“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness….the moment one definitely commits himself, the providence moves, too.”  William Hutchinson Murray

Money is the physical manifestation of a promise to do something in the near future.

You prove your commitment when you put your money down.

Once the money is paid, you are well on your way to the end result.

On the other side of the fence, your clients are committed when they put their money down.

ON TRAVEL:  Remember that last plane ticket you bought?  You knew it was non-refundable; there was no turning back.

The moment your pulled out your Visa card and made the payment, your mind went to where you were going to be.  For me it was Hawaii.   The day I bought our plane tickets to the North Shore, I was already surfing Puaena Point in my mind!  I was there before I was actually there.

ON BUSINESS:  Some people call me hardnosed, and heck, I’ve been called worse!  But when it comes to business, I’m very serious about keeping my little venture running.  And so, I have to weed out the committed from the bullshooters.

Often we have people come into our lives that promise us the moon (and lots of money), but don’t deliver.  Many years ago we figured out a great way to make the bull-shooters disappear and the serious stay.  (And it prevented us from ever getting ripped off again.)

Drew and I instituted a policy that requires a client to pay 50% up front (or an advance of royalties), before Drew will begin work on any art project.

I almost never deviate from that requirement, even when dealing with friends or family.  Here’s why:

Without the client’s commitment (money), they could change their mind halfway through the project.  Or their boss could choose to change direction.  Or their Board of Directors can decide to call it quits.  This is not about trust at all; it’s pure common sense.

When a client hands over their deposit, I know they are serious.  They are committed.  And that gives me the green light to move forward.

(And, I must add, your best clients will not ever have a problem paying a deposit.  We just got a commission from Google, yes, mighty and powerful Google, and they did not have a problem with our deposit requirement.)

But this doesn’t just work for clients; it works on myself, too.

ON LEARNING:  Commitment is what separates the serious from the not-so-serious.

It breaks out the losers from the winners, the criers from the happy.  Commitment is what will lead you to the end result you seek.

When you pay for a class that you plan to take, you have made a commitment to the goal of learning something new. 

A strange thing happens when we put money down on a class; we begin learning immediately, even before the program begins.  We start noticing others who know what we seek to learn.  We begin reading up on it, in advance.  We are committed.

A couple years ago I signed up for a one week meditation-writer’s retreat with bestselling author Susan Piver.  When I paid for my plane ticket to Denver and a week at the Shambala Mountain Center, I had already begun my lesson.

The money was my commitment to learning to be a better writer and to meditate more deeply.  Before I even left for the retreat center, I was learning.  I had committed with my money, which translated to a commitment in my mind.

HOW COMMITTED ARE YOU TO YOUR GOALS?

How committed are we to our goals?  The money we spend is one barometer of how serious we are.

Some people tell me that they are committed to learning about art licensing, but yet they aren’t willing to put the money into taking LIMA’s one-year course in licensing.

Some say they are committed to propelling their career forward, yet they aren’t willing to put their money where their mouth is. 

There are resources out there that can save you years of work, if only you commit.  The recent smARTist Telesummit is an excellent example of serious, committed artists who had no problem paying $500 for a two-week course to learn from the top art experts in the country.  Many say that the value they gained from that course was priceless.

Committed people aren’t afraid to spend money on consultants and coaches and good attorneys.

It wasn’t that long ago that I decided to start consulting artists on the side.  I didn’t know what to expect; I wondered who would be willing to pay me $150 an hour for my expertise.

After about my twentieth consulting client, it dawned on me that every single artist that I worked with was highly intelligent, open-minded to advice and applied it.  Things always worked out for them.  Most were already very successful.  I was surprised, because I know so many people that are the opposite.  It was refreshing.

Then I realized:  Underachievers don’t hire consultants.  Winners do.

Underachievers can’t commit.  Or they refuse to.  Or they claim that they can’t afford to take a class or course or hire someone to help.

Being unwilling to spend money to further your career or to learn something new or to solve a problem will keep you right where you are.  You can’t grow from a lack of commitment.

But those of us who are willing to put our money where our mouth is, we show our commitment, and the results show up.

What have you committed to recently that was a big step for you? Or is there something you are considering to commit to?  Please share in the comments!  I’d love to hear your say on this topic.

Maria xxoo

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Do you ever wonder why you aren’t achieving what your friends are?

Why you haven’t been able to finish writing that book, or taken the vacation you dreamed of or grown your business fast enough?

Everyone feels this way, even those we admire and adore.

I have a friend who just started a fitness business.  As she talked about the many marketing steps she needed to do to grow her business, tears started streaming down her face, because she was overwhelmed with all the work ahead of her.  She’s a mother to small children and has very limited time, but she’s passionate about her business.

