Who Are The People? You Don't Know... Do You?

This repost from ETR was perfect for today.  Today Governor Brown approved the operation of driverless cars for California roads.  Talk about a sad cold world… I was just talking to my daughter a few days ago how I don’t know how teens today make real friends with real bonds.  Everyone is on Facebook… or texting… or on their phones in the presence of other people instead of being present for the person they’re in the presence of… It’s sad and a little sickening.

 

This essay, written by Susan Fujii discusses digging into the background, the nitty-gritty of the people you get your financial advice from.  How do you know that they know what they’re talking about?  Fujii exponds on talking and interacting with another breathing living body.  I love that she quotes Bruce Lee:

 "There are lots of guys around the world that are lazy. They have big fat guts. They talk about chi power and things they can do, but don't believe it." -- Bruce Lee

Enjoy.

 

People Power: Whom Do You Trust with Your Money?

By Susan Fujii

In today's technology-driven world, you can easily go for days without needing to speak face-to-face with another human being.

Need to get gas? No attendant necessary, just pay at the pump.

Groceries? Use the self-checkout lane.

Need some cash? Stop by the nearest ATM.

Hungry? Place your order online and have it delivered.

I could go on for several paragraphs, but I'm sure you get the idea. It's rare today that we take the time to speak with the people behind these businesses.

Growing up when I did (ahem, many years ago) in a small, rural American town, this wasn't always the case. I knew all of the bank tellers by name and they knew me. I exchanged smiles and face-to-face pleasantries with the gas attendants and supermarket check out clerks, and personally knew the owners and the staff of every business in town.

I, of course, completely took this for granted and never gave it much thought...

Until a recent conversation I had with a fellow investor friend who was interested in my opinion of a popular investment newsletter.

I immediately told him, "It is absolutely worth your money--I know the chairman and the editor to the specific letter you're thinking of personally and they are wonderful, ethical human beings in addition to having a great track record."

My investor friend appreciated my recommendation, but was surprised that I personally knew the people who wrote the newsletter (this, by the way is very easy to do--I am not famous, but if you go to any investing conference where the person in question is speaking, you can just about always meet them in person and get a true sense of who they are and what they believe.)

This one simple rule has contributed immensely to my financial success and I am positive it will help you, too:

Know the people behind the business.

I am so thankful for my conversation with my friend because I had taken this principle for granted for years, but I firmly believe that adding this "secret" weapon to your investing arsenal will help you become a much better investor.

It astonishes me how many well-meaning investors do some or all of the following:

·         Buy a share of stock in a company without knowing who the CEO or Chairman of the Board is.

·         Subscribe to an investment newsletter without knowing who publishes it and what their beliefs, values, and track records are.

·         Hire a financial advisor to manage their investments without knowing whether the advisor successfully manages his or her own investments.

If I am going to trust someone with my hard-earned dollars, whether it's a company whose stock I am buying or a high-priced newsletter I'm considering subscribing to, I want to know whom I am dealing with...who is the person behind the business?

This is because I don't do business with businesses--I do business with people. (And you should, too!)

This holds particularly true in the investing world where most newsletters, financial advisors, and brokers are not well-established household name brands with 50-year proven track records of ethical behavior and success.

Just who exactly is this newsletter person promising to tell me the secret of "How the strange disappearance of element '107' could make me a fortune next week" or promising to "Double My Money in 2011 Guaranteed..."?

I am inherently skeptical and actually go find out, and I hope you will, too.

Bruce Lee was a famous skeptic, saying,

"There are lots of guys around the world that are lazy. They have big fat guts. They talk about chi power and things they can do, but don't believe it." -- Bruce Lee

Exactly.

A healthy dose of skepticism, particularly when entrusting your money to someone, is a good thing.

Your job is to do the hard work of sorting out the wheat from the chaff, the Bruce Lee's of finance from the Bernie Madoff's, or as they say in Texas, those with cattle from those with "all hat, no cattle".

And focusing on people is an important part of that equation. When I look into the "person behind the newsletter" I get a very, very good idea of the entire newsletter empire.

Even if you cannot meet the editor in question in person, the beauty (and the curse) of the Internet is that there is a vast array of information available on any person whom you wish to find out about.

A quick Google search will provide you with volumes of information about someone. Many times these authors have been interviewed by text or even better on audio or video so you can get a real sense of who they are as a person.

