You Are Not a Tree. Show the World Who You Are.

"If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

I think it does. I think it makes the same sound it would if it were surrounded by a crowd of people.

But you read the quote. No one is around to hear it. No one cares. No one will come chop the tree up into logs. No one will plane the logs down into boards. No one will build a chair or a table or a baby crib out of that tree. It doesn't matter if it's among the finest Mahogany in the country. It will rot, marred by maggots and larvae, unseen and forgotten into the ground.

It could have been so many wonderful things.

Like all trees do, it began as a seed sailing on a puffy little cloud, or some happy crap like that. (More than likely, it was stuck to a fox's left ass cheek, and was carried a couple of miles before dropping off.) It found a comfy place to live, and it put down roots. Because its a tree, it cant put a for sale sign out, call for a U-Haul and move. It would be stuck there for the rest of its life. It would have to wait for people to find IT to determine it was worthy of being made into something.

Good news.You are not a tree! You can move wherever you want. You can interact with whomever you want. You can be made into whatever you want.

Of course there's always gonna be that crowd that wants to sit home in their pajamas and is content working at the 7-11 for the rest of their lives. Key word: wants. Getting by doing the minimum is enough for them, seriously. But what if that's not you?

What if you want to start a company, what if you want to create art seen around the world, what if you want to be a pro athlete or create a clothing line or increase awareness and raise money to cure a disease? You can't be the unseen tree. And you can't be scared to rip yourself up by the roots.

You need to be everywhere. People often think its bragging, or gloating about themselves if they continue to promote to the world what they do well. We all know that asshole on social media that posts 3040 selfies of everything they do and every other post says "F#*K the haterssss!"  But just WHY does that person bother you and I so much, you fellow hater?

No its not because you're jealous. You're actually, seriously nauseated by their content. It's because their content isn't real. Everything's always perfect. They never get upset, or fail or have a bad day, or fart in a crowd and blame someone else, or fail to wash their hair for six days. You, unfortunately, can't relate to them. You fail often and forget to be perfect. Therefore, you wish they would just go away. They don't make you feel good about yourself. They make you feel bad. Why would you buy what they're selling or support them in their missions?

The people and businesses you look up to and ultimately buy from and support make you feel great. They share not only the good, but the bad. They make noise and its real. They put themselves out there flaws and all. You can relate, it feels like you know them. You'd buy sawdust in a package from them because even if  you've never met them, they're your friends, and you trust your friends.

So there's good noise and bad noise. And then there's no noise. We all know that artist that THINKS no one will like his work so he hides it in his closet, even though he's the most amazing thing you've ever seen. Or that great writer who was told by someone that publishing a book is unreasonable and stupid, so they put that dream on the shelf and stayed silent. Or that ice cream shop whose owner doesn't know or care how to use a computer, so they aren't on any social media. No one knows they make the best banana split for 50 miles.

You're good at something and you have dreams. Whether you think you'll ever get there or not, you don't stand a chance if you don't put it out there. Social Media has made it easier than ever to share with the world what those are, and to remain humble. Don't spam people or be fake and perfect. Be real. Be someone they can know without ever having met you. People go with what they know and hear consistently. They support it, they think of it often, they buy from it.

Be in people's heads. Not screaming spammy crap, but be there for what you're good at and for who you are. Don't be afraid to be imperfect and don't be afraid to be really good at something and tell the world. You're good at it because it was meant for you and you love it. You're going to mess up a LOT because you're human.

You're not a tree. You can do whatever it takes to succeed. Email everyone you know and be yourself. Do it again a couple months later. Talk to people, meet people. Walk up to them even though you have no idea what to say. You'll look stupid. You will. You'll feel stupid. Deal with it. Anyone who got anywhere, dealt with it. It'll separate you from everyone that quit.

There's so many cool people out there, with cool examples and inspiration. Whatever it is you want to do, someone probably already did similar. Find out how and then do it better.

Talent is worth nothing if no one knows you have it and you're too scared to use it. Its yours, go own it before its too late. Be the tree that grows next to the Eiffel tower, not in the middle of Montana. Make sure everyone hears you when you fall.


