ART & COPY, a new documentary film, has the advertising and design world abuzz!  The new film, directed by Doug Pray, is about the creativity and inspiration behind the work and vision of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time.  This is not a film about trashing the evil world of advertising.  It is instead a tribute to those relatively unknown few who actually helped shape our society and our culture with their work. These are the people who’ve created such slogans as “Just do it”, “Got Milk?”, and “Think Different.” They’ve created campaigns for the Energizer Bunny, Apple, MTV and so many other ads which became the signs of our times.  Despite advertising’s evil reputation, these brilliant campaigns and creative minds have helped us laugh, think, smile, and have moved us to act.

Back in the old days before I had children or a business to run, I would indulge in what I called my “Annual Weekend Read-A-Thon.” Over the course of some weeks (or months) as I went through my life, I would collect books, magazines, brochures, pamphlets etc and stack them in a pile by the side of my bed. When the pile became unwieldy, I planned a Read-A-Thon. Over this past weekend, unwilling to venture out into the hot and humid 90+ degree out of doors… I reinstated the weekend Read-A-Thon.

What is social media? Are you using it? Here are some amazing facts and figures as to why you might not want to dismiss the social media revolution. As freelancers, artists or designers can your business afford to overlook these opportunities? Have a look.
Found via Debbie Millman – President of AIGA

While meeting with a client on Friday, he showed me one of his new toys… The Buddha Board.  I was so taken with this thing I had to share it here.  So simple and yet brilliant.  The Buddha Board allows artists, designers, and even those shy about ever sharing their creations to draw on a special board with water.  As you paint, the board darkens and then after about 15 minutes your creation fades and disappears.  It’s perfect when you aren’t concerned about creating “product” and seek a little inspiration or relax time.  Buddha Board comes with the board, a bamboo paint brush and water tray.  Very Zen!

The Buddha Board website explains like this:

You simply paint on the surface with water and your creation will come to life in bold design. Then as the water slowly evaporates, your art will magically disappear leaving you with a clean slate and a clear mind – ready to create a whole new masterpiece. Buddha Board is also environmentally friendly and will last for years with proper care. Allow yourself to let go and not be concerned with each outcome – live for the moment.

Visit the Buddha Board website or the board can be purchased from amazon.com

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Awhile back, I wrote about Designing Your Perfect Day.  Visualizing your perfect day can help clarify goals and dreams and then better position us to make real plans toward living the kind of life we have always wanted. This would serve as our model for the day of days. Everything in its place. Perfect environment. Perfect people. Perfect food. I, however, was having some difficulty imagining my perfect day. Try as I might, I just couldn’t get past breakfast!

My son points out to me that the word extraordinary is a study in contradiction.  To look at the word itself you’d think it would mean extra ordinary, or really really average.  Ok, having said that, I still like the word and I like the way it sounds… “How extraordinary”, “There was an extraordinary turn of events.”  It’s something or someone above and beyond what we expect.

I’ve had the fortune to meet a few extraordinary people.  Extraordinary people are few and far between.  I’ve met incredibly talented people, smart people, funny people… but the extraordinary person is unique.  The characteristics of an extraordinary person are also very personal.  When we meet someone whom we think is remarkable, it is because they are embodying and doing all the things we wish we were doing.  The interesting thing about these people is that they aren’t remarkable because of some gift from god.  They are remarkable because they have chosen to be so.  These are the people who continually challenge themselves and commit to meeting their goals. Through a determined mindset and lots of hard work (and perhaps a little cosmic luck) they are able to accomplish an awful lot in a very short time.  They envision a life beyond what is average and will settle for nothing less.  Are you that type of person?

This blog is about considering new and extraordinary ways of designing our lives.   It’s about putting a seed into the universe, wishing on a star, daring to be remarkable.  Here are 10 characteristics that contribute to the extraordinary (much better than really really average.)

