Designing Success

The Best DAM Poster Contest

2011-07-31T16:53:00.000-07:00

Keiser University Design and Multimedia students are competing for over $500.00 in prizes in The Best D.A.M. Poster contest. Please vote (like) and leave your feedback for these aspiring designers.

You must "like" Keiser University before you can vote on the individual entries.

Thank you for caring enough to help out our students.

Click the blog title or go to:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150334999225420.399904.102970315419&type=1

Motivation is in Full Throttle

2011-02-25T08:35:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I was chatting with a former student who was pursuing another degree because she did not feel confident in her design skills. She had an opportunity to do some layout work for a local business but was about to let the opportunity pass because she was "afraid of looking stupid".

Here ia a transcript of the text string that transpired 18 hours later:

"Just fyi... I gave him the first draft last night and he loves it. Said its the best anyone has ever done on the first draft and I haven’t even worked with him before. He has people that have been doing stuff for him for a while that don’t give him a first draft that is laid out so well. Made me excited.

I found my love for InDesign again. He is paying me $20/hr. Woohoo"

"Awesome!!!"

"YES I AGREE!

This was the test job... he said if I did a good job that he would continue sending me all his print work for me to setup. He sends me the text and pictures and I lay everything out in InDesign

Easy Money!"

"And I thought you gave up on design"

"Heck no. Just very self conscious. I am my worst critic."

"Aren't we all?"

"But he gave me a crud load of compliments and he said he really likes that I adapted to the style he asked me to. He asked me to use the cover he made for it and incorporate it somehow throughout the brochure and still give it a newish style but he loved it! YAY!

I AM SOOOOO EXCITED that I can work from home doing design work.

He was most excited that I beat the deadline ... he wanted something by this morning and I got him his first proof last night."

"So happy for you. Now will you enter the Festival of Design and finish this month's course?"

"Yes sir.

I am excited

Motivation is back in full throttle."

Plenty of Work, if you're willing

2010-12-06T11:29:00.001-08:00

Sometimes it's easier to quit than to make the effort. What amazes me is how many people quit without ever making an honest effort. If you want it, pursue it with everything you have...not for a few hours, or a few weeks, or a few months. Give it 100% of your effort, pursue it like it is the most important thing in your world. There are plenty of opportunities, just not enough people willing to work at making them into realities.

Finding what you want to know - useful links

2010-12-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

The Web is full of information and beyond Google and general search sites there is a great amount of public information available if you only know where to look. So here are a few of my favorite searches. No its not stalking...its just properly researching.

1) Is the domain available: http://icdsoft.com/domain.php

2) Who owns the domain : http://www.alwhois.com (sometimes you might have to follow a link to another site (http://who.godaddy.com/whoischeck.aspx?Domain=domain_name_here) or you might need to run a “whois” search on the Name server listed.

3) Find out who owns a Florida corporation, LLC’s, fictitious name,. etc.: http://www.sunbiz.org.

4) For Florida Professional Licenses and Vital Statistics: http://www.myflorida.com/taxonomy/floridian/licenses,%20permits%20&%20vital%20records/

5) To check out a broker or brokerage firm - FINRA Broker Search: http://www.finra.org/Investors/ToolsCalculators/BrokerCheck/

6) Polk County (FL) Public Records Search : http://ori2.polk-county.net/wb_or1/default.asp

7) Polk County Property Search: http://www.polkpa.org/CamaDisplay.aspx

8) Polk County Jail Inquiry: http://www.polksheriff.org/inq/Pages/Jail.aspx

9) Polk County Active Warrant Search: http://www.polksheriff.org/FugitivesOffenders/Pages/WarrantsInquiry.aspx

10) Florida Sexual Predators: http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/homepage.do

11) Electronic Access to Federal Court Cases : http://www.pacer.gov/

12) Lakeland (FL) Chamber of Commerce Member Directory: http://www.lakelandchamber.com/PreferredBusinessDirectory/tabid/54/Default.aspx

13) Imperial Polk Advertising Federation Member Directory: http://www.polkadfed.com/members.asp

14) The Congressional Record : http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/d_three_sections_with_teasers/congrecord.htm

15) Southern Association of Colleges and Schools – Commission on Colleges, Colleges that are SACS accredited, level of accreditation, public sanctions…: http://sacscoc.org/searchResults.asp

Experience

2010-09-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

Lakeland Club for Models and Photographers

2010-07-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

Last year, I joined a group on Meetup.com called Central Florida Models and Photography. It is a group of amateur and professional models, make-up artists and Photographers who get together and do some pretty cool photo shoots. It gives the Photographers a chance to work with local talent and it give local models and make-up artists lots of new shots for their portfolios. The only problems with the group are 1) most of the shoots are 1-2 hours away and 2) the group has become so popular the shoots (limited to 40) often fill up before you have a chance to be included.

I have seen several other photography groups ranging from Nature photography to Nude Photography, but most of them are either in Tampa/Clearwater or in Orlando. There just doesn't seem to be a good Polk County alternative.

After talking to Kerri and a few students, we realized we could continue waiting for someone else to give us what we wanted, or we could go ahead and created a Lakeland Photography and Models club that met our needs. So last week, we created The Lakeland Shooters. It is a club open to both professional and amateurs who have an interest in learning more and interacting with others who share their passion.

10 Books for Graphic Designers

2010-07-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

Each year I have the privilege of evaluating close to a hundred design and software books. Many are good and several are outstanding. Here are a few of those.

	Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies
	Photoshop LAB Color: The Canyon Conundrum and Other Adventures in the Most Powerful Colorspace
	Pantone's Guide to Communicating With Color
	Robin Williams Design Workshop
	Geometry of Design: Studies in Proportion and Composition
	A Smile in the Mind
	Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type
	Forms, Folds and Sizes: All the Details Graphic Designers Need to Know but Can Never Find
	Talent Is Not Enough: Business Secrets For Designers
	No Plastic Sleeves: The Complete Portfolio Guide for Photographers and Designers

For tutorials - check out AGAINST THE CLOCK. I love these project-based books for getting up to speed on new software.

Advice to a College Freshman

2010-05-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

Congratulations! You have decided to pursue a college degree. Chances are you did this a) because you want a better life, b) because you love to learn, or c) because your parents said you will have to get a job if you don’t go to college. Regardless, you’ve made the decision to attend and now you it’s up to you to decide what you get out of this part of your education. So here are a few observations I’ve made over the past ten years…

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

1) What you get out of your education is your responsibility. If you show up and only work hard enough to pass, you will get some pretty letters that make your parents proud of you but are relatively useless to any future employer or client. The real world is a very competitive place, the more you work, the more you’ll have to offer the world, and the better your prospects will be when you graduate. Students who work hard separate themselves from their peers within a few weeks and those are the ones who get the cool jobs 99% of the time. If you want to be successful, plan on spending at least as many hours a week working out of the classroom as you do in the classroom.

2) Show up to school every day and on time. Attendance and punctuality are habits that can be developed. There is a strong correlation between a student’s attendance, his or her grades, and the probability that a student will graduate. Students who miss class very seldom graduate. And by the way, potential employers ask me more about a student’s reliability than about his or her grades. For some reason employers prefer average employees who are dependable over exceptional people who aren’t.

"We first make our habits, and then our habits make us." -John Dryden

3) Leave the excuses and drama at home. We all have lives and we all have the choice as to where we place our priorities. Knowing that you had a relationship breakup isn’t going to help you or your family 15 years from now when you don’t even remember that other person’s name. Getting the most out of your education will.

4) Choose your friends wisely, you will become exactly like them. Those friends who are more concerned about a good time, being popular, or going out probably don’t really care about you or your success. Those people just don’t want you to make them accept their shortcomings and will work as hard as possible to keep you at their level instead of encouraging you to reach for your potential. Ultimately you will have to accept responsibility for the results of your efforts and blaming your "party-hearty" friends will not put more food on the table.

5) Keep your legs crossed and your fly zipped. No means of birth control is 100% effective and the chances of you graduating if you or your partner becomes pregnant are slim. Every year I have two to three students who weren’t adult enough to be smart. Then these same students quit school instead of finding a way to work and complete college. What they end up with is huge student loans due at the same time as their child, no degree, and therefore a more limited means of supporting the family they quit school to support. Funny, the children of quitters usually grow up to be quitters. You have a choice and it’s no longer just about you. Accept it and step up.

