mind your day job (if you have one), vacations, weddings, sleep, your friends, family, and dates, your soccer team, etc.

Step 4: Divide that number by 50. Give yourself two weeks of a break. If not for sustainability, then for emergencies.

BAM. That's your realistic timeframe (in years) that it'll take you to achieve your goal assuming you're putting in the work and prioritizing your goal over most other things. We don't want to discourage you from following your dream, but we just want to let you know that your timeline in your head is probably unrealistic, and we don't want you to be disappointed when those deadlines come due and you haven't hit your mark there.

Since Monkey is very deadline oriented, he likes to set his crazy goal, then go back and set another "backup" deadline that is more realistic. He wants to be a Magic:the Gathering illustrator by January of 2013, but realistically? It's more like January of 2015. He's going to bust his little tail to make the first deadline happen, but after doing some research, art directors (specifically those at Wizards of the Coast) say that it usually takes about 2.5 years from when you start trying to go pro to make it to that caliber of an illustrator. Work like you'll do it in half the time, expect longer, and hopefully you'll end up ahead of the curve.

Set your goals today, whether it's looking for a new job, a specific achievement, or your end-all dream. Just make sure that they're realistic and true to you.

Learn to Achieve Your Dreams in One Easy Step

If you would actually buy this book, please paypal $10 to: info@monkeyandseal.com

Many people are interested in finding the one magic bullet that will suddenly catapult them into fame overnight. Some people decide to try to make the next viral video and somehow monetize that. Others might be working on the next big e-book, or the next Batman, or the next facebook.

We all want the good life. We want to be able to not worry about our finances, our love life, our careers, our families. Often times it's easy to misinterpret things like The Secret to mean that all we have to do is think about something that'll solve all our problems (lotto tickets anyone?) and magically it shall happen.

Work is hard. Doing the hard work that'll take you from being an amateur to a professional is not easy, nor can you complete it quickly. Hopefully the path to become an artist who can live off their craft is fun and exciting, but often times business things (taxes, inventory, remembering to submit to annuals in time or to apply for that big craft fair, etc) can bog you down. Between marketing, networking, updating your blog and website, when do you even have time to make your art? It's true: the path to getting paid to make art is not necessarily a quick and easy thing.

But who wants to be patient? We want stuff NOW. Why do you think we pay for overnight delivery? Why do we still go to the store as opposed to just ordering everything online? Because we want it right now, in our hot little hands. And thus we want the "get-rich-and-famous" overnight formula.

So, after years and years of hard work, Monkey has come across the perfect solution to making all your dreams come true, in one, simple, easy step. Ready for it? Here it comes.

The secret to achieving your dream, in one simple step is: Change your dream to something you've already accomplished.

Easy peasy lemon breezy.

It's no get-rich-quick scheme (I guess for that, you can always mug people walking around a richy-rich area and hope they have cash), but it will make achieving your dreams easier.

So if you want to reach your dreams as they are now, unfortunately, the easiest way to get there is to bust your little behind and work as hard as you can. Sure, there's lot of other tactics and other tricks and stuff (lots of what we've talked about before), but the easiest one is to just do the work. It's not exactly the most glamorous idea, or something you've never heard before, but it's the truth.

I was reading an issue of Juxtapoz (not sure what month it was), but the artist was being asked "how does it fell to be an overnight success?" The artist responded with something like "Well, if you consider 15 years of work 'overnight...'). Basically, you may have to be patient.

So we know its not easy to constantly work and work and work and keep on practicing and practicing and practicing, but it's what is needed. You want the real magic bullet that will make all the work go away? Learn to make the work fun. If you enjoy yourself, then it's not really work. Find the challenge or the value in doing the mundane. Need to learn animal anatomy for a project? Delve into the material and find something about it that interests you. Anything can be fun if you just let it be fun. The biggest obstacle keeping you from your success is you, so learn how to enjoy the work you've got and it'll be done before you know it.

Also, please don't mug people. It's not cool.

Giving Up The Dream

Monkey here.

The other day, I had a sort of a crisis. Overworked, stressed, tired, and feeling like a great effort I put out for a project was totally wasted, for a second I thought: "I should just quit this art thing."

I pondered the possibility that I could just move back home with one of my parents, get a management job in some retail place, and just drink every day after work, watch my friends' band's shows, play video and board games in my spare time, and just grow old. I could just do nothing of great value or importance, and generally let my soul and passion slowly wither and die and "get a real job" that I hate but consistently pays the bills.

While there is nothing wrong with this sort of life if that's what you're into, for me, it brings up a huge wave of revulsion and disgust. I want to paint monsters and scared people and dark apothecary vials and tell horror stories and design shirts and paint Magic:the Gathering cards and see the world and inspire people to make art. I want to design video games and card games and board games and design a monster for a film and I want to never have to go to an interview again. For me, this is the path of greatness, of a dream chased and fulfilled, of the magic of the universe swirling in the palm of my hand. This is what I want my life to be.

