Triumphing Over Fear

Monkey here. Just a FYI, the illustration this week is a bit more graphic than usual and may be disturbing to sensitive readers.  I also talk about assassination attempts and violence (and yes, I tie it all back into creating and art), so if that might bother you, please come back next week.  The post starts (with the illustration) after the jump.

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.

Your Lazy Friend Bob

We all have that friend who, when it comes to creating, is "lazy." They mope around complaining about this or that, how the stars aren't aligned right to paint or how they just have to finish watching this TV show before they can sit down to write. Your friend also probably complains about not having enough time to create, even though they're on FB or twitter constantly clicking their digital crops or fighting the undead or resharing inspirational quotes/petitions/photos with black frames and white text underneath.

Your friend probably even knows that they're not getting enough work done. Frankly, it's almost certain when pressed, they'll lament their own perceived laziness. They obviously want to create, but they are just locked in a seemingly never-ending struggle to the death with their laziness.

Fret not, intrepid readers, as there is hope for your friend. The thing that you have to realize is that your friend isn't lazy. What we most often regard of as laziness is actually fear. Yes, fear, our constant frenemy that helps to keep us from walking into a bear cave, yet plagues us when we want to do our creative work.

You see, laziness is the cover, fear's camouflage, if you will. What is known as laziness is really symptoms and actions of self-preservation. Whether its the fear that your creation won't be up to par, or the fear that it will be, or the fear that it'll shock and offend, or the fear that no one will notice it, when you are so scared of the pain of confronting your fear, you stall. However your friend does this, they're stalling for tine to get out of having to face that pain. Pain hurts. Whether its this ball of twisting anxiety in your chest (like it is for Monkey), or a clenching in your stomach or that kink in your neck, the anxiety towards creating can be very real and uncomfortable. However, you can only confront our so-called "laziness" by confronting this pain and fear.

A technique that we like is called the "What are you afraid of? Why is that a problem?" game (super thoughtful title, we know). Whenever your friend is experiencing that fear of creating, ask them (or have them ask them self) " What are you afraid of?" Once they respond, the next question becomes "Why is that a problem?" To their response, ask again, "Why is that a problem?" You keep repeating this question again and again until they realize how their fears are usually conjured up to be something terrible when in reality it's not so bad. And if their fears do stem from something traumatic, then you at least know what you're dealing with.

An example. Bob wants to paint, but is "too lazy" to get out his paint set-up. "What are you afraid of, Bob?"

"I might have to do work and get all my crap together to paint."

"Why is that a problem?"

"It's hard work."

"Why is that a problem?"

"I don't like hard work."

"Why is that a problem?"

"It makes me get up and do something."

"Why is that a problem?"

"If I get up and do work, and it ends up sucking, I'd hate it."

"Why is that a problem?"

"It would suck. I'd hate the idea that I wasted some time."

"Why is that a problem?"

"Because if it sucks, then it'll prove that I'm a terrible frickin' artist."

Oh will it now? Bob just realized that in the end, it is not about laziness like he thought. It's not laziness at all, but in fact a deeply-hidden insecurity. To work past this issue, it's not so much dealing with helping Bob get off the couch, but actually dealing with the fact that Bob is afraid of work that doesn't live up to his expectations will "prove" that he is a bad artist. What Bob needs to do is let himself make bad art on purpose to show himself that everything he creates does not have to be a masterpiece. He needs to let go and find what makes art fun again so that he won't be afraid to create those masterpieces that he so obviously longs for.

While your own friend's experience might not be the exact same issue, it's worth it to sit down with yourself and do this exercise in the privacy of your own home. Ask the questions and answer it out loud. Do it in the shower if you need some privacy. It really helps a lot to determine what the real issues are so you can start combating them directly and get back to what you're meant to do: creating.

Why Monkey Hates Work

Monkey here today. Over the past few weeks, I've actually been having a bunch of what seem like emotional breakthroughs, so instead of try to be all preachy preachy, here's a look/call to arms about one of the things that I've been working on.

In order to get where I'm coming from, you'll need a bit of backstory.

Growing up, a lot of things came easily to me. This isn't just to brag, it's just how it was. I was home schooled until 4th grade, and when I entered public school, while I was really scared I'd be really behind the other kids, I found that I caught up and surpassed most of my classmates. On my first standardized test, I was in the 99th percentile for my age for most of the categories, and only in one subject was I below the 80th percentile. I was quickly pulled from my neighborhood school and put into a gifted program, where I continued to excel academically. To be perfectly honest, school was hella easy for me.

I know now how the school system in America biases certain intelligences and downplays others, and for whatever reason I was lucky to be gifted in the intelligences that schools promote. Thus, I coasted through elementary school, jr. high, and high school easily. Other students would study for a week for certain tests that I would study for the night before, and I'd still score higher. However, the ease at which academics came to me set me up for unrealistic expectations of myself.

When you get straight A's, constantly, there's not much higher you can go. Eventually my success in school became sort of business-as-usual, and my parents pretty much stopped checking my report cards after a while. High academic success was really just the normal routine.

At the same time, in junior high, I had friends who were even smarter than I was. They tried even less than I did, and would be the type to ace the SAT's on their first try. If I was above-average, they were genius-level.

Growing up in this environment did two things for me. First, it taught me that genius exists, and that I sort of was one, but not quite. Second, I was taught that the amount of work one puts into something is completely unrelated to your success.

Looking back, maybe the friends who were "smarter" than I was really just did a great job of hiding their studying. Maybe they were just naturally attuned to math and sciences. Who knows. Regardless, I've been living with an extremely high resistance to doing the work. As much as I talk about it here on the blog, it's mainly me trying to figure out my own head and to try new tactics that'll help me do my own work.

I just recently realized that the reason why I hate just sitting down and painting and would rather come up with some new complex money-generating plan is that my achievements for a good portion of my life had no correlation to the work I put into them. Things that came easily for me were celebrated, and when I tried really hard at something I wasn't naturally good at (something like, say, water polo), because the results weren't there, no one was there to celebrate my efforts.