You can ferret out what they believe in, whether or not they know what they are talking about, whether or not they have similar values to you, and whether or not they are ethical. You can also find out their track record and history and learn what other people think of them.

Important questions to ask before forking over your money are:

·         Who is this person?

·         What is their background?

·         What are they trying to sell me?

·         What is their bias?

·         What is their track record?

·         Will they take the time to educate me or do they only care about selling newsletters?

·         Do I believe they are ethical?

·         What can I glean about their personal values and beliefs?

·         Does anyone whom I trust or know personally endorse them or think well of them?

That may sound like a lot, but truly, with the Internet you can find out volumes about a person in just a few minutes.

The sad truth, though, is that many people will never bother to do so!

Please don't be one of them...

Before you hand over your hard-earned money to someone, first see what you can find out about them and meet them in person if you can.

It's not that hard (it's even fun!) and your wallet will thank you tremendously!

 

Romuald Canas: Featured Artist

By R. Canas

The artist featured today is Romuald Canas, originally from Spain, now living in Paris, France.  You can view more of his work by going to: http://www.r-canas-art.com.

What is the earliest picture you remember drawing?

At the age of 10, I created my first painting, a portrait of Jesus in an oil painting. Without having yet received a religious education, the first painting symbolizes courage and hope to face serious health problems from my childhood.


What would surprise people to know about you?

What surprises people about me is that I am very brave and optimistic, facing serious health problems from childhood.

Through my art, I express great joy of life, my works are both full of life, warmth and motion transmitting an infectious energy.


What was your favorite thing you purchased in the last three months?

In May, I bought a watercolor painting from an artist that I like named Romuald Marecaux, a Cubist artist also having the same first name and often wearing a hat like me.

If you had to describe yourself as a color, what color would it be? Why?

I always had a preference for the color blue. It appears in my paintings often.
Blue is the color of tolerance and represents balance, self-control, the need for serenity.


What is your favorite place to visit? Why?

I like with places of a peaceful nature like Polynesia; the Antilles, but also with places with charm, cities like Seville (Spain); Paris; London; Prague… After having lived in Andalusia, I was very inspired by Spain, its cultural wealth, the beauty of its landscapes and its blazing ambient colors. Most of my works is indeed a true anthem with this country.

A Gerardo Gomez Summer: Featured Artist

Today’s featured artist, Gerardo Gomez, is originally from Santa Tecla, El Salvador.  Just as the previous artists featured on The Wrighter this month, I wanted to find out what Gomez’s summer looked like.  He clearly has a poetic mind.

Metaphors in the Songs of Birds - G. Gomez

What is the earliest picture you remember drawing?

Some lines and doodles on a wall of the living room on a house I used to live, it ended up being a mural of doodles.

What happened to make it feel like summer to you (besides the temperature)?

The wind in my face the moment I think about her.

What was your favorite thing you purchased in the last three months?

Well, I think I haven’t purchased anything in over three months, but very interesting things have passed through my hands. Books, music, movies, everything I needed for free hehe.

Visions of the New Humanity - G. Gomez

What was the most interesting thing that happened to you over the summer?

Every single day has been interesting, every single moment. Every place I go, every person I meet, every new thing I have tried, too many experiences to mention, from discovering a really cool old house going through a door at the bottom of a bookstore, to meeting people that have inspired poems, there have been no ordinary days, it all depends on how you choose to see life.

What is the best thing/work you created over the summer?

I think of my artwork as process instead of finished pieces, I’ve been doing a lot of experimental stuff, It’s a lot of fun, I couldn’t tell what is my work created but I could say the things I have liked the most has been those in which I have not had control over the idea but everything was more spontaneous.

The PRIORITY of Your Day

Every morning, before I do anything else, I create a “To Do” list to outline my day and ensure that I get things accomplished.  For the most part, I’m pretty good at following the list, though I am often guilty of falling down rabbit holes and starting and completing tasks that aren’t on the list and ARE NOT a priority.

What I have a tendency to do is start with the tasks that are quicker and easier to complete, until I’m left with the most difficult ones towards the end of the day.  Occasionally I’ll alter the priorities based upon time if I know something is scheduled later in the day that I can’t control.