"Argue for your Limitations and they become yours." - Richard Bach

6) Nobody cares about what your past challenges may have been. If you are using them as an excuse to stay limited, accept that you are making a personal choice. If you have difficulty writing, you can change that. If you were challenged in math, now’s the time to do the work you avoided. You’re excuses are yours and neither you instructors, your future employers, nor your fellow students will expect less of you just because you accept less from yourself. It may not be easy, but choosing to remain the same defeats the concepts of growth and learning.

7) Doing and learning the things that are most challenging are often the most rewarding. It amazes me that people who do not interview, listen, or speak well avoid joining Toastmasters and other clubs that will help them advance in their careers and in life. If it was easy or fun, you would have already done it. If you want to have fiscal, personal, and professional success in the future you need to do what makes you better. I promise video games may be an easy, entertaining escape but nobody is going to hire you because of your World of Warcraft skills. Get over it, grow up, and move on.

"Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" - Albert Einstein

8) Do not ask your professors or peers to write you letters of recommendation or to give you additional assistance if don’t make the effort first. I will do anything for a student who works hard, but if a student doesn’t care enough to push him or herself, I have a standing tee time. Besides, you really don’t want me to be honest with someone else about how you preformed in class, now do you?

Michael Bierut on Clients.

2010-01-31T13:14:00.000-08:00

When I discuss the design process, I mention to my students that the single biggest problem most designers have is that they spend too much time trying to find new projects. The reason is that after finishing a project, most designers fail to do the really hard thing: following up and developing that customer into a long-term client.

My grandfather, father, and uncle had very successful sales careers because they always were honest with their customers, genuinely concerned about their customers, and always acted in the best interest of their customers. I was successful when I developed my sales career in Latin America for the same reason and I believe I have been successful in education because this is also the attitude I try to take with my students.

So for lunch today, I took a break from grading web sites and watched Michael Bierut's talk at Creative Mornings on Clients. As designers we spend a great deal of time focusing and discussing our craft, but most of us spend far too little time on the reason we get paid to do what we love: our clients.

It is refreshing to hear a partner at one of the most successful design firms in the world, Pentagram, not talk about creativity and not talk about style, but to give an open talk on clients and to discover that clients at Pentagram are not so different than the ones I have in Martin and Polk counties.

2010/01 Michael Bierut from CreativeMornings on Vimeo.

Dealing with Negative Press

2010-01-18T18:57:00.000-08:00

Today a former student called and was upset that her employer was bad-mouthing a former employee, the students’ close friend, to one of her clients. The students’ initial feeling was to confront her boss. Its only natural to fight back when we or our friends are attacked. She then thought about telling other people what she had witnessed, thus trying to correct the information and prove to others what a jerk she worked for. Instead, she held her breathe for 24 hours and came to the realization that her boss, through his own actions had already done more harm to his own reputation by being incredibly negative and vindictive than she could ever do. In fact, had she reacted on her first instincts, she would have either lost her job or else lowered her own reputation by being sucked into a childish game of “he-said, she-said.” Instead, she now has her job and reputation in tact, and has time to begin looking for the employer for whom she wants to work.

Real world: We can’t control what others say about us or our clients. It’s a free country and regardless of how we feel about it, unless we can prove intentional malice or intentional misrepresentation of the facts, we have very little recourse. We each can however choose how we will react.

We can fight back by hurling insults and false accusations at the aggressor. This will most likely lead to an escalation of insults and make us look unprofessional and petty in the public eye.

We can choose to throw a little gasoline on the fire by showing and/or telling everyone we can about how mistreated we were. Although we may garner some sympathy, we have also identified ourselves as whiners and complainers. Had we chosen not to act at all, most of the people we told would never have seen or heard the information that we now hope they don’t believe. Right or wrong, by ”protesting too loudly” we have now not only spread the insult, but have made those we told wonder if there might be some grain of truth to it.

Finally, we can accept the fact that the person may have been blowing off steam, might have a real grievance, or might just be a very negative person. (Remember the more negative a person is, the less people listen to or believe anything they say.) Instead we can choose to bury the insult with a flurry of positive, contradictory evidence thus making the negative seem more unreliable and much more difficult to locate. This is one of the strategies that is making more and more companies require regular blogging from their PR and marketing departments, as well as their top executives, and in some cases, from each of their employees.

You, or your client, may not be able to control all the information that is out there, but you certainly have the power to make sure that there is a great deal more positive information than negative information available for the world to see. By using blogs, twitter, FB, etc., you have the power to flood the information highway with whatever information you want the world to see. You may still have the occasional basher, but with a continuous outpouring of positive messages, you can relegate their disparaging rants to the 6^th page of a Google search where no one will ever see them.

You have the power to be a negative, immature child or to be a competent, positive professional. It is up to you to determine which the world will see.

Free Education

2009-11-19T05:20:00.000-08:00

168 hours in a week.

- 25 hours of class

- 25 hours of work

- 7 hours of travel time

- 56 hours of sleep.

That leaves 55 hours a week of unaccounted for time.

If a third of that, 18 hours, is spent studying, sketching, reading, and other educational related activities that would still leave 37 hours a week for other activities.

A student who puts in 18 hours a week ends up getting 72 hours of outside studying done in a one-month class. That is opposed to a student who skates by with only putting in 15-20 hours a month (3 - 4 hours a week).

Over a course of 12 months of classes, the dedicated student will actually have gained more than 600 hours of additional education over the unmotivated student…That is the equivalent of taking 6 more 4-hour courses in the same amount of time or having received 50% more education.

So if education is expensive, then why not get 50% more of it for the same price. I have never met a successful graduate who regretted spending too much time on studying or an employer who wished a potential employee was less prepared.

Education may be expensive, but it is cheap in comparison to ignorance.

10 Ways to Improve your test-taking ability and your grades

2009-11-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

One of the interesting things about Fridays is sitting under the smoking canopy and watching the students come out from their exams all stressed and bleary-eyed. They mumble about the teachers. They complain about the questions that were different from what they had studied. But mostly, the students sit around kicking themselves in the rear for all the questions they knew but somehow forgot when the test was in front of them. I know. I do understand. I was once a poor test-taker too. And, like most students, the harder I studied and the more I wanted to do well, the more frustrated I usually was with my performance.

So having been through this a few times, here are a few little things that I have found to help relieve that performance anxiety and actually improve test-taking skills between 10% and 20%.

1) Read the whole test before trying to answer any of the questions. An athlete needs to stretch and warm-up before competing on the field, you need to do the same with your mind. By reading the entire test, without worrying whether or not you know the answers, you will often see words, phrases, and hints that serve as triggers to other answers. As a teacher, I find it difficult to write a thorough examination that does not include a question that serves as an answer to other questions.

2) Answer the questions you know first and then go back and either figure out or guess at the rest. Part of what causes stress and frustration is a lack of confidence. If an instructor puts the easy questions first, the class will score significantly better than if the teacher places the difficult questions first. When you let doubt enter into your mind, even the easiest questions can become difficult because you start to doubt your own knowledge and preparation. Answer the ones you know first and you will get the easy ones right and will be in a better mental state to tackle the challenging ones.

3) Once the test starts you cannot change what you know and you cannot change what is on the test. Relax, do your best, and don’t worry about the results. When you worry, your body produces more adrenaline. Adrenaline causes your blood vessels to contract, which restricts the flow of blood to parts of your body, including your brain. Blood delivers the Oxygen that your brain needs to properly function. So when you stress about the test you actually deprive your body of the Oxygen it needs to perform well. This is what causes those lovely “mental farts” we all experience from time to time.

One thing that I found that helped me let go of my stress was that whenever I was faced with a test, I would close my eyes, grasp the cross I always wear around my neck and say the following prayer: “God help me remember what I know, and help me guess really well at the rest of this stuff.” Whether it was divine intervention or shifting responsibility for the results to someone else, it caused my average test score to increase by 15%.

4) If you are a smoker, consider chewing a piece of Nicorette. There are studies that show that nicotine dependant people have better memory recall when they are given access to Nicotine. Chances are that when you were studying you allowed yourself to smoke. To pull that information back out effectively you need to try and place your body in a similar condition to what is was like when you were studying. (BTW- stick with the 2mg version because the 4 mg version will probably make you anxious and jumpy.)

5) While on the mental conditioning thing, place a few drops of the essential oils of Rosemary and Peppermint in your room as you study. Rosemary helps with memory and recall while Peppermint helps with mental alertness. As few drops in a diffuser is all it takes. To enhance the effects and trigger your recently acquired knowledge, make a small sachet with Peppermint and Rosemary essential oils. A slight exposure to the aroma will help trigger your memory. The human body and mind react to smells at a level 400 times below the level of being conscious of those smells. It doesn’t take much and no one else will probably notice the slight fragrance.