So when I told Eve that I should just quit, she said "Fine then. Just quit." And immediately, I knew what my answer was: "I just can't."

I can't let the past four years of long nights and tens of thousands of dollars go to waste. I can't let all that I've worked for just fizzle out just because it got hard. I've tasted the appetizer of a dream fulfilled and I can't get it out of my head. I need it just as much as I need oxygen or food or water. Even if I fail, as long as I don't quit, I can still lay there dying and know that I tried my best and fought til the very end.

Now don't get me wrong - stopping or taking a break is much different than quitting. If the circumstances call for it, to survive maybe you think you do have to take a step backwards and there's no shame in that. But to quit - to truly give up on your dream...well, to be honest if I think you really could quit, you wouldn't be reading this blog.

You can't quit now. Whether your just starting or have been on the road for some time now, you've already taken that first step. You can feel that burning urge to do that thing in your life that you've always wanted. There's this welling up in your gut and tightening of your jaw when you let go of what society dubs normal and be honest with yourself and what you want. You start to hear the blood in your temples and a tingling in your hands. Whether or not you think you know what you want, you do - you just have to let your inner artist be truly honest with yourself and chase that truth til the end.

So do yourself a favor: if you think you can quit, fess up now, say a "good-bye" in the comments, and we wish you the best. But if you're one of the dreamers, one of the doers, one of clan of those who have tasted magic and want more, then share this with someone you think is of the like. Post your declaration in the comments. Talk to us on Facebook. Declare that you're gonna keep going and that you'll never quit. Make yourself an oath and tweet it.

The world is here for your taking. Let's get to work.

Perfection is Overrated (Enjoy the Ride)

We all (hopefully) are striving for perfection in our work (and if you aren't, what are you working for?). However, we think that perfection is overrated.

Often in the artist's journey, we are chasing after some sort of ideal. Perhaps it's the perfect translation from what's in your head to what's on paper/canvas/wood/the dance floor/etc. Perhaps it's worldwide fame and acclaim. Perhaps it's your own holy grail of technical perfection. Whatever it is, it's that elusive thing that we spend our lives chasing.

The thing to watch our for on this quest is the notion that we MUST find it. We often berate ourselves for not being perfect, for not achieving this impossibly high level of awesomeness. Every attempt feels like a failure and we end up crushing our own dreams because the elusive perfection is so far away. The key here is that if we are on this quest for perfection, we must want/desperately need to achieve it, but we have to realize that the road to perfection is what's important, not perfection itself.

You see, perfection itself is overrated. Once you achieve perfection, what are you going to do? You've crushed all competition, you have surpassed your rivals and mentors and instructors, nothing is ever new to you, you can't learn anything more. You just sit there alone at the top with nowhere to go but down. Not a very appealing prospect, if you ask us. What sounds more awesome is the notion of being close to perfection. You have competitors and rivals keeping you on your toes. You have to constantly stay on top of your game because other people are on top of theirs. You learn from your peers, and you look forward to finding something new and exciting in your craft. Sounds much more fun and interactive and amazing, right?

Now don't get us wrong - perfection is still something you want to strive for, but realize that it's something that you probably won't achieve in your lifetime. No one does. Take Michelangelo and DaVinci. These two genius masters of the Renaissance have had lasting effects on the world, and these two guys were alive over 500 years ago. However, they weren't perfect, but both strove for perfection and constantly worked and worked and worked at their craft so much that many would call them "perfect," even though they were not always happy with their own work. Michelangelo wasn't pleased with a tomb for the pope that he worked on for 40 years! The reason we regard these two so greatly is that while they were extremely gifted and talented and produced amazing works of art and engineering, they constantly strove for perfection. Additionally, just because they weren't perfect doesn't mean that their work wasn't amazing and awe-inspiring. You shouldn't knock your own work just because it is not perfect - it can still be amazingly mind-blowing - the secret is to embrace your creation for what it is, and the next time keep on striving for that perfect piece.

You see, oftentimes we forget in our hyper-competitive world that the trip is just as important as the destination, and in the journey of a creative, the trip is more important than the destination. If we must strive for perfection but never achieve it, you can either look at it as extremely depressing and you can give up now, or you can enjoy the neverending quest for perfection and enjoy the ride.

If you're in the creative field because you want to make money, get out. Whatever the field you're in, if you're in it just to make money, then why bother? The whole point is that you should be doing something that you enjoy and love, and you need to find joy in the pursuit of perfection, not perfection itself.

So go out there, try your best, and make something awesome today. Because just remember, while it might not be perfect, it doesn't have to be.

The Formula for Making Miracles

So today we've decided to provide you with the formula for making miracles happen. These aren't the type of miracles that happen overnight (well, they can sometime), nor are they the "walk on water/resurrect the dead" type of miracle. The miracles we're talking about are the kind that change your life without you even knowing it. It's the book deal you've always wanted, or the opportunity to attend art school, or the "perfect job" of your dreams. It's the mural you've always wanted to be asked to paint, or the opportunity to study under a premier choreographer, the vision of the "future you" that you know may be possible, if you just believe and reach out.