The problem with the triaging of tasks for me is that some days I run out of time and I’m not able to complete the important things that should have been a priority in the first pla

Today, I’m posting an ETR essay by Craig Ballantyne that lets me know that I’m not the only one who does this (it is nice to know).  Knowing is not enough though.  I gotta fix it!  Maybe you have this problem too?  If you do, maybe this essay will help.  Enjoy.

 

The #1 Thing in Your Day

By Craig Ballantyne

Everything was going according to plan. I was 30 minutes early and the film crew was all ready to go. We had six short scripts to record along with one long PowerPoint-based presentation. I was going to be done early, or so I thought, before, of course, things went wrong. You'll discover the full story in a moment.

But first, you need to realize that what you're about to discover is a really simple tip. However, it's also one of the most important concepts to follow every day, in both your personal and professional life. This simple reminder could mean the difference between success and failure.

Too many business owners make the same mistake that I did that day. They start their day making lists, often affected by what I call "Whiteboard-itis", where they spend more time organizing and prettying-up their whiteboard (or worse, whiteboard-paint painted walls) with to-dos, and ideas, and grand plans...

...but they never get down to implementing the plan. (Mostly because all of this other stuff is used as a giant procrastination crutch to avoid the REAL work.)

Most people fail to do the #1 most important activity FIRST.

And that's what happened at the filming session.

When I arrived, the film crew had set up to film the scripts, first (these required a teleprompter and specific arrangement of the lighting and camera). However, the scripts were of the lowest priority. We should have started with the PowerPoint presentation, because it was longer and was due for our Virtual Mastermind members.

The scripted videos were just Youtube experiments and didn't really matter that much. Still, we started with those. Two hours later, I was running out of mental energy. Filming takes a lot out of me, although with training I'm getting better at this activity that is way outside of my comfort zone.

Then, to make things worse, just as we started with the priority PowerPoint presentation, construction started up just outside the office suite where we were filming. That caused another twenty-minute delay. I fought hard to regain my energy for the video, and we were able to create another fantastic piece of content for Virtual Mastermind members.

However, it would have been much easier if we had done the most important task first. We made a classic mistake. Like most business owners, we fell into the trap of doing the easy, "busy work" first, rather than the tougher priority tasks. But that's not how you make massive progress in your business. To move ahead, work on your #1 priority first thing when you are mentally fresh and full of energy.

My friend Ryan Lee recently gave a great example of this in an interview. He explained how his sister ran a real estate business in New York City. Competition was fierce and Ryan was trying to help her out. During a consultation, Ryan asked, "What's the #1 activity your company does that gets more clients?"

Her reply, "Calling the landlords for listings."

So Ryan asked, "And how many hours do you devote to this each day?"

Her reply, "Usually one or two, but sometimes none because we are so busy with other stuff."

And THAT is the problem.

Are you "so busy with other stuff" that it prevents you from doing the important work?

When you fail to act on your most important priority first thing you end up paying the price. Other things get in the way. Your mental energy wanes. You set it aside and procrastinate. And you fail to make progress. That's why you feel like you are struggling.

Business owners get so busy with OTHER stuff that they neglect the most important activity in their business that drives the vital number that they should be obsessively watching. (Matt Smith and I covered this in his interview here.)

Make sure you are doing the #1 most profitable activity FIRST thing in your day. Make sure it gets the necessary time and energy it deserves EVERY day. That's why I go straight to writing content for 60 minutes EVERY morning.

I wake up and I know what to do. This was decided at 5 p.m. LAST night. Not this morning. (For example, finishing this issue is my most important task today, and that's why the words are flowing freely onto this page at 5:01 a.m. I'm attacking my most important task when I'm in my most creative state of mind. Email can wait until 2 p.m.)

And yes, this will require sheer will and determination to stay on point when there is a myriad of distractions around you. Even I, at this early hour, want to grab my phone and post this morning's motivational quotes to my Early to Rise Facebook page. (Fortunately, my old Blackberry has taken such a recent beating with repeated drops to the floor that the internet function no longer works. That's just another secret technique in my time management routine.)

So I've glued my butt to this chair (figuratively, not literally...I'm not willing to go that far...yet) and force myself to get every last word out before my 5 a.m. deadline - when it will be time to move to my next writing priority. You will need to take this approach too. Eliminate distractions and know what needs to get done.