6) Drink half a beer before you take the test. This is again based upon the relaxation principles above. Half a beer should be enough to help you relax so you can access the information easier while not being enough to significantly impair your ability to function. More beer does not help!

7) Accept the fact that everything you’ve everything you’ve ever read, seen, heard, or thought has been recorded by your brain. In fact information is recorded by your brain at a rate equivalent to about 3 times the recording speed of your camcorder (approx. 80 -90 frames per second). Once you know the information is somewhere in your brain, it is only a matter of recalling it instead of worrying if you can actually remember it. Confidence leads to better performance in almost every area of our lives.

8) Do not change your answers. If your brain knows the answers, quit letting fear and doubt make you second-guess it. I have tracked students for 10 years and 80% of changed answers are changed from right answers to wrong answers. Trust your mind and trust your instincts. That is how the brain communicates to us.

9) Bring your teacher Oatmeal-raisin cookies! Subjective tests, especially where partial credit may be awarded is based upon the teacher’s mood much more than most of us would like to admit. I remember grading papers about 8 years ago and being frustrated at the answers some of my students were giving me. As I placed a big, red X by an answer, I thought that perhaps I had given a similar answer by another student partial credit. I stopped what I was doing, double-checked and discovered that I had in fact done so. I now always grade subjective tests at least twice to make sure my mood does not influence my ability to be consistent and impartial in my grading. So, although cookies will not influence how I grade your paper, they may help keep me in a good mood.

10)Your test score only shows how well you were at taking a particular test. It has nothing to do with how intelligent or capable you are, nor does it affect your value as a human being. I know your teachers, parents, and peers may have used your test-taking abilities as means of judging and condemning you, but if that’s what they want to do, they will always find some way to do so. Your test score only represents how well you did at a particular time in your life on a particular test. Don’t let a bad past experience condemn your efforts now. Grades are merely numbers; your true intelligence and education will be revealed in your ability to apply the knowledge you’ve obtained in creative, useful, and practical ways. Education is about growth not about grades, so take a deep breathe and remember, in the words of John Belushi, that in the long-run, “It just doesn’t matter! It just doesn’t matter!”.

Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor

2009-08-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

It happened 15 years ago. It was the scariest thing I had ever done in my life, and probably the most important. I made a choice. I took a chance. I quit making excuses, and I have never regretted that decision I made.

In my senior year of high school, I developed a stuttering problem. It was not a physical ailment, it was a mental one. I became absolutely petrified of speaking in front of an audience. Whenever I had to speak, I would trip on my words, go light-headed, drip sweat from my brow, and pray for it to all be over as quickly as possible. To say it was something I did not like is an understatement. To say it was something I felt I might never be able to do and would never attempt was a more realistic assessment and I was absolutely fine with that. I would rather hide in fear than to go through the pain and agony of speaking in public.

That changed when my daughter entered the public school system. I did not like some of the decisions the school board was making in regards to my children’s education and I realized that I could 1) sit at home, complain, and do nothing, 2) speak up and look like a babbling idiot which wasn’t really a pleasant proposition, or 3) I could go through the painful process of learning the skills I needed to become an effective communicator. So for my 33^rd birthday, I attended a local Toastmaster’s meeting.

It was intimidating to watch people comfortably give impromptu talks, deliver beautifully prepared speeches, and then listen graciously while other people offered advise and critiques. I chose to hide in the back of the room and do as little as possible ,which is where I stayed for the next two months. Eventually, I ventured out and tried to take on a few roles and after 4 months of attending, I found the courage to deliver my first speech. It was a dreadful attempt. I was physically ill for two days worrying about it. When I spoke, sweat literally dripped from my face onto my note cards, and I had to add lib the ending because the ink started running on my hand-written speech. After it was over, I decided to quit.

Three weeks later, a friend convinced me to go back and give it another try. Time went by and I forced myself to deliver a second horrendous speech and again I quit. This went on for 9 months but for some strange reason I kept letting myself get talked into coming back. It took me two years to deliver the 10 manual speeches, but by the end of it all, I had developed some great friendships and knew I could control my fear enough to appear somewhat competent if I ever had to speak to an audience.

I stayed with the program for another year and a half and discovered that I was learning a great deal more than how to speak in front of a group. I learned to listen, to positively evaluate others, and to effectively think on my feet. I learned to manage a meeting, and then a club, and eventually an entire area of clubs. I learned to develop leaders and maybe how to draw out the best in some individuals who were as desperate for a different life as I had originally been. But most importantly I learned that nothing is truly impossible if you are willing to persist and to keep trying.

For me, Toastmasters helped me better listen to and communicate with my daughters, clients, and co-workers. For me, Toastmasters gave me the confidence to speak publicly in order to advance my business and my career. For me, Toastmasters taught me to never give up on a lost cause who still was willing to do the difficult work of trying to grow and to change.

I mention all of this tonight for a few reasons.

1) I know some people who are frustrated by life and by the challenges of trying to improve their future. It can be done if you just keep coming back and keep making an honest effort. “The pain of the change is soon forgotten once the rewards of the effort have (begun to be) realized.” - Zig Zigler I think

2) No matter how far you have come or how good you think you are, there are still paths that can lead you farther... if you are willing to seek them out.

3) Most limits in life exist only because you choose to place them upon yourself. These limits are often masked as excuses, poor timing, and bad luck.

4) If you need skills to change, it doesn’t matter what you like or enjoy, go develop those skills. You may discover once you have gained competency, you actually enjoy those things you once dreaded (like writing, public speaking, and web design).

5) Becoming a CTM in Toastmasters was more difficult than earning my college degree or my Eagle in scouting. Maybe because of this, I value it even more than I do those other two accomplishments, and I know for a fact it has done more for my career and my personal relationships than anything else I have ever attempted.

6) There is a new Toastmaster’s club that meets the 2^nd and 4^th Monday of each month at 1:20 in the afternoon at Keiser University in Lakeland, Fl. It is a club that is open to students, faculty, alumni, and anyone else over 18 who is looking to improve the quality of their life and their potential for a better career. Please feel free to visit and participate.

“In 20 years you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore! Dream! Discover!” (Mark Twain) and quit making excuses to remain trapped by your fears and habits in a world of frustrating mediocrity.

Parking on a Friday Night

2009-05-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night, a friend and I went to downtown Stuart for dinner. The parking lots were rather full and as I turned into a particular lot, she was amazed that I immediately found a parking place. I believe her comment was “Oh, do you manifest parking places too?” No, I just knew there was one waiting for me. There always is.

Some people go through life looking for full parking lots and find them. They spend hours driving around looking to find ways to see full lots. They are so focused on finding spots in exactly the right place, they will block traffic for ten minutes waiting for someone to pull out and make room for them. Most of the time they go home complaining about the lack of parking, the selfish people who beat them to a spot, or how much they didn't accomplish because they spent all day driving in circles.

Other people pull into parking lots and immediately find parking places. They know there are places available and so they drive to one, accept it for what it is, and are willing to walk an extra 45 seconds in exchange for not having to drive around frustrated. These people usually get to where they want to go faster, happier, and maybe a tad bit healthier.

I am always amazed how people choose not to find success, not to find love, not to find happiness because they are so busy finding excuses that they never see the opportunities right in front of them. Just because the opportunities don’t come gift-wrapped with big bows and our name written all over them, doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

It's time for some FUN!

2009-05-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

FUN!!!!

Fun???

Fun. It’s that magical thing that gives meaning to life. It’s that thing that keeps the batteries recharged. It’s that missing ingredient that we seem to forget about when work, life, and school seem to be demanding all of our time. During the times when we feel we have too much to do, fun is the first thing that we willingly sacrifice. We feel guilty to take time out for fun and forget that an hour or two of fun will make us more productive in everything else we do.

I had a work-study who made a technically nice flier today. The information was well presented but the flier was BORING. I asked him about fun, and he couldn’t remember what it was. I have a grad student whom I mentor who was feeling overwhelmed this afternoon by life and years of study. She is making less than A’s this month because her work is flat and predictable. I mentioned that she needs to go have fun and she doesn’t feel she has time for it. A former student today was talking to me about feeling depressed because she works and takes care of her three children and can’t figure out what is wrong with her life. She too couldn’t remember fun and laughing outside of her existence with her children.

I too had forgotten about our need for fun because I was swamped with grown-up responsibilities, until this past weekend. I spent some time with friends, rode around Stuart, FL for two days on a GoPet, and smiled and laughed like I haven’t in years. I came back to school this week with renewed energy, focus, and enthusiasm and have gotten more done in the past three days than I have in the last three weeks.

