9/11 Heartbreaker

We were approached a while ago to do a review of a comic called "9/11 Heartbreaker" and while we read it a while back, we finally got around to writing out all of our thoughts.

9/11 Heartbreaker, by Craig Staufenberg is quite the poignant read. We think that it's more of an illustrated novella rather than a graphic novel (as it's can lean a bit text heavy), but the storytelling is the strongest part of the comic, so no worries there. Bouncing around in time, the comic reads as a collection of memories and they way historic events have tremendous reverberations generations later.

The style of the art fits in with the conversational tone of the piece, and the book, in a very Tomine-like style of storytelling, leaves you with a quiet sense of reflection and hope. It was an enjoyable read, offering a very personal look into the way that 9/11 has affected us as a nation. There are also great parallels to other historical events, as well as a haunting look into the current state of the country in the midst of an economic recession.

Our biggest criticism of the book was that we wished it was longer as at times the integration of text and image could have been stronger, and the book would have only been made stronger by lengthening the book and adding even more storytelling frames. Also, the handwritten text, while adding to the charm of the book, can be a bit hard to read at times.

The book is available via physical copy as well as a pdf download, and for $2.99, it's definitely worth a quick download. Check out out at the author's site www.memoryisfiction.com (scroll to the bottom to order!).

Empire Building Kit Review

So we already reviewed Chris Guillebeau's Empire Building Kit for his 2nd 24-hour launch, but he's opening it up for sale again - but this time it'll stay open! So you may be asking "why even review this again if I can sign up whenever I want?" The answer is that if you buy it on Wednesday the 16th, when it goes on sale, you'll get a free copy of Chris' "Backyard Biz Profits," which focuses on applying his empire building strategies on local markets. Not bad, eh?

And if you were too lazy to go click on the review, we'll sum it up again for you:
Basically, if you want to start up your own business, you need this guide.

Why?
- 365 emails (one per day!!!!) of reviews, hints, tips, action plans, and more awesomeness that'll inspire you to stay active and keep on keeping on
- interviews with other business owners that are making at least $50k a year with less than 3 employees
-answers to specific questions like "if you're starting an ebook business, how many people on my list do I need before I should start releasing new books?" or "what email service do you use to manage your email list and why?" or "how do I find my market?"
-there are bonuses up the wazzooo! Extra interviews from his other projects, and the seriously, the in-depth interviews with some awesome, awesome people.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us (at info@monkeyandseal.com) and we'll give you our honest opinion on the matter and answer as much as possible. We were a bit hesitant, but really, $149 (there's also more stuff if you get the $249 or $449) is totally worth it if you are serious about starting up your own empire. $149 can be made up by skipping your morning coffee once every three days. $149 can be made up by cooking instead of eating out (in San Francisco) 15 times. In our minds, it's a small, small price to pay to get the knowledge and key skills needed to take your game to the next level.

If anything, we look forward to 1am, as that's around when Chris sends out our next email. We signed up for the first go-around, and we're on day 68, and what we've got so far is well worth $149. It's actually a bit shocking to think that we still have almost 300!!! more emails to go.

Anyway, we believe so strongly in Chris' product that, even though we're part of his affiliate team, we highly encourage you to go pick it up even if you don't go through our affiliate link.

If you want to go check it out, no strings attached (ie: the non affiliate link) after 9am PST on Wednesday, you can go check it out at: http://unconventionalguides.com/. No hard feelings, promise. However, if you'd like to help support us along with Chris, our affiliate link is here: http://unconventionalguides.com/cmd.php?Clk=3725273, which we would super appreciate you clicking on, but either way, we highly recommend you checking it out!

I hope you jump on this offer now (it's your last chance to pick up his free guide on local markets (later to be sold at $49), but if it takes you a while to digest/save up/etc., take your time. Like we said, if you have questions, email us at info@monkeyandseal.com or leave your question in the comments and we'll do our best to answer you quickly. Huzzah!