Your to-do list should be made the night before. You should know exactly what you are going to do - and need to do - first thing in the morning.

I truly believe there is something to the idea of having your sub-conscious mind work on your problems overnight...and that's why you should wake up, get through whatever routines and chores you must do, and then get right to work on letting those thoughts flow freely that have built up during your sleep. You might even want to dictate those thoughts into a recorder or iPhone as soon as you wake up.

That's how breakthroughs are made - by working on your number one priority first thing in the morning -then moving to your next biggest priority, and so on.

As legend has it, Charles Schwab once paid a consultant, Ivy Lee, for this advice: Make a list of priorities the night before. When you get to work, start with priority one and don't do anything else until it is finished. Then move to priority two. Don't work on anything else until that is finished. And so on. Schwab found this advice to be so effective that he paid Lee the handsome sum (at the time) of $25,000 for that simple, yet powerful strategy.

My advice to you is practically free. Work on your number one priority first thing in the day. And don't let this habit slip slide away. Block the time. Prepare the night before. And attack that #1 most important activity in your business - EVERY day.

 

Pierre Delerive, Featured Writer

Today, The Wrighter features French American novelist, Pierre Delerive, who currently resides in New York and was gracious enough to answer a few questions about his life and his latest novel, “Do You Remember Me?”

 

What made you to decide to move from France?
 
My business career took me to the US. The British company whose subsidiary I used to run in Paris offered me a similar position in New York. After a few years however, I realized that I didn't want to grow older without taking a serious shot at what had been my dream since childhood i.e. to be a writer. I resigned, gave up the perks and never looked back. 

If you visit my website at www.pierredelerive.com you'll find a link to a TV interview at the bottom of the "author" page and will hear the full story.

 

What writers are you inspired by and why?

Graham Greene without a doubt. I own all his novels. They are real page turners with compelling plots and, at the same time, incredibly insightful character studies. I also admire John Updike and Philip Roth (I see similarities between the Rabbit novels and Roth's American Pastoral both fascinating pictures of America 50 years ago) I also like mysteries when they are more than just that. John Le Carré is a master. I love Jonathan Frantzen too.

Describe your latest novel, “Do You Remember Me?”

Do You Remember Me? since last week available on Kindle as well as hardcover is in fact the English translation of my novel Te Souviens-Tu De Moi? published in France a few years ago. A story of friendship, love and betrayal set during the Nazi occupation of France, it is also a testimony to the spirit that so often made the difference between death and survival in the hellish universe of the concentration camps. When the war ends and the narrator comes back home, ghosts are waiting. They will prove to be as cruel as the real-life Nazis.

 

I used to drive by a place every day that seemed mysterious looking to me. It looked like it could have been a convent, but I wasn’t sure. I was so wrapped up into the place and the possibilities that I created an entire story in my head and wrote it out in the form of a novel. Did you have any type of strong everyday-life inspirations with your latest novel?

As I recount in the above-mentioned TV interview, my novel Bayou Cruel was born from an eerie experience. I had the local news on while working several years ago when I realized that a protest following the acquittal of some white boys who had caused the death of a black teenager was held a few blocks from my home. Intrigued, I went out and soon found myself one of the few white faces in a crowd of angry and distraught black people. Without understanding why, I was overwhelmed with emotion and a sense of belonging. What I had always felt, i.e. deep compassion for the plight of the African American, suddenly reached a new level. As I went home later with tears in my eyes, I wondered what had happened to me. What if I had been one of them in a previous life, I asked myself. This is how Bayou Cruel was born, the story of two men, one black in Louisiana, the other white in Paris, who die at the exact same moment. Only the former is murdered and the latter is revived in the emergency room. When he comes to, unbeknownst to him, he's inhabited by the soul of the murdered black man.

 

What was the most interesting thing that happened to you this summer?

This summer I visited my family in Reunion Island, a French territory East of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. How they all came to live at the other end of the world is the subject of one of my blogs on my website, title Reunion Island, the dreaded Q&A.

What the Heck Are "Mom Jeans?"

Mom jeans.  I’ve been hearing about these ubiquitous things for years.  It is the source for ridicule for many women, both celebrities and standard issue community pillars and society keepers.  Mom jeans.