For graphic design and help with YOUR social media for business as always check out www.tamaramorrisongraphics.com :-)

The Dog Ate My Life Checklist.....Peace Out 2014

I don't remember a whole lot about this time last year, except that I still drove a 99 Pontiac Grand Am, and I wanted my hair to grow out terribly badly after hacking wayyyy too much of it off in the summer. 

I worked as a front desk receptionist, and I had recently discovered Walden Farms no calorie pancake syrup, and cookie dough Quest Bars, which altered my life forever.

Doesn't sound that exciting. Because, it wasn't.

But then came 2014. And I'm realizing now just how much things have really changed for me. 

I'm sitting here typing this at 3:59 on a Tuesday, after a killer leg workout with a good friend. I have a crazy, insane, perhaps slightly possessed 7 month old puppy at my feet. She's chomping away at a pig ear, and five seconds later she moves to a rubber bone, and five seconds after that shes running 4094 laps around the coffee table like Satan himself is chasing her.

Meet Bailey, just one big change in 2014! 

 

I have Photoshop and Illustrator open on my computer, and both contain art files that people are actually paying me to create. I have spreadsheets open with profit and loss and expense statements. (And I did math to get them.) I have a dinner date with one of my oldest friends later. And yeah, I'm wearing sweatpants. 

Unbelievably to myself, I'm not dead! I'm not broke! I'll max out my IRA this year, and I can still afford peanut butter! 

Looking back, I guess this was one of the most "successful" years of my life. This was the year I started making my dream life a reality. But it's been the hardest year too. 

I've said I QUIT to a job with nothing at all lined up. I've met more strangers than I can even count. I've gone to networking meetings, and stood up in front of crowds to pitch my services, and try to explain my passion for design in 30 words or less.

I've walked into more businesses, wearing really uncomfortable pants and blouses and heels to talk to people who've never met me before and sell them on my offerings. I got a lot of freaking no's. And blank stares. And nice brush offs.

And I got some yesses.

I made an idiot out of myself on more than one occasion. I didn't always have the right thing to say, or the right props to pull out to impress them. 

I've sat there in tears because no one was emailing me back, no one was ordering anything. I've sat there in tears because everyone was ordering everything all at once. 

It's been hard.... yet not hard enough. Next year I want this to be bigger, better, faster, stronger. Every single day, I go to sleep feeling like I haven't done anywhere NEAR enough. And I think it's going to be that way for the rest of my life. I think that little nagging voice is what keeps me going where others would stop. 

I think you can find that voice too. 

We don't need a new year to start a new way of living, but its a convenient marker in time. Too many of us simply go through the motions, check off the neat little boxes. College, job, meet perfect person, house, dog, kids, retirement, die. How many people stop to think if it's what they REALLY want? What if you want to move to Bangladesh with your pet hedgehog, stay single and live in a tent? Why not? This life is YOURS. If half that list is already checked, and you don't want to check off any more neat little boxes, rip the thing up and burn it. It's not too late. Put the house up for sale. Start a business training donkeys from your tent on the beach in Hawaii. So what if everyone says you're crazy.

Be crazy. Save money. Do the research. Do so much research. Then do what it takes. 

Stop checking off the boxes and start making 2015 the year YOU go for what you really want. I want even more. More experiences, more meetings, more cool projects, more chances to inspire you, more trips, more huge freaking mistakes and eff-ups that show me what I need to improve upon. Bring it.

Rip up that list. You can't take it with you when you go. You can't take anything. Not the money in the bank, not the house, not the car. Leave behind some cool stories for the people who knew you to tell. 

Leave knowing you used up all your spins around the sun to the fullest. It's like a game show. You only get so many turns before you go bankrupt and the game's over.

Start now.

Stop Getting Stonewalled By Your Own Excuses!

Imagine this. You decide you want to build a huge stone wall around your property. You have plenty of money for materials, that wont ever be an issue. You have plenty of time. You have the time to work on it every single day. You have the strength, your health is decent. There isn't really anything stopping you.

