Hold on Tight to Your Dreams

When I was a kid I fell in love with art-- drawing in particular. I wanted to be a professional artist.

In the late 1970s I took my portfolio to Columbus College of Art and Design and hoped to be accepted and enroll there. The lady from admissions told me, "You are not an artist." Then, she said, "You are an illustrator."

I responded by telling the lady, "That's what they said about Normal Rockwell."

My wife, Mary Rose, had a similar thing happen at the University of Dayton. Her professor said that she should give up art and pick another major. I guess he just didn't like realism in sketch. My wife was crushed. She switched her major to communication arts, whatever that means. I might take a stab at it and say that it is like the huge percentage of young ladies who go to college and study psychology. Unless you get a PhD in the field, chances are that your only job will be as a school counselor.

Mary Rose used what she learned later in life as a relationship coach and a copywriter. She's a professional communicator and a past member of the National Speakers Association.

I went on with my life and pursued my dreams. In doing so, I remained ever the artist. I combined my passion for fly tying and fly fishing with artwork. I did a lot of work as a photographer, combining it with writing articles and eventually books (including one on photographic composition). I continued drawing in pencil, charcoal, pen & ink, and now on computer with a Wacom tablet and stylus. I used to do a lot of watercolor painting, but I gave that up when I switched to using a computer for paintings. I still do calligraphy with various quill and fountain pens.

The image of the lighthouse above-right was painted using Corel Painter and Sketchbook Pro on my computer with a Wacom tablet and stylus. I took a photograph of Marblehead Light and used that photo as a reference image to do the painting.

If there is a lesson that can be learned from what Mary Rose and I have experienced it is this: If you love art, don't give up if someone tells you that you are not an artist, or they look down their nose at you. Keep drawing. Keep painting. Keep learning and refining your art. Even if you never reach the level of a professional artist, paint or draw just for the love of it and don't be discouraged.

Art, like music, takes time to master. If you give up you will never know what might have been if you had kept going.

Hold on tight to your dreams. You just might discover your inner artist.

Hope Springs Eternal

Hope springs eternal. I don't know who said it first, but as far back as I can remember this phrase rang in my head.

I have always tried to be an optimist. My parents were typical of their generation. My father is eighty-five years old and my mother is just a few years behind him. They grew up with the cynicism of a generation of Americans, those whose parents weathered the Great Depression.

Back then, people might have been cynical, they may have been pessimistic, but they were also self-reliant and determined. If they fell, they got back up, dusted themselves off, and went onward. They were less likely to whine and whimper about their plight. Those who were successful just got tougher and even more determined.

People in the media and academia are now telling young, impressionable kids that there never was and never will be an "American Dream" --that it was all a myth. Kids, don't believe them. They are lying to you.

Countless waves of immigrants came to America to take part in the American Dream. It was real. In the United States of America, you could make a decent living, even if you had no formal education. And with education, and hard work, you could set your goals and achieve almost anything IF you were willing to work for it. You see, the key to the American Dream was not government hand-outs or a welcoming committee-- it was OPPORTUNITY.

The success of past generations of immigrants can be summed up in that same thing that helped people survive the Great Depression-- it was determination. People came to America for a chance to succeed, not for hand-outs. Some how, our government seems to have missed that important fact.

If you came to America from some other place and you want to be part of the American Dream, welcome. Plant your feet here and become an American citizen. Raised your family here and plan for your future and the future of your generations. This country was built on the hopes and dreams of people just like you.

Right now, it is bitter cold. Just like the winter weather. America is frigid at the moment. But spring will come and, with it, will be warmth and sunshine. 2017 has just begun. Before you know it, summer will be upon us. So, rejoice! Sing and make melody in your heart! Reach for the brass ring!

...and Smile, Smile, Smile.

The Ticket to Freelance Success

Many years ago, I spent lots of evenings writing advertising copy and putting together newsletters and catalogs for small to mid-sized businesses. I made, on average, about $500 a night. When I wasn't copywriting, I was taking pictures and writing articles like how to shoot airshows or how to photograph amusement parks.