Wearing the modest and sometimes unflattering denim pants are the contraptions that fashionistas across America wouldn’t be caught dead in.  They would literally wake from the dead, look down at their zombie bottom halves, shuck the cursed things and lay back down in their flat lines, content to be buried instead in their panties. 

And who came up with this term?  Is there anyone out there willing to raise their hands and admit to the creation of turning a seemingly innocuous phrase into a “mean girl” term?  Somewhere out there are there “dad pants?”  If someone did spot “dad pants” would it catch on like wildfire like “mom jeans?”  I don’t think so.

I’m going to be completely frank here and I don’t care whose feelings get hurt, because it needs to be said:  If you are going around spreading this stupid sexist term in the name of enlightened trends and fashion forward thinking, then you are ignorant as hell and you need to shut your flippin’ pie-hole before you spread your ignorance like a flesh eating disease.

If a woman is wearing some kind of article of clothing that is unflattering on her body, then she is simply wearing unflattering clothing – shirt, pants, jeans – whatever.  Why would you bring motherhood into this?  Are we suggesting now that motherhood makes you look haggardly? 

I’m willing to guess that the person creating the “mom jean” term either have no children or don’t have XX chromosomes.

So now that its I the mouths of everyone into fashion and style it’s now trying to play a role in the marketing department of jean sellers like Lee and Levi?

“I may be a mom, but I don’t wear ‘mom jeans.’

What kind of statement is that?  Like ‘mom jeans’ is some kind of brand…

We need to wake up people and put the term down.  Don’t let forces turn you into some self-loathing; self-conscious; self-righteous hypocrite.

Say it with me: there are no such things as ‘mom jeans.’

Motherhood is a beautiful thing and we should let no one turn it into something derogatory.  Shut it down!

 

What am I Selling?

Hawaii is Looking a LOT Like Texas...

by Kobina Wright

One of the selling points from my daughter’s high school band at the school she attends, is that every four years, the band takes a trip to Hawaii and gets to play a few shows on one of the islands, enjoying the sand, sun and rainbows – no doubt.  Both the parents and the staff hailed it as both beautiful and full of fun for not only the students but the parent as well who of course went along to “chaperone.” 

There were pictures, and stories from the students, and parents.  There were images painted and sighs and smiles at the memories of such a marvelous field trip the band was so fortunate to take. 



by Kobina Wright

I believe it’s one of the main reasons my daughter stayed in band when she felt like all her friends were graduating, or moving on.  It’s why she dealt with the 12 hour days of band camp for two weeks, snatching away her last bit of summer.  It’s the reason she wiped away her tears and kept marching forward year after year despite her itching to quit.  Hawaii was promised.

This year was the year.  It is her junior year of high school when Hawaii is supposed to happen, when her music director announces “Hawaii is not going to happen this year.”  Everyone was crushed.  The reason, we were told, was that they couldn’t make the trip affordable.  The cost to do the Hawaii trip was just too high.  As an alternative, they came up with a trip to Texas.



by Kobina Wright

Texas was not promised and so it took a LOT of coaxing from me to get my daughter to start looking at the trip as an experience she will most likely remember for the rest of her life.  It is not Hawaii, but it is STILL an opportunity to play with her fellow bandos and Texans alike.  It is an adventure all by its Texas-self.  Uncharted band territory she has an opportunity to be a part of.  A part of history.

Now, the Texas trip is substantially cheaper than the Hawaii trip would have been, but I still have the financial obligation of paying my daughter’s share of $1,500 to make it happen.  I’m going to be painfully honest; I still haven’t paid her band fees for this year yet. No matter, I won’t be deterred. In order to raise the funds to get by baby on that plane I’m going to sell my labor of love.

by Kobina Wright

I don’t know if you remember, but back in April I hosted an art show titled, “Kobiphysics: An Art Show.”  What I’m willing to do, is take the remaining paintings from the show and sell them at a discount in order raise funds for her trip.  I just purchased more canvas yesterday and have also decided to create more work to add to the inventory for our fundraising efforts.

I’m hoping that you, dear reader, can find it in your heart and pocket, to help Addae (my daughter) and buy a painting of mine.  This offer will be good through the end of November and after that, the prices will have to go back up.



by Kobina Wright

Think about this: Christmas is coming and original art would make a sensational gift.  I’d like you to think of it as an investment in me, and also in the art itself.  I have a lot of irons in the fire and the value of my paintings are sure to multiply in the coming years.  I’d also like you to think of how much it would help us out.  You’d be helping to create an experience that my daughter will surely remember for the rest of her life.  This will be a trip she will tell her future children about.