Thus, every day I deal with a huge amount of guilt and self-hatred centered around my work. I compare myself to people who have been painting for 40 years, not other people who have been painting for 5. I compare my achievements to where I want to be when I'm 90, not to where I would want to be when I'm almost 30. Thus, the disparity of what I see when I finish a piece and what I want to see is like comparing a person who has never taken cooking lessons to a master chef (I do that comparison too).

When everything you do looks like a failure, you would want to run away too. Thus, the constant periods of facebook games, the busywork that should really wait until after the painting is done, the focus on business and marketing when I should really just be making more art. Sigh.

I hate doing the work, and often wish that everything was just handed to me. But I also know how hollow that feels, and really what I'm looking for is to be recognized for trying. Life is hard, and I, just like everyone, just wants to be recognized for what one was able to do. We're a generation that was told that we could do whatever we wanted if we put our minds to it, but we're graduating with huge piles of debt, are still lost at what we want in life, and are often set adrift in a less-than-ideal job hunting situation. No wonder so many of us are discouraged.

For me, figuring out the reason why I hate doing the work was really insightful, and doing things like recording all the stuff I do every day has really helped. As new-agey as it sounds (and probably is), repeating affirmations that "My work matters," has helped a lot as well. I still hate doing the work, but I'm finding that the pain that prevents me from actually creating something is slowly subsiding. I'm finding that I have more and more agency over when I do what (ie shut off the Facebook).

So whether you choose to do the scary thing of expose your own weird traumas and issues publicly like me, or choose to do the equally scary thing of confront your fears in the privacy of your own home/head, it really is something you need to do.

If you can relate at all to the feelings of regret, betrayal, loss, anger, and all the other crap that gets drudged up when you are trying to create, I can only urge you to bite your lip and plant your feet; look your fear in the eye, clench your fists and ask "why?" The answer might surprise you. And if you, like I did, feel guilty about your trauma (I didn't write about this for a long time since I thought people would think "oh, poor little smart boy is crying that he's not genius enough"), smash that thought. It's your life, and no one besides you has any right to tell you what is or isn't traumatic.

Take your life by the reigns and shake your fear until it's beady little eyes spin - you're not going to let it rule your life anymore, and this is your first step in taking back what is rightfully so. My work matters, and so does yours, and yours, and yours, and no one can stop us now.

How to Quit Your Day Job in One Easy Step

First off, thanks everyone one for your patience and understanding. Our crisis over here at the Monkey + Seal cave as been averted, and while we meant to get a new post and newsletter up late last week, some crazy deadlines and an exacto blade going into Monkey's foot sort of took priority. Anyway, on to the post.

Monkey here:

So 1.5 weeks ago, I quit my retail gig to pursue art full time. It was a bit scary (more like terrifying), but when you're at a job where auto-pilot still exceeds expectations, and you've been at the company longer than the CEO, you know it's time to get out.

So what's the magic formula to get out of your job? I'll tell you, but let me give you a bit more background info. If you read our last post "I Have $161,635.78 in Student Loans, $15,000 in Credit Card Debt, and I Want To Be An Artist..." you probably figured out that any decision that involves giving up a revenue stream for me isn't the easiest one to make. Even though that post was originally written in 2009, when you have that sort of crushing debt and aren't some well-compensated white-collar worker and instead are a paper-peddling artist, not a whole lot of debt can be wiped clean in two years. I have knocked down the credit card debt to $8,930.81, but the student loans are pretty much still where they were.

So as you an see, being about $170k in debt doesn't make the decision to leave your job any easier. This is probably compounded by the fact that I have pretty much $0 in savings, and it's not like I'm leaving my job for a full-time salaried position. I'm leaving my job for a fledgling printing business (www.thelordsofprint.com, if you need any t-shirts printed), as well as my own creative ventures that range from illustration and fine art to our screen-printed ties, to DIY wedding invitations (we're not quite ready for launch, but you'll hear about it when we do).

Sort of terrifying, right?

So now I will impart on you the single, solitary step that you must take to quit your day job: Write a letter of resignation, and turn it into your boss.

There, that's it! Pretty easy, right? No magic spell, no earth-shattering revelations here. That's really all that's too it.

While I'm sure you read this post because you were more interested in how to quickly and easily quit your job and start living off doing what you love. To be honest, the one single step IS to just resign. However, this sort of smart-assed answer is here to underline the fact that there IS NOT a single, easy, happy-fun way to quit your job and live off your creativity.

The unfortunate truth about it all is that there is no way for me to tell you how to quit your day job. Everyone's financial circumstances, business acumen, entrepreneurial spirit, tolerance for risk, and general tendency to rush into things with a general disregard of popular opinion are completely different. Because of this, I guarantee that as similar as we are all, you're going to have to make that decision to leave your job for yourself.

Quitting your day job without something certain in place is definitely not for everyone. There are a lot of sacrifices you have to make. You'll be stressed more, and you'll probably be up late working, since all the stuff that your co-workers and your boss are doing (like accounting, marketing, whatever), you'll have to do yourself ON TOP of creating. You'll have to watch your finances more, which could mean not going out to bars as often, or maybe eating lunches of bread and water and dinners of pasta.

Maybe you do have something certain in place. Maybe your partner can help out with the bills or perhaps you've been saving enough to take a leap of faith. While this would relieve a lot of the fear of failing and becoming homeless, you still have to figure out how this is going to strain your relationship or how long you can last in case things don't work out. You're still going to have to do more work, as being your own boss is about five times more work than going to some day job, but is also about ten times as rewarding.