The pressure to get it all done, right now, is so great!  

We see what our peers are achieving, and we wonder “What’s wrong with me that I can’t get everything done?”

At the bottom of this post, I give you ideas on how to lighten the pressure, so keep reading!  But first, I have to ask this:

WHY AREN’T YOU AWESOME?!

If you read as many blogs as I do, you’re seeing this message all too often:

The claim that the key to success is to Be Awesome!

Some of the most popular bloggers claim that’s their route to fame.  ”Write awesome content, create awesome art, be extraordinary and people will buy from you and you’ll be swimming in the glory of awesomeness.”

Damn, that’s a lot of Malarky!

Most of us are just living our lives the best we can.  And now the pressure to be “awesome” is so great, we don’t know if we are good enough.

How, exactly does one arrive to the state of being awesome?  Are you born with it?  Can you buy it or train for it?  And how do you know when you become it?

There is a big problem with striving for awesome, and it’s this:

One person’s idea of awesome is different from another. 

I can’t be the marketing genius Scott Stratton or the lovely art business guru Alyson Stanfield, because I’m Maria Brophy.  It’s futile for me to attempt to do the things I’m not cut out for.  I can only be myself.

I, for one, am tired of striving for awesome.  So I’m taking a break from being awesome for now and I’m going to wallow in being just a little better than mediocre.  And I’m going to enjoy every second of it!

OTHERS AREN’T AS SUCCESSFUL AS YOU THINK

Drew always says “Everybody thinks everybody else is doing better than they are.  In truth, everyone is just trying to figure it out.”

A guy walked into our studio last week.  He was a fan of my artist husband, Drew.   He looked around at the paintings and the many licensed products with Drew’s art displayed on the walls and said “I’m so jealous; you guys are killing it!”

Later, Drew and I laughed about that.  We hear this sentiment often.  To people on the outside, it appears as though we are wealthy.

Though we are happy, we are not where we want to be financially.  Our studio is too small, our income has taken a hit by the economy, and we are working hard to reach the next level of success.  There are many roadblocks we have to break through.

Sometimes we beat ourselves over the head for not having accomplished more by now.  We see other entrepreneurs who are doing so much better, and we ask “why not us”.

And then we have to slap each other back into reality.  Drew will remind me of this:  We have our health.  We live in a beautiful beach town.  We surf when we want.  We are happy.

Success is a feeling more than a number.  If you feel poor, you are poor.  If you feel rich, you are rich.

I know a guy who is a multi-millionaire.  One day he was berating himself and was depressed because he had only amassed $18 million.  Most of his friends were worth double that number.  He felt like a failure in business.  (True story)

And I know people who live very simple lives and feel rich.  They aren’t worried about being awesome or impressing anyone.   They are perfect just as they are.

Here’s a few ways to lighten up on the pressure and help us realize that we are perfect just the way we are:

LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD

Don’t expect so much from yourself.  Keep moving forward, but don’t kill yourself.   Focus on that one thing that’s going to make a huge difference in your career.   Let everything else wait.

TAKE A LOT OF BREAKS

Go on vacation, have fun, exercise.  Laugh a lot.  Your work will be greater inspired when you are enjoying yourself and are well rested.

FOCUS ON YOUR MOST IMPORTANT WORK

Stop trying to do EVERYTHING!  Instead, choose 2-3 of the most important things that you can focus on right now.  Then do them to completion and do them well.

STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS

“What’s wrong with me?”  Is the question we should never ask.

Instead, ask “What is one thing that I can do right now, that I can focus on completely, get it done, and feel good about it.”

CHUNK IT DOWN

Is a big project looming over your head?  Take one step at a time and Chunk it down!  If you have a big thing to do, be it learning French or marketing a new business or painting a new collection, do this:

Break it down into chunks.  Make a list of all the things you need to do.  Choose the first step, and work on that first.  Then, move onto the next, and then the next.

ENJOY

Relax, enjoy all that you are doing.  Don’t allow the feeling of pressure take away the joyful process of learning, creating and building something.

I hope I’ve inspired you to stop striving for some arbitrary idea of “awesome” and instead do the best work you can, on your own sweet time.

Please, comment below.  I would love to hear your thoughts on this.  It would be awesome if you did!

Maria xxoo

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“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.”  Burton Hills

We allow so many pressures on ourselves during the holiday season.  We are expected to be like everyone else: to attend all of the parties and gatherings, to bake cookies, to buy gifts for everyone in our life, to spend money we just can’t afford to spend.  We jump through hoops to please everyone.

