Getting the most from our time

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.

Design Matters Debbie Millman Genre: Design © (c) Copyright 2005, 2006 Debbie Millman.

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.

SVA MFA Designer As Author: Guest Lectures design.schoolofvisualarts.edu Genre: Design © Copyright 2006 SVA MFA Design

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

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:

• How Magazine - http://www.howdesign.com
  
• Communication Arts - http://www.commarts.com
  
• American Institute of Graphic Artists - http://www.aiga.org
  
• National Association of PhotoShop Professionals - http://www.photoshopuser.com
• Creativity Magazine - http://www.creativity-online.com

Fear

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

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.

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:

1. 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. 
   
2. 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.
   
3. 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?
   
4. 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.  
   
5. 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.