The one thing that is common among anyone who will set out on their own and turn in that two-weeks notice is that they have to believe in themselves. If you don't have faith in your own strength, your own passion, your own desire to become something more, then make the easy decisions. Stay at your job while you build up a career doing creative things. This is the path most travelled by successful artists. I know tons of painters and illustrators who work day jobs and create at night. There is nothing wrong with this, and it's great to save up, work off debt, and make sure that you have enough to live on before pursuing your art full-time. When that time comes to leave, however, you still have to have faith in yourself that you'll make it on your own.

Whatever you need to have that unwavering faith that you'll be okay - that you'll succeed beyond your wildest expectations is what you have to chase. For me, a total safety net is too safe - having something reliable makes me complacent and lazy. Having my ass to the fire is really what gets me going, and knowing that if I don't hustle faster, better, and smarter than before I'll be in some serious trouble, and that knowledge gets my blood boiling and my work done.

For most people, cutting the safety net is probably a terrifying, paralyzing thought, and the best way to build up your confidence is to take the small steps of building up a career slowly, doing as much as you can when you can. You don't have to throw caution to the wind - cutting the safety net can be a safe process of establishing a client base or a successful product line, of vending for years to build up your confidence that your art will make money.

So while it may manifest itself differently for everyone, please be sure to know that choosing to leave your day job is a highly personal decision that is one that must be made with the full knowledge of what you're getting yourself into. Have faith in yourself, and whether it's time to quit right now or in a few years, keep making those steps towards believing in yourself and you'll surprise yourself with that you achieve.

The Root of Fear and How to Defeat It

There are lots of things to be scared about in life. Giant robots, clowns, chainsaw monsters, being homeless, death, scary old rich people who don't care about other people - there's lots to be scared about. There are even giant plant/boar/fungus/frog hybrid nightmare beasts to worry about. But really, all our fears, at a very basic level, all boil down to one single fear.

This fear is what paralyzes us when we should be taking action. It keeps us awake at night worrying, it prevents us from leaving our day job. It seeps out from a deep, primal part of our brain and often times, we don't even know it. It is a fear so deeply ingrained in our mind that unless you're specifically aware of it and looking out for it, it'll operate stealthily, right under the plane of consciousness like some evil fear ninja assassinating your success.

It is the fear of being inadequate. It is the fear of not being "enough."

When we're afraid of monsters, we're afraid that we won't be strong enough to defeat them. When we're afraid of losing our jobs, we're afraid that we won't be able to find another one. When we're afraid of being abandoned, we're afraid that no one else will save us and love us. When we're afraid of people not liking us, we're afraid that no one else will. When we're afraid of asking for help, we're really afraid that no one will.

Pretty much every fear stems from this fear of inadequacy. While we may feel competent and skilled and awesome in some aspects of our life, if we're afraid of anything (which we all are), it stems from the fear of not being adequate. This fear is strongest because it is so hardwired into our head. Ever since we've been alive, we've seen other people not be enough. We've seen the hero die in horror movies, not strong enough to combat the ancient evil. We've seen business close down and people lose their homes. We've seen homeless people on the street, drug addicts on the corner, people who hate their jobs but are seemingly stuck there. We've seen people fail tests, people get kicked out of school, people who our parents talked patronizingly about or with pity. All our lives, we've seen people being punished for failing.

Because with our hyper-competitive world, there is one winner and a bunch of losers. One person takes home the grand prize, no one else does. You win the gold, or you don't. You get into the school of you dreams, or you don't. Even then, you graduate as valedictorian, or you don't. We have been conditioned from extremely young ages to believe that you are either the best or you're nothing. It's an all-or-nothing binary world that we're told we live in. We get encouraging pats on the head when we come in second, but everyone knows that it's still not first.

However, fuck all of that.

You see, your binary world is baloney. Being second place is still awesome, and failure isn't something to be ashamed of. Failing is an opportunity to learn and grow so you can come back even stronger the next time. There are millions of grand prizes out there, and truly winning is figuring out that your competition is yours alone, and really the only person playing against you is yourself. You are your biggest adversary, but you are also your biggest trump card.

You see, you are way more crazy amazing than you think you are. I can already hear you thinking "well, I'm not really that great." NO. Turn off the inner voices, shut up your parents and teachers and peers, and listen for a second.

You. Are. Amazing.

YOU (not that other person, you). Are. Amazing.

If you have read this far, it's because you're interested in whatever you are afraid of. If you're interested in what you're afraid of, it is because you want to crush that fear and move past it. If you want to crush your fear and move past it, it is because you want to change and that, dear reader, shows that you are already above and beyond most people. Most people don't care about fear, as they live by it. They are too scared and too paralyzed to even search for a way to defeat it. By showing the slightest inclination to defeating your fear, you're taking the first step to conquering it, and gosh damn that's a pretty amazing thing to do.

You have the capacity to do something amazing, and its only fear that is holding you back. Think about all the projects you'd do, or the places you'd see, or the freedom you'd feel if you could just get past that fear and doubt that you can't do it. You CAN do it.

Marshall your resources. Ask friends and family for help. Create action plans, think things out. Do your research. Start taking baby steps and you can do whatever your mind can conceive of. It might not happen as fast as you want it (Monkey wanted to be a billionaire yesterday, but that didn't happen), but if you constantly keep taking action and keep on moving forward, you will make it. I guarantee it. The only way to truly lose in life is to give up and let the fear lead your life. Just remember: you are more than adequate, you are amazing.

Why Being A Robot is Easier

Life is full of choices. We can choose what to eat for dinner, what to watch on YouTube, and what to listen to while we go jogging. We can decide what we want to paint, or which model to hire, or what sort of landscape you want to research. For the most part, we have agency.

Agency is the ability to make choices. It's basically the foundation that American was founded upon - freedom. Without agency, we'd be trapped in a pre-programmed cycle that is boring, predictable, and completely out of our control. We'd basically be robots. We would do whatever we were programmed to do, function how the overseers would tell us to function. Pretty craptastic life, if you'd ask me.

So while I don't think any of us would want to be mindless robot sheep-lemming creatures sitting in a box, often times we make the mistake of giving up our agency to others. We decide that its a lot easier to go the way of the robots and just throw our hands in the air, close our eyes, and follow blindly.