You start in on the wall, laying one stone at a time, fitting them together, not perfectly, but soundly. It starts to seem like its taking an awfully long time. Longer than you thought it would. You aren't even a third of the way around the property! You start to think you must be nuts.

Your back is getting sore, your hands are developing calluses. Some days, it rains and you get even less done. Some days, the weather is perfect and it seems like you could lay stone forever.

Then, there's a huge storm. Gusty winds knock a huge tree over. Right into your wall. A good portion of it is crumbled. You're devastated.

Meanwhile inside the house, laundry is piling up, your wife says she doesn't see you enough, and the people are your real-life-job are starting to question why you're always so tired you can't even operate the coffee pot lately.

How about that beard though?!

This is the part, where most people quit. They tell themselves, eh, its not worth it, who needs a wall, it was silly anyways, there's no point. On to more important things.

The wall never gets finished. Neither does that car in your garage. You didn't lose those 20 lbs off your middle. Your great plan to redecorate the front bedroom resulted in three streaks of sample paint on the wall before you made up that excuse as to why it didn't NEED redoing.

We all do it. We all start things and don't finish them. And perhaps some things SHOULDN'T be finished. (Like that robot you were working on to clean the toilets. Isn't that why you had kids?)

But for the most part, the ONLY way to finish something, is to continue to do it in the first place. If you just kept laying one stone at a time, even if you slowed  your pace, you'd have NO CHOICE but to meet  your goal of finishing. It would manifest itself.

Consistency. That's the word of the day. Whatever goal you have will NEVER be met without it. Even when you encounter setbacks, and it seems IMPOSSIBLE, you must keep throwing rocks on the pile. When you stop, you ENSURE you won't get anywhere. If you never stop......the possibility of success never dies. In fact, its almost bound to happen!

Of course, some days, you look at that huge yard spread in front of you that still needs stone, you look at the muffin top oozing over your waistband, you look at that car in the garage and the HUNDREDS of bolts  you need to turn before its complete. Its overfreakinwhelming. You'd rather go to the dentist for a root canal or something, than continue.

It looks like Mount Everest. But what if you were hiking that mountain, and it was foggy, and you couldn't see the top? You'd have NO IDEA how far away the top was, or how far you'd already come. You'd only see a few feet ahead, and you'd keep putting one foot in front of the other, until you got to that top.

That overwhelming factor has been removed. What if you made the choice to remove it, from every goal you have?

One day you go back out and decide ENOUGH, its time to start rebuilding your wall. You don't look at the rest of the yard, or the neighbors yard, or think about how freaking HUGE that gap is where the tree fell. You simply lay a stone. And another, And another. You throw on headphones and jam out to Van Halen. And Justin Beiber (I won't tell). You lay another stone. When you look up, the gap is filled. You've overcome your setback. You've realized that sometimes you just have to put the blinders on to your own excuses and GET IT DONE.

Tomorrow you'll lay another stone. And everyday for the rest of the year, stone after stone until that damn wall wraps all the way around your yard. You won't think too much about how much you have left, and you won't pat yourself on the back for how far you've come.

Those small goals are the key to staying consistent. Getting out there and doing SOMETHING every single day. But, for now its time to go in and clean the toilets. Unfortunately, you never did quite get that robot up and running.

I'm On the Pursuit of Happiness and I Know, Everything that Shine Ain't Always Gonna be Gold, HEY

I hate math as its taught in schools. I was always terrible at it. I still remember when I first realized I was terrible at it. Second grade. Those worksheets where you had to do problems as fast as you could, and the winner that got them all right got some kind of prize. Maybe a glitter pencil of one of those huge triangle erasers that just looked like candy and made you get a craving for a Starburst or ten. Anyways, it was time for another fun round of worksheet racing, but this time, it was division. I still can't do long division. Like you could threaten to take my life with a dagger to my throat,  and I probably couldn't figure out long division. Everyone is finishing up, and the winner is already grinding their new glitter pencil to a fine point in the sharpener. Meanwhile, I'm sitting there and I can't get one problem. Not one. I'm the last kid still sitting at the desks. I feel panic rising in my stomach and I just want to run out of that room and hide in the woods where long division doesn't exist. But I cant so I sit there until the teacher finally notices the hot tears that have begun running down my face and comes over.

