You're Not Trying Hard Enough

There was a point in my life, as everyone knows by now, that I wanted nothing more than to just leave my boring full time sit-in-a-dark-corner-and scan-endless-documents-all-day, job. It was sucking the life from me, and my design business was like a seedling that had just begun to sprout...but realized it was under one of those ugly lawn gnome statues you find in the home and garden section of KMart for wayyyy more than anyone should pay for something so unsightly.

Don't get stuck under this guy.......

In other words, I was stifled. Limited in what I could do given the current situation. I had to find a way to bend and get into the sun, or I would never grow.

One of the biggest hold backs, was the notion that people would probably think I was silly. Family, friends, complete strangers, anyone I who asked "So what do you do?" You're supposed to have stable employment. You're supposed to work a 9-5. You're supposed to not really like it. And you're supposed to DEAL with it and shut up dammit. That's what being an adult is! Liking what you do is for those far far away people you read about on some CNN feature, or Instagram, or blog.....ooops :P.
There is NEVER going to be a "right time" to do anything in life. You will feel when its often going to happen though. I knew it was going to happen. Change was in the air. I spent many nights in frustration and tears about HOW change was going to happen.

One of those nights I was talking to a friend about my frustrations, and all the reasons (excuses) as to why I shouldn't get out of that job and even get something part time at night for a while as I transitioned. In the midst of my excusefest and pity party, he said five words that I STILL repeat to myself almost daily, and I have since he said them: "You're not trying hard enough".

Why those stuck with me, was because those words were so.......true. I had every reason in the book as to why I wasn't doing what my soul wanted. Why the hell COULDN'T I go for what I wanted? Was I indeed NOT trying hard enough? Was there more I could do? Well, yeah. Shut up and apply for part time jobs and sneak into the bathroom at the full time gig, risk being sworn and shouted at, and lie about being sick and go on interviews. And you know what? That's exactly what I finally did. And it worked. Within a week of trying hard enough, I had another part time job that would give me the time I wanted to work on my biz. All I had to do was stop with the excuses, EMBRACE THE RAGING DISCOMFORT and try. I know I made it sound pretty simple. But.... maybe it is. Here's the main reasons I found and still find, that I'm not trying  hard enough when I want something, be it business, fitness, or life, and they might be the same reasons as you.....

1) It's Too Hard

Yeah, as simple as that. Getting more than what you already have in life, requires hard work. Like actual work. We don't often even know what that is in today's environment. In many cases, you're born, your parents enroll you in mandatory public school, and you then go to some kind of college because that's what you're supposed to do, and parents go broke and you go broke, and everybody goes crazy making sure its going to happen. It's ok to sink into debt, its your education! If you don't go that route (because that route simply is NOT for everyone!) then maybe you end up working at Arby's and people tell you you failed, so you believe that too, and you accept that, and you...don't try any harder. Or say you do graduate college, and you get your big job, and all you have to do in some cases, is, show up for the set hours, and do what they tell you, and you take home a paper with some amount of money on it each week and life goes on. You get that money whether you took 304 bathroom selfies, or crunched numbers for that  8 hour day. It just IS. Simply for being. It's taken for granted.

If you want to start a business, or if you want to move up to a valuable position where you currently work, or work somewhere else (because self employment isn't for everyone either, and I'm not saying it is) you may have to TRY HARDER. You may have to stay later, you may have to do the things you don't always want to, leave your phone in the car, talk to your boss even though he might get really really mad, or ultimately, you may have to look for other jobs in the bathroom and lie to go on interviews to get the hell out, and change your pants for them in your car in the commuter lot on the side of I-84.

You may have to do whatever the hell it takes because this is your one life. It's going to be uncomfortable. You won't like it. You'll cry and stay up thinking and panic and wonder and it would be easier to ignore it all and just keep on doing the same things. And you know what, most people do.