You see, responsibility is the burden that comes along with agency. If we choose to do something, we have to take responsibility for the consequences. Too many of us want the freedom of agency yet make excuses about not acting how we'd really like to. If you want to get into galleries, you have to send gallery owners/curators your work. If you aren't showing in a gallery, and you haven't sent anyone your portfolio, you can't say "Oh, they wouldn't take me anyway" - that's being irresponsible. You need to take ownership of your life and take responsibility, even (and especially if) that means fessing up: "I'm too afraid to send my portfolio to gallery XYZ." There is nothing wrong with being afraid. Fear is a biological necessity that keeps us from killing ourselves doing stupid things. However, we have to learn when being afraid is holding us back from realizing our potential as amazing human beings.

Lots of time we cut ourselves short and underestimate how great we really are. Excuses prevent us from really growing because it shields us from the sometime harsh reality - we have a lot more agency than we think. While we might constantly give it away with excuses like "I ran out of paint," "my boss won't let me," "the bus was late," we need to take responsibility for our shortcomings so we can overcome them. Buy more paint, or borrow some, or ask for some on Craigslist. Quit your job, tell your boss off, call in sick. Get a cab, steal a bike (please don't), start running.

The scary truth is that we are often at fault. While we don't condone victim blaming here at Monkey + Seal (ie survivors of domestic violence, women being harassed for wearing short skirts, people who are mugged in areas of a city with a higher crime rate), we do think that for a lot of our life if we want to grow and shine and realize our true potential, we have to accept responsibility and move beyond our limitations. The difference between victim blaming and owning up to your life is that if you are a victim, you have had your agency taken away, and if you are a frustrated artist who wants to take your game to the next level, you're giving your agency away.

So, while being a robot is probably a lot easier (they also have laser beam eyes, which is useful for just about everything), you're not a robot. You're not even an automaton. You're a human being with the power and responsibility to shape your own life. Realize that you're stronger/wiser/craftier/talented/amazing than you think, and choose to do something that is a step towards realizing your dream today.

A Blueprint for Quitting Your Day Job

So Seth Godin and the team of awesome-makers over at the Domino Project came up with something called Trust30, a daily writing challenge that would take place over 30 days that will focus you onto doing something that we tend to forget about - trusting ourselves.

Monkey decided to take this challenge and has been posting over at his own blog Politics:Art:Culture on a daily basis. We thought that one post in particular, titled "A Blueprint for Quitting My Day Job" was especially relevant to all the artists out there following our blog. The topic was being bold - participants were asked what one thing that they have been afraid of pursuing would they pursue, what obstacles were in their way, and how were they going to overcome it.

While I can say that I'm pretty lucky in terms of owning some businesses, getting to paint, etc. etc., the one thing I've always been afraid to pursue is doing art full time. I've had numerous business ideas and different product lines and whatnot, but I've yet to really formulate a strong business plan and formulate a plan for a wholesale line or work.

Having a fall-back job that comes really, really easy (see last post), in a way has almost become a crutch. It's not the worst job ever, and it doesn't really challenge me most of the time, and I get to talk about (not actually do, a lot of the time) art with people. I do get to teach, which is cool, but basically, I'm pretty comfortable.

So why don't I just quit? Well, the surface reason is that I have huge student loan bills, rent, etc. to pay every month, and if I were to completely set out myself, I would not have any of that safety net to cover myself. Additionally, I would need to get some capital for marketing, photography, raw materials, etc. Since my monthly bills are so high, I can't afford to save. Lame.

Additionally, part of it is basic fear. Fear of failure. While the idea of failing isn't such a huge deal, I think that a failed business venture early on when I quit my dayjobs marked with the high price of failure (not being able to pay rent, getting me and Eve evicted) is frightening.

So how to go about defeating all these obstacles and doing it up right? The plan is to a)reduce risk, b)create capital, and c)make it happen.

First, reducing risk. First off, to defeat the fear of failure, I have to make it so that if I fail, nothing too bad will happen. I won't have to live on the streets, etc. etc.

In order to reduce risk, I need to basically do B, which is to create some capital. I can do this by working to create multiple alternative streams of income. This will be done via $20 illustrations, craft fairs, and getting a handcrafted license to sell on the streets of san francisco. Saving and eating out less will also help. Additionally, making a kickstarter video can also be awesome.

So I guess the last part is just doing it all. While this is an overly simplified plan of action, I already have the entrepreneurial know-how to make most of these things happen, so why not start today on my day off? Oh wait, I guess I will.

So that's Monkey's plan. What have you been afraid to achieve? How are you going to do it? What are you waiting for?

PS - Monkey is starting to do 5x7" paintings on watercolor paper for $20. He'll paint anything for you, but it will most definitely end up involving a monster in some way, shape, or form, but that's probably why you'd be buying an original painting from him anyway.

If you'd like to commission one of these little paintings, you can buy one (or more!) right here:

$20 Custom 5x7" Painting

Ex: If you told me to paint your lawn, it would probably end up like this:

Why Your Competition Will Crush You

Dark Wizards are both competitive, nosy neighbors, and general sapphire-loving jerks.

Don't be a Dark Wizard.

That's right, your competition will crush you.

Not because you aren't wonderful and talented and amazing, because you are all those things whether you're willing to admit it or not. Not because your competition is better, stronger, faster, whatever. The reason your competition will kick your butt is because when we say "your competition," we don't mean other people/organizations/things that are competing with you. We mean "the competition that you're taking part in."

Especially now that we're completely over-saturated with media (thanks internet!), we can often find examples that prove our own internal head-demons right. With not much searching, we can find that famous person who started out homeless and a drug addict and then became a noble-prize winning scholar (or some crazy story like that). We can find examples of people who were in our own situations and then became wildly successful (seemingly overnight, as per the flash and bang of most stories like these). After hearing about something like that, how can we not compare ourselves?