Who remembers these?!

Now, I have a few friends who are math teachers. They probably have a nice collection of glitter pencils somewhere in their closet at home, shiny like special unicorn horns. But in my experience, many math teachers, have been...mean. Not mean people persey, but just plain canNOT fathom how ANYONE has difficulty understanding long division. Or algebra. Or why x is just a letter near the end of the alphabet in some peoples minds. I have had, in my school career all the way up into college, math teachers who have given me serious 'tude because I, Tamara Morrison, struggle with math. One professor in college even went so far as to say to me when I asked for help "You should know this, shouldn't you? I don't have time you will need to study it on your own." I remember she was obsessed with the gym. So I cant hate her entirely. But, what she failed to realize here is that HEY MATH DOESN'T COME EASY TO EVERYONE!!! Just because you basically must have popped out of the womb with an algebra how to manual implanted in your soul, doesn't mean I did.

And that is the point of this post today. Its about realizing that not everyone defines success/happiness/talent the same as YOU and that's fine. Somewhere in my journey to not really caring what anyone else thinks came that realization. For ME, success is being independent, not being in an office for work, freedom. I don't want kids. Like ever. Yeah that's right I'm a 26 yr old girl that isn't interested in kids. You think I will change. I think you're wrong. It makes me happy to chase big goals. I don't get nervous putting my ideas out there. I don't get scared to step on a stage. I don't want to live a mediocre life. I want to do something different. And I'm happier now than I think I've ever been because I'm doing what I love even though people told me it was crazy.

That's my dream, but I know people that want to be moms more than ANYTHING. I mean whole face lights up when they talk about it. My mom was one of those people. She didn't want to run a business or come up with crazy ideas. Didn't interest her at all. She wanted to be a stay at home mom. That was her dream. And she did it. That is nothing like my dream. Its quite opposite. But she was HAPPY. She was terribly happy.  I know people who love routine. SERIOUSLY love it. They like sitting in an office, they like having everything thought out and then going home and enjoying some time or hobbies. I know people who go live in Africa for years, with no running water because they want to volunteer and they believe they are doing good. I know guys in relationships with other guys and they own a house and a puppy together. All these people do not live the life that fires ME up and would make me happy. But they are happy. You can tell when someone has passion and happiness and excitement for life. They all have it. So stop questioning it. Stop asking yourself or other people how so and so can be happy living THAT life? ANYONE who has discovered their happiness or is on the way to that, should get respect for that. Because there are SO MANY who have not.

You know the ones I mean. The whiners, the sad souls. Maybe right now, you are one. The people who are so not happy with anything they are doing but, refuse to create change. The biggest reason seems to be (and we always fall back on this one) is what other people are saying/thinking. Someone told you your dreams are stupid. You think if you tell anyone your dreams, they WILL say you're stupid. People told me this too. My old boss one time said to me "What are you going to do if you don't do this? There's nothing else for you, you cant be a designer anywhere, this is the best you can do" Sure it got to me. But I refused to believe it. A  0.30995 second Google search shows me thousands of people who ARE designers. With my education and levels of knowledge. With less money saved. With less support. The proof is easy to see. If they could do it why the hell not me?! I'm not a special unicorn! If they could do it why not me? They freaking had to do some work for it. They didn't just wake up and have this happen. Working for change is GOING TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE. All those happy people, they know that. A lot of times, I don't feel like calling people, I don't want to think about all those huge ugly numbers putting quotes together (math!) It sucks. Id rather be eating chocolate and scrolling Facebook. In my cube life, I could. Money was made even scrolling Facebook. But not now. Maybe that stay at home mom feels like dog shit today. She doesn't WANT to deal with three kids today. Its hard. They annoy her today. She'd rather be on the beach with a glass of wine. Maybe that gay couple with the puppy don't feel like being gawked at today in the supermarket. But screw it. Shut off the emotions and just do it. I just do the quote. The mom just deals with the kids. The couple goes to the store. And in the end they all emerge happier and stronger. NO ONE ever regretted the outcome of pushing harder at a goal. No one.