1. Listen more than you talk. Seriously, it’s amazing what will happen and what you’ll learn if you just stop the excessive stuff coming out of your mouth.  Sit back, relax and really listen to what people are trying to tell you.  When you find yourself alone, listen to the sound of silence.  You’ll learn a lot about others and about yourself. There was a story I heard once where two gentlemen were meeting for the first time at a party.  The first gentleman, upon introduction, spoke about his plans for the future, his artwork, his ambitions. The second gentlemen simply listened while the first man talked on and on.  At the end of the meeting, our boisterous gentleman remarked to an shared acquaintance  “What an extraordinary person that was.  He knew exactly what to say.”
2. Be polite. It goes without saying.  But there is much a gal or guy can do that goes beyond simply having good manners. It’s the extra step that makes people extraordinary.  Jackie Onassis would write people hand written thank you notes, followups and note cards.  That kind of thing makes an impression.
3. Don’t be a couch potato. Ok, I’m not going to tell you to stop watching TV completely.  For me, this would just be impossible.  I love to be able to relax with TV brain candy at the end of the night and I’m an avid CNN’er.  BUT… once in a while, turn that thing off.  I swear,  you will find yourself doing and thinking about all kinds of things you previously didn’t have time for.  Try it, just for a week and let me know how you make out.  I’ve also found that the absence of noise from the television makes for a much more relaxed and stress free environment.
4. Find new ways of doing things. Yup… think outside the box.  Instead of making up excuses why something can’t be done, figure out how it can be done.  I once remarked to my friend Balam that he “certainly thinks outside the box.”  Balam replied “Is there a box?”
5. Work hard and keep a hold of your goals. Hard work will never let you down. Striving to meet your goals requires more than a 40 hour work week.  Passion for something brings with it the sacrifice of weekends, holidays, and evenings off… but if you are going after your goals and pursuing a dream, it’s a labor of love.  I know people like Tim Ferriss embrace the 4 hour work week, but even Tim will tell you that “work” is something you don’t necessarily like to do.  Several months ago I was very sick with the flu.  Not being able to get out of bed, I had a lot of time to think.  In conceptualizing the things I wanted and the goals I had, I asked myself how badly did I really want these things?  Was it worth 20, 30, 40 more hours of effort per week?  Did I really have the desire and time to devote myself to these goals? Well, here’s the answer… I started this blog and bought a guitar.
6. Dare to break rules. You’re going to find an awful lot of people who will tell you why your goals or dreams shouldn’t, wouldn’t, won’t, or can’t come true.  Much like a stop sign, rules and limitations are put into place to control and divert traffic or make the masses conform.  Never mind them, show them they are wrong.
7. Be personally responsible. Everyone makes mistakes and if you make a mistake, buck up and admit it.  Apologize for it and try to fix it.  Extraordinary people don’t see themselves as victims in life’s game.  They take responsibility for their successes and their failures.  They create their own life path.  Start right now!
8. Travel and experience other cultures and places. I don’t think this is really a prerequisite of an extraordinary life like hard work or goal setting.  But to me, travel is really an element that enables us to bring something new to the table.  Visiting new venues and experiencing new foods, cultures and people expand our minds and feed our eyes.  Travel is inspirational.
9. Commit to what matters to you and rid yourself of what doesn’t. This means people, appointments, goals, junk and a myriad of others things.  Make a list and decide those people and things that matter most to you.  Get rid of everything else… including the toxic energy sucking people in your life.
10. Take the time to dream. Dreaming is nutrition for the creative mind.

Good luck!

Rock on!

It was in Chris Guillebeau’s Manifesto, A Brief Guide to World Domination, where I read the notion of imagining your perfect day. It is felt that doing this exercise will help clarify ones dreams and goals and then better enable us to make solid plans toward living the kind of life we have always wanted.  Yes, it is possible to live a life designed by you rather than by others. I, however, was having somewhat of a difficult time with this exercise. It seemed that in envisioning my perfect day, I couldn’t get past breakfast!