So like we said in our title, your competition will crush you. It is much harder fighting the good fight when it seems like you've already lost to someone else. When we constantly compare ourselves to others, we never get a chance to really compare ourselves to our true potential, which is what really matters in the end. In that sense, the battle is lost before it's fought. So how do you win the fight with yourself?

The best way to overcome this potentially debilitating self-criticism is to not compare yourself to other people at all. While we're not advocating sticking your head in the mud and ignoring the world, what really is the use of comparing yourself to other people? Is there any point to compare ourselves to outliers that aren't representative of the population as a whole? To make yourself feel worse about yourself? Really? Seriously, what's the point? We'll answer that for you - there is none.

There's no reason to fuel your own self-doubt. Other people will be more successful and less successful (by your standards - make sure you have already defined success for yourself), so get over it. You have something amazing locked up inside of you (don't try to deny it!), it's just your job to figure out what your gift to the world is and to go and nourish it and help it grow.

Everyone should tend to their own gardens without looking at your neighbor's as if their grass is greener. Everyone has the capacity and seed and raw potential to grow their own unique beautiful garden, but too much time is wasted on envying others' growth spurt. It's wasted time and energy. While you are busy focused on other people, you may have just missed your own tiny budding potential peeking its way from underground. Don't miss that chance and see for yourself how awesome you are and really embrace all your raw potential that you have as a human being.

Honor the seeds you have planted. Nurture it and be your own number fan. Only after you have loved yourself, will the world come to see you as you see yourself. Your competition can't crush you if it doesn't exist, so grab your water bucket and start growing something worthwhile. Remember, you can have it all (and more!) if you really want it, so drop the competition and be the greatest success you can be!

Are You Looking For The Wrong Thing In Life? How to Get Back on Track to What You Love

The Great Timble Chase: Find What You Love Most

If you do not know what to do, what your purpose in life is, or where to go from here . . . play the thimble game. Is it hot? or cold? Am I getting warmer?

What parts of the day do you have the most energy? when are you most creative? what are you doing? and who are you with?

If you have no idea of what makes you happy, start to pay attention to your body's reactions. It is the best compass you have. Try to remember when you were most happy. How did you feel? What is your body doing? Re-live that moment and take note of what your body is doing. On the surface it is probably registering simple things like smiling, or shoulders relaxing. And on the inside, you feel competent, grateful, or a sense of energy.

If you still have no idea of what you like to do or what your purpose is, I'm sure you can tell what you don't like to do. Can you recall a job, or task, or being around people you don't feel comfortable with? Your body will do it's best to sabotage you to get you out of the situation. You suddenly can't recall your co-worker's name or you forget to attach that file or you start bumbling like a social idiot. (For me, my stomach tightens up, my throat gets dry, and I would have huge blocks around people's names. This is my cue to exit and do more of the things that make me happy - like painting with Monkey and friends). Take notice of these things. In circumstances that impacts you negatively, you body will try to do everything it can except for that job or be with that company of people.

With that said, there will be moments when you will be faced by positive challenges, but your body will react with similar cues and social ills. Be aware of the subtle difference. The slight difference? On one hand, the task or people that are major negative blows to your life: you absolutely don't want to be there, you feel like dirt, and you would rather disappear through the floor. On the other hand when you encounter the scary, but positive new challenge: you will be scared, but the thought of doing that task still thrills you and if you had the courage (which you do), you honestly want to take that next step. For example, proposing marriage is damn scary or moving to a new city to pursue your dream job is too, but the very thought of ultimately accomplishing that task fills you with excitement and passion. Not everything "uncomfortable" is bad for you, but you'll want to avoid the things that impact your creativity in an uncompromisingly negative way. (Meaning, that there is no payoff in being there at all and in fact, it just hurts you).

"But how can I completely avoid everything I hate doing and only do what I love?" you ask. As we're building and flexing our body's compass power and moving more towards what we love to do. . . yes, there will still be times when you "must" do things or be around people you don't necessary like. In these circumstances, try to think if being there will get you closer to your ultimate creative goal. Is there still a payoff for being there?

There might be days as artists when we have to take on projects, day jobs, and be around people that are not our ideals. But does this day job get us closer to our goals? Does it provide us with the capital to buy art supplies and free weekends and nights to pursue our art (without worrying about rent) while we move closer to embracing creativity full-time? Does the job (you hate?) provide structure and feeling of competence through repeated actions during the day as opposed to the frenzied chaos of creating something completely new for each canvas? (Can you think: "I am thankful for this job because . . . " it provides me with a roof over my head. Or I don't like the people, but I'm learning a lot. Or I hate everything else, but my co-workers are great. If you don't come up with anything at all to be thankful about, quit and find a new one.)

For most artists, we are often torn in our either-or thinking (more about this in a later post). We think all or nothing. Day job or dream job. That's it. So "any compromise is short of perfection," and therefore we have "failed as artists." This limited thinking is harmful to your life's options and creative endeavors.

If you were given all the freedom in the world to just create - you'll get bored - and your art becomes your day job. Human beings need structure and balance. So yes, there will be times you must deal. But as you deal with present circumstances, keep reminding yourself, that this is only just a stepping stone, a transition, a resting stop, you have bigger vegan fish to fry and creative goals in mind and for that you must continually move towards the thimble. Keep playing the thimble game: find activities and people that are (hot!) in line with who you are and your creative life. Eventually, you'll move completely only towards things you love: you'll be surrounded by people you love, who love you back, and you'll be doing the things that make you absolutely happy. All the time. Isn't that worth searching for? Isn't it worth fighting for?

Do You Choose to Be Ordinary?

Monkey here:

Life can be hard. Especially if you are chasing your dreams. We've been told that following our dreams is the hard route - we're supposed to just grow up and work crappy jobs and get married and have kids and then retire and call it a life. So we struggle with our ambitions and our reality, with what we hope for and what we see in the immediate future. Thus, for a great majority of us, life is hard. It beats us up at times, kicks us in the ribs, and then makes fun of us. It is not an easy road ahead for those that dare to follow their dreams.