Years later, my wife wanted to try her hand at freelancing. She was good with graphic design and she could write marketing copy. In fact, she had strong sales skills and copywriting is really salesmanship in print. But, with all her talent, she still needed a few tips to help her make the whole venture profitable.


If you want to be a successful freelancer, whether it is writing marketing materials, writing newsletters, creating resumes, web design, or graphic design, there are several principles you MUST fully understand before you will actually make a comfortable living.


First and foremost, your time is worth money. You have to learn, very quickly, how long it takes you to complete every project. You must have an hourly rate that is high enough to make the whole idea worth your time. Then, don't bid by an hourly rate, that is your performance target and useful, but never share that information with a client. Instead, bid on a job by a total amount of time padded by an extra amount to cover edits and possible delays so that you remain profitable.


For example, say your target is $40 per hour. You figure that a job will take five hours. So, your hourly target will fetch you $200 if you actually accomplish the task in five hours time. You bid for the job at $300 not your target rate/time estimate. That gives you a little room to keep you profitable in case your job takes a little longer than you expected, or there are more revisions than you thought it would take.


The next point to remember is that when you work from home, people tend to think that when you are home, you are available to run errands, talk on the phone, or have time for other distractions. You have to be firm and tell everyone that you are working. You are not available between the hours of whatever to whatever time you are actually engaged in business. You need to create a work-space and when you are in that space, you are not to be disturbed.


You must remove all distractions from the work-space you have created. Since you will likely be working on a computer, you have to remove all distractions from it, too. Don't open a web browser unless and until you need it. You are working, remember? Forums are a time-killer. Avoid them like the plague. Disable all instant messengers, all social media, and anything else that could pop-up while you are trying to get things done.


You Are A Business Owner


You work for yourself. You are a business owner. You rely on customer satisfaction to be successful, but, don't sell yourself short. You have to know what you are worth and don't allow yourself to be pressured into working for peanuts. You are a professional-- act like one. You must SELL VALUE. There will always be someone cheaper. And there will always be someone shopping for price.


Know What You Are Worth and Stick With It


You won't be a success if you don't stick to your target price and stand firm when it comes to handling the low-ball. Your competition is not the fiver college kid. Your competition is the serious freelancer who already knows the game.


By the way, you'll hear a lot of people say that a portfolio is not needed when everything is done online. Sorry Charlie, you are dead wrong.


Today, my wife is a successful copywriter with a loyal customer-base. She has won business with a leather portfolio with hard-copies of her work. She presents herself in a professional manner. She networks with the best of them and it has won her lots of business. And, yes, I am very proud of her.

You can do it, too.

In Pursuit of Passion

In life, passion is everything. If you are not in pursuit of passion you are not living life to the fullest.

In America, we are known by what we do for a living. Remember when Barack Obama was running for president and all of the hoopla erupted in the media about "Joe the Plumber"? Yeah, poor Joe, the lowly plumber. The media sought to crucify him because he was just a plumber and not a fan of His Royal Highness, Prince Obama. Had Joe been a nuclear physicist, perhaps the media would have been kinder and gentler toward him, but no, Joe, after all, was just a plumber.

For years I was a fly tying and fly fishing instructor. I was at the top of my game and I was rated a "world-class fly tyer" before the term became cliche. I reached that point by working really hard and dreaming of the day when I would become "...the best fly tyer living in the world today." That quote was my goal. I am not saying that I actually accomplished that goal, I am just saying that I made that a goal because I believed that in order to be one of the best I had to shoot for the top and be willing to work for it.

Now, Joe the plumber might really be at the top of his field. He might even have a passion for plumbing-- who knows? It might just be a way to make a comfortable living and nothing more. Who am I to judge him. The important thing in whatever you decide to do in life is happiness. Are you happy with your life? Do you hate your job?