I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be like this.  You can have a very joyous, stress-free holiday.  Your friends will be envious, and they will want to know why you aren’t wigging out like they are.  ”You look so calm” they’ll say!

Here’s the secret to a Stress-Free Holiday:

Stop doing what stresses you out.  Stop doing what causes you to worry.  Start doing what brings you joy.  

A friend came by yesterday; her son was playing with my son, Dylan.  She said “Oh, I forgot to ask you what I should get Dylan for Christmas!”

And there it was; that uncomfortable moment that I go through every year.  It’s the moment where I have to break the news to someone that I’m just not that kind of girl.

“I don’t do gift exchanges.”  The rehearsed lines came out smoothly, though I still felt the awkwardness of the possibility of being judged for being “different.”

Years ago, I changed my approach to Christmas so that I could have a peaceful holiday.  One important change was that I stopped exchanging gifts with everyone except my husband and my son.

I don’t exchange gifts with my best friend Bridget, or my lovely sisters, not even my mother.

Here’s why:  The thought of shopping during Christmas season gives me hives.  I’m itching right now just thinking about the noisy, packed malls and money spent on useless items.

Christmas used to be a dreaded season in my earlier life.  First, there was the corporate gift exchange (back when I had a real job).  Then, I had to shop for my family who was far away in Maryland.  Once I got the gifts, I had to box and then ship them, waiting in long lines at the Post Office.

Like most people, I felt the pressure to remember to get a gift for every acquaintance in my life; the preschool teacher, the neighbor, the friend of a friend.

I found myself dreading the Christmas season.  It was just too much to handle.

One year I got so fed up I said NO MORE!  I decided to put an end to the madness.  I began by telling everyone I knew that I was giving up gift-giving.

There was resistance.  I was accused of being a Scrooge.  Some friends told me I was selfish, that gift-giving is a joyful thing.  But I quickly learned how happy I could be without the stress of shopping and going into debt.

And now, years later, the people in my life accept it.  They finally got used to it.  And maybe it took some pressure off of them, too.

Sometimes people still get me gifts, and when they do, I politely accept it and say “thank you.”

I never get stressed at Christmas time anymore.  Now, it’s my favorite holiday and I look forward to it and it’s the most fun I have all year!

Here are a few tips for you to have a truly joyful Christmas Season:

CUT BACK ON GIFT GIVING:  Start small this year (and cut back more each year); begin by only buying gifts for your family and telling everyone else that you aren’t exchanging gifts this year.

Leo Babauta of Zen Habits has a great article on why he stopped exchanging gifts called The Case Against Buying Christmas Presents.

I’m not advocating cutting out gift-giving completely; just pare it down to a manageable, and ENJOYABLE process.  Look, if you aren’t enjoying it, then should you be doing it?!  Do you really have to buy the daughter of the Aunt of the preschool teacher a gift every year?  I mean, come on!  Take it easy on your time and your wallet!

SECRET SANTA – One way to get your family to help in this process of cutting back on buying too much for too many:  Ask them to do a “Secret Santa” every year.  This is where you put all the names of the family in a hat, and each person picks one name of one person they will buy for.  This way, you are buying one very nice, special gift for one person, rather than a bunch of stuff for everyone in the family.   My in-laws do this every year and it’s great fun.

ONLY GO TO PARTIES THAT WILL BE FUN FOR YOU:  So you’ve been invited to a dozen parties, some of which are being thrown by family members that you don’t even like.  Don’t go.  Opt out of the events that won’t be joyful for you.  You won’t be doing anyone a favor by showing up and then being unhappy.  Suddenly be busy, politely back out.  You can’t waste your life doing things that are supposed to be fun, but aren’t.

STOP BEING SO PERFECT!  You don’t have to be perfect.  Just because someone else expects you to be the best gift-giver (some husbands feel this immense pressure), that’s that person’s own deal.   Or your best friend is a great baker of Christmas cookies and you aren’t.  Do what you do best, whatever that is.  You are already perfect just as you are.  Release the need to be something you’re not.

DROP THE “HAVE TO” and FOCUS ON JOY:  Do what brings you joy.  Don’t do what’s expected by others.  If you are married and both sets of in-laws are demanding your time on Christmas, and you and your spouse really just want to go hiking or surfing on Christmas, than do what will make you happy!  Your family will have to accept who you and eventually, they will respect that.    Make time for them later, or a day earlier if need be.  But don’t spend your entire Christmas day driving from family to family, exhausting yourself along the way.