One last caveat before we reveal all: the formula asks for a lot of hard work and time, so if you're not on board with busting your bootie for your dreams, either jump ship now and embrace the fact that you are choosing to ignore your inner artist, or brace yourself, strap in, and roll up your sleeves and get ready for a paradigm shift.

So the formula for making miracles happen is deceptively simple, yet can be frustratingly difficult.

The big (not so) secret is: D+W+F=O

While that probably makes no sense to you, let's break it down now, shall we?

The D is for DREAM. In movies, when it's bases loaded, down by 3, bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, you know that the batter isn't just thinking "hmm, I hope I'll hit the ball today." You know they are thinking about hitting that game-winning, last minute home run that'll make them the hero. If the batter just aims lower and goes only for a single, most likely this is not enough to pull all your runners into house base and someone on your team will get an out, and your team would be done. In this situation, you have to steel your resolve. Despite the real fear and the overwhelming doubts, you have to commit to dream big (and be ready to make it happen) or you go home with regrets. (It is not enough, to say, "well maybe . . . I would like this . . . it'd be nice" you have to think "Yes! I want it! All the way to the very ends")

Just as the batter is forced to dream big, so must you. Whatever your dream is, make sure you have it stuck in your mind and have it be clear about what you want. So take a step back and think about what sort of miracle you want. Would it be a miracle to own your own successful business that pays you $35k a year? Would it be a miracle to get a lead role in a feature film directed by David Lynch? Would it be a miracle to pay off all your student loans by selling hand-carved wooden figures? Whatever your dream is, be specific and make sure its a dream worth fighting for.

Your dream has to be worth fighting for, because the next part of the formula is going to need some fighting for. W is for Work. Like we said earlier, this isn't the resurrection-type of miracle. We're talking about real, achievable goals being met, and if you really want them to happen, you've gotta work for it. Whatever it is, whether creative or not, if you want the world to help you out, you have got to help yourself first.

Doing the work is not easy, but it is integral into getting what you want. Even if you're a certified genius, you'll still need to work hard if you want to move beyond your given talents. But chances are, like us, you aren't a genius, even if others might think you are. We would wager you probably work harder than anyone else, but you just keep that fact hidden. So given that you aren't a genius, but a normal human being that is talented and amazing, you're still going to have to put in lots of work. Ever heard of the 10,000 hour rule? So your miracle is probably going to need a bit of work, but it'll come. It's just a matter of doing the leg work. Just as you can't win the lottery without ever buying a ticket, you can't make or sell a painting without ever picking up some paint. Keep doing and keep putting yourself out there.

So you're doing the work, and it's long, and maybe it's hard, and maybe you're starting to think "why isn't this working?" If you think "this isn't working," it probably isn't. If you think that it does, it does. If you think that it's hard, it probably begins to be. If you think it's challenging, but doable and it gets easier, it probably does too. Start to get the pattern? The next part in the formula is F for Faith. This is the hardest concept to explain.

Whatever your thoughts are on religion or higher beings or the Universe, one thing that you absolutely, positively, must believe in is yourself and believe that if you take a step forward, the universe takes two for you. Help yourself and people around you can't help but lend their hands to you. You have the power to be proactive and to make whatever situation you are in, better. Trust me, there is always something that can be done that will get you closer to your dreams. And when you are working towards that, trust that whatever you are doing, is working. These miracles are the type that YOU manifest. You have to believe that you can accomplish your goal, and that before you know it, you are living your dreams. Often, most people don't achieve their goals because they give up too soon. They give up at the very moment that they should be leaning into it. The hard work didn't pay off fast enough for them, so they forsake everything and abandon their dreams.

Now people often think superstars in whatever field just explode out of no where. While this might be true a fraction of the time, often times it's not. In the art world, this misperception happens really, really often. You'll suddenly see some artist having solo show after solo show all over the world, and you'll think to yourself "damn, that artist is lucky, they just came out of nowhere." In reality, most of these artist were operating under the mainstream's radar for YEARS before they explode out into the mainstream press. Think about how long David Choe was hitting the streets before he became the world-wide gallery superstar that he is now. Like we said, 10,000 hours is about right if you're hoping to be the best at what you do.

So wait until you start hitting close to the 10,000 hours before you really decide to quit. If you want something like a free cheeseburger, give it a few days. Either way, depending on how large your dream is, the time frame that you'll have to keep believing in yourself despite all adversity will scale accordingly. After all, no one becomes the President of the United States overnight.

So, if you've taken the D+W+F, you'll see your miracles start to happen with the O, cuz that stands for Opportunity. After all that sweat (and maybe some blood and tears), you'll find that doors will start opening. Connections will suddenly become clear, investments you've started years ago will start to bear fruit, your work will be better than ever, you'll be better at hustling for your art. It'll be simple for you now, and you'll wonder about why you thought it was so hard in the beginning. But here is the hard-to-digest truth: It has always been easy if you believe it can be.