So you know what, math teachers past? Not everyone gets math. Not everyone is good at that. It's not the only way to be smart, or happy. Not everyone wants to be fit like me. Not everyone wants to compete. Some people just want to fit into their jeans from two years ago. Not everyone wants to run a business. Not everyone CAN. It would be like asking a fish to fly. It's not utilizing what that fish does and loves best. And yeah, I don't want to be a mom, or get a "real safe" job or stop training for competitions or go back to college. Stop asking. If it changes Ill let ya know. I am, right now, happy. I can only hope you are, too. If you AREN'T, that's the people I feel for, the people I wish I could help change. Help them somehow erase their often self imposed restrictions on doing what it is they are best at and most passionate about. I don't care if its building igloos at the North Pole, joining the gypsies, or working at the meat counter at Stop and Shop. If you want it, find a way to put in the work to get it. NOTHING ever came easy worth having. Don't find fault in other people's happiness and skills. My dad always said of his crew when he was manager at a car dealership, his people were all like different tools in his box. Some were good at some things, others at something else. Together they made a great team. But forcing someone to do something they aren't good at/didn't like always always backfired. Ok, now its time to do some quotes. Thank God for the calculator. There aren't enough glitter pencils and candy erasers (remember the strawberry scented ones?!) to make me do long division by hand ever again.

If YOU need a logo, shirts, or complete marketing materials, visit me at www.tamaramorrisongraphics.com! 

Why A Lack of Patience, Just Ain't Gonna Cut the Mustard!

You know what? With most things,  I am NOT what you might call,  a patient person. I hate waiting. I don't like standing in lines. I hate stop lights. (Don't even get me started on the stop lights in the town where I live, we could have an entire blog on that...) I go nuts when I want to eat (that's basically always), and I'm trying to open a new bottle or jar and there is one of those stupid plastic unbreakable seals and once you slice that bastard off there's another stupid seal under the lid. "Sealed for Your Protection," they always boast. Look, I'm at the point where I'd rather risk contracting incurable venereal diseases than fight with this stupid plastic. Therefore I'd rather you protected me just a TAD less, and let me have some damn mustard, or the one that's going to need protection is YOU, French's.

NIGHTMARES

I lose my cool over packages that take 304959 years to deliver. What, is this thing coming from Mars, or New Jersey?  I, like many people in today's society, want what I want and I want it now. But at the same token, I've noticed I'm able to shut my impatience off for a couple of things in my life. I realized just how important that ability IS, and how it really can help a person achieve long term goals. Impatience, like so many things we deal with is just an emotion. Control that, and you will have a much easier time finding success in all areas of your life. Trouble is, most people don't seem to know how! It can be learned though, by changing how you think about your big goals.

Most people who read this probably know, I am an NPC Bikini Competitor, and I had a competition this past weekend. I took second in that competition, and I made so much improvement over last year where I took dead last in this same show. More important than that, was that I was absolutely floored by the amount of texts, messages, and well wishes and congratulations that I got on that competition. I have never really been motivating to anyone that I was aware of, and to have so many people tell me that, literally blew me away! So humbled and grateful! So I wanted to thank everyone for that, as a side note! Fitness however, is one example of something in my life, where impatience is NOT a factor for me. Building a killer physique is NOT going to ever be a fast process. IT TAKES YEARS. You all see how I look on that stage and yeah, that's great, but you must know, it has taken me upwards of FIVE YEARS to even get this far!!