7 Steps to Playing a Much Bigger Game

So Monkey has been on a bit of an entrepreneurial kick this past week, and as he types this, he's been feeling a twisting pang in his chest. Fortunately, it's not angina, but the feeling of a realization that is so profound and life-altering, that it is hard to put it into words. It's the feeling (Monkey imagines) of standing on a high-dive platform, really, really high up, with the (what looks like) a tiny tiny pool down beneath you. You start to bounce a bit to get into the swing of things, and then you realize that if you try to stop the bounce, you're totally going to lose your balance and fall. But if you just take a big jump, you're going to get enough spring to fling you through the air.

The trick is to just let gravity do its thing and move you along. To be a bit more personal, here's Monkey:

To be honest, this feeling is scary. I first thought "what the f is wrong with me?" but then I realized that it's the life-altering slap in the face that I needed. Being able to finally "get it" - that really my own fear is what has been holding me back all these years is both relieving as well as frightening. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, but at the same time I feel exposed and vulnerable, as knowing that I've been hiding behind my fear and insecurities, I really have been at fault for holding myself back.

I've heard this many times, in many various forms, but the pdf. I just read touched something in me that just shook me to my core. Now, for a few quick disclaimers. 1. I was so f'ing in to this little mini e-book that I immediately signed up for the affiliate program, so if you ever buy something or anything, we'll get a cut of it. 2. Dave Navarro, the author who wrote "7 Steps to playing a much bigger game," might not be for everyone as he's definitely blunt and motivating in a "get your ass up and go" sort of way. However, if you, like me, need a bit of a heavy hand sometimes, then this is definitely for you.


Some of my fav quotes from the guide:

"Yeah, life is difficult. It really is. But it seems much more difficult than it really is because society is training you to think that it should be easy. Microwave popcorn, drive-throughs, magic pills and instant downloads have conditioned us to expect everything to be easy and push button and if it's not, then oh-crap-what-is-wrong-with-me-I-am-such-a-failure."

"Imagine: You know CPR well enough. Someone stops breathing, and what do you do? Do you start asking yourself if there are better CPR practitioners than you? Do you wonder if your certification came from a prestigious enough teacher? Or maybe you have no certification at all, someone just showed you how to do it (correctly)? Are you going to dredge up every loser feeling you've had about yourself and dwell on that while that person slips off into the great unknown?
Hell no. You're going to get on your knees, do that CPR thing, and save that person's life. Without a second thought. Because the situation calls for value, and you have value to offer."

Definitely a bit brusque, Dave's writing really hits home for me, though, and has inspired me to really start working past my fear and taking action, regardless if it ends up in failure or success, as either way, it won't really be that bad.

I highly recommend signing up for his free email newsletters in order to get downloadable access to all the free pdfs he has to offer - all of which come with little worksheets that will help you get on your way to stepping it up another notch.

Anyway, as I've been doing more and more reading, I'll definitely be posting more and more awesome other writers/bloggers/coaches/advice/etc. about making it as a creative and chasing the dream. But for reals, check out Dave's stuff, and let me know what you think - hopefully it'll give you the kick in the pants you need to get out there and change the world.

Zine Review: The Great Myspace Swindle

Note to readers: Monkey + Seal have been kicking around the idea of occasionally blogging in our own voices, not so much the standard "Monkey + Seal" voice that we usually write in. As a first sort of experiment in this, here's Monkey's zine review of the week:

First off, happy Labor Day! Congratulations to all those who don't have to work today (unfortunately both Eve and I do have work -_- ). Anyway, on to the actual review.

Though I seem to get hyped up about a lot of stuff these days (there's just hellsa good art/literature/general stuff out there!!!), I can honestly say that I'm a huge frickin' fan of Sean Logic's writing.

As the founder/editor of Ashcan magazine (as well as a contributor to the Bad Date Zine), I've been able to read a decent amount of Sean's writing. And believe me, this dude is solid.

In his latest zine The Great Myspace Swindle, he creates a faux profile on Myspace and lets the internet do its thing. The results are probably to be expected, but the zine itself is hilarious, sometimes a bit creepy, and thoroughly entertaining. The big unexpected surprise is Sean's closing remarks, in which his usual cool and funny style gives a bit to a thoughtful and meaningful commentary on society as a whole.

I can't recommend this enough. For reals. Email him to find out how to get a copy NOW: myspace_swindle [at] yahoo.com