GIVE THANKS:  Be thankful for all the wonderful things in your life.  If you love where you live, embrace that.  If you are lucky enough to have a special someone to love, appreciate that.  If you have a lot of friends that are good to you, thank them for that.  Look around at what you have and love it, enjoy it, be thankful for it.  Feel  joy and appreciation; these feelings are the cornerstone to a beautiful holiday and a happy life.

GIVE:  Instead of buying a bunch of gifts for acquaintances, give to the truly needy.  There are loads of homeless children that will never see Santa this year.  Find your local church or organization that gives to these children, and donate.  Or volunteer at a local soup kitchen.  These are acts that will give greater joy than buying your neighbor another box of chocolates.

LIGHTEN UP!  Not only should others lighten up on you, but you should, too.  Give them a break, those people in your life who aren’t living up to YOUR expectations.  Give them more love, understanding and forgiveness.  Allow them to be who they are.  Your life will be much easier when you take  this approach.

You have the freedom to enjoy your holiday any way that you want.  Break free of the expectations of others, and find joy in your own way.  Be happy.

For me, I will be at the beach on Christmas day. That’s been mine and Drew’s tradition for many years.  Praying for surf…

I wish you a joyful season.  Give love, lighten up on yourself and others!

And spread peace.

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Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, New Zealand

“A life of travel is not for special, rich or lucky people.  It’s for those who choose to live it.”

Do you dream of places you want to travel, but put it off until “some day” when you have more time and money or when your kids have grown?

Some day may never come. 

Most people have been brainwashed to believe that they don’t have the time, the money or the right to live a life of travel and that travel is for exotic people blessed with unusual jobs or trust funds.

And then, when they finally do embark abroad, it’s only for two weeks to a foreign land where they blazed in on a plane, made a mad dash to check off the “tourist to do’s” and then returned home exhausted.  Two weeks is child’s play!  For a truly rich experience, you need big chunks of time.

Imagine how much you would learn about yourself if you spent a month eating up the epicurean delights of Argentina, swimming with the sharks in South Africa or immersing in the spirituality of Ayers Rock.

You can travel if you want to. I promise you!  Please, read on and take this to heart.

I was born with the travel bug.  You could say it’s a curse, because the adventure of travel is all I ever think about.

My life and business have been carefully arranged so that my family and I can spend a couple months a year exploring new destinations.  Some years we are on the road four months or more.

My husband and I have created our company to enable us travel at the drop of hat.  And yes, this loses us money sometimes.  Shutting down our studio to travel overseas for a month at a time puts a ding in the revenue of our business.  But we choose the fun adventures over money every time.

One of the biggest misconceptions about travel is that you have to have a stash of cash to be able to take big trips.  It’s simply not true.  You don’t have to be wealthy, or even make an above average salary.  You just have to choose travel over “stuff”.

Every year Drew and I discuss getting a new car.  My 1997 Toyota 4-Runner has a lot of miles and a few dents.  Our conversation goes something like this:

Drew, pointing to a car ad in the newspaper:  “How about the Chevy Murano. They’re nice.”

Me:  “Let me calculate the cost.”

After a lot of clacking on my iphone calculator, I say:  “How about a trip to New Zealand instead?  It’ll be cheaper.”

When I’m faced with the decision to buy creature comforts or to take an adventure, the adventure wins out every time!

Most people claim that they want to live the travel lifestyle, but they rarely choose to make it a priority in their life.  Maybe they don’t know how, and it’s not their fault.  Sometime between when we are born and the time we are old enough to buy our own plane ticket, we are infused with the belief that travel is a luxury item, like a Porsche or a diamond ring.

But what if you knew that you could live a life, NOW, where every year you take a few months to explore other parts of the world?

And when you do finally retire, and you’re old and tired, you have a lifetime of memories of all the wonderful places you’ve been!

It’s not that difficult to create this type of life.  You just have to re-program your mind to think like a traveler.

Here’s how:

MAKE THE DECISION

Decide that you want to travel NOW, not when you have money, or are retired, or some other anchor point in the far future.  But now, starting this year.

ARRANGE YOUR LIFE TO MAKE TRAVEL A PRIORITY

You can either cultivate a career that allows travel or convince your 9-5 boss to allow you to take more time off.

Cultivate a Travel-Friendly Career:

There are numerous careers that allow you to take off for periods of time to travels.  They include:

• Nursing
• Teaching
• Writer/blogger
• Artist
• Entrepreneur
• Fishing / Tourist careers
• Massage, personal trainers, tutoring, dog walking; any skill that can go mobile

For nine-to-fivers:  If you have a 9-5 job that only allows a two week vacation each year, there is an alternative:

Train your boss, every year, to let you take a couple weeks extra without pay.  (Be okay with losing that pay.  You’re buying a wonderful lifestyle!)