I still remember my 19th birthday, it was also Father's Day, so the entire family went for a hike to the Heublein Tower in Farmington CT. It's basically straight uphill to the top for a good 20-30 minutes. I. Was. DYING. I was wheezing and sweating and it was just miserable. My mom said "I worry about you, you NEVER get any exercise!" She was right. Ever since I'd started dating my other half, we had sunken into a happy place of french fries and ice cream dates and nights on the sofa. For the first time in my life that summer, I was putting on some pudge. And I knew it. I remember I vowed on that day to do SOMETHING, no matter how little, to get some exercise, and stop eating so much crap. That began my love affair with research via the internet. I tried so many things you have no idea. I tried 100% squeaky clean eating and "jogging". God I HATE running. The shin splints killed me. It was so boring. I didn't get any leaner. What abs? I then started lifting weights. Along with the iron, I lifted every piece of food I saw that was "clean" into my mouth, under the excuse that I lifted, I could have it. I gained weight and NOTHING fit. I told myself it was all muscle. I still didn't have any abs. I decided it MUST be carbs that were keeping me from my dream body. I proceeded to stop eating them. I mean STOP. I didn't eat a single piece of fruit, bread, potato or candy for over a YEAR. Ill tell you what I did eat though. JARS of nut butter and cans of mixed nuts. There were barely any carbs so it was ok right? WRONG. I weighed more than ever! All that jogging wasn't even working. So I did more research, and took a totally new approach to everything, and slowly, got it right. I learned a lot of what didn't work the hard way. I don't run anymore. EVER. I HATE IT! I eat carbs. I DON'T eat uncontrolled handfuls of nuts anymore ( hmm probably the giant amount of calories in 309845 handfuls of nuts a day couldddd be why I wasn't getting lean!) The point here is, the end result you see there, took me YEARS. I have YEARS to go on those goals too. If that didn't teach long term goal patience.....I don't think anything can.

The same mindset I had with fitness, is how I am able to start and run and continue to develop my design business. I started design back in MIDDLE SCHOOL. I took my first class in eighth grade and I actually won an award at the end of the year for something I made, I think it was a box for golf balls, hah! That was 13....YES THIRTEEN years ago. I was 13 years old and I'm now 26. I've been working on honing that passion for HALF OF MY LIFE. I went down a long and mistake riddled road on the way to where I am here now, just as I did with fitness. I got caught up in what everyone else was doing in high school, I stopped designing and started Facebooking. My parents encouraged me to pursue design and a business/freelance career, I just wanted to do what everyone else was doing and go to four year college and be a "corporate person" or something, and work in a nice office with nice heels and skirts and my name on some cube. Yes, at one point, I WANTED that. I wanted to do what I thought adulthood meant. And so, I got myself an office job or two and well, you know the rest. You know I hated it. The free spirit kid I'd always been was still in there somewhere and she wanted out.

The point of these stories is, that these are two big, giant areas of my life where patience wins. And I'm OK with that. Here's why: Because the way I look at it is in terms of the big picture. I am NOT going to be an IFBB Pro athlete tomorrow. Or next year, or next week. I am NOT going to be a millionaire with a thriving business either. Not now. But, the biggest thing that keeps me going to bed so happy every night,, is knowing I made a chip in those goals, every single day. Forget being rich, or a pro, or all the glory. The road is so long, you can't see the end. ACCEPT THAT. Forget the end. That's the biggest secret I have to getting somewhere. Forget the end. Everyday just drive another mile down that road. DO NOT STOP. Do not stay inside and sleep. Get in the car and get on that road. So what you didn't make $10203 today. Did you talk to one more person who might give you some work? Did you respond to another few emails from prospects? Did you call someone with their estimate? Yes? Ok then you did not waste this day. You did not. Did you instead sit there and think about the cigarette boat you're going to buy when when General Mills asks you, personally, to redesign their entire line of cereals, while simultaneously watching Friends reruns saying you'll start tomorrow? Then sorry, you wasted that day. You will never succeed. 