Life is short. Work and family can be demanding. Everyone expects more and more from us and so we hide in video games and YouTube and television and Facebook just to escape the pressure. But it doesn’t help does it? Instead, go fly a kite, laugh like a kid, buy a new toy, or something else you used to do when you were young. Fun is still there, you just have to rediscover it. And when you do, you’ll find that you actually have more time and energy than you’ve had in years because you are more creative, productive, and energetic.

Work hard and play hard is more than a mantra. It is the recipe for success in everything you do. Talk to you later, I am off to ride my very own GoPet around town for a few hours.

PS, - If you don’t know what a GoPet is, e-mail me (greg@getagopet.com), or visit http://www.GetaGoPet.com. I got so excited about having fun again that I am becoming a distributor for the company this evening, but that is a new blog and web site that will just have to wait until tomorrow.

Ten Easy Ways to Sabotage Your Career

2009-05-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

Be conceited, ungrateful, or arrogant. Watch the leaders in any field and to a person, they always find time to say thank you, to share, and to listen.
Be vengeful, negative, and deceitful, especially in public places. It’s always easy to find faults, but it takes talent and discipline to find solutions. Employers and clients need solutions not criticism.
Treat your online activity like the boy’s locker room. Everything you say or do online can and may eventually be seen by the people whose respect you need to earn. Acting and posting as if you are in eighth grade shows an future employer you are not yet mature enough to represent his or her firm.
Put cute messages or extremely long musical numbers on your answering machine. When a client or employer wants to speak to you they don’t want their time wasted. I know an excellent designer who has lost at least three interviews because you can’t leave her a message until you’ve sat through 90 seconds of a poorly recorded message. “I don’t have time for this. Next!”
Dress and act as if you don’t care. If you don’t care enough to iron your shirt, to comb your hair, and to put a little polish on those shoes, then you don’t really care about the company for which you are hoping to work. It’s a matter of respect.
Go to the interview, presentation, or meeting unprepared. Research the company/client. Be prepared to not just answer questions but to ask intelligent ones as well. Reorganize your portfolio to show your future employer /client the work which is relevant to their business. Being prepared shows you care and are willing to earn the opportunity to work for the firm or individual.
Treat the receptionist like a peon. He or she doesn’t really count anyway and has no influence in the company. Right?
Make people wait and be impatient if you are required to do so. I remember my firm once lost a $10,000 web site because my sales person was ten minutes late and didn’t even bother to call. “If you don’t respect the value of my time, then you don’t respect my company.”
Place your company information on a vehicle and then drive like a jerk. I seldom respond to vehicular advertising except when I make it a point never to work with a particular company because their driver cut me off in traffic.
Don’t bother hand-writing a thank you note and following up with a phone call. Taking the time to say thank you isn’t really that important anymore and neither is the person who gave you an opportunity to work with them.
Send out mass e-mails and thank you notes. Everybody loves being treated like a number, so why not reaffirm this by showing some real insincerity. It's better to personally thank a few individuals at a time, by name, than to try and thank everybody with a generic mass mailing.

Yes, I know I can't count. Giving more than I promise is another one of those nasty habits I'm working on. :)

Stick a Fork In It !

2009-04-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

One of the first things that I identified as a requirement when I started trying to develop my Latin American businesses was the need to attempt to communicate in a language that my customers understood. In 1990, the first of the mass fax programs were now affordable as were the early attempts at translation programs. So I learned the software, spent three months developing my leads list, and started faxing out monthly sales letters to the top 500 retailers in the Caribbean, South, and Central America. I translated these into Portuguese and Spanish with the help of the computer and started being referred to as the “fax man” when I finally met these future clients at trade shows.

One of the companies I represented was Retroneu , a higher end flatware company. The top tier of their product line was branded as the “Landmark Collection”, bridal registry flatware that retailed for $150 - $200 per place setting. I wrote a marvelous sales letter explaining why every top retailer should be carrying the magnificent Landmark collection in their bridal departments. I then proofed the letter, ran it through the translation software, and faxed it out.

Unfortunately, the program didn’t recognized the word Landmark and substituted its best guess which was “heap”. The literal translation for heap is mierda (sp?). So I sent out a letter to the merchandise managers, owners, and buyers of the major Latin America retailers explaining why they should be carrying “un magnificante colleccion de mierda,” loosely translated as a marvelous pile of excrement. I received more than 3 dozen responses within the next 2 days explaining my error.

I didn’t know it at the time, but that mistake did more to endear me to customers/prospects than almost anything I had done to that point. I became human. I was making an effort to communicate, however poorly, in their language. I opened more new accounts in the next few months than at any other time during that particular part of my sales career because I wasn’t another indifferent salesman trying to make a sale, I was just another human trying to make a connection.

The reason I share this, is that it amazes me how many people don’t do things because they are afraid of making mistakes. We learn the most from making mistakes, but sometimes during the process, we also make wonderful friendships because we care enough to try. I’m sure that I’ll make plenty of mistakes as I try to be part of the transition from traditional marketing toward personally connecting with and listening to our individual, human customers. But I guess I’d rather look foolish than to be left alone and out of business.

Flowers are red young man, Green leaves are green

2009-04-27T09:55:00.001-07:00

"And she said...

Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seen"

In forth grade, we were given an art project to paint a spring picture. My creation was a grand collection of color and movement, flowers and clouds and colors. In my mind, it was a fabulous, abstract piece work. The art teacher , in front of my entire class, announced that it was the worst painting any forth grader had ever made and required that for homework I look up in the encyclopedia what a Tulip was really supposed to look like.

Since I had no artistic ability, I decided to try out music. The second day of class, the instructor played a series of notes and asked if each one was higher or lower than the proceeding one. I had never studied music, and so I didn’t really understand the terms. My music instructor, again in front of the other members of my elementary school band, informed me that I was tone deaf and should pursue other activities. Can't paint, can't play music, I must have no creative talent.

I discovered photography when I entered high school, and considered myself fairly competent. In my senior year, when asked about my future plans, I stated that I either wanted to be a photographer or maybe even a teacher. My parents, teachers, and guidance counselors all sang the same chorus to this. Photography is too competitive and you’ll never be able to provide for a family on a teacher’s salary. Join the military or get a degree in Business. I chose the latter.

I did well in business. I grabbed onto using technology to be more productive with my Apple 2e and fell in love with the prospects of what could be done. I ended up opening the Latin American markets for 20 mid-sized US manufacturers using Compuserve, an internal fax/modem, and then e-mail and the Internet. I had great adventures, but was never completely happy.

The devaluation of the Peso and the destruction of the Mexican middle class, a run on the Brazilian banks, the depression in Puerto Rico caused by new policies in regards to the pharmaceutical industry, import restrictions in Venezuela with a new government in place, textile tariffs in Argentina, and then the Asian Flu. Wallah! In under 6 months, the business was gone. Such is life.

While trying to figure out what to do at 38 years old and having lost my motivation to go back into sales, a bumper sticker in a parking lot led to a conversation with a stranger that led me into a Web design firm. Circumstances forced me from just designing in the back room, back out in to the world of sales and recruitment. A midnight talk with a janitor led me to seek interns at a local college, which one day led to that school asking me to teach an Introduction to Computers class.

Today I am the program director for Graphic Arts and Multimedia Design at Florida’s second largest private university. I usually have more freelance photography, illustration, consulting, and web work than I can take on. But mostly importantly, I love my job, I love my life, and I can draw a Tulip any way I damn well please. I can only wonder what would have been possible if I had been born with a little creative talent and some education along the way.

"But the little boy said...
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun,
So many colors in the flower and I see every one."

-Harry Chapin, Roses are Red

Go Ahead, Make my Day! I may make it worth your while.

2009-04-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

How often have you been made to feel special? Really special ? Important, valued, respected, and appreciated? If you’re like me, then most likely it just doesn’t happen often enough. It’s funny how in our rush to collect contacts, to get noticed, to drive traffic, we often forget the most important thing: the human element. Who cares how many followers you have or friends you have if you get nothing from them? But if you aren’t getting anything from them, it is probably because you aren’t giving anything to them.

I went to a SND meeting for the first time last Friday, Stephen Komives met me at the door. When I met him at the door, he said, “Hello, Greg. It is great to see you here today. Let me get your badge for you.” The enthusiasm and sincerity were real. I don’t know if he took the time to research a little about each of the 1^st time visitors that were at that meeting or not, but it certainly made me feel like he was genuinely interested in me, as a person.

