Working + Resting

There is a myth among artists, that you are either “lazy” – “not creating as much as you should be” or you are a “hustler” – “always working without rest.” They are both false and dangerous myths. There doesn’t seem to be room in the equation for a moderate, sustainable and successful artist. It’s rare to meet such a person: who can be both creative, hardworking, yet also has a healthy social life and rest periods. We don’t seem to have much role models in the “balanced artist” department.

Seal grew up watching her immigrant parents worked hard to the bone. They ran themselves ragged trying to meet the family’s basic needs. Sometimes they work two jobs, both the day and night shift. But when her family acquired enough to live by, and sometimes more than enough, her parents who had been working all their lives also did not know how to take a break. When they came home from work, they would hurry unto the next cleaning or cooking project. When Sunday came around, Dad would start vacuuming the house at 8am. He would burst into the bedroom with the vacuum roaring and made sure to hit every corner before he walked out again and slammed the door. I got the message that I was lazy for sleeping past 8am. When my sister and I tried to watch Batman weekdays at 5pm after completing our homework, they would glare at us funny. As if, “resting and fun time is only for the lazy” and “if you want to be successful in life, you better spend your waking moments working.”

So growing up, Seal thought “breaks were bad” and even if she wanted to, she did not know “how to take a break.” I bet most of us, don’t know how to rest either.

Oftentimes, Monkey + Seal run rampart into the night making art, emailing clients, turning in projects. We often run on very little sleep or break. Most of the time, it is because we are trying to make ends meet or deliver work that cannot wait. But other times, we choose to stay late and push through our own self-imposed deadlines (although we are trying to change that). The result is, we sure get a lot done, but we’re also cranky, exhausted, and deprived of rest and life outside of work or art. We often forget that “how you spend your day is how you spend your life . . . “ And if your life is all about work and art with very little room for friends, self care, or rest, then you’re really running yourself into the ground without enjoying the journey of being an artist. One day you will wake up and realize that life had passed you by.

Though Seal would like to blame her parents for passing on their workaholism, as an adult now, she realizes that it is up to Seal to allow herself a break and if she doesn’t know how to break, she needs to learn. Only she can break the spell now and wake up. To know that it’s ok to take breaks. It’s normal to take breaks. We all need it, as we need air to breathe and food to sustain us. Our bodies need to regenerate. Our minds need to refill the creative well. And counter to beliefs, breaks allow a person to actually be more productive and resilient through the next strenuous work challenges.

So as Seal is learning on how to take a break, she would like to share some guidelines that she found to be helpful:

1. When you’re tired, take a break. Think as if you are a baby. When a baby is tired, it gets cranky. So we put the baby to sleep. When Seal is tired, her eyes get heavy, she will start munching on something even though she’s not hungry, and she’ll get really annoyed at every little thing. That’s when the red lights go off. Oh oh! Body is deprived. Need a bath, tea time,10minute shut eye, or a full nap. You’ll figure out your own personal cues to tell you that you are tired.

1. Figure out what constitutes as a “break” or “rest” for you. No emails after 6pm. Tea time at 4pm. Sleep 8 hours regardless (if you have flexible schedule). A movie night. Music for 15minutes with eyes closed. Everyone has different ways of feeling “rested.”

1. Resting while in Motion or in order words Resting while Working Sometimes it feels like there is no choice to but to work a lot. Especially when rent is due, bills are piled up, or client project is on the line. In cases like those, we still need to be proactive and “choose” to work. Focus on the brush contacting the canvas. Focus on the words being t-y-p-e-d into the email. Focus on the present moment of breathing in and out, hearing the hum of the computer. Focus on the voice of your client. See if you can find the breath of all things even within the “mundane.” That way, when you are super focused, work won’t feel like work. And you’ll get it done twice as fast.

1. Know when “it is enough” You are enough. Stop. A big part of the reason that it’s hard to rest and be successful is that we don’t know when it is enough. When it’s time to rest or when it’s time to push against the mountain. We often confuse satisfaction/happiness with “career success.” Many are too often fixated on being bigger and better that we don’t enjoy the process. We are so focused on learning new skills as an artist, absorbed in our chosen field (because we love it so much) that we’ve buried our heads in the sand like ostriches, and are blind to the beauty of a simple walk through the neighborhood, a cup of coffee with a friend, or the passing of clouds after a rainy day. At some point you’ve got to realize, that although life for an artist is about the art, at the same time, it is also not about the art. When you are six feet underground, you still can’t take your “art,” you skills, or your accomplishments with you to the other side. You’ve got to be fulfilled in the present.

The best part of being an artist is living in the now. Being present at the moment. And whether you are working or resting, being aware of your breath and that you are alive, is the start to being a balanced artist: one that can see work and rest and two sides of the same coin à both starts and ends with fulfillment.