So the take away here? Patience is an emotion and YOU have control. Part of that control, is breaking your big aspirations down into actual small goals that you can focus on TODAY. You will not meet that big goal today. Or next year. But you will eventually get there, IF you keep moving in smaller steps. I NEVER thought I'd actually HAVE a full time business, or step on a physique stage. Then one day it happened. There's still so much to do, but its progress. You can't ask for more. Stop asking yourself for more than little steps. Let that expectation go. Sleep at night with your big goal still un-achieved (!) But, DO SOMETHING even if its TINY. Let that be enough for today. Repeat tomorrow, and the next day and the next. Like dirty socks, you just add a couple to the pile a day and before you know it, its rolling out of the hamper and you can't even contain it anymore! Of course no ones ultimate life goal is doing laundry (again) but, LITTLE THINGS ADD UP OVER TIME!!

I still hate those damn plastic food seals. But, if I just calm down and remove the label in a human manner instead of that of a rabid chipmunk, I would probably still hit my goal of mustard covered bliss, with a lot less trouble. Pshhh who are we kidding, can't always be patient.....time to eat........!

New Year, Same You....Unless You Change Your Outlook!

Its January once again. That time of year where everyone vows that this is going to be their best year yet, THIS year, they'll get in shape, THIS year, they'll score that dream job, fix up the house, take that trip, start saving more. They'll cut out gluten, stop smoking, go on the gym for at least two and a quarter hours per day.

Then you know the pattern. Two weeks later, the resolution makers are loafing on the couch with a cigarette watching reruns with a big bowl of pasta on that new expensive flat screen TV, house a mess, dreading going to work the next day. Maybe in 2014........that's not TOO far off right?

Truth is, you could be dead tomorrow. Life's not guaranteed. You could go down in a fiery wreck on your way to work. Or, you could slip on the ice and suffer internal bleeding in the brain. You could contract a terminal illness, or be shot in your place of work by a maniac. Are these things likely? No, and we rest very comfortably assured that the odds are against these tragedies happening.
I was listening to a colleague talking the other day, about how much he wishes his life would've taken another path. IF ONLY he'd done better in high school, had different parents, made more money, figured out earlier what he wanted to do, had more time, he wouldn't be stuck in this darn job, he'd be happy, all would be right with the world!

So why, why do people like my coworker fail time and time again to do these things they claim they so desperately want to achieve? Why talk on and on about positive actions that will never be taken? Many people simply believe these things are not for them. Dreams are for someone else. Why them? They aren't anything special, they barely passed school, they had a bad relationship or two, their parents weren't that fond of them. Kids made fun of them on the playground.They never won the lottery, they got turned down for a few jobs. They focus soley on these little events, each one like another small rock being tied to their leg until they can no longer move. So they convince themselves that where they are is OK, it could be worse, they could be THAT GUY with twice as many rocks tied to him.

They choose to ignore the bigger picture.That everyone who ever succeeded had setbacks, rocks tied to their legs. But those people, those people cut those rocks off, even if they had to do it with their own teeth because they couldn't find a knife. Whatever it was they saw in their future was brighter than all those little negatives. Most people get stuck in those.

Most people focus on the short term, that's human nature. If today is negative, so is well....forever. But you can train yourself to look further down the road, track your life as a flowing river rather than jagged hard set steps, where if you trip over one, you can't see anything but the ground in front of you, and you don't ever have to get up. Yes, that rivers going to have scary rapids at some points, but you can't possibly stop moving forward once you set sail.

This year don't make any silly resolutions you wont keep. Decide to set sail towards that dream. It doesn't have to be a huge goal (although it can be!), to be the next American Idol or make as much as Taylor Swift by 2039. It can be as simple as starting a business doing what you love, perfecting your golf swing, training your dog to compete in agility, going to school to become a nurse. Whatever that THING is that you want more than anything but that seems about as possible as spotting a giraffe in Antarctica. You know that thing. You think about it every single day at least once. But everyone tells you you already have it so good, or that its silly, or you don't have the money, or the kids demand too much attention and you're selfish. Or they tell you you'll never be able to do that. They push you down on those stairs. And you can't see past the ground. So you stay there.

Everyone who ever succeeded had all those obstacles, some had MORE. Realize this first. No ones better than you. You are better than no one. But you can choose to be wiser. WAKE UP. Cut those rocks off your feet and move from that place of unrest and that cloud of other peoples opinions. Have faith in your goals and yourself even when no one else does. Let yourself feel angry, hurt or upset when they attempt to bring you down. Then get over it, and continue on down the river. Never stop moving forward. Happy 2013.