Following a post or a blog, I sent a friend request to Bruce Ramsay because his comments really seemed interesting and useful. I received an e-mail back that stated “Greg, you're an amazing person. It is my honor to be friends.” Wow, talking about making someone’s day! Yes, I want to be fiends with someone who is that thoughtful.

Of all the people I follow on Twitter, three have extended the hand of friendship with a direct message, just to say hello. Guess who I follow most closely?

And finally, from my campus president 5 minutes ago, “First of All – YOU ROCK and your students ROCK! I love these. “ It is because of comments like these that our program is always willing to help out other departments on campus, the front office, and the Chancellor’s office. Thanks, President Rogers.

The point is, the reason social networking became such a popular phenomenon is that we all got tired of feeling like, and being treated like, a number. We wanted to express ourselves, be noticed, connect with new people, learn and experience new things. But without the connection, are we accomplishing any of that?

It doesn’t take long to say thank you. It doesn’t take long to let someone know you appreciate them. It doesn’t take long to turn a chance meeting in cyberspace into an ally, a loyal customer, or even a good friend. Take the time to say thank you, take the time to recognize each contact as a valued, human being. It’s that little step that will do more for your career or business than all the friend collecting and retweeting in the world.

Here are a couple of other blogs that you might also find useful.

So, when was the last time an online friend made you feel special? How do you let your online contacts know how much they really mean to you?

A Revolution takes Action

2009-04-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

Contrary to popular opinion, your voice does count and yes you can make a difference. That is one of the great things about the communications revolution over the past decade or so. Many of the barriers to making a difference have been or are being removed.

This may be a long blog. I am specifically writing for my youngest daughter who is furious that once more the public education system is limiting her choices and inhibiting her ability to get the best education she can. But it certainly has implication for anyone who is trying to be heard. Be it a political cause, a new branding campaign, or a campaign to find a new job, the many to many marketing approach is changing the landscape of our world.

Step Number 1 – Have an idea. Write it down. Be passionate about it. If you don’t know what you want to accomplish, there is very little chance of accomplishing this. Thanks Phil for the reminder. Sometimes we get so distracted by the numerous opportunities that surround us that we fail to remain focused on what we are really hoping to accomplish. By writing down a mission statement, you can keep yourself , your efforts, and your message from getting lost in the noise.

This is where you come up with your domain name, your blog name, etc…
The idea helps us define our strategy and our design.

Step Number 2 – Begin by Taking Action… TODAY! Quite often we are not confident as to what we are doing and wait until we do before moving forward. As rapidly as the communications channels are transforming themselves, if you wait until you know everything, it will be obsolete.

Go ahead and jump in. Start a blog, set-up your Facebook, Twitter, del.icio.us, and Digg accounts and start using them.
Be willing to add original comments and content. If all you do is provide links to pre-published material, why are you necessary? There are already million of sites and posts that do that for us.

Step Number 3 – Be willing to make a mistake. We learn more by making mistakes than we do from getting right the first time. The nice thing about beginning our campaign is that if you make mistakes, you probably won’t have too many people taking notice, yet.

Write your first blog. Request friends. Respond to some other posts.
Ask your friends, family members, and colleagues to join your cause.
Ask these people to recommend friends, to tweet your posts, and to provide honest feedback.
Include your blog url, your twitter account, etc. to the signature of your e-mails.

Step Number 4 – Recruit like-minded allies. If you’re coming to be heard you need an army behind you. This is where the social networking phenomenon becomes you’re best friend.

Start checking out and joining Facebook groups and fan pages. Send friend requests to people who are very socially active.
Tie your twitter, Digg, Blog, YouTube, Flicker and Del.icio.us accounts into your Facebook profile.
Make sure to include a ShareThis button on your posts to make it easier for others to follow and share your information.

Step Number 5 – Give back. If you want others to help you, be willing to help them. Recognize the efforts and passions of others and make sure that you let them know how much you appreciate their efforts on your behalf.

Comment on other people’s blogs, posts, and twits. Let them know there voice is being heard.
Re-tweet great posts.
Write to those who choose to follow you.

Step Number 6 – Get out of your Comfort Zone. If you are to succeed, you need to identify and make connections with the people who can take your efforts to a larger audience. This may mean interacting with, communicating with, and getting to know others who may seem to be out of your league. Remember that we will eventually become like the people with whom we choose to spend time. Your current associations only got you so far, you need to learn and grow.

Step Number 7 – Be consistent with your efforts. We all want to see an immediate result from our actions, but that’s not very likely. An hour a day, done religiously, will get greater results than a Blitzkrieg that wears you out and fizzles in a few weeks.

Posting your blog every Monday morning and Thursday morning will result in more followers than will posting multiple blogs in a single day, or just posting at random times.
Treat your campaign like a job and dedicate a certain amount of time each day to productive activities.

Step Number 8 – Don’t forget traditional methods of sharing your information and building relationships. These tools may not be as glamorous, but they are often still the most effective.

Join social groups and professional organizations. Meetup.com. Facebook Events. Facebook Groups.
Write letters to the editors of traditional media. Furnish press releases. Call or write your senators and congressmen. Attend rallies.
For a list of Florida news and political contacts, check out http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=93965691360&topic=9928.

Step Number 9– Remember to say thank you. Whether we get the results we want or not, recognizing those who made an effort, not only lets them know their energy was not in vain, but it also says an awful lot about your own character. All people want to be appreciated and the big shift we are seeing as we move to the many to many marketing model, is that individual recognition and appreciation makes for loyal friends and lifetime customers.

Ten Great Blogs to follow on Social Marketing

2009-04-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

It started out as a fun way to connect with friends and family. It was our little safe haven for self-expression. It was our pathway to creativity.

Well it isn't anymore! Like it or not, social networking is transforming industries, creating and breaking businesses across the globe, changing the face of politics, and influencing our career path at every turn. It is the next big wave and will offer more opportunities than the World Wide Web did at the end of the last century. Those individuals and businesses who embrace it and harness it will be the next overnight success stories. Those who resist or ignore it, will be struggling to find work and customers in the very near future.

I have been exploring and studying this paradigm shift in personal and commercial marketing along with my students for the past several months and I am only beginning to grasp some of the plethora of tools that are available. I feel overwhelmed, have sworn off sleep, and can't seem to find enough time to do all the little things I know I should be doing to promote myself and my students.

Tonight, the subject came up in three online conversations tonight with friends who are as curious as I am on how to position themselves and their businesses to take advantage of the coming surge. So for the next few weeks, I will share what I can

and hopefully learn as I go. I look forward to learning with you and from you.

Step 1 - Learn from the Experts

You may be a forerunner, but you are not a pioneer. There are people who know a great deal more than you and I do and who are willing to share this information with anyone willing to invest the time to read it.

Here are ten blogs that I read regularly which I have found to be very useful.

I am not a big fan of listing other people's blogs, but because of the questions tonight, I am sharing these as a place to start.

Relay for life 2009 - Shave the Williams

2009-04-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yes it time to share, and time to care. It's time to have a little fun and hopefully help the fight toward finding a cure for Cancer. The Lakeland 2009 Relay for Life is this Friday Night @ Lakeland High School. Because of our huge success last year, I have been asked to sacrifice my head for the event. Yes, If we can raise $500.00 between now and 6:00 p.m. Friday night, not just the hair will be shaven off, but the beard as well. For $750.00 I might even be willing to let the hair on my legs go, but we'll have to see about that one.

Further, there are 5 areas of the head that are available for corporate sponsorship. Think about it. Your logo plastered across my freshly shaven scalp or written across my forehead...

Anyway, please donate and help us in our efforts to raise awareness, have some fun, and help find a cure.

Greg Williams

Click here to visit my personal page.

If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09FL?px=2446383&pg=personal&fr_id=13549&fl=en_US&s_tafId=251853Click here to view the team page for Team Keiser

10 ways to find Inspiration and Increase Creativity

2009-04-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

One of the challenges of being a designer (or a design student) is constantly coming up with fresh ideas. So how do you constantly find inspiration, new ideas, fresh perspectives?

