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Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to do nothing. On Saturday I got up after the sun and went where the wind took me. Sunday, after church, I spent the afternoon watching Alias with my girlfriend. I really enjoy that time of relaxation because it gives me time where I can give the world a rest and not expect everything to happen right now.

Yesterday I went to art group. A couple of friends and I hire a model to sit for us and spend a couple hours drawing. I enjoy it so much, because it is in line with my passion to become a working artist.

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I got a chance to listen to Steve Pavlina’s new podcast on “creative self expression“. He is a guy putting himself out there. I admire his ability to post novels on his blog and then make these very informative podcast.

This latest one is right in my area of interest but I don’t have to add anything to what he said…. for tonight. I’m still thinking about what he said.

“Your own creativity is the very mechanism by which you’ll achieve everything else you could possibly want.”

Check out the audio during your lunch break.

Have you ever been frustrated by the amount of time it is going to take between now and the time where you can cross a goal off your list? You might have heard this before, but, the time required to accomplish your goals is going to pass whether you are working towards your goals or not.

As a side note if you don’t have a list you should definitely make one.

You might say “Well, I would have to go back to school to do what I want to do.” or “I’m too old now to do what I want to do” I would ask you why you are making excuses to not follow your dreams.

But, I also want to share this with you…

“If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four hours sharpening the axe”. ~Abraham Lincoln

By studying about what you want to do, you aren’t losing time on doing what you want to do. If you want to be a writer, study writing. If you want to be a web designer, study coding and design. If you want to be an artist, study art. Find the masters and make exact copies of what they did. Will you be able to show this work to anyone? No. But, you will be able to make something new from what you have learned.

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Welcome to “Saturday Morning Feats of Excellence”. It’s just for fun. I won’t promise the latest viral videos in this segment, but I will promise it’s still excellent.

Today’s video is “Daft Hands” by FrEckleStudios

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“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” ~Seneca

I was on the phone with my girlfriend this morning and she reminded me that every day is a new day. She was right. Everyday is a gift we get to unwrap and make at the same time. I hope you haven’t come to seeing each day as just another thing to get through… waiting for the weekend. In this life we aren’t promised the weekend. Each day when we wake up we are just promised today. No more than that and no less.

Yesterday is given much more weight than it deserves. We all have our pasts. They may have been full of great experiences or bad experiences or a mix of both.You can use that past as an excuse or as a crutch or you can use it as a jumping off point. At the very least you can say, I have been that low so it’s nowhere but up from here. And do your best.

Tomorrow is fiction until it happens. The future is useful only for when it motivates you to make tomorrow better than today. It is good for planning, but it is not a place to put your actions.

Today is the only day we can take an action.

I read an excellent book on this subject called “The Present“. It has a very simple
premise based on living in the present moment. It’s a very short
and simple book. It’s definitely worth picking up.

Ah, I see you are getting a head start on the assignment I gave you. You weren’t supposed to read this until tomorrow! But since you are so eager, you might be the one person who doesn’t need to read this at all. But, just in case, I will continue.

There are many times I have heard “I will pursue that goal when…” . After that “when”, you can insert a million different things.

…when I graduate
…when I have my bills paid off
…when things settle down
…when I get married
…when the kids are grown
…when I retire

I am sure you could think of one you could say right now. The problem with any of these statements is that we are being naive in thinking that someday will be better than today. There will always be things to keep us busy, or at least keeping us thinking that now is not a good time to pursue our dreams. Read the rest of this entry »