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The Curse of The Plastic Circle: Why You Need to Escape!

“Work” seems to have quite a different meaning than it did thousands, if not hundreds of years ago. People used to rise when the sun did, and begin the tasks associated with daily survival. Food had to be gathered and prepared, shelter had to be built or repaired, children had to be cared for. No one rolled over in their cave and begged for five more minutes of sleep, if they wanted it, they simply took it. Time was spent outdoors, moving around, sometimes slowly, sometimes at a rapid pace. There was no schedule, there was no plan. Life simply WAS. You did what you had to to survive, but it never felt like our modern definition of “the workplace.”

Now, things are much different. We live by a plastic numbered circle hanging on the wall. We pry ourselves from sleep when we aren’t ready to wake up in many cases. We get in our cars, pedal to the medal, better get on the road before the dreaded plastic hands click just one notch too far to the right, and we risk losing our job. Job. We no longer NEED to gather and find food or build shelter, and we pass the kids off to someone else. The majority of us then enter a building for at least 8 hours ( that’s 8 times around The Plastic Circle!) where we often sit, no sun in view, and complete our daily tasks. Maybe today, we finished everything by 11AM. Too bad. There are still six cycles of the pointers around The Plastic Circle before we may leave, and do as we please.

Given today economic climate, we should be grateful to have these “jobs”. And in most cases, unless we are completely irrational, we are. We realize we need money rather than muscle to obtain food and shelter and child care. And therein lies the sad part. Somewhere along the line, we seem to have decided, that the physical work of getting these things for ourselves, was crap. We didn't want to do it. Sitting at a desk or standing at a register became supposedly better then braving the elements, having to move, having to think and stratagize. Most people accept this new societal norm. They don't really question it, although most complain (some more than others!). We know we will grow up, and get a job in a nice building (if we're lucky, these days) complete our tasks, go home, repeat. For 40 + years. We'll take pity on those that harvest our food, and build our houses. Good thing we don't have to do anything that hard.

Some people, have made their peace with it. They are happy, they are fulfilled. This, is excellent. Isn't the goal for any life, to be a happy one? But then there will be others, who have a desire for something different. Some of those will ignore it. Others, will take action. Perhaps in the starting of their own business, or a financially risky move into a different work position that would bring them more fulfillment. In the end I've never heard of anyone that regretted these changes. Changes that allowed more freedom less invisible ropes imposed by time. Along with these choices, come increased responsibility. You no longer have everything provided. You may have to gather for yourself. You may have to outsmart the other hunters. Scary right?

Yes. But if there is any amount of unrest in you, if you ever at all for one second wonder if there’s something else for you, the answer is yes. This isn’t the answer for everyone. You may find 100% joy in what you are doing. If so, GREAT keep doing it, until you don’t. ( If ever). Then change it. You and you alone can change it. No matter how hard it seems, no time, you have kids, you're broke, you just can't. Do something. Every day. No matter how small. Apply for that new job. Research starting a business. Instead of watching another episode of Dancing With the Starts tonight, read up on your dreams and how to get there. Stop thinking its not for you. It is. Why NOT you? Is there something genetically superior about the other guy over there living your dream? Nope. He just made the choice to act. I too, have made the choice to act. So far in this business endeavor, I don't regret a thing. I feel alive invigorated and excited! Is it hard? Oh yeah. Is there a long way to go? Soooo long. Would I ever stop? Hell no. Am I more grateful than ever for what job I already have at the same time? More than ever.

So there you have it, a little insight into why I'm following a dream I've had essentially forever, starting my own freelance graphic design business, Tamara Morrison Graphics You too, can start whatever it is you REALLY want to do, right now. Even if you just Google it to start! Do it today. Or take option two, and wait till tomorrow. Or next month. Or until 2023. If you're gonna wait that long, I hope you bought a really nice Plastic Circle to watch.