Think back, has any "coincidence" or "miracles" happened to you in the past? I know Monkey and Seal met a lot of awesome friends that seem to be in direct alignment to their dreams. We have also had many opportunities for gallery shows, freelance projects, and lasting friendships this way. So start talking about your dreams, take your Dreams and start going for them, put in the hard Work, and have Faith in yourself and believe that it's working and you'll start to see the Opportunities flow like miracles.

Celebrate All Success!!

Monkey here once again.

Here at Monkey + Seal, we often talk about chasing your dreams and setting goals - lots of long-term type stuff. But more often or not, the reason why lots of people give up on their dreams and settle for something less is not about the long-term motivation - everyone wants to follow their dreams. However, the biggest barrier is the short term blocks, and today, I want to talk about not rewarding yourself enough.

Once we're up and running and chasing after that dream, then what? Yes, we know it's a long and tough road, but are we just supposed to suffer through this long (sometimes even a lifetime) journey? If your goal is to become a famous painter (you should probably be more specific, but continuing on..) there's a lot that's going to happen on your way there.

You're going to finish paintings, put on gallery shows, submit to curators, sell pieces, have friends show up at your events, maybe you'll do some teaching, get a residency someplace - my point is that there are a lot of little (and big) things that will continue to occur until you're famous enough that museums are asking for solo shows and paying you hundreds of thousands of dollars for your art.

Often times, dream-chasers can be so focused on the goal that you're missing the bigger picture: you have to enjoy the ride.

Seriously. Like we've said before, if your goal is to be famous, it's easy. Go assassinate someone famous, blow up a city, give into the casting couch, run on television and shoot yourself in the face or something (please don't). if you want to be famous for doing something you love, that's the hard part, but it's also the enjoyable part as well. The big difference that when you say you want to be famous, you want to be famous by doing something you love and doing it well.

When you're doing something you love, it should be fun. Yes, it can be tiring or difficult at times (especially when you're shaking and trying to hang paintings because you're running on 2 hours of sleep), but at the end of the day, you're painting or dancing or singing or acting or writing or doing whatever it is that you love to do. It's awesome - so acknowledge that and be happy!

I personally often put down my own accomplishments because it's not received with some gigantic fanfare and the like, or it's not up to my 130% uber-expectations. However, if you don't celebrate these little achievements, what's the point? Every time you finish a painting, you should think "wow, I created something," not "ugg, this turned out shitty." It's probably not nearly as bad as you think, and if you hate it so much, then it's probably not finished and you need to do more work.

Celebrate everything, even your failures, and you'll find that the ride is becoming much more enjoyable and you'll be a lot happier. Complaining is fine, and acknowledging your weaknesses and flaws is fine, but just don't let them overshadow all that is going right with your life. Didn't sell any paintings at your recent show? That sucks, but YOU JUST HAD A SHOW! Lots of artists don't get shows. Finished a really great painting but didn't get into a show you submitted to? That sucks, but YOU JUST FINISHED A GREAT PAINTING! Lots of people couldn't paint to save their lives!

Everyone has good and bad days, successes and failures. Whether or not you're happy is all about your mindset. Enjoy the journey and the little success, and you'll find that you'll be a lot happier and the road to your goals will be much smoother.

Building Up Your Dream Team / Thank You!

Don't fight by yourself!

Being an artist can often seem like a solitary profession. Even when working as a team to say, produce a game or animate a short, a lot of time is spent by oneself actually producing the art.

We often tend to think that we're forging ahead alone, a lone commando typing away at our computer or painting in our studio. Especially if you work a dayjob, it's often work at the office, then come home and create by yourself.

However, as you begin to look to create more opportunities for yourself, there is a huge revelation that you must come upon if you hope to ever "make it" as a professional artist:

You cannot do it alone.

Plain and simple, no matter how skilled you are, if you forsake all help, you're not going to go too far in life. Whether it was your teachers who taught you how to paint, or your friend who listens to you after a bad day at work, or your partner who helps out with rent while you pursue a more financially-risky dream, you are not alone.

Quite frankly, it's impossible to go it alone. Even if you build an internet empire from scratch, it's the word of mouth referrals and the help of your fans that will eventually build you up. No brand is without it's buyers, and no empire is an empire without people supporting it.

The easiest way to build up your own dream team of supporters, friends, allies, and other people who will help take you to the top is to help them to the top. While we don't advocate giving more than you really can (or making false promises), supporting others when you can and doing your best to help others reach their goals is by far the way to do things.

The rule of thumb is to just be a good person that helps out their friends and is a caring, supportive teammate, partner, friend, coworker, co-ninja, etc. etc. That way, you'll find that your own team is more supportive, caring, and generally awesome, and then your combined efforts synergistically evolve into crazy things that you wouldn't have been able to achieve on your own.