Don’t ask permission, but rather make the most convincing argument that this is a lifestyle need, and that when you return you’ll be refreshed and raring to be the best employee ever.  Many bosses will surprisingly agree to this if they know that the company would benefit in the long run.

When I had my cubicle job many years ago in the insurance industry, I convinced my boss to let me take a one month trip most years.  In 1997 I convinced him to let me take a four month sabbatical.  I happily bought a round-the-world ticket and went on the trip of a lifetime.

HAVE LESS, TRAVEL MORE

The less stuff you have to worry about, the easier it is to pick up and go.  Stop accumulating worthless junk, electronics and clothing and start unloading what you have.

• Live below your means.
• Get rid of your cable bill.
• Don’t buy that new gadget if the one you have is good enough.
• Get roommates.
• Live in a smaller home (everything costs less when you do).
• Keep your car as long as you can, pay it off and keep driving it until it dies.
• Take good care of the things you have before replacing them with new ones.  (My washer and dryer are over 15 years old and they still run great.)

DON’T SWEAT THE COST OF TRAVEL

My wise mother in-law once said “Don’t worry about money.  It’s just a bunch of numbers on a piece of paper.”

Travel costs money, but you can do it for less than you think.  There are parts of the world where you can travel for very cheap, like Argentina, Nicaragua and Mexico.  In more expensive locations, save by staying in youth hostels or by doing a home exchange.  With a little creativity, you can stretch your money very far.

If you are worried about spending your savings to go on a life altering trip, remind yourself of what you are working for, anyway.   If not for a great time experiencing all that our world has to offer, than what?  Enjoy life, now!

CHOOSE TRAVEL OVER LESS IMPORTANT THINGS

Take a good look at what you are spending money on.  I have a friend who gets a new car every year and has a big screen television set in every room, but she complains that she can’t afford to travel!

On the other hand, my younger sister works simple jobs so she is free to go to Europe every summer.  Many of her friends are jealous.  But, she’s never owned a cell phone or a car.  She chooses a life of travel over a life of normal!

Never once have I regretted spending the time or money to go on a global adventure. I have enjoyed so many amazing adventures around the world, that if I died today, I would feel fulfilled.  I want you to feel the same way, too!

MAKE THE COMMITMENT

When we decided to travel Australia, we planned six months in advance.  The first thing we did was choose the dates and then bought our plane tickets.  Once the tickets were bought, the trip was a done-deal; there are no refunds.  Everything else fell into place after that.  Buying plane tickets = Commitment!

My challenge to you:  Choose one place that you want to go, and pick a date in the next nine months to go there.  Buy your plane tickets immediately.   Once you do that, you are committed!  Get excited and make a promise to yourself to do this every year.

Adventure, travel, culture:  it’s there for the taking.  You just have to arrange your life to have it.

Please, share in the comments:  Where will your dream adventure take you?

PS:  If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from me for awhile, it’s because I’ve been busy writing a book called How to Understand Art Licensing Contracts.  Please, click on the link and check it out!Similar Posts:

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Drew, Charging Puerto Barrels 20 years later!

“Let us endeavor to live so that when we die even the undertaker will be sorry”  Mark Twain

Do you ever question if what you’re doing with your daily life is the right thing?

Do you feel that you’ve reached a lot of your goals, but you’re still bored?  Stuck in a hum-drum existence?

I’ve been feeling that way lately.

Every two years or so, I reach a point where I question my very existence.

It usually happens when I hit a plateau in my career; I’ll feel content for about ten minutes!  Then, I start yearning for something  more.

And, like most people, I ask myself if I’m doing the right things and am I missing out on something?

But maybe we are asking ourselves the wrong questions.

When my husband Drew graduated high school, he couldn’t afford college, and he was unhappy living the wild Myrtle Beach lifestyle.  He felt lonely and depressed.

Then he asked himself a question that changed everything.

“If I died today, what would I regret that I didn’t do yet?”

The answer came easy for him.  He had always dreamed of surfing really big waves, waves that were challenging even to the world’s top surfers.

That one question gave him the focus and direction he was seeking. And it led to his next move.

Puerto Escondido, Mexico was his first move.  The waves there are crushing and awesome and dangerous.  For Drew, it was a challenge of a lifetime.  It’s what got him motivated.

Drew went to Puerto Escondido and surfed the biggest waves of his life.  That led him to the start of his art career, because there he met people who encouraged him to move to Hawaii to paint surfboards.   He found his groove in life and here he is, twenty years later, the best known surfboard artist in the world.