I’ve been a pretty avid planner for most of my life.  I make lists and schedules and all that.  Back in the 80′s, I discovered Covey’s Franklin Planner system and since that time I’ve always written about and maintained a set of goals for myself which would outline monthly, yearly and five year ambitions.  I pretty much nailed the five year goals (writing them down really helps) but thinking about just one perfect day was beyond me.

How exactly did this work?  Is the exercise to envision a realistic perfect day?  Or could I go crazy and think about my fantasy day where I’m an international espionage agent?  Just to be sure I was covering all my bases, I considered both scenarios.  I’ll update you on another post about my perfect day and how I put those dreams into practice.

It was surprising how much I learned about myself.  I have done this type of thing before but on a bigger scale.  Thinking about a perfect day requires a far more specific process than planning a five year business/personal plan.  Both exercises are advantageous and worthwhile practices.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a silly exercise; it’s harder than you think and you’ll find you have some work to do.   It requires time, effort and concentrated thinking.  The same was true when several years ago my best friend asked me a very simple question, “Lisa, What do you want?”  The question was surprisingly difficult to answer.  As a mom and a wife, I wasn’t in the practice of actually thinking about what I wanted.  If I had a dime for every time Laura asked me that question, but I was finally able to come to some conclusions and I’m much (much) happier and fulfilled today then I was 8 years ago.

In “A Simple System to Achieve Your Goals,”  Paul Meyers recommends we ask ourselves questions and visualize hour by hour what our perfect day would look like.  (You can get Paul’s word document for an ideal world here which includes a worksheet and Paul’s guiding hand to help.)  Perhaps you are the kind of person who needs to brain storm with a written list….go right ahead and do that.  Or maybe you are better at drawing out the possibilities in a sketch book or mentally visualizing your perfect day.  Do what is most comfortable for you.  Open your mind to all the possibilities.  Don’t be afraid to consider the ridiculous.  To start you off, consider some of these things:

Who would you hang out with?
What would you have for breakfast?
Where would you live?  What would it look like?
What kind of items would you surround yourself with?
What would you wear?
Where would you go?  Would you take a vacation?
Would you work?  What would your job be?

Perhaps more telling for me, was the question: What wouldn’t I do?  What wouldn’t I have?  You can bet my house would be free from all that clutter in the basement.  I’d rip apart that old porch hanging off my house and put down a floor of white pebbles, beautiful flowers, and a outdoor table for my morning breakfast.

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”
-Michael Althsuler

Of course, we are taking about change and removing ourselves from our predisposed comfort zone.  If you are comfortable and happy living the life you lead at present, this exercise probably isn’t for you.  If you are seeking some changes in your life, then that is what this is all about.  Making a list or envisioning a perfect day isn’t going to do much for you unless you actually put these things into practice and take the steps (even if they are baby steps) toward reaching your dreams.  And yup, there might also be risk involved.  When Laura asked me 8 years ago “Lisa what do you want,” it resulted in my separating from my husband.  That was just one of the decisions I had to come to terms with in my own way.  It was scary and very frightening but in order for me to breathe, it was something I needed to do.  Now having said that, I’m not advocating that you go out and do socially irresponsible or hurtful things just because it might bring you closer to your dreams.  There is no carte blanche for being an asshole.  Designing your perfect day is very personal endeavor and if you are looking to improve your life and make a happier reality, then this type of exercise is something you will return to time and again.  The idea is to become more and more fabulous over time.

In closing, I also want to point out that while designing your perfect day seems egocentric the long term benefits are not.  In removing the clutter and toxicity from your life, you will free up valuable time and energy that you can devote to pursuits in serving others.  As designers and artists, we spent a lot of time in seclusion.  It’s my belief that most people like to help and devoting time to others is a wonderful and rewarding way to give back, meet new people and expand the breath of your life.

What can Design do to Help Fulfill Govenment Promise of Change? AIGA
The AIGA XCD Center for Cross-Cultural Design
Americans for the Arts
United We Serve – President Obama’s Service Initiative, June 2009

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