We also understand that not everyone is going to be right for your team. There are tons of people who you won't connect with, or are too self-absorbed to ever consider giving back. But if you keep putting yourself out there and being supportive to others, you'll find that you'll connect with other like-minded people and your tribe will grow.

Additionally, make sure that you don't take what people give you for granted. Just because you helped someone out doesn't mean they're ever obligated to help you out in return, and you shouldn't operate under the mentality that you're giving so people owe you. Understand that you're giving because you want to support other cool artists, and in turn you'll naturally find others who want to support you because people like helping other cool people. We believe that most people are generally good, and if you show them a little love they'll show it right back.

When you're in an appreciative mindset, you'll not only be creating a positive energy for others, but you'll be creating a positive space for you too. Gratitude is contagious, and nothing is more empowering or awesome to see than a whole group of people working together, happy and thankful for each other making awesome stuff happen.

On that note, we know that we appreciate everyone who reads our blogs, and reposts our tweets, and follows us on facebook, and who has either bought or recommended our art to a friend, or has introduced us to their artist friends, or have come out to our gallery shows. So while this post was supposed to be primarily about how to build up your own support team, we just wanted to take time out to say "Thank You" to everyone who has supported us all these years. Whether you've been with us back while we were still in art school or are just joining us now, Thank you. Whether you lurk about on our website or post on the blog, whether you say hi at craft fairs or send us letters, thanks a million. We wouldn't be where we are without you, and we hope that you feel like we've got your back as well.

So while you're out there making friends and changing the world, we hope you aren't afraid to reach out to us for help along the way! Let's make our dreams come true together!

Why Logic Does Matter

If you missed the post on Monday about logic, please check it out here. After you've caught up, or if you simply are someone who like logic, please read on:

As an artist, we are often bombarded by the urges to do what is logical and obvious to people who are not artists. The world, as a whole, doesn't encourage artists, it doesn't (really) encourage following your dreams, and it sure as heck doesn't encourage artists following their dreams. By all "normal" standards, following your artist dreams isn't logical - it's pretty stupid, or at least that's how it used to be.

You see, it made "logical" sense to stay at some job you were probably lukewarm about (at best), for 30-40 years, because once you retire, your company will take care of you. It's easy street in retirement, with your pension taking care of you and your 401k making life fun. No longer. Large companies don't care about their employees and smaller companies might not last. Besides making yourself indispensable for your company's success, there is no such thing as job security.

Our economy is not what it was, and with a growing number of graduates with Bachelor's degrees, jobs are more and more competitive. There are no guarantees anymore, and it makes people crazy. Especially people who are from the time where life was a little bit simpler, and hardwork, determination, and drive were the only things that you needed to get by. Now, not only do you have to work hard, be determined, and feel that inner drive, you also need to be passionate, creative, and remarkable. Yet, people still think that the traditional way of doing things is what is logical. Ridiculous, we say.

If your parents want you to become a lawyer or a doctor because these professions were in high regard (ie they paid well), that's no longer the case, unfortunately. There are tons of lawyers and doctors who are finding it's suddenly hard to find employment. So then if there is no real security, if there is no real sure-fire way to make it, why not follow your dreams and pursue what you really love? In our mind, that's the only logical choice to make.

Now we're not saying that you should quit your day job tomorrow and go off and be an artist full-time. What we are saying is that you need to cherish your art. Cherish that inner drive and the burn to create. Make a plan to slowly create income from your art before you quit that job that drives you crazy. Do things logically - do research, create a plan, create a back-up plan, and then go follow your dream.

We tend to think that you have to either follow your head or your heart. We think that when you can strike that perfect balance between the two that the real magic begins. What wonders are you going to create today?

Why Logic Doesn't Matter

I was over at Chris Guillebeau's blog reading his latest post and he mentions that while traveling, not everyone's logic works the same way. This insight has led us to write a 2-part series on logic. This is the first one, stay tuned for Wednesday's post for the next part!

While the idea of logic is that it is based on facts and universal truths, Chris brings up an interesting and important point - logic is based on subjective truths and facts that are available. What we mean by this is that although some choices may seem obvious and clear and logical to outsiders, often the facts aren't so clear.

If you're an artist, or even a closeted artist, chances are you burn with the desire to create. Whether that is creating a painting, an expression through dance, or a new melody, there is that itch in the base of your brain that is telling you to make something. We would guess that most "non-artists" are all actually closeted artists in some sense or another - some have buried that inner artist so deep they'll never find them again, and others are artists in manners that most people don't get, like creating an art out of using Excel, or being a financial forecasting wizard. If you're creating with your soul behind it, you're an artist.

This is our idealistic view on the world. However, many people who don't believe themselves to be artists (whether or not they actually are is beside the point), will often tell you that your art is just a hobby, or maybe they told you it wasn't any good, or maybe they just ignored it. Either way, because art isn't valued nearly enough as it should, people often try to tear down our dreams.

