Categories
writing

School Yourself in the Writing Field

I just came across an interesting article on journaling and writing at the “Journal For You” blog.

School Yourself in the Writing Field.

This is good advice whether you want to write, illustrate or pursue any creative endeavor.  When you treat your creative pursuit as a form or exercise, it will free you up to be creative.

Whenever I have faced writer’s block, the one thing that has kept me creating was to write and draw in my sketchbooks whether I felt like it or note. Pretty soon, those creative juices come back.

Don’t wait for the muse to strike you. Get creative in your journal or sketchbook today, whether you feel like it or not.

Categories
Coloring Page

Christmas Nativity Coloring Page

Thumbnail of Christmas nativity coloring page

Merry Christmas! I just love this time of year. The sounds, smells and sights of Christmas bring back memories of Christmases long, long ago. (Hmm. sounds like a Christmas tune.)

I’ve done another nativity scene in a different style. You can find it here.

Here is a Christmas nativity coloring page for you. It is free for personal and classroom use.

Categories
Attitude

Stop and Live a Little

Cartoon of a boy and a grandfather. The boy says, "It's a beautiful world, Grandpa. You should try living in it."

Last night, I saw the most beautiful sunset. The sky was ablaze with yellows, oranges and reds. As I was driving along, I thought of all the other cars speeding by. I wondered how many commuters noticed the sunset that was so clear before them.

Life has a way of grinding us down, doesn’t it? I don’t know what you’ve been through. It may be stuff I couldn’t comprehend. But I do know this. There is so much beauty that is going on all around us. Sometimes, it is so obvious, yet the cares of this world keep us from seeing it.

That’s why I love working with kids. They see the world with innocent, awe-filled eyes. If you work around them a while, they’ll point out how beautiful the world is. Kids remind us there is an amazing world to be discovered, whether it is in nature, or the urban landscape.

Life may have thrown you some hard problem. But take the time to see the world that is around you. There is always something to be grateful for. Live it up!

Categories
growth

Change Happens

Cartoon of a boy and his grandfather. The boy says, "If you don't like change, Grandpa, why didn't you stay a kid?"

Change happens! It happens whether we want it or not, doesn’t it? If you don’t believe me, work with children for a few years. Sooner or later, they grow out of your class. Take a look at a photo of you several years ago. Yes, we change! Some of us lose hair, some of us gain it, Children grow and get stronger while adults age and wonder why things aren’t the way they used to be.

Change happens whether we want it or not. The question isn’t if it will happen. The question is how will you deal with it? Will you refuse to admit change is happening and live in denial? Will you refuse to accept it and become bitter? Or will you acknowledge change it always happening and learn how to deal with the new normal?

A few months back, I revisited the book, “Who Moved My Cheese?” I got a lot out of it ten years ago. Of course, now, I could get it on the Kindle, iBooks, or any other e-reader. What a testament to change!

Whether you’re in publishing, the classroom or another business, change is happening. How are you going to deal with it?

Categories
animal cartoons

Birds of a Feather

Amazingly enough, Karl, Ken and Kevin always came up with the same ideas.

 

I’ve been working on getting an MBA. You may ask, “You? An illustrator and designer?” Yes. One day I woke up and realized if I was going to be successful in business, I should know a little more about it.

In my organizational behavior class, we’ve been talking about groupthink. It brought to me reminders of George Orwell and “1984.” Groupthink is when people within a business legitimizes their decisions because everyone wants to get along and think the same way. A company thinks their decisions are fool-proof, only to realize later they were actually foolish.

I thought of a flock of birds all chirping in harmony. Sure, it sounds pretty, but once in a while, shouldn’t one of the birds pipe up and say, “Wait a minute! Is this the best tune for this occasion?”

Creativity can suffer under groupthink. We’re all victims of it. It’s hard to see a book without paper pages. It can be difficult for a business used to printing paper books to try electronic publishing. Publishers can cringe whenever an author embraces self-publishing and questions the old model’s legitimacy. Yet, technology marches on and is challenging groupthink in some rough ways.

What are some ways you escape groupthink? How can you challenge the status quo today?