2) You're Too Worried About What Other People Will Say

One of the biggest stoppers of me just getting out of that job sooner, was wondering what other people would say when I did it. When people ask what you do, you're supposed to tell them that you work at XYZ and you do this there, and its OK, and that's that. I didn't want to tell people I was self employed or left my job, or I'm trying to be a designer. The looks they would give were ones of worry and fear almost like "Oh jeez, look for Tamara on the street corner when this fails soon......what is she, NUTS, she'll never get anywhere doing that, good thing I have a job, she must be seriously lazy!" And you know what, I still get those looks when I tell people what I do. I just don't care anymore and I don't let them stop me.  Because maybe I am crazy, I KNOW I'll fail at some things here and this will be hard. I do FAR MORE WORK NOW than I ever did at a company. Because I have to! I don't work, I DON'T have a preset amount of money coming to me. You better hustle. And that little bit of "fear" is what keeps me motivated. This is my life. Not my parents, not my friends, not some strangers. I have great support in my life. I have lots of savings. I wasn't downright stupid. But I don't care anymore about "the look" when I tell people what I do or that I quit. I just smile. Because thier opinions ultimatly don't matter in my life! Fancy that!

3) You Didn't Plan for Anything

The last reason you're not trying hard enough? You didn't plan on making serious long term changes to your life in the first place. If you want to make a change and you know it, start NOW. Maybe its not time to start looking for new jobs yet because you make a lot where you are. And you owe a lot. You bought a new house. A new car. You're having a baby. You have a serious addiction to crap you don't need. You think savings accounts are for rich people, or something. Welllllll you're really not trying hard enough then. It's time to go without. To cut the junk thats weighing you down. Think about the bigger picture of your life! You work at Arby's and you want to instead go back to school for nursing buttt you cant afford it with the 490594 bills you have. How bad do you want it? Bad enough to go without cable? Bad enough to ditch that fancy car and get something used? Bad enough to stop buying new clothes you'll never wear? 14 Venti lattes a week? Bad enough to stop by your local bank and see what this savings stuff is? You get my point. I didn't make much at that steady job. It wasn't even $30000 a year. I'll tell you that right now. But I saved nearly everything in that 6 yrs of working there. I don't own a TV. I almost never buy new clothes. I bought my car in cash. I share rent with someone. I don't subscribe to endless crap that sends a little bill in the mail every month. I have a prepaid smartphone. I buy food, gas and insurance and that's seriously IT. And you think I probably have no fun and I hate my life. I actually love my life. Love it. Love it so much. Because that stuff isn't the key to a happy existance. And I have a nice savings account and various other investments as well. I used Wikipedia to learn about some of them. My family and the bank taught me the rest. It was hard and no fun. But I knew I'd have to try if I wanted to see anything come of it.

I don't know your circumstances. These were just mine. I know I am lucky. You maybe have kids, or dependents, or something else that requires you to spend. Keyword: REQUIRES. Whatever your circumstances, I'm sure there is SOMETHING that you could do without. And you can ALWAYS do research to learn how to better yourself! Get on job boards, look for grants to get into schools, work with the situation you have. You can ALWAYS MAKE IT BETTER ALWAYS! Even I can today. There is SO MUCH I can do to grow my business. I'm STILL not trying hard enough. You aren't either. That said....time to wrap this up! Lots to do! Get to it!

Remember, you can always learn more about me and what I do at www.tamaramorrisongraphics.com. I promise I'll try hard enough on your projects ;)

Travlin' Tam, Fancy Hotels, and Why YOU Need a Graphic Designer!

Happy Saturday everyone! Time for a little update from TMG and some more insight into what I do and why design is really so crucial!

Life isn't bad here....TMG  was based in the Sunshine State this past week. That's the cool thing about working for yourself....in some cases you can take your work with you. The other half had a business trip to Orlando, all expenses paid, staying at the Waldorf Astoria, sooooo why not?! I packed up the laptop and off we went. I found a nice place to set up office, and pretty much did what I'd do from CT, calls, emails, design work! Pretty sweet!

My Office Last Week!

And let me tell you, this hotel was something else. It was for the fancy schmancy rich. As is they open your car doors for you and there's lemon water and cucumber water in the water coolers. I was in for a shock one night when I came back to the room and there was jazz music on the TV, slippers laid out in front of the bed, chocolates on the pillow and the lights turned on and dimmed. Now I'm just a little carefree gym rat. I don't really own more than one dress, I walk around with my cell phone jammed in my sports bra half the time, and its not unusual to see me with my tongue in a Tupperware licking the last bits of Meal 3 out. So the whole thing weirded me out. I don't think I'd want "star treatment" even if I was a billionaire. I'd rather just be left to my own wonderfully sloppy devices. Although the luggage carrying service was great. I might be able to dead lift over 225 lbs for a few reps, but something about carrying luggage...I HATE IT. If they could just invent a motorized suitcase, I'd be all over that.