They tell us that only a very small percentage of artists actually can live off their art. They reinforce the stereotype of the starving artist. They tell us to "get a real job." Why? Because in their mind, it's the only logical way of dealing with this.

If you have not embraced your inner artist, it makes logical sense to base your life off what is going to provide you with food and shelter. If you have high student loans, it makes sense to try and get a high-paying job. If you can get a job as an engineer or a doctor or a lawyer, or anything that pays well, it makes logical sense to keep the job because it pays well, and money (for good or for bad) is what provides us with food and shelter (and other cool stuff like computers, paint, brushes, canvas, etc. etc.). However, if you have not embraced your inner artist, you don't take into the consideration the burning desire to follow your artistic vision and that need to create.

As an artist, even though it may seem risky, it may seem stupid, it may seem illogical, chasing your dreams is almost as vital as food or shelter. The burning desire to do something more than just survive and consume, but to actually create - this is a need that cannot go unfulfilled.

That's why in some ways, it may seem illogical to be an artist. It may seem illogical to try and make it as a painter, or as a musician, or a dancer, or a photographer, or whatever, but if you feel that inner fire that calls out to you and shouts "CREATE" - then all you can do is listen and create.

Stay tuned for Wednesday's post on why logic does matter.

Be Creative . . . While you Sleep!

Did you know, that when you are asleep, your brain is firing off cells as if it is still awake? Recently, Monkey + Seal were listening to a podcast by Radio Lab about "sleep and dreams". When a rat runs through a maze during the day, when he goes to sleep, his brain is firing off the same information as if he is going through the same maze! Each turn, each jump, everything - his physical and mental experience, the brain recorded it and played it back to-the-dot in his dreams. When the rat ran two different mazes during the day, when he slept, he dreamt of "a mix-and-match" parts of both mazes.

Meaning: when we dream at night, we free-associate and create new meanings from all of the experiences we had ever lived through.

Well, what's this got to do with being an artist you might be thinking? 1.) If we are creating in our sleep, then . . .You can also use your dreams to solve your artistic problems/questions. Write your question at night before you go to bed, "what shall I create tomorrow" or "should I paint that dog blue or red?" "how shall I end this novel?" etc. You'll be surprised. Trust us, it works. Most likely you'll find that an answer is presented to you when you wake up. (Don't forget to write it down!)

So, we use our dreams for creativity, what else? If we repeat the similar experiences of our waking moments even when we are asleep . . .We can solve an even bigger life problem. What if your life experience has been filled with past disappointments, broken dreams, and unfulfilled creativity? Wouldn't you, then, keep playing the same negative record over and over again in your biological cells when you sleep?

Science would say: Yes.

The same would be true if you filled your everyday life with creativity, love, and meaning-making efforts. You would then dream of the same encouraging dose of positive energy.

Seal recently tried this experiment out on herself. And it works. Prior to listening to this podcast, Seal mainly dreamed of harsh critics, being stunted in her art, and of scarcity. Because, unfortunately up until a few years ago, that's all she had ever known. So for the past couple of nights, she decided to give it a try. During the day she painted, whether she was feeling like it or not. She went on adventures, drank pumpkin spiced latte, attended a storytelling performance, filled her life with more creative endeavors. Before she went to bed at night, she would meditate on the positive experiences of the day while breathing deeply. In the morning, when she woke up, she felt immediately the surge to face her easel right away. This is new, since it usually takes several hours for Seal to get out of bed and into creative mode. The new change also allows Seal to have more clarity during the day. She can hear the positive voice getting stronger with each day - that voice that says, "you're enough" and "why don't we try that" or "that could be fun."

Have you ever noted how you feel, the very moment you wake up? Are you filled with energy? Are you ready to create? To face your paper and the easel? Or do you feel sluggish, un-rested, and un-creative? Isn't it then worth it to spend our efforts in making new, creative experiences in order to re-live them in our dreams, in order to feel refreshed and ready for more creativity?

The very second you are "awake" is the moment of a very important decision: will you create today? Will you make meaning today?

MonkeyandSeal hopes you are creative during the day and dreaming of creativity at night. Isn't your dreams worth trying?

Pursuing Your Dream

Monkey + Seal, as you probably know by now, are pursuing their dreams of living their lives as financially successful artists who are able to change the world (for the better) through their art. In the very subjective art world that is usually only interested in sure-sales (after all, who goes into the business to not make money?), this can be difficult.

Most people grow up learning that art doesn't pay the bills, that professions like engineering or medicine or law are the way to go, since they're higher-paying jobs. Acting is too competitive. Dancers don't make money. Artists are always "starving." With such a background, we get asked (and sometimes we ask ourselves) "How do you do it? How do you follow a dream that seems impossible?"

The super-cool, quotable movie-one-liner is "How do you not?" (and then we put on our sunglasses and walk away, with the person asking the question totally dumbfounded and cut scene to us back in the studio painting). In all seriousness though, it's really the honest answer.

