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What I want it to be is a more self directed approach. Something that I do, not because I like the idea of doing it, or because it fits some bigger picture, but because I want to do it. Writing is a process, it’s very zen like in the fact that simply writing enables you to do many other things- write about your emotions, understand your feeling, feel some catharsis, or let out all of that pent up anger/love/happiness/sadness.  Some people even make money from it.

I get this same feeling at work, where I want to do so many things, and get excited about what things can or might be, but then it’s hard to sustain that emotion. Not feeling that emotion isn’t an option- it’s hard to get up for things you don’t feel strongly about. So what can I do to get over that hump? How can I stop thinking about the grandeur of everything and just do it. Just embrace the process and not the goal- it’s very difficult for a person like me, who defines goals and attributes success and failure to meeting or missing them.

The problem is when I think about it in terms of failing or succeeding, you’re no longer writing words or what you’re thinking, but every word is a step towards success or failure. And when the stakes are that high, it’s much easier to not do them and avoid the entire judgment of the process, even if that’s all coming from self criticism (the harshest kind).

Le sigh, I’ll keep thinking about it and get back to you (me).

Pretty simple and quick drawing of a cartoon dragon I did for Stef. It’s kind of an inside joke between us, the dragons and the unicorns. Anyways, this is today’s creation, and we’ll see what I can put up tomorrow.

I’m trying to be more creative, either something that I value or simply for creativity’s sake. Here is the first of many “creations” I plan on making.

And i’m giving up soda and a crappy diet.

1. Pizza Hut is missing out on an amazing opportunity. Currently they pay drivers to make small, local trips. rarely a high way in use. What other market has people making local drives, and fear of highways? New Drivers. Pizza hut driving school would allow for cheap labor (free) while providing a useful service to the rest of the community. I like the idea of the pizza guy giving my pizza and being so happy he made it here alive he cannot complain about the minuscule tip i am about to give him. Let’s make this work, people.

2. This one has legs. And more importantly, blatant and vicious honesty. It’s essentially a phone bank where people can call in and leave a message and a number for the operators to call. We then call that number and give them the message. Sure it could be used as a go-between for drug deals and other scams, but it can also b used to say things that people are afraid to say. With the advent of the internet, people everywhere have become used to passive communication. No longer can one tell a friend he has bad breath or body odor. Or even break up with a person without a text message. This way, people can have an intermediary give the bad news and remain completely anonymous.

Yes this could be  used against certain people, if someone calls in for you and tells the operator to confess to cheating on a wife, for example, that would suck. But i’m thinking of the money making possibilities. Make these people call in and listen to advertisements before getting the news. Have it tailored to their issue… can’t last in bed? How about viagra or some numbing lotion. Bad breath? Listerine would love this target demographic.

Like I said, this idea has legs… I say we run with it.

1. There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
2. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
3. There is no editing stage.
4. Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t and do it.
5. Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
6. The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
7. Once you’re done you can throw it away.
8. Laugh at perfection. It’s boring and keeps you from being done.
9. People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
10. Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
11. Destruction is a variant of done.
12. If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
13. Done is the engine of more

The past few days have been a lot of fun, and it’s something that i really needed. I went through some rough times recently, as evidenced by my recent posts. Maybe i was a bit dramatic about it all, but some talks with a few friends of mine made a huge difference.

I asked a friend of mine what makes her happy. Her response was fairly honest, and it was spiritual in nature, but the way i asked the question made the conversation more itneresting and more revealing to me. I asked her what made her happy in a solitary way, that friends and family were a given, but what did she do that made her happy on her own. After she responded, i was telling her how i wasn’t very happy lately, and that i wasn’t sure what that meant for me or for anyone around me. I felt as if I was getting hapiness from my group of friends, but i wasn’t bringing anything to the table.

She was quick to point out that I’ve been myself lately, and that our friends have really enjoyed it. But most importantly she mentioned that she’s thankful for our friends and her family, and that it’s not a “given” as i so callously put it. This is about the time that I was struck by how awesome my friends are. It’s like those stories in which a group of people go looking for treasure, and the real treasure they found were the memories they were creating. Cliche shit like that, that’s about how obvious my revelation was, but you need it from time to time.

Quick note, I think those Nutrisystem meal programs which are advertised on ESPN now use the pot roast line as a joke. Mike Golic can’t possibly be that excited about pot roast. In fact, I think it’s the most forgettable meal in the history of meals.. what the hell?

Along the commercial lines, the Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich commercial showing a man throughout his life enjoying the sandwich goes about one decade too far. There was absolutely no reason to make him bald at the end there, i’m not sure if he’s normally bald, or if they did that specifically for the age effect, but it’s ridiculous.

And I cannot get enough of Rise Against right now. Obviously the title is there, referencing Audience of One, but I think they have about 6-7 songs on my favorite list, a list which i can listen to everysong on it and not be tired of it. Ok, maybe there is one by Audioslave that i’m getting tired of, but it’s still good.