The truth of the matter is that most people aren't going to reach their full potential and aren't going to achieve their life-long goals. For a whole crapload of reasons, they're not going to make it. They're going to settle for being ordinary, with ordinary lives and if they're happy with that, great for them. Don't get me wrong - I don't think that there is anything wrong with giving up or being ordinary, as long as you make that choice. That choice isn't for me, but I don't hold it against anyone if they do choose to be ordinary. It is a very, well, ordinary life path to take.

But for those of us that can't stand to be at a job we don't love, for those of us that want to chase that dream, for those of us that want to achieve more than the average person, for those of us that want to do what we love for a living, this is unacceptable. If you're reading this, chances are you are one of these people who yearn for something more.

Now, I truly believe that people are amazing and there is almost unlimited potential locked away in each and every one of us. Granted, it's harder for some of us to get to that potential than others, and some of us have had more help than others too. However, we all have the potential to reach our goals - but it's a choice we have to make.

We have to choose to be exceptional, or to be the outlier. We have to bust our asses to be extraordinary. There might be a few geniuses out there, but we have to come to terms that we aren't one of them. And neither is the rest of the 99.9% of the population. If you weren't born with some amazing, near-superhuman talent that less than 1 in 1 trillion people have, you're not a genius (plus, you wouldn't be reading this). Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Walt Disney. All these guys were not geniuses. They practiced longer, they worked smarter, they failed and tried again and again and again and they never gave up. They asked for help when they needed it and forged a path no matter how bruised or beaten or tired they were.

The point is that when it comes down to it, we all have a choice to make. Do we decide to be the hero in our own stories or are we just going to be a supporting character? Do we decide to settle for what's familiar and safer or do we risk it and go for something frighteningly unfamiliar and new? Do we let the opportunities pass us by or do we jump at them with all our might and damn whether or not we'll land safely?

Yes, choosing to be extraordinary is scary as all hell. While if you've met me at a craft fair or at an art show or at my gallery or wherever, I'm probably not the first person you think would be completely frightened by life. But I am. I'm actually scared of a lot of things. I'm scared of not measuring up to my own ridiculously high (often unrealistic) expectations I set for myself. I'm scared that my art isn't good enough and that no one will pay for my paintings and I'll forever be the stereotype of the starving artist. I'm scared that I'll get turned down from galleries or art studio jobs. I'm scared of calling people I don't know on the phone. But in the end, what I'm scared of most is that I'm going to be ordinary.

So I do the best I can any given day to try and prove my fears wrong. I've failed often, and I try my best each time to learn something and to actually change my behavior and actions in order to prevent myself from failing again. Like we've said before, failure isn't fatal, and it's part of the learning process, but I'd still rather succeed than fail any day.

Some days I end up choosing to be ordinary, and other days extraordinary. My own personal challenge is to push the scale towards the extraordinary. Which are you going to choose today?

Help Us Help You

Hi everyone! Monkey here. I just wanted to remind you all tomorrow night is Big Umbrella Studio's grand re-opening! I'll have 9 new paintings up, and we'll be on hand selling our ties and prints and shirts. We'll also be live printing the t-shirt version of Panda Rage (see above), as well as a new single color shirt design of a cat-fish, illustrated by Ms. Eve Skylar herself. There will also be treats from Sweet As Pie Bakery (an up-n-coming local bakery), live painting, and some great art on the walls. It's tomorrow night (Thursday) from 5-10pm at 906 1/2 Divisadero St x McAllister!

Anyhoo, so I just wanted to take the time today to instead of blab about a bunch of stuff, to instead ask you, our readers, about what YOU want from us. I'm itching to put out another guide, but I'd like to know what kind of guide is going to help you out the most.

Specifically, I'd like to know if you had your way (regarding art and creating art and being an artist), what type of free e-guide would you like us to make for YOU. What do you want to see?

Do you want more info on marketing? How to approach craft fairs? Pricing? Interviews with other successful artists? Whatever you'd like, we want to know what it is. Along with that, what are your greatest fears/concerns/issues that you're facing regarding art? We'd like to be able to help out with that, so we need to know the problem so we can address it. That said, what is your ideal outcome (ie. what would you like our next guide to help you achieve?)

Are you having trouble making time to create and would like the outcome to be more consistent creating? Maybe you're scared of making an online shop and want to end up with your own artshop.com? Whatever it is, let us know!

So please let us know a)what guide you'd like us to custom create for YOU, b)the issues that you're frustrated with or are most scared of, and c)what your ideal outcome would be after getting our guide.

We'd really love you to put your answers in the comments below, as I have a feeling that a lot of people are going to be concerned about the same thing, but if it's a bit scary, we'd love to hear back from you via email, or you could even facebook message us! Thanks!

Getting Your Work Out There - Part 1

Today, we wanted to talk about the importance of getting your work out there into the world. This is the first part of a 3-part series we're going to have here on the blog. This is more about overcoming some of the psychological hurdles of showing off your art. Part 2 will cover the reasons (from a business perspective) why you should get your art out there, and Part 3 will deal with some practical ways to do so.

So the biggest hurdle a lot of artist have for not showing off their work is fear. Admittedly, it's scary to show off something as personal as your work. What if they don't say anything? What if they don't like it? What if they hate me because of it? What if they never stop talking to me and throw rotten tomatoes and kick me into the gutter and then hit me with a car because of it?

Sound familiar? Often, our fears suddenly start spiraling out of control when we think about the potential negative consequences of showing people our work. We imagine these worst-case scenarios where we're suddenly thrown out of the village and forced to live off of rocks just because someone wasn't all that into our work. This is not healthy, but totally understandable.

