Monday, August 31, 2009

TQ asks "Are You There Yet?"

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will." ~ George Bernard Shaw

Fully Commit to ACHIEVING Your
Goal -- or Change It...
--
Are You There Yet?

Staying focused on your long-term goals requires dedication and vision. Pace yourself. When you commit to the long haul, you can get anywhere you want to go.

Commit your week to long-term goals as if they were sacred missions -- because they are!

"If you're climbing the ladder of life, you go rung by rung, one step at a time. Don't look too far up, set your goals high but take one step at a time. Sometimes you don't think you're progressing until you step back and see how high you've really gone."~ Donny Osmond

Sunday, August 30, 2009

TQ says "Stay Positive!'"

Maintain a Positive Expectation for Every Action You Take...
--
Don't Worry -- Be Happy?

Life is not determined by random events and circumstances, rather by the thoughts you think. By insisting on positive thoughts, you will continue on a course that will bring both success and happiness.

Negative emotions such as anger, frustration, resentment or disappointment are dams that restrict the flow of energy. Open the flood-gates. Let them go to make room for the positive.

"Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude."~ Timothy Bentley

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Happiness Is the Key to Success

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
~ Albert Schweitzer

Friday, August 28, 2009

Why We Fail

"Most people who fail in their dreams fail not from lack of ability but from lack of commitment." ~ Zig Ziglar

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

No Commiment = Not Happening

"Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans."
~ Peter F. Drucker

Should I Give Up?

Should I give up?

August 25, 2009

Dear Sherrie,

Yesterday, Dana Finch of the UK wrote: "I have been painting for years. I now have to work at a fulltime non-art job but I still consider myself first and foremost a painter, and spend most weekends, evenings, holidays, etc., doing it. I studied at art school and have a degree in art. Despite my dedication I am getting nowhere trying to interest a small provincial gallery, let alone a London one. I do sell a few things, mainly through friends, but not in a consistent way. Am I really a bad painter and should I give up? What do you advise? I know you are not an agony aunt for painters, but my problems may resonate with other struggling painters."

Thanks, Dana. Agony uncle I'm not--mostly I can be found chugging up my own mountains. But when it comes to my fellow-travellers, I try to be a positive guy. And while brazen approval and blind encouragement are often as effective as any crit, there are some practical concerns that artists need to think about. Thanks also for mentioning "other struggling painters." My groaning inbox tells me your plight is currently quite universal.

Your work has a fine sense of feeling and atmosphere--rain, fog, etc., and a simple, understated honesty. But is this enough? Is there enough to really carry a viewer away? Is there possibly a sense in the minds of many potential collectors that they could have done one of these themselves? As I see it, and there will be many who will disagree, this sort of work is really a bit too facile and too easy to do. So you can get my drift, we've put a selection of Dana Finch's work at the top of the current clickback.

While there are exceptions to this, the hard, cold facts tell us that only a few top workers are truly thriving. The competition is tough. To the admirable virtues of feeling and atmosphere, one needs to leverage skill, craft and a degree of hard-won cleverness that the average person on the street cannot easily attain. When you add a personal style that distinguishes you from the others, opportunistic gallerists are more likely to check you out.

I've never advised anyone to give up. It's not in my DNA. But I've suggested that some need to re-examine directions and invest in a new and rigorous program of private study and daily labour. This may sound cruel and simplistic, but to get a decent ride on the train of joy, many artists need to spend more time shovelling coal.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "Never, ever, ever give up." (Charles Schultz)

Esoterica: Perhaps a lot of Western Art has tipped too far toward our personal demands for private joy. Further, many artists are trying to combine casual pleasantries with secure cash flows. It's nice work if you can get it, but it may just be mastery that gives the truest joy. "The secret of joy in work is contained in one word: excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it." (Pearl S. Buck)

Coach Sherrie Says: I don't think the Clickback works here for you to see Dana's work, but I thought it was quite beatiful. I normally don't bother looking at landscapes, but I would consider buying hers. Maybe she just needs to expand her sales horizon.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

We Are Accustomed to Change

"Born often under another sky, placed in the middle of an always moving scene, himself driven by the irresistible torrent which draws all about him, the American has no time to tie himself to anything, he grows accustomed only to change, and ends by regarding it as the natural state of man. He feels the need of it, more he loves it; for the instability; instead of meaning disaster to him, seems to give birth only to miracles all about him."
~Alexis De Tocqueville

