Category: motivation

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motivation

Know Your Audience

Cartoon of two women. One looks disappointed. The other says, "It was a good try. But maybe the neighborhood kids just aren't interested in an all-you-can-eat tuna casserole event."
Originally published in "Kidzmatter Magazine"

Some things should be obvious. No matter how funny they are, it’s hard to get today’s teens to watch a Laurel and Hardy movie. Most men will not be attracted to binge-watching The Gilmore Girls And you won’t attract many senior citizens with a Justin Bieber concert. Sure, there are always outliers that are the exception, but you can’t bank on an entire retirement community getting Bieber Fever.

It’s important to know your audience. At the same time, you have to be true to yourself because the biggest audience is the audience of one: yourself. If you found an audience but you hate doing what attracted them in the first place, it won’t last long. To achieve any kind of success, you must be true to yourself.

That’s why I feel for the lady in my cartoon. She must love her tuna casserole, and she probably excels at making it. But if she is trying to do something nice for the neighborhood kids, she needs to find another way.

When you find that happy balance between what you like and what your desired audience likes, that’s the sweet spot. I’m still working on it. Heaven knows I sometimes wonder if my writing and cartooning style hits the mark. Perhaps I’m still looking for that key audience for me. It’s a continual process.

How have you balanced what you like doing with finding the right audience for you?

Cartoon of two women. One looks disappointed. The other says, "It was a good try. But maybe the neighborhood kids just aren't interested in an all-you-can-eat tuna casserole event."
Originally published in “Kidzmatter Magazine”
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motivation

A Day of Love

When I drew this, I could just have imagined how my seemingly tough grandfather would have reacted to such a get up. Yes, he would have balked, pouted a little, then retired to his shop where he could put on his dirty overalls and chew his cigar.

Yet I knew he loved and cherished his wife. One of the best memories I have of the two of them was when I asked them how they met and got married. Both of them smiled bashfully and made eyes at each other. It was as if they were reliving those romantics feelings all over again.

Today will be a different kind of Valentine’s Day. My valentine is in the Southwest while I help my father. He is a guy who has shown me through the years what a valentine is supposed to do.

He and my grandfather have shown me that love is patient and kind. It isn’t proud and not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs and true love never fails.

Thank you to my parents and grandparents for showing me how be a decent valentine.

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motivation

Will the Right Words Make it all Better?

Cartoon of a girl and a boy in a corner. The girl says, "Looks like to me you have yourself a public relations problem

Public relations is the diplomatic side of marketing. Some call it “spin.” It’s managing the spread of information. Politicians are great at it. Corporations know it is necessary to avoid a crisis and to put the best positive angle on some less than favorable news.

Sometimes the right words make it better. There are two sides to every story. A company or senator would be foolish not to make their perspective known. 

However, there are times when it is just better to fess up. Maybe the boy in my cartoon doesn’t have a public relations problem. He may just need to say, “I’m sorry!” instead of explaining his infraction away.

Sometimes, we need some public relations. Other times, we just need to own it and apologize.

Cartoon of a girl and a boy in a corner. The girl says, "Looks like to me you have yourself a public relations problem
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motivation

The Power of Change

Cartoon of a man an woman staring at a car. The man says, "I can't wash it now and destroy life! There's sprouts growing in the dirt."

A high standard of living presupposes an economy of innovation and change.

Peter Drucker in The Effective Executive

This sentence blew me away when I read it. How often do people resist change? Yet, the high standard of living we have enjoyed in North America and Europe over the years has demanded change.

And change will happen whether we resist it or not. We can fight it like the guy in my cartoon. We can rationalize that disturbing the flow of things will kill spontaneity. But if we are willing to let things lie, change will come in unpredictable ways and we won’t be ready for it.

Prosperity happens in our economy when we see change is coming and make adjustments to roll with it. We won’t get it right all the time. We may stumble and decide we need to go another way, but being willing to change with the times will reap dividends in the end.

Maybe the guy will change before he has a forest on his hood. Then again, maybe he will see the dirt and new growth differently and open the first mobile, urban garden. Hey! maybe the change required for him is to see car washing as an old habit that is due for a rework. All of a sudden, some creativity and what-if’s opens some opportunities for a new, high standard of living.

Cartoon of a man an woman staring at a car. The man says, "I can't wash it now and destroy life! There's sprouts growing in the dirt."
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motivation

Modern Communication

Texting anyone? Or do you tweet, post an update or prefer only to communicate with chatbots? Do you email your request? Or do you prefer to snail mail your correspondence?

We have so many easy, fast ways to communicate now. We can send instant messages to someone across the world. Yet, do we stop to consider if our favorite mode of communication is effective?

A handwritten note from a hundred years ago can still speak effectively. Books printed centuries ago can still give wisdom and insight. Some communication is good for the immediacy of the Internet. Some are meant for more permanence.

As we near Valentine’s Day, consider what mode of communication you are using. There are times a quick text to my wife is an appropriate way to say I love you. But the handwriting in a note or card may last longer than I’ll ever know.