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.

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.

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.

5 Qualities of Successful Artists

Today we wanted to share with you the qualities that we have seen repeated over and over again in successful artists. We've seen these qualities again and again in successful people, actually, so it doesn't just apply to artists. No matter what you want to do in life, if you develop these traits, you'll definitely achieve all your goals.

Ready for the secret formula? Here it is:

1. Be true to your Inner Artist
First off, if you aren't being true to your Inner Artist, you're never going to fully reach your goals, because if you aren't going for the goals that the Inner Artist inside you really wants with laser-accuracy, you aren't really following your dreams at all. You're getting distracted, and the fastest path to a goal is going in a direct line, right? So listen to your heart and what you really want and pursue that dream with all your heart. In the end, you really gotta do what you love.

2. Work Really, Really Hard
Pursuing that dream with all your heart is tough, because it requires a lot of work. It's drawing or painting every single day. It's staying up late at night to make sure that your project is done on time. It's doing that tenth revision even though you got bored on the second. It's relentlessly and doggedly following your goal. It's not easy, but by doing the best you can at any given time, you'll get that work done.

3. Don't Be a Jerk
At the same time, while you're chasing your dream, we don't recommend being a jerk. People with bad attitudes are just as memorable as those who are super cool, only while we're anxious to help friendly, respectful, kind, wonderful people, we're just as anxious to do our best to not work at all with the jerks.

4. Be As Generous As You Can
Going along with inspiring others to help you, be generous in return. No person makes it all on their own - we're social beings that thrive with the help from others. By being generous and giving what you can (it's also important to note that you should never give more than you realistically can), the rewards, in whatever form that they might take, will always outweigh any benefits you could have gotten by being selfish and hording information or resources.

5. Never Give Up
This one is pretty self-explanatory. While one might assume that every great is this perfect, unfailing person, the opposite is actually true. The most successful people you've met have failed many times. The difference is that these successful people have learned that failure isn't fatal, and that each failure is an opportunity to learn and grow. They've then taken those learned experiences and knowledge to come back bigger and better, and that's what's gotten them where they are.

Kinda boring, right? Not the most world-shaking revelations. Sadly, there is no magical formula for success overnight. Sometimes the road to success is longer than you might want it to be, but there are really no shortcuts. If you do discover any shortcuts, just figure out what that trade-off is, as there are always trade-offs (you just might not realize there are, depending on where your values and moral compass lie). Now that you know what you have to do, what will you do now?

Go get 'em!

Risking Something - Sanely

Monkey + Seal are big fans of Seth Godin, a visionary marketer who knows how to be remarkable in a world of mediocrity. A few days ago, he posted this:

The problem with putting it all on the line...

is that it might not work out.

The problem with not putting it all on the line is that it will never (ever) change things for the better.

Not much of a choice, I think. No risk, no art. No art, no reward.

Inspiring and true? We couldn't agree more. Risking something is scary. You could fail, people might make fun of you (although, really?), you might be in debt, there are a lot of things that could go wrong. What we find, however, is that for many artists, this idea needs to be tweaked a bit.

Most of the time, when it comes to take a chance, we think of the worst scenario. What if I use all of my savings to pursue art and no one buys from me? Scary, right? Well, a lot of times, that is what separates the truly legendary from the known, the amazing from the good. If you're at the top of your game and you want to go for it, do it! Risk it all, and change the world.

However, many of us artists who aren't art giants like James Jean or Ryan McGinness, we're just trying to create something that we love and that we might possibly make a living off of. Many of us don't have huge savings to get us by if we don't sell art, or are time strapped since you're working 40-50 hour weeks just to get by. You might be like Monkey and have $200,000 in student loan debt. You might have been told that you would never succeed in art, or in life.

As children, artists are usually not fostered with the love and care that a child who wants to grow up to be a doctor or lawyer or (now) software engineer will be nurtured. Us artists are generally the troublemakers, the ones who think outside the box, who constantly asked "why?" in class, who might not have fit in with society's norms. Thus, many of us grew up with a society that doesn't like us telling us how we should be. We're ingrained with the scarcity mindset of only a few select artists being able to make it. We compare ourselves to giants when we're just setting out to learn how to paint.

It's hard being an artist.

So while I believe that you need to put it all on the line to be a professional artist (emphasis on the professional), it doesn't need to be this sink-or-swim mentality. You don't have to risk your entire savings, or your financial well-being, or your ability to sleep in a warm bed and eat a decent meal, or to be able to afford internet. What you do have to risk, however, is much scarier for most.

You have to risk your pride, your ego, the safety of being unknown, and your life.