It was definitely a little piece of "the dream" to be able to work under the palm trees. But that doesn't mean its all fun and games, I had a lot to do! Running the biz is a lot more than just design! But a lot of people wonder, why is design important in the first place? Why even bother hiring a designer? I mean, most people have Publisher. Isn't that just as good? Well.....no. Not quite.

Say you have this crazy dream like mine. You wanna be your own boss, and you want to do it in real estate. You're all licenced up, you're set to go. I don't know much about real estate, but I do know that people dream of starting and running real estate companies. So you might be one of them, you're starting up. If you're like me, you aren't made of money. And start up gets pricey. You have legal mumbo jumbo, probably a building, office equipment to buy. You're going crazy putting all the "important stuff" together to start up. Then you realize you probably should have some kind of logo. But that's easy, who cares, you can do that later, you have Publisher.

Later comes pretty freaking soon, and you crack open Publisher. Your last name is Swan. You'll call your venture "Swan Real Estate". You bang out a logo. Good enough. You have so much else to do still!

Here's what you come up with: (NOTE!: These are REAL LOGOS that I pulled off  of Google by looking up "swan real estate". I didn't alter anything, and I DID NOT CREATE EITHER OF THESE EXAMPLES! These are real world examples!)

Hmmmm. How does that look? It's pretty simple. Self explanatory. Anddd totally obviously done in Publisher! Now this example seems pretty extreme, most logos aren't THIS bad.....but we can all think of some that ARE, seriously. This logo kind of says, you rushed. You didn't want to invest any of your start up capital into logo design, it wasn't really top priority. It looks thrown together. It looks hurried. It looks careless. It looks elementary. I could go on and on. Simply put, it looks bad. And you know what? Its the first thing people are going to see when they "meet" your business.

We all judge. Instantly. "Oh that lady is a lazy slob because her hair is frizzy and her pants are wrinkled." "Oh that man must be a real stuck up ahole, hes standing there in dockers and a cardigan sweater with a side part in his hair." "Oh that guy/girl is on steroids, he has muscles" (a personal fave ;) )

We all do it. Let's just not even try to deny it. Its the same thing with  your new business. All those things I said above about this logo? Hurried, rushed, cheap, careless, elementary. THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE SAYING ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS. I don't care if you are the best businessperson on earth. I don't care if your plan is perfect. Your office spotless. You have every licence under the sun. I don't respect you. I don't respect you, because your logo sucks. Its like those judgements. It doesn't matter if slob lady is a millionaire and the nicest person you ever met. Looking at her, because she presents herself poorly, you assume shes about as lazy and smart as a log. Is it right? No. But it's true.

Now lets say, you understood all that already. You understood that your new business was going to need a seriously awesome logo. You know that it's the face of your organization, its going to speak to thousands of people for you before you ever open your mouth with any kind of pitch. You know people are judging EVERYTHING YOU DO based on that one logo. My gosh, it's even more important than having an office.

Because  you see that creating your public persona comes first, you invest in a designer. You leave Publisher closed. You know that this logo will go on everything you do. FOR YEARS. Even if you change it, this one will always be out there. People will remember it and associate it with you. They forgot your name in three seconds.....but that logo, they see it every time they pass your building or see your ads or someone wearing it. And it sticks. We are visual creatures. Everyone knows swoosh means Nike. Everyone knows that dinky yellow flower thing means Wal-Mart.

So anyhow, you pay a graphic designer to create a logo for you. After a few rounds of revisions, you end up with this: (AGAIN pulled off Google when looking up simply "swan real estate" as a fun experiment!)

When I see this one, it doesn't take long for me to notice that this one wasn't whipped up in ten minutes. Thought went into it. And I KNOW hours and hours of thought went into your new business. This one isn't overly crazy or busy, but its clean. It's got a couple catch phrases to show what you do, and make you stand out from the 4950 other companies like yours. Its got a sophisticated aire to it, just like the image you want to project for your company. You can pull the catchphrases out for a simpler look for some publications if you want to. It has options. It looks professional.