After all, your work is personal. For creatives, it's hard to distinguish between ourselves and our work. If our work gets praised, we feels like we're being praised. If the work gets criticized, we feel like they're criticizing us. What our goal is, however, is to separate the two so that our work is different than ourselves. When someone critiques your work, don't take it personally. If someone tells you that your anatomy is off, then double-check your work - is your anatomy off? Even if it isn't, is the character in a pose that even though it looks that way in real life, might look like the anatomy is off?

While there are the people out there who will offer no helpful criticism and will say stuff like "I just don't like that painting" or "I think that's kinda dumb," those people really are few and far between. Also, they're generally other artists who are a)jealous of either the attention you're getting or the fact that you're showing your work and they aren't, b)are insecure and anything that isn't their work isn't very good, or c)just don't know how to properly give criticism. Either way, they're asshats who you shouldn't even take seriously, because they're jerks to everyone.

That said, you might be thinking "But those people ARE out there!!! Now it's time for me to hide back under my blankey." No! Don't go back in there, no matter how warm and fuzzy it might be!

Seriously, those people make up maybe .02% of all the people that show up to gallery shows, or craft fairs. If people aren't into your stuff (and the truth is, not everyone will be - there are people who don't like Norman Rockwell's stuff,), they usually just won't say anything.

Back to fear. Like we said before, often we let them overwhelm us until we want to crawl under a rock. Really though, what is the worst that could happen? Is the world going to end because they don't like your art? Are your friends going to turn on you and chase you with pitchforks because of your art? A good exercise to start taming your end-of-the-world scenario fears is to write them down. What exactly is really going to happen, at worst, if people don't like my art? Answer that question, and actually write it down. Don't just think about it, put it down on paper.

Maybe if you are submitting pro-Nazi illustrations and are showing in a Jewish Community Center, things might be a bit severe. But otherwise, it's generally not so bad. At worst, you get a bad review in a local paper. So what? Is that really the end of the world, or even the end of your career? We think not. If you're afraid of submitting that book proposal to a publisher, what's the worst thing that could happen? You don't hear back, or you get a rejection letter. If you're afraid of submitting your work to a gallery for review? You don't hear back. Really, is that so crushingly terrible?

Another thing you can do is to start thinking about all the awesome things that could happen. So you might get rejected from that book deal. But what if you actually got it? Say you get rejected by a huge gallery...but what if they asked you to do a solo show? What if you audition for that movie role, and got the lead? Just as important as it is to write down what might go wrong, you should definitely write down what might go right. It'll help to put you in a positive mindset that will help your brain figure out ways to make it happen.

While we both constantly battle with fear and uncertainty, we find that writing your fears down and really being honest and realistic about it will really make them more manageable. Even more importantly, realize that when you're starting out, you have everything to gain, and not much to lose. You could get that solo show, or a lead role. You could get your film produced, or that script bought. So get some paper and a pen, do some quick exercised, and then get out there and show 'em what you've got!

Releasing the Rhino

Monkey here:

So I'll be honest. I just came up with that phrase "releasing the rhino" right now, but I think it's pretty apt metaphor at what I wanted to talk about today. Plus, as part of Monkey + Seal, we like metaphors that deal with animals.

Many times, we carry around a lot of baggage. Whether it's familial responsibilities, loans, or a looming urgency to save the world, I know I tend to carry around a lot of crap that affects my art in negative ways.

I know that while constantly thinking about art as a business has its advantages, sometimes I get wrapped up in the money and that gets me thinking about my huge college loans, and that gets me worried about whether or not I'm good enough of an illustrator to get jobs, and etc. etc. etc., the downward spiral continues and then I start painting desperately to try and make money, rather than painting because it's what I love.

Let's call this huge force of negativity "the rhino." It's a stubborn, powerful beast that basically pulls you where you it wants to go, which is generally down and out. Whether it's money, or what you think your parents think of you, or what your peers think, or whatever it is, it can be frustrating and tiresome to fight the rhino. I mean, seriously, it's a RHINO for crying out loud, they're huge!

So, we have to learn how to release the rhino. I know this is hard to do, but it's the key to getting stuff done and being successful. The rhino can take what you, the real you, love, and turn it into something painful. If it's about acceptance and self-esteem, the rhino turns painting into just another thing they won't love you for. If it's about money, the rhino turns dancing into necessary, painful work. Once your love is turned into something painful by the rhino, it's hard to love it and you won't find that you enjoy it. At that point, why bother?

Well, you should bother because you love it. The pain isn't coming from what you like to do, it's coming from that giant rhino that's pulling you down and the straps are cutting into your shoulders and you're tired and grumpy and life stinks...because of the rhino!

So, cut it free. Release the rhino. How to do that is going to be different for everyone. Sometimes it's about taking a nap. Others it's yoga or meditation, or writing in journals, or playing a quick video game. Do whatever you have to do to center yourself and realize that to succeed at doing what you love, you have to love it.

It's not time to face the rhino yet. The rhino is like the last boss in the video game of life. You have to level up and gather courage and wisdom and experience and new tools and techniques before you can take on the rhino and finish the game and win your success. Just keep doing what you love, just to do it, and you'll find it's a lot easier to face the rhino later on.

In my case, I have to keep painting and experimenting and drawing because that's what I love to do. After I finish the illustrations and paintings, I then have the option to go and examine any business prospects - making prints, selling them at craft fairs, putting them in my portfolio, but that has to come after the art is done.

Are you fighting a rhino? Be honest. If you are, see what you can do about letting that beast go and get on with your love. How do you release the rhino?

When In Hell, Keep Running Forward!

Seal has this great quote: "When in hell, keep running forward." She's used this mantra for the last ten years to help her get through rough times. And you know what? It's totally true.

Simply put, it works this way. If you were dropped down into hell (as an actual space with flames or whatever) your situation is not going to get better by just sitting around on your toasty butt. If you do nothing, you're gonna just sit there and cook. However, if you take off running, no matter how painful the trek, you're eventually going to come to the borders of hell and get out of there.

