Everyone has their own definition of success. Mine is not to own a jet, hobnob with CEOs, or work a mere four hours a week. My definition of success is to be a force for good in the world and to make a decent living doing what I love while spending lots of time with people I care about. So far, so good. The middle part -- the "making a decent living doing what I love" part -- THAT took the longest. Way longer than I'd imagined or hoped. Success is not that hard. But it is rare because not many people are willing to do the work. The biggest requirement for success is just sticking to …
Dream Big
It’s Kind of Fun to Try the Impossible
It would seem that the subject of possibility and it's pessimistic cousin, impossibility, is shaping up to be quite the theme around here. Not only did I make art and write about it, but I just read a book about it and I'm finding that I'm living it as well. It all started in January when Kim and I declared our intent for our business to become debt-free by the end of this year. We have a fairly sizable loan we are slowly paying back, a formidable pile of liability accumulated during our early years in which we were figuring out how to turn our passion into a real business. Alas, the real …
Before There Were Teleportation Devices
I wonder if the Wright Brothers ever imagined that less than 100 years after their first manned flight, we'd have already taken air travel for granted. And we do, don't we? Thousands of these "crazy flying machines" take off and land every single day. And yet, at one point, the idea was as crazy as could be. In fact, in 1902 (just ONE year before the Wright Brothers' great success), Lord Kelvin -- the dude who determined the correct value of absolute zero as approximately -273.15 Celsius -- said, “No aeroplane will ever be practically successful.” Back in the late 1800s, the idea of Orville …
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Are We Alive Yet?
When I was a teenager, I worked at a car dealership. The garage where I spent my days smelled of used oil, antifreeze, and in the summer, sweat (hooray for no air conditioning!). My job was to wash cars, run errands, and keep the shop relatively clean. It was good pay for a good job with good bosses and flexible hours. And I learned how to drive a stick shift and detail a car like nobody’s business, which will come in handy when I buy my Porsche someday :) By all accounts, it was a pretty great career for a teenager. But that doesn’t mean I liked it. …
You Should Have a Mid-Life Crisis Every Week
If it means reassessing your achievements in terms of your dreams and, if necessary, instigating a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of your day-to-day life or situation, then you should have one at least once a month. It's the best way to stay out of the ruts that lead to a story you never intended to live. …
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Lessons for Building Snow Forts (and Other Things)
I loved building snow forts when I was a kid. For those of us who grew up in climates with frosty winters, it was a classic childhood pastime. After a big snowfall, it was it was easy to start visioning what sort of fort you would build. Your imagination kicking into high gear, you’d think about building two levels, with windows -- and turrets! -- along with a few secret passageways and, of course, extra thick walls to protect against enemy snowball attacks. Here’s the thing: no matter how grandiose your plans, you always start out with a plain, untouched pile of snow. But if you …
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Enter the “Your Dream Starts Now” Contest!
Have you always wanted to start a business? Ever have the nagging feeling that your hobby could be something more? Do you often wish you could quit your job and do your own thing? Have you always wondered if anything could come of that business idea that never seems to go away? If you answered "YES!" to any of those questions, I invite you to enter the Your Dream Starts Now contest. The truth is that now is probably the best time in the history of the world to start your own thing. If you're ready, this prize package has the potential to tip you over the edge from dreaming to doing. …
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It’s Always Time To Be Ridiculous
"Watermelon with Mustache" by Jason Kotecki "The right to be ridiculous is something I hold dear." -- U2, I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight I recently became aware of a website called ridiculo.us, an online community dedicated to the encouragement, development, and execution of ridiculous ideas. Their most recent project is to fake a marathon. That's right. On February 2nd, people all over the world (including me and Kim) are going to be taking and sharing pictures of themselves stretching, running, and finishing a marathon. They will be decked out in official race t-shirts and bib …
Dream On
Where do dreams come from? Not the kind you have when you’re sleeping, the other kind. The kind you can’t stop thinking about when you’re awake. The kind that get you up in the morning, keep you going when times are tough, and fill you with joy when you think about them actually coming true. I happen to believe that those dreams were baked into us from the beginning. They’re part of our spiritual DNA. We discover them at different points of our lives, but when we do, watch out. Nothing can stop us. Unless we let it. Dreams are powerful things, and Adultitis will stop at nothing to get …
Is Your Best Behind You?
"Peaked" by Jason Kotecki. Made on an iPad. I don’t get people who say that high school was the best time of their life. Sure, high school had some great moments, but I could have done without the zits, the awkwardness, and the over-dramatization of trivial things. I just find it sad to hear people say the prime of their life ended when they were 18 years old. Don’t get me wrong; I often reflect on the “glory days” of my past: playing second base for the varsity team in high school, the comaraderie of taking shop with fellow art majors in college, and the sweet, sweet freedom of the …