Now YOU look professional. So what if I walk into your office, and theres papers everywhere, a day old ham sandwich between files with mayo adhering your invoices together. So what if you don't even HAVE your real estate licence?! (Please don't be that stupid......!) Point is, your logo speaks to me before I know whats underneath. And it's telling me you put time and a little coin into it. You made an investment. You care. You think things out. You're professional. You will do all those things for me, if I become your client. I go with you. I trust you. Yup. TRUST. That's the main point here is to build that impression, build that trust.

It's so easy to get so lost in what you think is important when you start (or even continue!) your business. It probably IS all important stuff. But you hate to be judged for your look, your clothes, your "impression". I know you do. I do. So why let your business be judged poorly for its logo? Your logo is your business or organization's "clothes". Dress up!!

It's like the fancy Waldorf Astoria. Their cucumber water and fake smiley people are trying to impress me. And it does. Granted, its over the top. Maybe a nice Hilton would hit me just right. But let me tell you, Joe's Motel with the front gutter hanging upside down and rust stains and peeling paint isn't going to give me a lot of confidence that I can sleep there in comfort......Or without catching crabs.

So, as a designer, that's what I do. I make Joe's Motel a place you want to stay. Because even if he hasn't washed the bedsheets since Clinton was in office and the only cucumbers on the property are in the form of Vlasic jarred pickles, hes gonna have a damn good logo on the front of that thing. And that just might be enough to make you check on in, and fork over some green for a 48 year old mattress and a couple stray crabs.

If you want to revamp YOUR existing logo, (weather you made it in Publisher or worse....Paint!) I'm always available to help! Visit me at www.tamaramorrisongraphics.com or email me at tamaramorrisongraphics@gmail.com for a free consult!!

Hanging up the Real Pants.....Big Changes for TMGraphics!!

So one day, perusing quotes online (because I'm seriously the type of weirdo that does that...no seriously!) I came across some quote by this man, Paulo Coelho, and ever since then, I've been kind of obsessed. I'm pretty sure every thought this guy has is genius. And no, I haven't read any of his books yet, its bad but I only read books once a year....on long flights. Better get booking one then, right?

Anyways, Tamara Morrison Graphics is now my full time job. As of last week. As in I don't work for anybody else right now, and I am going to do whatever I gotta do to keep it that way. And reading enough quotes by this guy, reassures me that I'm NOT entirely crazy.

Sometimes I still wonder if I'm crazy. You might too. You probably work somewhere, in a building, with set hours and fluorescent lights and rules about cellphone use and what time is appropriate to call your doctor and schedule your yearly colonoscopy. And you probably need to wear pants. Dammit, now that's the hardest part right there.

Now this isn't some fluffy dream story about following your passion and quitting your damn corporate job to knit blankets out of alpaca wool in the desert while riding on the backs of pink unicorns while money flies of out their asses and into your bank account. AIN'T GON HAPPEN. Sorry.

I've been planning to be a designer since.....well since forever. I went to school for it. My dad has been telling me I'd someday have my own design business since I was 16. I thought that was absurd. Who would want to sit at home all day with no friends and no shiny desk and no pants. What kind of life was THAT going to be??? So I insisted I get an office job, so that I might become important. I stopped designing. I didn't even open Illustrator or Photoshop for a couple years. Because I was super important. I pulled staples, and scanned files, and picked up phones with a fake cheery voice. But for someone who was and always will be creative, it got intolerable. Fast. I realized it would not, and could not go beyond this for me. I didn't go to school for anything fancy. I wasn't going to go applying for $50000 a year jobs and getting them.....or if I did...liking them. Same office, bigger nameplate. It wasn't for me.

Somewhere in there, I DID start my design business, but it was small and rough going, when you miss every client call because....well cellphone use is monitored. Email is blocked. You can't meet anyone because you're wasting away on Facebook mobile sneakily in the corner, heart racing every time the bosses go by. So step one happened. I left. I left what most people would consider "stable". It wasn't a lot of money, but it was THERE unless the corporate headquarters burned, every week. No matter if I sat on Facebook or invented a machine that regenerated brain tissue. Same amount. Always.