I chose a path that I wanted to take at age ten. I wanted to be in the fly fishing industry. That gave me a few options. I figured out that the best way to get into the business was learning to tie flies and become really good at it, hence the aforementioned goal.

If you are my age, when you think of fly fishing you think of Curt Gowdy and the TV show, "The American Sportsman" with its celebrity guests fishing for trout or hunting game in Alaska or the Rocky Mountains. At one time fishing meant fly fishing or bait fishing. When balsa-wood lures were invented bass fishing took on an appearance much like that of today. But I was interested in fly fishing.

Flies, as far as fly fishing is concerned, are imitation insects made of bits of fluff and feathers twisted around a lightweight hook. The image to the right is a caddisfly adult. They are found on warm water streams and cold water streams all around the world. There are about 1200 species of caddis  in North America. Mayflies also inhabit warm waters and cold. There are about 800 species in North America.

Flies, as they have become known are not just insect imitations. There are baitfish imitations, too (like darters and other so-called "minnows"). There are crayfish imitations, and scuds, cressbugs and other aquatic species. We even make imitations of water snakes and lizards.

My primary interest was tying trout flies and flies for bass (smallmouth mostly, and occasionally for largemouth bass). As you might expect, I loved the creative process. Tying flies is considered an art. I love it and I eventually did become one of the best in the industry by rating. You might say that it's my claim to fame. I've even invented patterns that catch tons of fish and several of my creations have become famous. Most of the patterns I've created have been imitated by others.

So it is that my flies will be around long after I am gone. In a way, they are my legacy. Indeed, we are defined by what we do and, perhaps, what we become by it.

If I am remembered in the future it will most likely be for my fly tying, and possibly some of my visual art, or the books I have written. Whatever the case, I lived my life with passion. If I could choose how I am to be remembered it would be for that. Let it be said that I was a man of passion-- a man who worked hard, played hard, and pursued his dreams; because, when all is said and done, our dreams lead to all achievement.

It is passion that brings richness to life.

Happy New Year - Back On Track

This is the first post I've made since the end of July.

I normally don't go dark for so long a period, but I have been working on a lot of other projects that took a lot of time and energy. With the start of a new year (2017), it's time to get back in the swing of things and start writing.

I have been working feverishly on a new ZAZZLE store to promote my artwork. I have been an artist my whole life. It is one of my many passions. But, in this case, I have switched the paint brush and the charcoal pencil for a WACOM tablet and a stylus. The work I have been doing is computer generated using a photograph as a reference. For example, here is a portrait of my wife, Mary Rose.

This was painted using a computer program called ArtRage and it took quite a bit of effort to complete it. Virtually every hair on my wife's head was drawn. Skin tones were carefully blended with the tools available in ArtRage and the result is photographic quality. Really, it is amazing what can be done with a computer, a WACOM tablet, and the right software.

I have been making paintings of songbirds, birds of prey, wading birds, lighthouses, seascapes, and more.

Since I have been an artist my whole life, I have always drawn the things that interest me. That included classic horror characters, like Dracula, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein. I made charcoal sketches of musical performers, presidents, and military aircraft. I sketched wildlife, and fantasy art. I've painted scenes of Americana in watercolor or drawn them with pen and ink.

One of my other artistic pursuits is photography. I have shot professionally for years. As a writer, I have found that providing my own photos makes it much easier to get published. It's a sort of one-stop-shopping experience for a publisher when a writer can produce a good article and excellent photographs or illustrations along with their copy.

The painting on the right was made using one of my original photographs as a reference. I have a great photographic image and a really wonderful painting with exquisite detail and texture. The former is stored on my computer and backup system while the latter is printed and in my portfolio.

The difference between an artist and an average person is the way they see. An artist sees the world as a smorgasbord of compositions. It can be a landscape, a seascape, or a lantern hanging on a wall. It can be large, small, or way beyond macro. An interesting image is really a two-dimensional design. In the case of a photograph, we are seeing the world through a lens. We capture light in a box and turn it into a picture, whether printed or uploaded to the world-wide web.