But that’s not the point of the story.

It’s this:  When you’re feeling complacent and restless, ask yourself this question:

“If I died today, what would I regret that I didn’t do yet?”

And then take if from there.  Go on and live your life fully, doing what you dream of doing.

Maria xxoo

PS:  I had always dreamed of backpacking around the world.  I’ve done that now, and so my next “must do before I die” goal is to hike Mt. Whitney.  I’m scheduled to hike it on August 10^th!

What’s your pre-death wish?! Share in the comments, please!.

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“Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it.  The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”  ~Earl Nightingale

An artist friend sent me this two-part question, which is a GREAT topic to cover:

1.)     Was there ever a point in Drew’s career where he felt like throwing in the towel?  and:

2.)    The impressive companies that he’s worked with on listed on his website; did they come to you or did you seek them out?

You would think that these are two separate topics, but they actually mold into one – stay with me on this article and you’ll see what I mean.

Question #1:  THROWING IN THE TOWEL (QUITTING):

Should you continue on when it gets hard, or do you throw in the towel and quit?

At least once a week I threaten to quit and go get a “real job!”  But then I remember how much I love doing what I do…

Being an entrepreneur can be grueling and exhausting.  Instead of a steady paycheck , you have to hustle to earn your pay.  There are times when business is dry and you have to push through it without freaking out about how you’ll pay your studio rent!

Take for example January and February, the two slowest months for our art business each year.  I used to stress out over the lack of cash flowing in those months, but now that we’ve been at it for over a decade, I’m accustomed to the roller coaster.  I know that everything is going to work out just fine.

There are times that everything goes wrong:  ten out of the ten phone calls you made to prospects were duds, a big deal you were counting on fell through, or a client stiffed you on payment.

These are the things that make us want to “throw in the towel”, call it quits, go get a real job.

But if you can push through the difficult times, and stay on a steady, consistent path, you will come out the other side and find success.

To become known as the expert of your trade takes years of commitment. And even the most successful people have to deal with challenges.  Business isn’t a cake-walk for anyone.

“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.”  ~Newt Gingrich

I asked Drew if he ever thought of throwing in the towel (though I knew the answer already!) and he said:

“Have I ever wanted to throw in the towel?  All the time!  Sometimes I think I should have been a landscaper instead.

It’s hard, being an artist.   Most days I have to hustle, like I’m on a treadmill.

But, I love painting for a living.  It pays off in different currencies. I can surf anytime the waves are good.  I travel anytime I want to.  Every morning I get to walk my son to his classroom.  He will always remember that.”

Don’t quit if you LOVE what you’re doing.

As an entrepreneur, you are paid in different currencies;

Time, ability to be creative, and the freedom to design your own life.  (That’s what keeps me going on this path.)

WHEN YOU SHOULD THROW IN THE TOWEL:

It’s time to quit when you really don’t love what you’re doing anymore.  Not meaning that you’re having a bad week; but that your heart isn’t in it anymore.  Or maybe it never was.

This isn’t only good advice for entrepreneurs, but for employees, too.

If you don’t love it, get out.

Question #2:  HOW TO GET BIG NAME CLIENTS FOR YOUR BUSINESS:

Being able to work with great, big clients comes down to these things:

• Great Reputation
• Known for Reliability
• Ability to Solve problems
• Being good at what you do

You reach the status of all of the above by staying on a consistent path.

The better clients, the best paying ones, COME TO YOU when you have a reputation for being reliable and for getting things done, for being great to work with and being damn good at what you do.

You gained this reputation because you’ve been doing it for a long time.  You got good from doing it for a long time.  The reputation came from pleasing many clients for a long time.

You got there because you never threw in the towel.

You kept doing what you do best, and you got better and better at it.

You became known for being the guy (or gal) who does that thing you do, extremely well.

And you got that reputation because you’ve been doing it for so long.

Doing it for so long meant never quitting, even when it got tough.

And that allowed you to get really good, and build up a reputation.

And the big clients come to you like a magnet.

Does that make sense?

In other words, once you become that guy (or gal) who’s got the reputation because you’ve been doing it very well for a long time, the big companies and clients come to you.

Your time spent making phone calls to potential clients is less and less.  Because they’re coming to you.

They come to you because you’ve been at it for a long time.

You never threw in the towel.

You are consistent.

I’m beating a dead horse, but that’s the key to getting big name clients to come to you.

Stay on a consistent path, keep doing that thing you do, and you’ll become great at it and you’ll become known for it.