Keep a visual journal. When you come across photos, ads, web pages, videos that you thought were really unique, put them in your journal along with the specifics of what you liked about them. When you feel uninspired, open it up and look through it.
Try something new. Whether it is a design, a new technique, a new program. It could even mean driving to work in a different way. Routine and habit often lead us into the same tried and dull solutions and ideas.
Ask for and give critique and feedback. Others’ input can lead us in new directions and critique helps us define our own creative process and find new ways to express our ideas.
Brainstorm. Although this is great as a group activity, it can be done individually. Write as many ideas as you can and then keep adding them without critique or criticism. Ideas are energy and as you start creating energy, that energy will lead you to other new ideas.
Read. The more new ideas you expose your mind to, the more resources you’ll have to draw from.
Do something embarrassing. Take a pineapple shopping with you. Put a sign around your neck and stand on the street corner. A lot of time we are inhibited by what others might say. Once you’ve given a seminar with your fly open or hopped around Target with bunny ears on, you’ll find out that that other’s opinions don’t really effect your world unless you let them.
Go for a walk, have lunch with a friend, get away from your computer. Our best ideas don’t usually come at expected times in expected places. Expose your mind to other things. It frees you up from the mental roadblocks.
Write daily about anything that is on your mind. Getting rid on that mental noise helps clear your head so you can focus on new ideas. (borrowed from The Artist’s Way)
Practice meditation and visualization exercises. Again, learn to calm the mind and not get trapped by all the mental distractions. Learn to let ideas and thoughts flow freely by without having to focus on them.
Exercise. The brain requires oxygen. Exercise causes us to fill the blood stream with oxygen, which in turn gives the brain what it needs to function properly. Go walk around the lake, practice yoga, golf, go bowling. You don’t have to go to the gym to get your body and mind working together.

The Case for Social Networking in School

2009-04-06T13:56:00.000-07:00

The sole function of education was to open the way to thinking and knowing, and the school, as the outstanding organ for the people's education, must serve that end exclusively. - Albert Einstein

Educational systems have always been and still want to be the brokerages of knowledge. Accreditation agencies demand certain academic credentials, not because the credentials make a person a great instructor, but in order to maintain a monopoly on how education is distributed. At the local level, schools have tried various forms of censorship and tend to do more to inhibit innovation than to foster it. From controlling which books you must read, to controlling what viewpoints can be discussed in the classroom, to controlling what methodologies can be used in teaching, formal education wants to make sure that every student becomes a clone of the system. No wonder so many people feel that creativity and original thought are beaten out of our children by the third grade.

Educational systems tend to honor tradition and convenience, not the best interests of the students they are there to serve. Schools were slow to adopt TV in the classrooms until they could control content. Schools were slow to adopt to the Internet and online learning tools, because they were afraid of becoming obsolete. Today, schools are scared of social networking and are blocking access to Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, and other wonderful resources because they would rather ignore it and block it than to find ways for the students to benefit and grow from it.

“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein

As an educator, I have come to understand that self-directed learning is usually the most authentic and provides the greatest long-term results. I also believe that in order to truly reach your students you must seek to understand them, go to where they are, speak in terms they understand, and then guide them to where they want to go in the future. The social networks are perfect tools for doing this. They are going to go to the social networks with or without our guidance, supervision or permission. Doesn’t it best serve the student to be there and learn with them how to best use these tools to harness the vast amounts of information and knowledge that they will need to process in their future lives?

"Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.” -Albert Einstein

So here are a few ways in which I try to use social networking to better prepare my students.

1) I “friend” all of my students so that I can hopefully provide a model of behavior and acceptable conduct. I monitor my students’ profiles and posts and warn them when they something they put online could be detrimental to their safety or long-term success.

2) Through messaging services such as Facebook, I am able to provide direction and guidance when I am not face to face with my students in the classroom. Over the weekend I had several students doing research on their current projects and I was able to offer them suggestions for further research or direct them toward other networked people who could possibly offer expert advice.

"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?" - Albert Einstein

3) Most jobs are never posted and more and more often, jobs are found through the friends and colleagues. By using Facebook, MySpace, and Linkedin, students are able to begin to develop professional relationships, find mentors, and receive feedback from successful people already within their field. I know of more than one student who is now conversing regularly with employers in the area.

4) Requiring or encouraging new students to become “friends” with their classmates, older students, and former students, new students more quickly get to know one another and are able to build upon shared knowledge in a collaborative, learning environment. Further, research shows that the more connections a student has to a particular class or institution, the more likely that student will successful complete that course or graduate from that institution.

5) By using Delicious, Digg, and Twitter and by linking these to their profiles, students are able to more quickly share valuable resources with one another. This can become a valuable tool not only for current students but it allows each new group of students to build upon the knowledge base of previous classes.

6) By using WordPress or Blogger.com students learn to write more professionally and write with more substance. Students can also use these sites to receive feedback from one another and from those whom they will probably never meet face to face. By tying their blogs to their Facebook, Myspace, and Linkin profiles, the student’s works become instantly viewable and open to critique by friends, colleagues, and future employers.

"It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry." - Albert Einstein

7) Important meetings, events, news stories and class announcements can rapidly be shared with all students instantaneously and discussion can begin well before the next days scheduled classes.

8) Students use and share valuable interviews, documentaries, and tutorials on Youtube and Itunes and are able to share these with their classmates. Students are also able to post their projects for peer and outside review thus helping establish their own credibility and gaining ideas for improvement from numerous outside resources.

The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards." - Albert Einstein

9) Students are able to do more current research by directly contacting sources of information through facebook friends and other social networking sites. Most of the top designers, publishers, and editors in the visual communications and design industries have profiles, blog publicly, and answer intelligent questions from serious students.

10) Students are able to be informed of class happenings when they miss a day or two. This makes it easier for the absent student to stay caught up in class, connected with his or her classmates, and feel more comfortable to return to class when his or her condition allows. One of the greatest reasons students drop a course or out of school completely is they fall behind and feel awkward or afraid to return to class. Social Networks can help bring these students back into classroom and keep them on the path toward successful completion.

11) If the students are encouraged to engage in social networking, the friendships, alliances, and networking that benefited them throughout their academic careers becomes easier to maintain after graduation.

There are many reasons why students should be encouraged to participate in social networking, not just for academic and professional growth, but for social growth as well. It is amazing to me that institutions whose mission is to serve the best interests of their students take such great pains to imprison these students in the last century instead of helping them become a contributing part of the current one.

“The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything” - Albert Einstein

Embracing Destiny

2009-04-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

US author & physician (1809 - 1894)

(http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/26186.html)

In reading Paulo Coehlo’s book, Brida, this weekend, the heroine remembers a game her father played. He would ask her to go check the temperature of the water and she would go put her toe in it. Then her father would sneak up behind her and throw her completely in. The lesson was if you are really going to discover anything you have to jump in and become completely engulfed in it.

But most of us prefer to go a little at a time. We test the water, discover its safe and then wade up past our ankles and wait a little longer. After a while we let ourselves go to our thighs, to our hips, and so forth. We don’t know what to expect so we gradually muster our courage and we move forward and then we wait. It is only after we have become comfortable with the change in our condition that we venture just a little farther out. Most of us move cautiously always keeping an eye on the shore because we know that if things turn wrong we can always return to the where we started and be safe once again.

But we can’t. If we retreat, we will return in a different state than we started. We were dry and now we are wet. But also by returning we have reinforced our fear and thus made it more difficult ever to go in again. We fear jumping in and letting ourselves become engulfed in anything because we know that do so means we can never return to where we were and that’s just scary as hell.

Sometimes we know we need to just take a leap, to have faith, to trust in the current. We see the signs around us, and yet it is as if our feet are frozen. We need someone, a friend, a lover, a teacher, life itself, to pick us up and throw us in because left to our own devices we would forever remain stuck exactly where we are.

As I have been exploring ways to further serve my students by coming up with new projects, better methods, and new curriculum, I realized that I was becoming stuck. I love the feedback I get from my advisory board and fellow instructors, but after a while it seems like the same ideas and suggestions just keep getting re-circulated. For years I have preached to my students the need to expand beyond their comfort zone to meet and interact with new members of their profession, to broaden their horizons. And then I looked in the mirror and realized that I was standing safely on a sandbar as I shouted my advice.

So for the past month I have forced myself to do the uncomfortable. I decided to use various social networking tools to expand my contact base, to broaden the discussion, to reach out and try to interact with the very best minds in our industry. But it is intimidating to write to those people your students idolize and do research papers on time and again. It is like they are Gods sitting atop Olympus looking down on us mere mortals. Who am I to disturb David Carson, Paula Sher, Debbie Millman, Michael Beruit, Brain Hall, editors at major newspapers, professors at the top design programs in the world, and creative directors for the leading labels? It is even a little intimidating to reach out to the most creative talent in my own community. These are busy people. And what will I ask them and why should they bother answering me.

