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The #Trust30 Day Challenge [Day 11]

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Imitation is Suicide. Insist on yourself; never imitate. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down in which areas of your life you have to overcome these suicidal tendencies of imitation, and how you can transform them into a newborn you – one that doesn’t hide its uniqueness, but thrives on it. There is a “divine idea which each of us represents” – which is yours?

(Author: Fabian Kruse)

For the record, this is the most difficult post yet. It’s taken 4 days to let it simmer because the topic hits close to home.

I’ve been in situations where I’ve been highly encouraged to imitate others in order to reach my dream. I’ve been asked to create content based on what’s been done in the past, mainly to fall in line under existing categorical expectations.

I’ve felt pressured to move to “cool” neighborhoods and have occasionally felt ridiculed for pursuing personal passions like fitness, veganism, or nerdier quests in my career. Even petty things like wearing high heels when I’m already pretty tall.

Although I have a heightened (ha) awareness of it,  I never really cared much about being judged. And I never let it affect my decision-making process.

Yet for some reason in my work, I could never trust myself enough to be unique. I thought that I needed to do what everyone else was doing in order to be any good. What I didn’t know is that the “good” comes over time with originality, practice, and purpose.

Read More »The #Trust30 Day Challenge [Day 11]

From the Archive – Designing the Web

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old business card design, circa 1999

old business card design, circa 1999

When I was 19, I traveled to Paris for my second college internship (the first was as a photographers assistant in Cleveland. Not as glamorous as Paris, but I still learned a lot.)

For three months, I worked in the art department learning how to design websites while attempting to improve my French.

Over Memorial Day weekend I spent time going through some old files, and discovered these design mock-ups I had made.

It’s amazing that these were done 10 years ago. Check out the browser!

Most of the time, the designers were given a website to create from scratch. They’d fill me in on the specs, give me logos and other assets, then set me loose to create my own interpretation.

Read More »From the Archive – Designing the Web

The #Trust30 Day Challenge – Day 7

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“Next to Resistance, rational thought is the artist or entrepreneurs worst enemy. Bad things happen when we employ rational thought, because rational thought comes from the ego. Instead, we want to work from the Self, that is, from instinct and intuition, from the unconscious.

A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. Its only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.” – Steven Pressfield, Do the Work

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#Trust30 Day Challenge – Day 6

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Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you had one week left to live, would you still be doing what you’re doing now? In what areas of your life are you preparing to live? Take them off your To Do list and add them to a To Stop list. Resolve to only do what makes you come alive.

Bonus: How can your goals improve the present and not keep you in a perpetual “always something better” spiral?

(Author: Jonathan Mead)

If I had one week left to live, I’d continue to write, do interviews, and share music. Except I’d do it harder. I’d gather more content. I’d try for a video segment of my show instead of audio. And I’d write long and hard, thinking about what I can best articulate about my experiences here on Planet Earth to share with others after I’m gone.

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The #Trust30 Challenge – Day 3

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Prompt: The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it?

(Author: Buster Benson)

I know that I’m a very passionate person and can occasionally have a powerful idea or two. I often get tripped up on the action side because I become concerned by logistics. “How will I keep a decent roof over my head if I pursue my passions?” “Los Angeles is expensive. How will I get by? Maybe I should move.”

As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned to let go of fear and work on my passions on the side. I do it humbly and without fear of failure or expectation of reward. Sure it’s safe and not as immersive as I’d like it to be, but it allows me to provide for myself. It also provides a kind of sense of purpose, identity, and possible opportunity for making a stronger contribution to society down the road. As opposed to just falling in line.

One very strong belief I’ve always had is believing in the possibilities. I retain a unwavering, blissful, and perhaps ignorant view that one can live beyond their wildest dreams by being open to the possibilities.

Read More »The #Trust30 Challenge – Day 3

Other Lives – Tamer Animals

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This post is syndicated from Indie Shuffle.

What’s so good?

Whether you’re a serious music aficionado or someone simply workin’ the biz, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by all the great new material out there. And with the amount of great stuff coming at us from seemingly every angle, it becomes difficult to tune in to everything that piques our interest — let alone find time to connect with that one great album.

That personal connection is at the root of what makes music great. Somehow, we need to get back to that crazy-good feeling of wanderlust. You know, the emotional part of the music experience that’s all about getting lost and descending deep within those arresting waves of sound.

Read More »Other Lives – Tamer Animals