Whatever You Need to Do, Do It Now!

The Bible says, "Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries".

We always worry about what we will eat tomorrow, what we will drink tomorrow.

So we try to save up for tomorrow instead of using what we have for today.

This is not the only thing we do. We also leave tasks and actions for tomorrow.

How many times did you have an urge to do something now?

And then you'll say to yourself, I will do it tomorrow.

And then you may do it tomorrow or you may never do it, but...

Have you ever considered that even if you do it tomorrow it may be too late?

Have you ever considered that if you had done that thing yesterday it may have had a different impact then it may have tomorrow?

You may get the urge to talk to someone about buying your product today and you may have made a sale. That may have been the time when that person was receptive to your message. When you go tomorrow that person may still listen to you, but he may decline your offer.

The following points will bring this home better.

I don't know about you but sometimes purchasing an item may depend on my mood, even if it's something that I really like. If I don't buy it now, I may never buy it even if I see it again next week.

Here is something interesting that I picked up while watching CNN.

They did a study that focused on the receptiveness of women throughout their monthly cycle. What they found is that a woman may accept or reject a particular man depending on what time of the month he approaches her. She may turn him down now, but if he had approached her two weeks down the line she may have said yes.

If a study was to be done on men, they may find similar patterns.

So as you can see, it is very important that when you feel the urge to do something, you should just do it.

If you had written and send that article or manuscript yesterday when you got the urge, it may have caught the eye of the publisher who was browsing a particular article website.

So even though you're sending it tomorrow, it may be too late as this person is long gone, and may never visit that website again.

That is how we keep on shooting ourselves in the foot and lose our opportunities, and then we say there are no opportunities.

Let me share with you one very powerful secret.

There are hundreds of thousands of opportunities all around you every day. Some see it and grab it and we call them lucky.

Others don't take advantage of it because they either, don't see it or they are not ready to take advantage of it, when it comes.

My definition of luck is this:

"Luck happens when opportunity collides with readiness"

If you're not ready you can never take advantage of opportunities, even if you see it.

Let me give you an example. Let us say, I never went to College even though I had opportunities to do so. However my friend did and has a degree. We may see an advertisement in the paper seeking someone who speaks Spanish and has a degree. Both of us may speak Spanish but only my friend will be ready and may get the job.

Here is another example: Let's say you are at the harbor and a cruise ship arrives and they are looking for people to work on the cruise ship. Both of you can do the job offered but you can't get a job because you don't have a passport; however your friend has a passport and gets a job. You never applied for a passport because you didn't think it may have been necessary to get a job.

So here is my advice.

Whatever you can do or have to do, do it now and do it well. You don't know who is watching or where it may take you.

Visit http://how-to-manifest-your-desires.com now and discover more strategies that will accelerate your spiritual growth. While you're there Download a Free Meditiation Mp3 and Affirmation Course!

STEFAN BUCHER

Stefan G. Bucher --- pronounced SHTE-fawn BOO-ker, the G is silent --- is a Los Angeles-based illustrator, graphic designer and writer.
Most recently he is the creator and driving force of the online illustration and storytelling experiment http://www.dailymonster.com
In March HOW Books published “100 Days of Monsters” a book/DVD time capsule of the first 100 monsters.


http://www.dailymonster.com



When did you first decide to become a graphic designer/ illustrator? Was there a pivotal moment?

There was never a pivotal moment. I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t clear that I’d be an artist. If I wasn’t born pen in hand then I didn’t waste much time after that. I didn’t necessarily set out to become either an illustrator or a graphic designer, or anything else for that matter. I just knew that I loved drawing and that I loved seeing my drawings in print even more. Every decision was based on getting more things printed. Fanzines, high school yearbook, selling ad designs door to door at 15. Next thing I knew I had a career.




Who or what inspires you?

I’m a fan of Ronald Searle, J.J. Sempé, Paul Flora, H.G. Rauch, and Ralph Steadman, of course. I think Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips knows how to have a good time as an artist, as do Ricky Gervais and Ben Folds. Randy Newman and Joe Jackson do, too, but Joe, in particular, seems cranky and I don’t need a role model for that. Also, it goes without saying that Bill Waterston and Matt Groening are gods.





Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?

When I was growing up my dad volunteered at the Wilhelm Busch Museum for Caricature and Critical Graphics in Hannover, Germany, so I went to a lot of exhibits and always had catalogs around. That was the foundation. He’s an accountant and doesn’t draw, but one day he made a big X and a small x on a piece of paper and connected the corresponding end points --- voila! --- perspective drawing. I’m still dealing with that moment today.

Much later I got a degree at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, which didn’t hurt, either.




How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?

I love seeing what everybody else is doing, and it obviously influences my work, but I never set out to keep up with a trend. I just do what comes into my head. I’m not very strategic.




What are some of your current projects?

We’ll see where the monsters will go. That’s obviously the big project of the moment. I have a few other books in the works, as well --- some as designer, some as author or editor. None of it’s ready for prime time yet, but keep an eye out, please. I’m also continuing my designs for the Echo Park Time Travel Mart. I design and illustrate all their products, and take care of all the store graphics, so that’s a fun gig that’s ongoing.




Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?

I’m most proud of the monsters, of course. It’s nice to see that something so personal and odd turns out to be so universal. I’ve never worked harder on anything or had more fun.




Are there any areas, techniques, mediums or projects in your field that you have yet to try?

I’m somehow completely afraid of painting. I’m so used to the control of pen and ink that Paint on canvas seems incredibly intimidating. I grew up looking at warts and all original drawings at the museum, so that seemed much more attainable. Now I get to see a lot of amazing contemporary paintings up close through my work with the art gallery L.A. Louver, and I’m starting to see how that might work. I think large format work is going to be next on my list.





Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?

Do what’s fun and don’t worry about it. Worry just slows you down --- it does me --- and it never really leads to your best work.




What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?

A successful piece gets the point across, but it’s not right until it’s also surprising in some way, and beautifully executed on top of that.




What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?

Motivation isn’t much of a problem anymore. There’s too much work on my desk to worry about motivation. Burn-out gets to be problematic every few years, but then some external factor usually comes into play that forces me to take a little time off. Usually that external factor is complete physical exhaustion and a nervous breakdown, but hell... that’s the cost of doing business. It would be nice to slow down a little bit every now and again, but then the ideas have to get out of my head and onto the page to be real. I can always rest when the ideas run out.




Finish this sentence. "If I weren't a designer/illustrator I would have been a..."

If I weren't a designer/illustrator I would have been a melancholy and slightly disheveled person wandering the streets, arranging leaves in perfect circles. Wait, then I’d be Andy Goldsworthy and I think he’s a genius, so I don’t want to put myself anywhere near that. I hope that I’d have learned to play piano, but maybe I’d be running an office-supply store. I love office supplies.




And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?

Gotta go with Battlestar Galactica. Or John Adams --- which is very much like Battlestar Galactica, except with muskets, wigs, and Laura Linney.

How To Become A Winner!

Love him or hate him, but you cannot ignore him, much less deny that he is a winner. From Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe to Hollywood blockbuster movie hero to governor of California, Arnold Swarzenegger has confounded his critics and his detractors.

Even when the allegations of sexual impropriety came, as they always seem to do in politics, he didn't slow down. He admitted it and kept going.

He didn't allow this or any other thing to distract him. He kept focussing on the task at hand, which was to become the governor of California.

How many times were you focussed on something, when somebody came with an allegation or revealed something you may or may not have done in the past. And when that thing came it blew you off-course and cause you to lose your momentum.

On your journey to success there will always be distractions. There will always be critics and detractors, but you cannot allow them to derail your plans and lose your focus because of them.

When these things come, don't try and run from them. Confront them and deal with them like Arnold did. If it's true admit it and move on, don't try and deny it, because it won't stop.

I don't know if you noticed, but while his opponents and the media were specualting about the impact of the allegations on his campaign, Arnold ws already celebrating. As far as he was concerned, he was already the governor of California.

There are all kinds of analysts and political commentators who are speculating about why Arnold won. The explanations are endless and range from his celebrity status to his wealth.

I don't know about any of that. What I know is that Arnold Swarzenegger knows how to win.

He has proven it many times before. Long before he saw the bright lights of Hollywood, he set his sights on became a champion bodybuilder, and even the Austrian winter could not distract him as he trained outside in near freezing temperatures.

Arnold Swarzenegger knows that success starts as a state of mind and that what you observe with your eyes physically is not reality, but a mere manifestation of the reality you have already created in your mind.

When he appeared at Mr. Olympia Arnold walked like a champion long before he was crowned. He seized the moment.

While the other contestants were thinking about the judges and what they should do to impress the judges, Arnold already had visions of the judges declaring him as the winner.

After becoming Mr. Olympia, Arnold Swarzenegger set his sights on conquering Hollywood. Again there were detractors who were giving him many reasons why he will not succeed, one of which was that his heavy Austrian accent would be a stumbling block. As we all know today, it wasn't. He made it in spite of his accent.

The lesson in all of this is. Don't let anyone tell you you can do this or you cannot do that. Learn form Arnold Swarzenegger, whether you like him or agree with his views or not.

See how he has seized the most important moments in his life and seize the moment for yourself, no matter what your goals are.

Stop listening to the speculation of the media and gain the attitude of a winner, and you will soon start to win as Arnold Swarzenegger has done his whole life, often against the odds.

Visit http://how-to-manifest-your-desires.com now and discover more strategies that will accelerate your spiritual growth. While you're there Download a Free Meditiation Mp3 and Affirmation Course!

Sunday 11th - Stephen's Green

What a beautiful day, the park was teeming with people and full of life. Of course, I didn't notice that I was getting nicely toasted by the sun as I sat sketching! Just did the one sketch, used two different settings on my camera so have uploaded them both. Enjoyed the time yesterday, although I do get fidgety half way through the sketches. Started this one on the right hand side of the page, and half considered finishing it down the centre. Really glad I continued now!