Author: Josten Dooley

Surviving disappointment

This has to be one of the biggest tests that you can have in life. Because disappointment can be detrimental to someones character and life. I for one have experienced disappointment many times in life. But you know what I did not let it get the best of me.

You have to realize that it is only temporary and not forever. The best way to deal with it is to react properly to the situation. You could either crumble under the pressure or you get face it head on.

Another way to look at disappointments is they are a way for you to see what you are made of. Because many people talk the talk but they don’t walk the walk. By that I mean people say many things but they crumble when it comes to a situation where they have to prove the validity of what they say.

Here are some tips that will help you survive disappointment

Stop and analyze your situation.
Ask yourself what did I do to get into this situation
Is this actually where I want to be
Realize that it is actually the beginning of something great to happen
If you think negatively you will attract those type of situations and etc
Make a plan to overcome what caused your disappointment
Learn that is just a part of life and it builds character

Be as quiet as a fish in the deep

Being a relaxed and calm person is very valuable. Because at times you will come across situations that are difficult. Other things are that or you may lack confidence. The mental game that we play day after day with ourselves and each other is not a joke.

We tend to kill the spirit that we have and at times the hope that we have. One major thing that meditation and yoga has taught me is to have more control over my mind. Everything more or less is to control our minds.

The advertisements, food,music, clothing more or less its a mental thing. This may sound stereotypical to say. But the perspective I am getting at is to have more control over your mind.

As bruce lee said be water. By that he means to be shapeless and formless. If you are formless you will be able to adjust to whatever comes your way. As well as you will be relaxed and have a more calm mind frame.

Weakness

What is a weakness that you have and you are just avoiding it? Because it seems to difficult to tackle it head on. But if you stop being scared you will make a drastic change in your life. You could be doing things that you know are bad for you or you have projects that you’ve planned.

Don’t worry I have been in the same predicament. The reason is because at times we try to over shoot. By overshoot I mean we think that the more we accomplish the better and more rewarding it will be. When in actuality its not as great as it sounds. The only way such a thing can be is if you have set goals and focused energy.

I learned that focused energy with a definite plan is golden. For example if you are setting out to go on a trip you have gps. Therefore you know which turns to take and even have an estimate on how long it will take you to get there. The same thing can be applied to your life.

Focus on your weakness and diminish it. If you are terrible at attention to detail set up a bootcamp for yourself. By bootcamp I mean for you to set rules for you to follow in regards to diminishing your weakness.

Focused effort

This is one of the major things when you are working on anything. Because we start doing a task and then we get distracted. We get distracted by opening up twitter or some other social network. Then we end up doing a thing that is not even related to what we initially planned to do.

Whenever you focus your efforts on a task and avoid distractions amazing things will happen. Day after day whenever you are completely focused you will start to see progress. For example now as I write this I am hesitant to pick up my phone and check instagram. We all go through these symptoms.

But you you have to be honest with yourself and really focus on what matters. Do you day after day say to yourself I should do this and I should do that. So therefore get rid of the useless distractions and think about how much they are benefitting you and if they are helping you to become better.

Hand lettered logos

Goals: For this project I set limitations to create branding for various business. Also while constructing the logos by hand and use of the computer as little as possible.
Solution:Use of beautifully crafted hand lettered logos that have a retroesque and human like feel to them. Also that are very legible and recognizable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll be back

To posting regulary and making videos on thursday or there after. Because currently as I type this I am in a business center with free wifi. Also I have relocated from Miami Florida to Hollywood Florida. Another thing that was kind of disheartening was to lose my day job. The day job I had was my use of the overlap technique. Also to allow me to continue pursuing my design career. But me personally I did not just go there and do the work and go home.

Day by day I gave it my all. But at times that is not enough. But anyhow in the meantime feel free to check out the 500 other posts on here.

Avoiding being scammed as a designer

So not long ago I was contacted for a project. The person whom pretended to be a serious client was indeed not. So after conversing with the person I was convinced.  Then I worked up a quote for them. After they told me the brief about the work they needed. Well I’m sure about needing more so pretending.

So I for one going by the rule of %50 payment up front. The person did not use paypal they strictly wanted to only do check. Then the person sent more than what I quoted. Another thing was after they told me to deposit the remaining half into some account.

Which I told them I am not going to do that. Before you think so you did work for free. No I did not do anything and the client did not sign the contract. If you ever have a client and they are hesitant to sign a contract then you may want to be a little suspicious.

A contract is a way to weed out those whom are serious and or not. Now let’s get back to the check. So to sum it up the person wanted to know when I was going to deposit the check. If I deposited the check and took out the money I would’ve gotten charged for it. Therefore they are getting money for free and work.

From now on I’m only accepting paypal and no checks ever. Well checks only in person. Just remember to be careful and to never ever do any work without getting paid at least %50 upfront.

 

How to Stay Focused

Staying focused for some can seem impossible. Because we are so used to giving ourselves to many different things and people. But you have to soon realize what is actually important. More things that others are just time fillers and wasters. At the time you feel as if you are making so much progress by being busy.

A great example is the people whom are in college and you know they are just going to have something to do. Because they don’t do the homework,projects and study for tests. When a person does things like that they are clearly not focused. They are not focused on getting the degree and education that they are paying for.

The easiest way to stay focused is focusing on what is important. Also realizing what is a time waster for you and what is not. Your values will play a big part with figuring this out. Because a lot of people instead of staying focused they stay lazy and bored.

Do your best to not fall into the category of being a lazy and bored person. When that happens it may take something drastic to happen for you to change. So start the changes before its too late.