Coach Sherrie says: A friend of a friend who is Irish living in Italy, said that "Americans are the only people who can re-invent themselves." I guess she has a point; I know I've re-invented myself several times. I finally came up with an invention of myself that I am happy with.
P.S. The funny thing is though, that I always criticized myself for it; I never saw what an asset that can be in terms of finally finding the real you. ;-)

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Turn Your Problem Into An Opportunity

"Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity."
~Joseph Sugarman

"Instants" by Jorge Luis Borges

Instants

If I could live again my life,
In the next - I'll try,
- to make more mistakes,
I won't try to be so perfect,
I'll be more relaxed,
I'll be more full - than I am now,
In fact, I'll take fewer things seriously,
I'll be less hygenic,
I'll take more risks,
I'll take more trips,
I'll watch more sunsets,
I'll climb more mountains,
I'll swim more rivers,
I'll go to more places - I've never been,
I'll eat more ice creams and less (lime) beans,
I'll have more real problems - and less imaginary
ones,
I was one of those people who live
prudent and prolific lives -
each minute of his life,
Offcourse that I had moments of joy - but,
if I could go back I'll try to have only good moments,

If you don't know - thats what life is made of,
Don't lose the now!

I was one of those who never goes anywhere
without a thermometer,
without a hot-water bottle,
and without an umberella and without a parachute,

If I could live again - I will travel light,
If I could live again - I'll try to work bare feet
at the beginning of spring till
the end of autumn,
I'll ride more carts,
I'll watch more sunrises and play with more children,
If I have the life to live - but now I am 85,
- and I know that I am dying ...

Jorge Luis Borges

Put Your ALL Into Everything!

"Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts.
This is the secret of success."
~ Swami Sivananda

Friday, August 21, 2009

Create the Self You Will Want to Live With For the Rest of Your Life!

"Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement."
~ Foster C. Mcclellan

Sunday, August 16, 2009

"When One Door Opens . . ."

"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us. " ~Alexander Graham Bell

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Truly Live Life!

"When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life."
~Greg Anderson

Monday, August 10, 2009

The Peace of Done

"Out of the strain of doing and into the peace of the done." ~ Julia Woodruff

TQ says "Put It In Writing"

Have You Put It In Writing Yet?

If you haven't written down what's most important to you, at least find the time today to start the list. This will be the most time-productive thing you'll ever do.

Create a file called "most important" and begin a list before you leave today. This list will give clarity to your life and establish firm standards for you to live by.

"It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are."~ Roy Disney

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Take Responsibility For Your Life!

Take Full Responsibility for How
Your Day Works Out...
--
Who's Responsible Here?

Once you accept that you're the cause of all the things that go right -- or wrong -- you gain power over everything you do.

Dedicate this week to you. Be the cause of who you are, what you do, and what you achieve.

"The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them."~ George Bernard Shaw

Coach Sherrie says: Wow! I used to tell my students "Stop blaming others for your mistakes and problems. Take back your power." Now, I realize I need to do the same if I am going to keep moving forward.

Reinvent Your Life OFTEN, Even Daily

Continuously Reinvent Your Life -- Pursue Only That Which is MOST Important...
--
Be A Seer, A Sayer, A Doer.

If you want to change anything about your life, start first with consciously committing to what you want most. Then, create a vision of exactly what your life will look like once you get it.

You may know what you don't want in your life. Now make a conscious choice of all that you do.

"You will be as much value to others as you have been to yourself."~ Marcus T. Cicero

You Can't Do It All Alone

Are You Trying To Be The "Suffering Hero?"

No one can do it all. And why would you want to? There is so much to be gained from others when you work together.

Stop trying to be the solitary crusader. Even Batman had Robin.

"Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them."~ Ann Landers

Coach Sherrie says: I know as artists and writers, we tend to think we have to do it alone, but there are SO many ways that others can help us. Let's all promise to allow others to help us whenever they offer.

Don't Forget to Play!

Schedule Time Off for Play and R & R...
--

Would You Like To Know The Secret Of Inexpensive Health Insurance?

Part of living a healthy life is learning how to relax. Relaxation and recreation are keys to improved energy and increased performance.

Alternate work with periods of relaxation -- and you'll automatically perform more effectively and feel better, too.

"It's how you deal with failure that determines how you achieve success."~ David Feherty