But I’ve taken the plunge, challenged my students and colleagues to do the same and have discovered that these Gods are really just human too and most of them don’t mind helping those of us who are aspiring to have what they have already achieved. And as I’ve started reaching out to the world that lays beyond little old Lakeland, FL it is now reaching back to me. Design instructors at other universities in the US and in Europe have requested that I become friends with them, have invited me to observe their online methods, have shared with me some of their experiences, hopes and fears. And although part of me wants to turn around and go back to the way things were just a few weeks ago, I am now part of something larger, something unfamiliar, something strange. For the first time in years, I am not in control, I am unsure what all the proper protocols are, I have already made a few mistakes and occasionally looked sophomoric or foolish. But I have discovered new allies, and new ideas, and each day is filled with mystery and uncertainty, and anticipation and excitement.

I mention this for my students who sometimes think that I don’t know their fears and trepidations. I do. We all do for each of us has left the safety of certainty more than once in our lives without really knowing where it will lead. That first date and first kiss. Driving by ourselves to some strange town. Going to college. That first interview, that first job, that first client. Falling in love, getting married, becoming a parent. It’s all scary business, but you do it and you live through it, and you learn by it and after a while, its not quite so scary until you realize you’re becoming stagnant and that its time to venture into unknown waters again.

I believe one of the greatest titles in the world is Susan Jeffer’s book, "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway". There is so much truth in the title alone, and even more in the pages that follow. It’s OK to be uncertain. It’s OK to be scared. It’s not OK to let that fear immobilize you and keep you from living the dream you were born to live. “You were never given a dream without being given the power to make it come true. You may however have to work for it.” (Richard Back, Illusions) That dream you have was placed in your heart for a reason. Trust that dream. It is your guide, it is your destiny calling to you. Embrace it, cherish it, feed it, and sacrifice whatever it takes to live it, even if it means letting go of your safety net of familiarity and security. It is your life’s purpose.

It is who you were meant to be.

Good-bye Blue Eyes

2009-04-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, let’s face it. We all tend to notice those beautiful sparkling blue eyes, right? With all the media coverage they get, the songs devoted to them, and the attention they garner, wouldn’t it be fun to believe that they actually existed. Sorry. I hate to tell you this. Your wife, husband, lover, or fantasy probably has brown eyes or neutral gray at the very best.

I always enjoy sharing this little piece of information with students when we talk about perception and how the human mind lies to us. That’s not a bad thing, it makes life more vivid and interesting, but it has little to do with what is really there.

A couple of years ago I was in the middle of reading Dan Margulis’ book The Canyon Conundrum when a former student contacted me. She works as a digital artist at a higher end photography studio in Orlando. The studio was doing a series of prints where they were creating black & white images while leaving the pupils colored. The process worked fine with brown eyes and green eyes, but when it came to the images of blue-eyed beauties, the pupils kept coming out brownish. The student wanted to know what was going on.

Being curious, I immediately opened several images and tried to reproduce the effect and the results. In PhotoShop I selected everything except the pupils, applied a channel-mixer adjustment with a monochrome output and WALLAH, I got the same results.

The problem is how the human mind perceives color. Our perception of color is also based on relativity. The mind simultaneously compares contrast in luminosity, while also evaluating what we see as being more green or magenta, and also either more blue or yellow (Think of this as a 3-D color model, where Luminosity is your y-axis, magenta/green is your x-axis, and yellow/blue is your z-axis). This is also how the LAB color model evaluates pixels.

Blue eyes tend to occur in lighter skinned people who have fairly high amounts of yellow and magenta in their skin tones. On a relative basis, a pale brown pupil is less yellow than surrounding colors and therefore is perceived as blue (being closer to blue than surrounding colors). This is also why when you try to sample out the color of a blue eye, you end up with all those strange non-blue tones. The human body does not produce blue pigment. Therefore it is a physical impossibility to actually have a blue eye.

Playing further with this concept we can adjust the color balance in our images and make relatively neutral pupil colors appear in all sorts of interesting ways.

The above have the pupils remaining untouched.

Below I took all saturation out of the pupils (nuetral gray) and changed the color balance of the image. The pupils never change but what we perceive her eye color to be certainly does. (Stare at each pupil individually and they will appear different. If you look at all 4 simultaneously they will look the same.)

What do employers really want?

2009-04-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

One of the interesting aspects of teaching is trying to make sure that the habits, skills sets, and knowledge of my students match up to the desires and needs of local employers. Each employer you speak with has his or her own unique set of criteria and priorities. Some are looking for raw talent and passion. Some are looking for artistic ability, creative inspiration, or communications skills. Most want dependability, the ability for self-directed learning and critical thinking skills. Attitude and how a particular person will fit with the existing team is usually a consideration. Some are looking for software experts with high productivity ability. An insatiable curiosity, a broad knowledge base, and a professional work ethic also are sometimes listed.

I toss this out as a question to those in the design profession. What are the most important attributes you look for in a potential employee? To students, what do you think employers want? I hope that your responses will guide both me in my teaching studies and my students in better understanding what they should be doing to prepare for their own future.

Getting the most from our time

2009-03-24T07:26:00.000-07:00

Back when I first started in sales, I realized I needed to learn more about my profession. Unfortunately, driving 60-70,000 miles a year made it difficult to find the time and energy to learn. Then it dawned on me that I had literally months of wasted time when I was in the car. I started listening to Zig Zigler, Tom Hopkins, and Jim Rohn while I traveled down the highway. I also started listening to audio books and the results were amazing. The drive from Key West to Tallahassee is more than enough time to knock out an entire book.

When I became interested in digital art, I applied the same principle. When I was on the stationary bike or thread mill, I would watch Scott Kelby's videos. It made the time go quicker and really helped accelerate my learning curve.

But we often forget what works and replace our good habits with bad. I spend between 40 and 80 minutes a day driving to and from work. Most of the time I am listening to music or talking on the phone or looking for photo shoot locations. So as I was up way too late last night i stumbled across the Design Matters podcast. DUH!!! Why am I not burning the weekly hour-long show onto cd's and listening to them in my car.

Today I did and I look forward to listening to back issues and catching up with what I haven't been finding the time to read on my own. By the way last night as I was grading papers and reading student blogs, I listened to a great lecture by Milton Glaser.

Oh, and by the way, for you fellow Photoshop freaks, Photoshop User TV is something else we should probably be watching each week. And each of these great podcasts is Free.

Imagine next time you are cruising facebook, playing Halo, or just vegging if you were still listening to valuable information and growing your career. Yeah I know. Why did I ever forget these valuable resources?

What we forgot

2009-03-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

I've often heard people say comments like "I've forgotten more than you'll ever know." Well a friend of mine when I was asking for advice reminded me how much I had actually forgotten. As we start moving forward and become fascinated with new technologies, we often neglect to continue doing the things that actually worked for us. I have seen this especially in 3D and web design with students, and myself, taking a long complicated route to get to a simple solution and then after hours of struggle realize that the best solution was only a mouse click away from the beginning.

We also see this in our personal and professional development as well. As blogging has expanded and social networks are where we spend too much of our time, we often forget the tried and true methods that actually helped us grow and develop. I used to read How, CA, and a few other magazines religiously but quit making time to spend an hour a day with the printed page. Those magazines are still out there, yet I forgot how truly useful they were. I used to work through three to four books a month on design and software. Now I spend half my day trying to locate an interesting online article while my library stands as a monument to another time. I used to go to Ad Fed meetings, Chamber gatherings, AIGA events, and Toastmasters meetings. now I send mass e-mail and post bulletins and hope someone might decide to look at them.

The point is that as we move forward in our knowledge and technology keeps advancing rapidly, the tools that worked should remain steadfast parts of our arsenal. Technology serves best when it enhances what we are already successfully doing, not when it simply replaces the old with the new.

Here are a few musts for any design student:

Fear

2009-03-18T18:20:00.002-07:00

This week’s theme seems to be fear. Fear of change, fear of loss, fear of intimacy, fear of success….fear of happiness. Fear is that subconscious barrier that keeps us stuck in our comfort zone regardless of how much we want to change. But change is going to happen and the question becomes, are we going to direct that change or become victims of it?
The problem with change is that it requires creating new habits. “We develop our habits and then are controlled by them.” “The only way to change a habit is to replace it with a new habit.” Replacing one habit with a new one is tough because our habits have served us well, helped define us, and provided us with a way of acting in most situations without having to think too much about it. If we are going to replace one habit with another, learn a new paradigm through which to understand and react to our world, then we basically have to kill part of the person we have become. And believe me, those endearing little habits don’t die easily or without a fight.