My work can be seen on Fineartamerica.com (http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/kobina+wright/all) and Americafineart.org (http://www.americafineart.org/search.asp?keyword=Kobina&s...).

by Kobina Wright

Finally, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for just reading this to the end.   Enjoy the rest of your week.  Please help out if you can.

 Kobina Wright (A band mom)

 

 

Ch-ch-ch CHANGES!!!

Every year, around the end of December, people start asking each other about New Year’s Resolutions.  When I’m asked I tell people, “No.  I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions.”  You know why I don’t make them?  Because from the moment I see that something about myself needs changing, I resolve to change it at that moment.  Why wait to change?  Think of how much you could accomplish if you were immediate about the changes you made…

 

Today’s ETR essay by Rober Ringer is in the same vein.  I didn’t want to wait until the end of the year to post this message.  Somebody out there could use this message TODAY!  Enjoy.

 

The Best Day is Today

By Robert Ringer

There are two basic kinds of actions. One is proaction, which puts you on the offensive and gives you a great deal of control over events. The other is reaction, which puts you on the defensive and relegates you to an inherent position of weakness.

An interesting way of looking at inaction is that it's really just a negative form of action, a sort of black hole that sucks energy away from you much the same as the black holes of the universe pull matter into the deep recesses of their cosmic bowels. This is why inaction often yields consequences by default. If you wait for something, or someone, to act on you, you likely will be unable to control the consequences.

Homeostasis, a trait that all human beings possess to one extent or another is (in psychological terms) the tendency to live with existing conditions and avoid change. Which is ironic, because resistance to change defies both the laws of nature and the laws of the universe.

The earth, the universe, and life itself are in a perpetual state of change, and so, too, is secular life. Weather changes, laws change, the economy changes, the reigns of power change, technology changes, and, perhaps most significant of all, your age changes every second of your life. In addition, with the generation and dying of cells in our bodies, each of us is in a constant state of change physiologically, from birth to death.

Homeostasis is the ultimate defense against taking action, which is why most people stubbornly resist change, particularly major change. Outwardly, of course, we fabricate excuses that attempt to justify why we aren't able to take action just yet, the most common one being that "the time is not quite right."

Someday, we insist, when all the pieces of our lives fit perfectly together, we'll be in a better position to take action: change occupations, go back to college and get an engineering degree, start a business, work on that big project we've thought about for years, move to the city of our dreams, or begin writing the novel that we've always believed would be a best seller.

The self-delusion of trying to disguise procrastination as a responsible attitude that is just waiting for the "right" time brings to mind a fascinating essay titled The Station, wherein the unknown author metaphorically describes all of us as being on a mythical train of life, rolling relentlessly down the tracks toward the future.

As we travel on this train of life, we keep believing that just around the next bend we're going to arrive at The Station, a beautiful little red station house that will signify the panacea moment when all the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle.

When we arrive at The Station, there will be a big crowd cheering, flags will be waving, bands will be playing, and that's when all our troubles will vanish and we can finally take action.

There's only one problem with this picture. It's a fantasy - a pure fantasy - because the reality is that there is no station. It doesn't exist! The perfect moment never quite arrives. There's always one more piece of the puzzle that has to fall into place before we're ready to take action.

The truth of the matter is that, with few exceptions, the best day to take action is today. You can make a sales call today. You can start working on that important project today. You can begin to pick up the pieces and start a new life today. The issue isn't about today being the first day of the rest of your life; the real issue is that today could be the last day of the rest of your life.

When people cling to the excuse that the time isn't quite right to move forward with a plan or change of one kind or another - particularly starting a business - it's often because they get caught up in the "how" of the situation. No one is omniscient. No one can foresee every problem and know, in advance, how to resolve it.

The reality is that all start-ups are dysfunctional. What makes a person an entrepreneur is that he has the determination, perseverance, and resourcefulness to overcome the dysfunction of a new enterprise. Paul McCartney put it well when asked in an interview about how the Beatles got started. Said McCartney, "Nobody knows how to do it. You just start a band."