The real world works the exact same way. If you're down on your luck - broke, 200k in debt with student loans, sick, mounting medical bills, whatever your circumstances, if you just sit there and focus on how crappy you think your life is, that's all you're ever going to know. But, if you get up and start taking action towards fixing your problem, no matter how much of a baby step you take you'll be that much closer to getting out of your predicament.

Things might seem impossible, but most likely they aren't. You just may require some creative thinking, a positive attitude, and the willingness to take action. Need fifty thousand dollars to start up a business? Think saving up that much would take too long? What about small business loans? Crappy credit? What about finding investors? No connections? What about looking on the internet, maybe kickstarter, perhaps? Can't get funding? What about donating a kidney or something? In all honesty, while we don't endorse selling off of body parts or prostitution or robbery (or crime, in general), if you really need money, there are lots of ways to get creative.

Want to get into a gallery? Have you submitted photos of your work yet? Still no answer? Have you tried all the galleries in town? What about finding out who these curators are and figuring out their friends and trying to get your work in front of them? What about schmoozing up the workers at the gallery? What about bribing them? (Again, crimes are discouraged.)

Our point is that if you are down on your luck, and you want to get someplace, don't sit around and wait for it to get better. It very well might, but your chances are a lot better if you start doing something about it. It's hard when you feel like crap, but if you keep on keeping on, no matter how you feel, things will take a turn for the better. It might be a while, and you'll probably feel like giving up most of the time. But it'll get better. We promise.

Failure Isn't Fatal

You shouldn't be afraid of failing...you should be afraid of this rhino.

Many times, people see the next step in their journey towards their dreams, but don't take it. Most of these times the reason behind not taking that step is fear of failing. Let us tell you something: nearly 100% of the time, failure is not fatal, so take that risk!

We have found that in many cases, the next step is so close, yet so many turn back because they are afraid of failing. Yes, sometimes there are other reasons for backing down, but most of the time taking the next step is possible, but we invent reasons and excuses why we shouldn't do something.

There is a difference, however, between fear of failing and researched, factual-based decision making, but most of the time it is actually our fear doing the convincing, not scientific research papers. For example, you have a decent enough reason to not submit to galleries that specifically show abstract paintings if you work exclusively in a style akin to classical realism. You do NOT have reason enough to skip submitting your work to a high-end gallery that does show work that is sort of similar to yours.

A tangent of that idea is that doing something without research and regard to anything or anyone is different from taking fearless, researched action towards your goals. If you want to be a fine art photographer, it makes little sense to just send your portfolio to every single art director in the world, as some won't even be into photography.

Back to the main point of this: failure is not fatal. We often think that it will be the end of the world in the worst case scenario. Most often, unless you're a superhero who actually defends the planet from an evil menace, everything will be okay if you mess up here and there. Failure needs to shake it's negative stigma and be seen as a necessary building block to figuring out what does work. Besides, what is really the worst that could happen from failing? By actually speaking your fears out loud, you'll realize that often the fears are ungrounded, completely irrational, and very possibly absurd.

Afraid of submitting your portfolio to art directors? What's the worst that can happen? You just never hear from them? If your work isn't up to par, they're not going to even comment - they're too busy. No one is going to tell you that they hate your work or that you shouldn't be an artist - you just won't hear back. And really, is that the end of the world? Hardly. Poop poop.

Monkey + Seal isn't advocating to act brashly. We aren't advising you to jump blindly into the fray, throwing caution to the wind. We are advising that you really stop and think (and vocalize) about your fears, and evaluate them at face value. Really, if you fail, what's the absolute worst that could happen? Don't let irrational fear hold you back. Breathe deep and go for it!

PS - if you aren't sure if your fears are justified or irrational, ask a friend (and yes, that includes us)!

Fighting paralyzation

Monkey here, to talk about a recent experience of mine fighting fear/inaction, and how I got out of it.

So the other day (on my day off from my retail job), I was sitting around compiling my list of things to do, and it sort of got overwhelming. It was all great stuff, but I also tend to put huge projects on my to-do lists, which I find I need to stop doing. My list was looked like this:

-rebrand Little Yeti
-finish Hyphen paintings
-digital illustrations
-card designs
-zine fest reg. update

Now while all this stuff sounds good, besides the "zine fest reg. update," these are all quite hefty projects. "rebrand Little Yeti" probably consists of at least 10 hours of design work, 5 hours or so of photo editing, and about a week's worth of me stumbling through html and xml trying to hobble together a working website.

Note to self and to everyone else: don't put items like this on your to-do list. On top of that, my enormous students loans are going to start coming into repayment, and my retail job definitely does not cover them, so I'm going to have to figure out some way to make more money pretty quickly. This anxiety, plus a monstrous to-do list did not bode well, and it just stressed me out and made me sit and stare at the computer screen.

Thankfully, Eve was around to let me talk things through with her, and then I quickly just had to start doing something. I started by throwing away the to-do list and just working on a digital speed paint. Even if it was just a quick little in-color sketch in photoshop, it was the act of creating something and finishing it that sort of broke me out of my slump.

I know I'm extremely fortunate that I have someone supportive that I can talk to. If you don't have someone you can share with, talk it out in the comments below, or stop by our facebook page and drop us a note. We will certainly do our best to send some positive energy your way and some encouragement.

If you don't feel comfortable reaching out, we highly suggest keeping a journal, or writing it out, or finding a quiet place and talking it out to yourself. Just getting all your anxieties and fears and worry out is the first step to overcoming them. When you can "get it all out" and really go back and realize that it's probably not as fatal as it seems, that's when you can push forward and start doing small actions that will help propel you forward towards big actions.

Take things in bite-sized chunks. Although I'm not going to completely rebrand Little Yeti tonight, you can be sure that I might just double-check the typography in one design, or I might make a little tweak here and there to another. It sounds stupid, but really just putting one foot in front of the other works.

Anyway, I hope this helps and keep on keepin' on!