I studied illustration at Northern Illinois University. (Go Huskies!) I had some amazing teachers, but in that world, it really didn't matter where I went to school or who I studied under. What mattered was the portfolio. In the art world, a portfolio is the curated collection of your absolute best work. The year after I graduated, I bought my first suit and drove up to the big city of Chicago to show my portfolio to art directors at various advertising agencies, with the hope of getting freelance work. In less than a minute, these busy art directors would flip through my portfolio and pass judgement on what represented years of training and toil (and sometimes tears). The fantasy was that he'd be absolutely destroyed by the depth of my daring and weep tears of joy and jealousy at the level of my talent. He’d immediately call his art director friends and brag, “I’ve found him. I found...the one." Yeah…so that never happened. Instead, I heard things like, “Not bad, kid. …
Archives for December 2015
Saturday Morning Sprinkles: Become a Comic Book Edition
• Lianne Mosely is not your average, ordinary make-up artist. Oh, she can make you look good for your wedding, but she can also turn you into a comic book superhero! • Go to Google. Type in: a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. You're welcome. • I really love these Star Wars themed floormats. • Speaking of space adventures, it's pretty neat to see these amazing photos NASA released from the Apollo Moon missions. Finally, some posts from around here you may have missed: • What Floats Your Boat? • Best Twenty Bucks I Ever Spent …
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Meet Michelle O’Hara
The Small Rebellion is a playful group of escape artists who share a joyful, indomitable childlike spirit and are not afraid to let that spirit come out to play! They’re united by a common goal of fighting Adultitis and the doo-doo heads who embrace its ideals. Quite frankly, they’re pretty much the coolest people on the planet. Here's one right now... • My name is...Michelle O'Hara. • My hometown is...Boston, Massachusetts. • My biggest dream...is to have an adventure in each one of the 50 states! • My inspiration...are those happy, joyful people who have a love of fun, life and adventure. • When I was a kid, I...never stopped playing! Good thing my Mom was a pretty great activities director for me. • My favorite childhood toy was...a small teddy bear named Punky (She was named after Punky Brewester, of course!) • One way I stay childlike is...by going to work! I'm a child life specialist so the kiddos keep me in the loop with all the cool new bands like One …
Cooler Than You Know
I recently had the opportunity to attend "Keynote Kamp” with 24 fellow speakers, as we met to work on improving our skills from the platform. As part of the agenda, everyone was required to do five minutes of material in front of the group, after which we received advice to help us get better. I was intimidated by the level of talent in the room. I wondered if I belonged. Needless to say, I was nervous. But it didn’t take long for me to realize something profound: everybody else was nervous, too. Keep in mind, these are some of the best speakers in the entire world. Folks you’ve seen on TV, some who have been elected to the Speaker Hall of Fame, and who have wowed audiences in some of the most prestigious venues around. And everybody was at least a little nervous. There was a small piece of each one of us that wondered if we belonged in that room. It gave me a great sense of calm, knowing that I wasn't the only one. I was also somewhat perplexed, wondering what some of …
Best Twenty Bucks I Ever Spent
Last week I was enjoying a wonderful dinner with some speaker friends. We started a table discussion about the best place you've ever been that you'd like to go back to. While others shared amazing stories of Tuscany, Brazil, and Ireland, I felt silly because all I could think of was the Quality Inn in Clearwater, Florida. I'm pretty sure the year was 2007. Kim and I didn't have kids yet, and we were in the early stages of my speaking career. We'd recently been to a speakers convention where a guy named Randy Gage talked about these exotic bungalows in Tahiti. He noted that some are perched over the water, featuring cool glass-bottomed floors, and wondered why anyone would invest the considerable expense to vacation in Tahiti and then settle for the slightly cheaper but extremely less exotic wood-bottomed accommodations a few hundred feet inland. So as we checked into the Quality Inn, the host offered us the option of upgrading from our "Garden View" room (which savvy travelers …
Saturday Morning Sprinkles: Transforming Landmarks Edition
• I love this series of photos made by a guy who transforms famous landmarks using paper cutouts. So ingenious, and it started with the desire to become a tourist in one's own city! • Love this Adultitis-free holiday tradition of Tacoma Self Storage. • Ikea is selling toys based on the drawings of kids. It's a great idea for a great cause. • I could be wrong, but I suspect that people who compete in the World Beard & Mustache championship are relatively Adultitis-free. Finally, some posts from around here you may have missed: • Self-Made Successes are Exactly Like Unicorn-Riding Leprechauns • Expect to Be Amazed and You Will Be …
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We’re Presenting at Dream Bank on December 17
We don't do many public events, so we're excited to tell you about this one if you live anywhere near Madison, Wisconsin. We're doing a program on holiday stress and busyness as part of the Dream Big Series at the Dream Bank across from the state capitol on Thursday, December 17th from 6:15 - 7:30 pm. Here's the official description: It’s the time of year for experiencing joy and creating memories with loved ones…but the busyness of the season can drive us batty! Kim and Jason Kotecki, co-founders of Escape Adulthood, will be leading this can’t miss program and sharing their anti-Adultitis message to help us learn to stress less and fill life with more fun, happiness and curiosity. Give yourself a gift that will last all year long and break free from the limitations that might be holding you back from a life of awesome. The event is free but seating is limited to you have to register in advance to make sure you get a spot. …
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Jason's new book, "A Chance of Awesome: How Changing the Way You See Changes Everything" is now available, and it will help you to see opportunities you’ve been missing and provide the inspiration to grab them.