You have to constantly put your work out there for judging by the masses (because if they never see it, how can they buy it?), and some people might not be into your stuff, especially if you're showing it to the wrong people.

You have to risk the safety of being unknown. It's a lot easier to lurk in forums and not leave comments on blogs, to scan from the safety of behind a computer screen. It's scary to go out and email art directors and gallery owners, even more scary to go up to them in person and show them a portfolio. But that's the hustle of a professional artist, and even if it's scary, you gotta do it.

And your life? You have to risk your life in this profession. Not in the "if you don't become a professional artist you'll die" sense, but in that whether or not you know it, you are putting your life on the line by NOT following your dream already.

Think of how many hours you've spend at work, doing something you don't even like, or at best, something you like, but don't love. Risk your lifetime pursuing what you love. Give up countless hours drawing, or painting, or playing music, or dancing. Be willing to spend all those years and years and years of your time pursuing the dream.

I'll let you in on a little secret. Most artists aren't born with some innate ability. Whether they went to art school or not, every huge artist we've ever met has the exact same work ethic: 6-12 hour days painting or drawing. 6-7 days a week, for years and years and years. That's how they got to be where they are. They weren't tapped on the shoulder by the talent fairy and magically elevated to success. They have devoted their life to their craft, and that is how they are where they are. There might be exceptions out there, but to be honest, if you were an exception, you wouldn't be reading this right now.

So take a risk. Make a blog today for your artwork if you haven't already. Post something, if you haven't already. And put it out there, post your link, show us your stuff. No guts, no glory, right?

Deadlines Can Be Your Friend

Deadlines are a mixed bag for Monkey + Seal. While they serve to create an endpoint to a project, they can be really stressful and emotionally taxing. We think it all depends on how you use deadline and the boundaries that you set.

For personal work, deadlines can help push you to focus and prioritize more on a specific project that will force you to really work on something. Since many times personal pieces are done for you, sometimes it is not clear when you're really "done" with a piece. If you are a photo-realistic painter, this may not apply as you're done when it looks like a photo, but if you have a stylistic approach, this is oftentimes a bit more of a blurry line.

By forcing yourself to work within a specified time frame, if you're the type of person that needs structure, you can squeeze out some amazing stuff in a short period of time. While this does not work for everyone, if you find yourself being more productive when you're in a time crunch (procrastinators, anyone?) setting deadlines can be a really positive thing. It may even push you to experiment (for better or worse) in trying new techniques and mediums that you may not have thought about before.

However, if you're the type that does not create well under pressure, then deadlines can be very rough on you. The pressure to create and to produce can be overwhelming, so much so that even if you want to start early, you may find yourself psyching yourself out until the last possible minute when you realize that you don't have any more time to spare.

Sometimes you just don't have enough time to do your best work and you end up turning in something less than par, or even something that you're a bit embarrassed by. In these cases, we like to focus on that fact that as long as you do your best given the circumstances, you shouldn't beat yourself up so much. Like we've said before, as long as you take something away from every experience, it's not the end of the world. If you failed to execute an illustration in the way that you wanted to, you now know that given x hours, you cannot produce what you were trying to. You now know what does not work, so at least when a client asks you "Can you produce X in Y amount of time" you'll know how to answer.

Deadlines can definitely help push you to your best and to give you an action plan of prioritization for any project. But they only work if you set proper guidelines and boundaries and stick to them. In the end, time may be your worst enemy, but if you take the experience as an imperfect victory instead of a loss, you'll be all the closer to mastering the clock.

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.

Overworking

Hi all, sorry for the late post...Monkey has been fighting the flu, and Seal has been taking care of him, so the idea of sustainability has definitely come to mind.

Both being workaholics (Monkey by far being the worst), M+S need to constantly remind themselves that the world doesn't end if you have to call in sick to work, or if you only can finish 50% of a project. Yes, there are consequences (you miss a day of pay, you get a lowered grade, etc.) but if you constantly push yourself too hard, too fast, too long, you'll eventually burn out and then you'll be out of it for days.

Monkey has been unable to really do anything for the past three days now, which is not the best timing since he's trying to prepare some new prints for the Book Arts Jam (where he'll be exhibiting at the Academy of Art table) due to his illness. After trying to work his dayjob while sick, he ended up going home early one day, then he slept in the stockroom for an hour the next day, and finally he decided that he couldn't come in.

Life goes on, people may be inconvenienced, but the longer you are sick, the longer the minor inconvenience goes on. It's best just to take a full day off or two, rest (don't do other stuff!) and recover.

This is not to say that there aren't time when going all out 200% isn't necessary, but that shouldn't be the way of life. Monkey thinks you should definitely push your limits as necessary and as much as you can, but know your limits so you just don't push too far. Be sustainable!