(And don’t forget how important integrity is…)

Maria xxoo

ARTWORK CREDIT:  The fun, energetic artwork at the top is by my dear friend, artist Al McWhite, who never quit, and is an excellent example of perseverance and “staying on a consistent path”.

“Don’t be discouraged.  It’s often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.”  ~Author Unknown

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Photo (c) Rebekka Gudleifs

“Tolerations weigh us down; they keep us stuck and prevent us from getting on with our life and moving forward.” Peggy Porter

I stumbled upon a great article by Peggy Porter about how tolerating big and little things in our lives can drain us of our good energy and keep us from moving forward.

It reminded me of a decision I made a few years ago not to tell nay-sayers my big dreams

I grew tired of people telling me that I “can’t” do something.  The final straw was when a close friend, a chronic naysayer of anything good, attempted to crush a dream of mine.

I had enthusiastically told her about my wild idea to create a television show based on the happenings in the surf art studio of my husband, Drew.

“You’ll never get a show going about Drew.”  The naysayer said, cooly.

“But other people do it, even a skateboarder who’s still in high school.  Why not us?”  I said, defending my idea.

“Because you don’t know anything about tv.  You don’t even know anybody in Hollywood.”  The naysayer rested her case.

She almost had me.  There was a split second where I agreed with her – what the hell did I know about producing a television show?  Who in the world did I think I was?

But then I came to my senses, and I made two decisions:

1.)     To stop spending time with naysayers; and

2.)     To only share my big ideas with people who think big

Being the stubborn Slovakian that I am, I refused let her get me down.  I began a three and a half year quest to get my show on the air.  Now, The Paint Shop is enjoyed by 3.5 million households, and that number grows every day.

There are roadblocks and attitudes that we should never tolerate, if we are to be happy, thrive and do what we were meant to do in life.

It’s easy for people to get under our skin, put us down, and convince us that we aren’t good enough to carry out our dreams.  After all, we have our own doubts, anyway.  It’s hard enough convincing ourselves.

Below is my list of the top offending tolerations and roadblocks to happiness and success.

NEGATIVE PEOPLE:  It’s very important to clear out the negative people from your life.  Their feelings and thoughts are contagious. Your life is too precious to pollute it that way.

If you have family members that you love that are negative, than limit your time with them.  You can still care about them and check in with them every now and again, but keep it to a minimum.  That way you can’t be affected by their darkness.

MISERY:  Unless you are a certified Psychiatrist, you can’t help people if they aren’t willing to help themselves.  You know that friend of yours that always has things going wrong?  Deep down inside she enjoys the drama.  Don’t get sucked into it.

DREAM CRUSHERS: These are the people who stomp your new ideas!   They may be well meaning, but they don’t know what they are talking about.

Be polite, but replace your time with them and spend it instead with like-minded folks who will uplift you and your ideas and who want to see you grow.

COMPLICATED LIVING:  Don’t tolerate being shackled to big bills for materials things that don’t matter.  Over-extending yourself keeps you from getting the real gold.

There are big things you want to do with your life!  Write that book, produce that video, take a year to explore Italy.

If you have a large mortgage or car payment, and you over-spend, you are not in a position to take risks where it really matters; investing in doing what you love.

It’s easier to take risks when you have less to lose. Keeping your expenses and your obligations to a minimum allows you to be open to doing that which is important to you.

My big project this year is our television show.  It is actually costing us money to get this on the air.  Production costs are very expensive, and until we get picked up by a major network, we are footing the bill (with some help from sponsors).

If we had a large mortgage, a swanky art studio space and big expenses, we wouldn’t be in a financial position to take a risk with this project.

By keeping our expenses low and not spending like crazy, we are able to take the risk to invest in our future without starving.

JUDGEMENT:  Don’t tolerate being judged by others.  You are perfect just the way you are, skinny legs and all.  There are 6 billion people on this planet, and we all have a different point of view.

At the same time, allow others to have their own opinion and accept it, even if you don’t understand it.  You will form tighter relationships with family, customers and neighbors taking this approach.

ROADBLOCKS:  Tolerating roadblocks can really slow us down – some are big, some are small.  Examples of roadblocks are:

• Using outdated equipment that causes inefficiency;
• A broken lightbulb, making it hard to see in your workspace;
• Lacking technical knowledge on how to get something done but putting off learning it;
• Keeping a bad employee, accountant or attorney that you can’t get the nerve to “fire”;
• An old website which looks like it was designed when Pat Benetar was popular!

Make a list of all of the roadblocks that are keeping you from getting things done, from being efficient or doing the best you can in your life, and then one-by-one, eradicate them!  You will be energized and free for more growth.