So what’s so wrong with our habits and are they really a way of hiding from our fears?

Example One: I have a friend who has allowed himself to get in the habit of checking on his wife, a bit too much. When checking up on her, he becomes concerned when she is acting in unexpected ways. This leads him to check more often and makes her feel like he doesn’t trust her. My friend knows that if he continues acting this way, he will eventually destroy the relationship and drive his wife away. But he continues to do it anyway.

Example Two: I have a friend who continues to get into toxic relationships. She meets a seemingly nice person, enjoys the company and companionship for a while, but soon finds this person not caring for her in the way she thinks she deserves. This person seems to meet all of her relationships in the same places, is attracted to the same set of characteristics in her men, and let’s the relationships move forward at the same predictable pace. But every 6-18 months, there she is with her heart broken and wondering what went wrong.

Example Three: I have students how claim to want to be successful. They work hard when in class, but when they go home, they either get wrapped up in other people’s drama or escape into the immersive world of online gaming. There is nothing wrong with either of these activities; however, when they come back to class, they wonder why some of their classmates are progressing much more rapidly than they are. Repeating this over twelve to eighteen months, the students who had so much desire and potential wake up to find that they are losing out on jobs to their less-talented peers.

Example Four: We have recently started a Toastmasters club on campus. There are numerous students, faculty members, and staff who have attended a meeting or two and then say “But I don’t like having to speak in groups” and quit showing up. DUH! Isn’t that the purpose? These people know that others have grown because of this opportunity. They know they will be more successful in their careers, in their relationships, and in their lives if they develop self-confidence by improving their communications and leadership skills. These people would rather remain unfulfilled than commit to challenging themselves for a few hours a month in a friendly, positive environment.

I mention these examples, because I relate very well to them and have lived them at one point or another. We each have habits we use to limit and protect ourselves. Most of these habits served a purpose at one time but now keep us from getting what we really want and deserve. Instead of protecting us, they insulate us from the underlying fears that gnaw at our stomachs and keep us from living remarkable lives. It takes courage to create new habits, to acknowledge our fears, and to learn to control their influence in our life.

“Do what you fear the most and you control fear” – Richard Bach

So turn off the GPS and the cel phone and next time you want to look at your wife’s day planner, go give her a hug or write her a love note instead. Go out with someone who is completely different than the men you have gone out with in the past (an older gentleman who may not be quite so hot anymore but knows how to care, to listen, and to be supportive might be a place to start). Instead of hiding in video games, write three paragraphs for your new web site before you allow yourself the luxury of tuning out or getting high. Show up at a meeting, volunteer to give a speech, you’re not alone. Change does not require major effort or sacrifices. It requires developing new habits by doing little things on a regular basis until we develop new habits that lead us to success and happiness.

“At the end of our lives, it is the things we never did that we regret most.”- Harriet Beecher Stowe

Don’t let your fears ruin your marriage. Don’t let your fears keep you from finding the fulfilling relationship you always wanted. Don’t let your fears keep you from becoming the success you know you have the potential to become.
I understand, I’ve been there too, and for what its worth, I believe in you and know that you really can have everything you’ve always wanted out of life.

I once had a student

2009-03-18T18:20:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time, in my first year teaching, I had a student who wanted to be a graphic designer. She did not have extraordinary talent, but she had passion and desire. Her husband "allowed" her to go back to school thinking that she would give up after a few months and then she would be quiet about wanting an education. When her husband refused to continue to pay for her education because she was definitely not going to quit, she had to borrow money from her grandmother to keep attending.

During her 8th month, she had a baby. She had the c-section after class on Thursday and had a friend drive her back to class the following Monday. She arranged with other friends ways to care for her newborn so she could attend class everyday, which she did.

When she finally graduated, her husband announced that she was a mother and her place was in the home with their child so he "forbade" her to go find a job and put her education to work. This student put out flyers everywhere she went and gave business cards to everyone she knew so that she could find a way to practice her craft even while she was at home.

Her first free-lance job or two did not go well. One she ended up getting stiffed on and the other was a web site that someone else re-built a few months later. This student came to me and said, I know I have had an education, but I need to learn more and then would stop by every week or two to borrow another book. The whole time she kept taking every freelance job she could get and after awhile she even started building some referral business.

After she won a few Addy awards while working out of her house, her husband finally admitted that she had a real profession and permitted her to go get a real job. Today, 6 and half years after graduation she was promoted to Creative Director for a highly respected design firm. Way to go Amber!!!

I share this because there is nothing more disheartening to a teacher than to see a person with real passion and talent either give up on themselves or let someone else stop them from becoming what they were meant to be. Real students and real designers and people with real dreams, do not let obstacles, circumstances, or other people keep them from living the life they were meant to lead.

If you have a true passion, you are the only person who can truly prevent you from living it.

"The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone." Harriet Beecher Stowe

Finding work.

2009-03-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

At some point, we all need to find a job. We all need to find clients. We all need to begin our journey to success. The problem is that 80% of jobs are never posted and the competition for the other 20% is intense. Often the 20% that most of us discover are positions that are actually going to be filled internally (the job posting is a mere formality), or where the pay being offered does not match the qualifications being required. Think about the millions of people who are searching Monster and Craig's list everyday who are willing to work for almost any amount of compensation. A huge supply of potential employees divided by recessed current demand equals great deals for employers and not a great deal of pay for you. This does not mean there are not jobs, there are plenty, it simply means that if you do not consciously decide to become outstanding and promote yourself, then you are probably not going to find the level of success which you desire.

I was not necessarily a great student in school. I did not explore my creative potential until late in my 30's. But, I was very success at sales, have been consistently recognized as one of the top educators in my university (Instructor of Distinction- 2006, 2008; Evelyn Keiser Instructor of the Year - 2008), and won awards for being among the top design educators in the state of Florida ( FAPSC - Florida Instructor of the Year-Visual Arts, 2006). These accomplishments did not come from my formal education but because of my insatiable curiosity, my belief in self-directed research, and because ultimately my success ,or lack thereof, is based upon my own commitment and effort. I don't mention these accomplishments to blow my own horn, but because I do wonder if I had been taken my success more seriously at an earlier age or had followed my creative dreams earlier in my life, where could I be today?

So here are my observations and recommendations to any student who has a dream and a desire to have an extraordinary career:

Don't focus on grades or ever be satisfied just to be the best in your class. After you leave school, your classmates will have very little to do with your success or even your life. If you let them limit your potential, then you are letting them determine the pace upon which you will achieve your success. These people may be your friends now, but they don't care about your future. Be selfish. Set your own high-standards. And never let your classmates lull you into accepting mediocrity.
Take an honest evaluation of your assets and limitations then find ways to accentuate your assets and overcome your limitations. If you are challenged with writing, read more and practice writing. If you have difficulty with math, memorize your multiplication tables already and let go of those excuses you hold so dear. If you get nervous in public or have challenges expressing yourself, find a Toastmasters club and join it. Instead of focusing on who you were (which has not led you to where you want to be) focus on who you are becoming. The only limitations you have are those which you place on yourself.
Develop winning habits, those that lead you to where you you want to eventually be and replace those that keep you trapped in the past. If you are not reading an hour a day about this industry and the successful people in it, then you are not serious about being successful. If you don't practice design after you leave school each day, then you are accepting mediocrity. If you are not meeting at least one new person each day and letting him or her know what you are capable of doing, then you are missing opportunities to let others help in achieving your dreams. One to two hours a day of extra effort, will help you get more out of each and every class you take and will help you grow exponentially, instead of linearly. How badly do you want that dream job? How much effort are you willing to exert to get it?
Expand your circle of influence, develop new friends. We know that eventually we will become just like the people with whom we spend our time, so who are you choosing to spend your time with? I am not saying lose your current friends, but develop friendships with those who are already living the life you want. The more time you spend associating with other successful people, the more you will begin to think and act like they do. It may be awkward at first, but growth is not always an easy path.
Let everyone you know what you do! Recently I have had leads come from my anesthesiologist, my masseuse, an ex-girlfriends, and a former student in a different program. In fact, I get 12-15 freelance jobs a year with absolutely no marketing and I don't aggressively seek freelance at the moment. If people don't know what you do, they can't recommend you to friends and colleagues. How many people do you know? Family, friends, former teachers, people at the gym, online acquaintances, old classmates, that cute girl down the hallway? They may not need yourir services, but their friends might. This by the way is where that other 80% of jobs get filled.