I left for a shakier bridge, but a bridge nonetheless. It had less hours, and more flexibility. And Tamara Morrison Graphics grew. I should say, it STARTED. With more time, and the bulk of it being during the day, I could call people, meet people, email people!! The difference was very clear. And for a while, it worked. Dream life by day, drone by night. Then the night got well, darker. Usual dramatics ensued that always occur in a place where people work daily for money and not much else. Rules tightened, for reasons which I could not logically see. At the same time, there was nothing to do. I perused Facebook and Instagram and watched the clock mercilessly. I snuck in client emails. I got caught. I snuck in client phone calls......andddd parking lot meetings. I didn't get caught. But I felt like a drug dealer at a couple of those sneak meetings!

Now I believe strongly, that life and guts show us the way long before logic does. Most people don't listen. Most people accept things, or create the opposite of what would get them the life they desire, whether its by choice or subconsciously.

One lovely day I realized, my current employment situation was NOT going to work, for reasons we don't need to get into. But I knew I had to jump ship.... before it sunk. So I saw another ship floating past and I jumped. That ship looked rickety at best, but I ignored that. Even though I knew that one too, would sink. I got another mediocre job.

This one proved to be an even greater lie and inconvenience. The hours were nothing like what I was told they would be, and would have put me back at square one ( below it actually, less money!), with no time to meet clients, take calls, or emails. I had a client meeting that following day for an awesome opportunity....that I would have to cancel. AGAIN. For a near minimum wage (yup that low) job. Because they couldn't tell me my hours until mere moments before I had to work them, via text message, despite asking countless times. So that was it. Every fiber in my body calmly told me to just let it go. Leave, go be a freaking graphic designer. Equally mediocre jobs will always be there if needed. Go to that meeting. Get that job.Win that client. I was dying to put my entire self into making this happen. So I typed an email to the captain of that rickety ship saying I would not be in the next day. My best friend of 8 years and biggest supporter Kevin hit send FOR me when I hesitated. It was a done deal. I was living my dream starting 6 AM tomorrow. I went to my meeting, and I got my client.

It has been not even two weeks. I've never worked so hard in my life. I don't look at the clock. I don't go on Facebook. I don't need to. I am 100% fully absorbed in what I am doing. I think its called passion, and hustle.

I saved a lot of money in the six years I spent at home working full time in an office. I don't have kids. I have the best living partner and family in the world. I am SO LUCKY. I know everyone doesn't have the same opportunities. Believe me, I know. And I know this isn't going to be easy. I am scared. I am nervous. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't.

But if you want something, you will do whatever it takes and you won't think twice. You won't complain. I work weekends now. I work nights. Both of which I hated with passion and still would at any job. I work every second that I'm not in the gym, my other raging passion, but that's for another post. But what is work? I mean this is all I want to do. I don't want to watch TV. I don't want to go to the bar every night. I want to go to Florida and lay under a palm tree, and design. And next week, that's exactly what I'm going to do.

I don't know you. I don't know your dreams or your circumstances. I don't know if the reason you aren't doing what you really want is valid. (Or maybe you ARE, in that case, awesome!! ) But you, inside, you know. ANYONE can get somewhere better. Realize it won't be perfect, it won't be easy and it might be stupid in other people's eyes at first. But who cares. This life is yours. Start planning. Do ONE LITTLE BITTY THING every single damn day. Fill out that application. Call that client, hang up that ad, get off your thrown built of excuses. You're not trying hard enough. I have by noooo means "made it". But I have never tried so hard for ANYTHING before.

A client put it well to me last week as we talked about our mutual passions, fitness and business. She said after a great lifting workout, you don't SEE anything, no change right then. But there are thousands of microscopic tears in your muscles. Eventually, those muscles rebuild. Again and again. And then you start to see the changes from your efforts. You start to see growth. That's why going to the gym once won't do a damn thing. But going every day even when you are sure its hopeless, and progress HAS to happen.

And it already is, for me. It will for you too. You will fail with 100% certainty if you change nothing in your life. But as long as you do one tiny thing daily, 100% failure is NOT a promise. Its always a chance, but there's a chance you will get somewhere, too. So I will keep making tiny tears in this each day and build it up. And it will hurt and it will be hard and I will worry and panic and cry and celebrate and suffer and fail and rejoice and I will live to the fullest of my ability. And of course the best part? You guessed it, if (no WHEN) this all works out, I will never have to wear real pants again.

Follow my journey, and of course hit me up for all your graphic design needs!! :)

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