So I have to ask you, what have you decided to stop tolerating in your life? Please, share in the comments!

Maria xxoo

(Photo credit:  The Amazing Rebekka Guoleifsdottier)

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“To Visualize is to see what is not there, what is not real – a dream.  To visualize is, in fact, to make visual lies. Visual lies, however, have a way of coming true.”  Peter McWilliams

Visualizing your future helps to make it come true.   It’s a secret that top athletes and entrepreneurs have been using for centuries.

Some would call that little bit of magic “the law of attraction”, but I think it’s more like this:  when you set your intentions, out loud and in writing, your subconcious mind picks it up and believes it and stores it away.

Then, with that intention stored away, whenever something or someone comes your way that can help propel you to the intentions you’ve set, your subconcious recognizes it and sends a bolt through your body. This is what we call “inklings” or “instinct” or “urge.”

Have you ever had a strong urge to call someone or to do something, and you werent’ sure why?  Often we ignore those urges.  Some of us have been ignoring them all of our lives, so much so that we don’t even recognize them anymore.

We should never ignore our urges - an urge is our subconcious telling us that something we’ve been waiting for has arrived.  Here’s the important thing to remember:  usually it arrives looking very different than you imagined or expected.

And that’s where faith comes in.

Some people have a hard time visualizing.  It takes practice.  I’ve been practicing for years and now I’ve gotten good at it.  The thing that helped me the most was doing guided visualization meditations on a daily basis.  Now I can visualize at the drop of a hat.

Today, though, let’s visualize your intentions for this year through a fun little writing exercise.

This will help you visualize how you want your year to end up and what great things you want to make happen for yourself in 2011.

Write a letter to your mom or your best friend or even yourself; someone who cares deeply about you and will be excited when they hear about all the great things that happen to you.

Date it a year from now, and then write it as if the year has gone exactly as you want it to.  What’s surprising is that as you do this, new ideas will pop into your head that you haven’t thought of previously.

Be as specific as possible with as many details as you can.  Keep it positive and only list those things you want to happen.

Avoid stating the negative.  For example:  You want to kick out that bum friend that’s been living in your basement for free for the past eight months.  Your letter would put a positive spin on it like this:  ”Jack found another place to live and we have turned that room into a new office for me!”

One last suggestion:  leave your logic behind!  Go wild – it’s not like everything you write down actually has to happen.

This exercise is designed to get your creative juices flowing on the possibilities that life could have for you.

If you want more help on this exercise, check out Writing a Letter From Your Future Self and The Personal Excellence Blog.

After you’ve written your letter, go to FutureMe.Org and send the letter to your future self.  I just did with the letter below that I wrote to my friend Bridget.  I’ll receive this letter by email in one year.  Most likely, I’ll forget that I ever wrote it….

And then I’ll be surprised that most everything I wrote in the letter came true.  That’s how these things tend to work.

Grab yourself a pen and and have fun with this.  In the comments below, please tell me the top 3 wonderful things that “happened to you” in 2011!

(Below is the future letter I wrote to my best friend Bridget.)

March 1, 2012

Dear Bridget,

I have had the most amazing year!  It brought many great gifts and a few challenges, all of which I’ve grown from.

First, I learned how to deal with adversity through a few things that went wrong.  Like when both of my laptops broke at once – I had to learn the technical end of things.  Now, I’m an expert at dealing with PC problems!

Then, I got my THE PAINT SHOP tv show on the air.  And though it started out slow, only airing to three million people in Southern California, it’s now aired on National television!  I’m getting letters from artists all over the country who are not only inspired by the show, but energized by the idea that they, too, can earn a living doing what they love.

The show has attracted like-minded Sponsors who believe in our message on the show.  They are covering our costs and have enabled us to create top-quality episodes that we are very proud of.  We are being paid now to create this new art form that we’ve developed though tv.

Another great fallout from the tv show is that we’ve finally dispelled the myth of what professional artists do all day.  People are beginning to understand that the business of art is really about connecting with people, doing the work you love, and executing it to your best ability.  The stereotype of the “starving artist” is being thrown out the window!

We have signed on some very large clients this year as well.  We are doing business with one of the top car companies and the oldest camera company in America.  These partnerships have been lucrative for us, and now we are signing escrow papers for our dream house on the beach.

This year I’ve developed powerful skills in public speaking.  I’m finally comfortable on camera, and now it’s fun for me to be filmed!  That was the greatest milestone of all for me.

Drew and I are having a lot of fun creating new things together, and life is just getting more and more exciting.

I can’t wait to see you and hear about how 2011 went for you, too!

Life is Good – your best friend, Maria

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