To abandon one's dream, to give up what you want to do with your life is an incredibly difficult choice. While we often think that it's not a choice, that it's the safe, responsible, socially-approved way of going about life, it is a choice. It's a choice that goes against your inner you; it defies your core self and is a constant day-to-day battle. If you're unhappy at your job, because you'd rather be doing something else, it's obvious that you're not doing what you really want to be doing, because let us tell you that if you're doing what you love, it doesn't seem like work.

If we hated painting and making art and screenprinting, we wouldn't keep doing it even after working a day job then coming home and doing laundry and cooking dinner and ohwaitwhyisitalready2am and then still deciding to break out the paints. We wouldn't spend three days reworking our webstore, or using our savings to buy t-shirts to print on, or show at craft fairs without sleeping if it wasn't what we really truly loved.

Doing all that stuff, which seems crazy and difficult, is still crazy and difficult, but we do it because in the end, it's working towards our dream. Is it scary at times? Oh most definitely. But what we find more scary than trying and maybe failing is not trying - after all, not trying has a 100% rate of failure.

If we have kids, we never want to force them into following a dream because we never chased it. At the end of the day, failure is okay. Failing is learning what didn't work so you can make it work next time. Failure is more experience. Not trying..well, not trying is nothing to write home about, and that lingering "what if" will always be there, haunting you.

Following your dream is scary, but what is scarier is the thought of growing old and having regrets. When faced with these two options, what will you choose?

You Can Have it All and Then Some

“What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are.” - Anthony Robbins

Seal here:

What if I were to say, no matter where you are in life, no matter how old you are, what your economic or educational background is, you can have it all and then some?

I know the skeptics in us, will start its rampage of defenses: "Of course you can't have it all. I'm 50 years old. I am in debt. I have no money or food. How dare you try to get me to hope on something I cannot possibly be or have." You will think I am crazy. You may be even afraid to believe in what I am about to say, but I am saying this out of experience: The very thing your heart desires, is very possible and very doable.

We often discount the possibilities and our own potential to accomplish what we desire most, if we simply try. We are afraid of looking like fools on an "impossible grandiose quest," so instead, we obsess about the odds against us. Rather than working on the novel, a page a day, and finally getting it published, we research the trends and decide that there is no market for our art. We put the novel away and go back to our daily grind. We put a marker on everything and label it: "impossible." Going to art school: impossible. Meeting and dating a wonderful partner: impossible. Getting a gallery to curate my art: impossible. Finishing my art in time for the art fair: impossible.

Then let me ask you this: has this limited belief, thinking, and behavior gotten you anywhere? Has it made you happy? Or allowed you to take the next step that can possibly lead you EXACTLY to your dreams?

I don't blame you. This is an old human trick. Our very biological impulses has made it hard for our to change or grow. Human life has survived on in-action. We stay safe in the cave. We do not go out, because out there -- it's scary. So we say, it is impossible to go outside of the cave. There is nothing beyond this cave. So we stay inside. We remain as we are. And we rot.

But aren't you curious? About what's outside of your own cave?

Isn't it egotistical to define the confines and limitations of what is possible in this world by human standards? Humans are merely babies in comparison to the immeasurable universe. There are galaxies beyond our own. So who's to say, what is possible? So how about that art class you've been thinking about? Seems easier to do than riding to the moon, right?

I invite you, for even just a moment, to entertain the possibility of your dreams. To do away with the word "impossible." Whatever you desire, it is possible. It is possible within my budget. It is possible within my time frame. It is possible to accomplish just as I am right now.

Beethoven was deaf when he composed his final symphony, the famous European Anthem "Ode to Joy," one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire.

I can't speak for all of us, but most of have ears, haven't we? We have legs to stand on. And Hands to create with. Even if we're poor, we have napkins and cardboards to write on. So what's stopping you?

“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.” - Christopher Reeve

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you have imagined." - Thoreau

--
The road to recovering your dreams:
Try these activities for starter:

1.) Take one sheet of blank paper, write on the Title "I want/ I desire." Now fill up both sides of the page. Your wishes can be big like an "art job" or it can be as small as a sticker. No censorship. Just write.

2.) Now take one of those wishes/ desires and focus on it's possibility. Take actions towards that goal. If it's an art job, how about searching the internet? Do you know anyone in the art field? (Monkey and Seal count). How about making a portfolio to apply for art jobs? If it's a sticker, go to your local Wallgreens, and buy one for $1.

Just writing down your desires, invoke the possibility of the universe. You'll start to find that "all matter of coincidences" will fall towards accomplishing your dream, if you simply focus and take actions towards it.

Good luck and know that you're not alone!

If you know what you want, then be specific

We all (hopefully) have goals and dreams. Whether it's living off your art (like Monkey + Seal's dream), or becoming the highest grossing actor ever, or being able to get 40 regular marshmallows in your mouth and still being able to say "chubby bunny," we often have some sort of benchmark or achievement that we are striving for.