I should also point out that people often fail to take action because they tend to confuse the word hard with impossible. It's not impossible to change occupations right now; just hard. It's not impossible to move to another city right now; just hard. It's not impossible to start a new business right now; just hard.

Hard is the very thing that gives value to an objective. Everything worth accomplishing is hard. If you're waiting for everything to be just right before taking action, you are in possession of a foolproof excuse for failure.

Don't fear change; embrace it as one of the most exciting aspects of life. Think of action as an opportunity to make mistakes, mistakes that give you a front-row seat in the Theater of Learning.

Carlos Castaneda explained perfectly succinctly when he said, "A warrior lives by acting, not by thinking about acting, nor by thinking about what he will think when he has finished acting."

Thinking is a good thing to do - but not nearly as good as action.

 

In Debt - A Short Story by Kobina Wright

In Debt

Phylla received a credit card application in the mail the day she expected to receive a bill from her mother.  When the bill didn’t come, she began to suspect it might have been an empty threat.  She already had $50,000 in credit card debt.  A credit card is useless.  Her mother would have smirked at such sour grapes, considering Phylla’s spending habits.

When she was fired in front of everyone in her office, she had a creeping suspicion that it was just the beginning of a string of headaches to come.  It was after the termination that her mother, without compassion, told Phylla that she would begin sending her a bill.  That’s when Phylla called her mother a bitch. That’s when Phylla was slapped so hard she not only saw stars, but planets, black holes, satellites...

Phylla has phoned her mother every other day since she was fired, and inquires about her mother’s day and health.  She offers to wash her mother’s car so that she needn’t worry about such frivolous things.  She reminisces with her mother about the time her mother almost burned the house down when she took a nap while baking a frozen pie; about the trip to New York when Phylla was in middle school, about the men her mother could squeeze money out of just by serenading them. 

Their interaction connected to form a dysfunctional circle.  Phylla would be disrespectful.  Her mother would get angry.  Phylla would become submissive.  Her mother would forgive her, and then indulge her.  Phylla would take advantage of her mother and be disrespectful.

She studied the application over a cup of coffee.  If her mother knew she was thinking about getting another card she’d be furious.  Or more furious.  Her mother told her to be a woman; that 40 was too old to still be acting like a girl.  That’s why she would send Phylla a bill.  She had to be bluffing, Phylla thought.

She picked up the pen off the table and wrote her first name, middle initial and last name in the shaded boxes on the application.  She scanned the interest rate, annual fee, terms and conditions, then scratched out the letters of her name and wrote her mother’s instead.  This would be Phylla’s seventh credit card and her face would be black and blue if her mother ever found out Phylla had a credit card in her name.

Phylla ripped up the application and threw it in the kitchen trash before she did something stupid.  She chugged the last of her coffee and went into her room where her laptop sat glowing on her unmade bed.  She logged onto jobs.net and spent twenty minutes there.  She was being proactive, she thought, because the bill is coming.

Artist Valerie Won Lee's Summer

"Vipassana" - by V. Won Lee

 

Today I’m featuring self-taught artist, Valerie Won Lee, of Paris, France.  I encourage you to view more of her work at: http://www.vwlart.com.  I find her work to be dark and whimsical, yet on a completely different path from Tim Burton.

 

What is the earliest picture you remember painting/ drawing?

 The earliest picture I remember drawing were eyes in the middle surrounded by a strong circular wind and a bird flying around the eyes.  If I recall, I must have been around 7.

 

If you had to describe yourself as one color, what color would it be? Why?
 

Purple. Depending on the culture, the color purple represents spirituality, awareness, wisdom, royalty, healing, inspiration, dreams, mystery and even in some cases: nature. It is also known to be a very strong color in meditation as it balances the energy and strength of red with the spirituality and integrity of blue. It is for me an incredibly rich color.

 

Name two of your favorite artists and why are they your favorites?
 
I wish I could mention at least 10 as there are and has been so many geniuses but if I have to name two, then it would be the two which have been the most influential in my art work:
 
-Frida Khalo, for her capacity of proving that miracles are possible through art and through her own life.

-Salvador Dali, for his genius surrealism.

 

What's the most interesting thing that happened to you over the summer?

 

10 days of meditation in Wales (UK), a great moment of inspiration and certainly a new start in my art career...

 

What's your favorite work/ thing you created over the summer?

 

Vipassana (116X89cm) just before going to Wales.