With a great painting, light helps create a mood. It makes something look realistic, or three-dimensional. It adds drama to a painting. It adds contrast and value. In the end, my goal has always been to mimic real-world things.

I took my portfolio to the Columbus College of Art and Design in the late 1970s and they told me that I was not an artist, I was an illustrator. My response: "Yeah, that's what they said about Norman Rockwell." If you don't know, Rockwell made more covers of the old Saturday Evening Post than anyone in the business. Rockwell's "America" captured the hearts and minds of people across this great country.

In the end, art is a way to share what we see and how we see it with others. It is a way to celebrate life. Art is passion. Art tells a story. Art is about the heart and soul of the observer, not just the artist. And that is what makes it so important that we teach young people to appreciate it and to eventually carry the torch when the current crop of artists is gone.

Here is a link to my ZAZZLE store...
http://www.zazzle.com/mickeymaguireart

Focus on Positive Thoughts

Accentuating the positive will attract good things to you and accepting the negative will bring the bad. ~Napoleon Hill & W. Clement Stone

Not long ago my wife and I had a conversation very early in the morning. She was telling me about two or three very negative things in the news and I told her that I'd heard more than enough and asked her to change the subject to "something positive" rather than continuing the conversation as it was going.

It is very important to begin each and every day on a positive note. You don't want to have negative thoughts running through your head on your way to the office. Instead, focus on positive things and on what you want to accomplish today.

The problem with negative thinking is that it's habit-forming. Once you start down that road things tend to snowball. The easiest way to avoid it is simply change the conversation or start your day by reading good news or motivational books.

Cynicism and pessimism are bad habits.

If the news taints your attitude, don't read it first thing in the morning or just before bed. Those are the two most important times to think positively. You want to have a restful night's sleep and you want to awaken to a blissful morning.

While you are at it, greet people with a cheerful "Good Morning!" and say it with energy and enthusiasm.

You don't know-- your greeting might just lift someone's spirits and brighten their whole day.

Attitude is Everything

Contrary to popular belief, you don't raise morale in an organization it filters down from the top. ~Earl Nightingale

The Attitudes of the people working in any organization will always reflect the attitude of the leader. ~Earl Nightingale

I have worked in business management throughout most of my career. Over the years, I have witnessed both good management style and bad. The former was more common earlier in my career and the latter seems to be far more common, today.

Right now, I work for a company with a really talented group of shakers and movers. They are professionals in every sense of the word. It's refreshing to see it and be a part of it.

So what is it that makes a management team effective? In short, it is the way they handle people.

Bosses are a dime a dozen. It doesn't take much talent, nor tact to boss people around. With autocratic management, there is no such thing as diplomacy. Poor time-management often results of pushing the cart before the horse.

Lee Iacocca once said of the auto industry: "In this business, you either lead, follow, or get out of the way."

Often times, poor management gets in the way of production.

A Leader Inspires People

The difference between a boss and a leader is the former pushes people around as if they were pawns on a chessboard. But, A LEADER inspires people.

Genuine leadership builds relationships-- get to know your people. A leader builds TEAMS from what were once individuals. Those teams tackle complex problems. They work toward common goals. Each member is valued and respected. Each member contributes beyond what is common in the workforce of today. Each member is hard to replace. Lose them occasionally, you will, but you will have many candidates jumping in line to become a part of your team.

If you want to read about how you can become a leader and not just a boss, I recommend Earl Nightingale's book, Lead the Field. It is available at Amazon.

If you want to take control of your life, build confidence and be all that you can be, whether you are a freelancer, a manager or just a rank and file employee in some company somewhere, check out my latest book, Ninja Mind Tricks (Take Control of Your Life with the Secret Mental Powers of Japan's Shinobi Warriors). If you are not sure what you want in life, check out my book, Get Happy, Write Away. Both are available at Amazon.


Be A Leader, not the boss.