Sometimes, your goal is specific. For example, to be the highest grossing actor ever, you need to start making tons of money through acting. Sometimes, if your goal is being an internationally-recognized artist, it might be a bit more nebulous. How many countries do you have to be known in? Who has to recognize you as an artist in said countries?

Monkey made this one of his goals a year back, hoping to be invited to show his paintings around the world by some of the largest lowbrow/pop surrealist galleries in places like Sao Paolo, Brazil, and Tokyo, Japan. However, he never really consciously stated that. He chose his goal to simply be "an internationally recognized artist."

When your goal is more of an internalized concept like Monkey's was, you'd be surprised as to how quickly you can achieve it. Monkey has been selling zines overseas for two years now via our Etsy site, and recently, he sold some ties and prints to some fans in Australia (thanks everyone!). Technically, he has now been recognized by someone as an artist outside the United States, thus qualifying him as an internationally-recognized artist.

Sure, that's not what Monkey really meant. It's not what you probably think of when you hear "internationally recognized artist," but the term is sort of a vague one. While Monkey is happy he hit this goal, he's made his goal more specific, and is still waiting to hear back from curators abroad.

The point of all this is that if you have a broad goal and are constantly working towards it, you may have already achieved it in a sense, without even knowing it. If this this is the case, congratulate yourself for a job well done. If you find that this is a bit of a let-down, that you didn't really get what you wanted, then it's fate's way of telling you to be a bit more specific with what you want.

The realization of knowing that you're already gotten what you wished for is a bit sobering at times, and the feeling of "this isn't what I wanted" isn't the greatest. Many times Monkey + Seal will realize that we were asking for the wrong thing, or perhaps we didn't even know what we wanted in the first place. Use these "mini" milestones and learn from them, and use them to figure out what you really want, and set your sights on it. We think that once you figure out what you want in your heart of hearts, the steps to getting it will be clearer than you could ever imagine. Now it'll just be up to you to taking those steps.

Painting What Sells or Painting What You Love

What you choose to paint is usually regarded as a dichotomy. You either paint what sells, or you paint what you love.

It's easy to paint what sells. You can copy the style of a famous artist and do what they do. You can also just look into illustration/fine art annuals and figure out what people like. You can spend hours and hours practicing and drawing, and once you get your traditional classical realism down paint some dragons and monsters and barbarians with topless women and you're set.

It's not easy to paint what you love. You have to figure out what parts of your style are you, and what are habits that have been drilled into your brain by society, peers, schooling, or anything else that has led to your development as an artist. You also have to leave all that other stuff behind and do what you want. Sometimes you'll find commercial success right away, especially if what you love to paint also happens to be what sells. Other times, you'll have to find a niche audience that may be scattered across the globe. You'll probably have to spend years experimenting to even figure out what you love, then spend more years honing your craft before you ever get mainstream commercial success.

If you paint what sells, you'll probably end up hating your art and you'll be financially successful but most likely painting won't even be fun anymore. You'll be doing someone else's style, doing someone else's subject matter. When what's "in" changes, you'll find that your (borrowed) style is no longer as in-demand as it once was, and you'll have to start all over.

If you paint what you love, although jobs might be harder to find, and gallery shows might not come as readily, painting will be a total release from all the other crap you might have to put up with. When you paint what you love, you'll love painting enough to deal with loans, late fees, overdrafts, and budgeting between food and art supplies.

But life isn't a dichotomy. While it's true that there are subjects and styles that sell better than others, you can still paint what you love and be successful. Often times the love that you have for your paintings will translate onto your canvas. It becomes about finding your audience and giving your craft your all. Even if you are technically able to do a certain style, or a certain subject, if your heart isn't in it, you'll be unhappy.

When you're well-known and in-demand, people will ask to see more of what they've already seen before. Sure, styles and subjects might vary a bit, but people will want to see some continuity from your previous work. If all you have for previous work is stuff you don't like to paint, you'll be stuck painting more of the same. Even if it takes longer (which won't necessarily happen) to become more successful by painting what you love, when you finally reach that success you'll find that it's a lot more fulfilling and lucrative than just following the trends and doing what sells.

You can also figure out what your audience wants and still stay true to your own voice. Ask them! Put up a survey, ask your friends - what part of your art do they like the most? What would they want to see? Find out something that people will like, and then do your own twist on it - but only if you want to. If people say they want to see landscapes, and you hate landscapes, by all means pass. But if people say they want to see pirates and you actually like pirates, then you can paint them in whatever style suits you best.

Find the love in your work, whether its paintings, writing, acting, dancing, teaching, engineering, managing, selling, whatever. Find what you love do to and pursue it endlessly. And if you can figure out a way to make a living off doing just that, you'll be even better off. You'll find that no matter how long the journey, it will be an enjoyable and profitable one.