50 Things You Didn’t Know About Me – Part 2 No.11-20
By · Comments11. Napoleon Hill’s Think And Grow Rich was the first ever self improvement book I ever read. And God am I grateful for finding this!
12. I listen to inspiring mp3’s on my iPod while I’m out walking my dog.
13. I work alone – so for company listen to the local radio station Peak FM while I’m working – then change to motivational videos like ‘The Secret’ when I need a gee up. I have loads of self-development books but I now prefer listening instead of reading.
14. I read inspiring quotes and draw quick cartoons to illustrate them. I post them all over the place – on post it notes my computer screen so I can refer to them often.
15. Go to bed every night with a good self-development book and destroy by them by highlighting paragraphs that appeal to me. They’re covered in highlights and cartoon sketches!
16. I wake up in the morning and immediately re-read my goal sheet to set my day off in the right direction.
17. I did a FIRE WALK at a Tony Robbins workshop years ago – it gave me a great sense of belief in myself that I could do anything I put my mind to.
18. I’m currently toying around with either buying a new iPod or going for the latest iPhone.(I’m a Mac – not a PC!)
19. I’ve recently started attending once a month wine tasting evenings – trying to get away from my ‘beer-man’ image.(Although I still enjoy a beer after a work out.)
20. I’m reading up on blogging and have subscribed to a couple of online courses. So hopefully this blog will improve over the coming months!
Correct Your Mistake Instantly! Motivational Quote.
By · Comments“It is important to acknowledge a mistake instantly, correct it, and learn from it. That literally turns a failure into a success. Success is on the far side of failure.”
T.J. Watson
1874-1956, Founder if IBM
50 Things You Didn’t Know about Me! (Part 1)
By · Comments50 Things You Didn’t Know about Me! (Numbers 1-10)
- I work all hours drawing motivational cartoons – because I absolutely love what I do! (Verging on a workaholic!)
- I love to keep fit, even at 55 I still play 5-a-side football/soccer once a week and squash 2-3 times a week.
- I have a black Labrador ‘Jet’ that I walk three times a day – he gives me a break from working!
- I’ve drawn a doggy cartoon strip ‘SCRAGGS’ for 15 years – or 105 doggy ones!
- I’m always interested in doing private commissions and corporate ones Well to be honest I’m always interested in any commission, like I said I love what I do.
- I’m so grateful for having the opportunity to draw cartoons for a living.
- I have a wife of nearly 25 years and two daughters Samantha(20) and Steffanie(17)
- I turned freelance back in 1982 – all my friends said I wouldn’t make it as a cartoonist and that I should get a REAL job! (Well I proved them all wrong with shear determination and perseverance – and here I am today to tell the tale.)
- I drive a five year old BMW X3 – had it from new.
- I live in a six bedroom house – four years ago it was a four bed one but I extended over the garage and built two extra rooms to house my cartoon studio.(Used to have a studio in the town centre Chesterfield – but the rent rates and everything else kept going up and up. Stay tuned! More to follow over the next week.
Motivational Quotes – Expect little GET little!
By · Comments“The world is full of abundance and opportunity, but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank car, a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result they get little.”
Ben Sweetland
“A Better You” Your 7 days program to self-improvement!
By · CommentsI seem to have lost count on how many times I’ve read and heard of celebrity marriages failing almost left, right and center. Not that I care, it seems strange that we often see movie and TV stars as flawless people, living the fairytale life of riches and glamour. I suppose we all have to stop sticking our heads in the clouds and face reality.
There are many ways to lose your sense of self-esteem despite of how trivial it could get. But whatever happens, we should all try not to lose our own sense of self.
So what does it take to be a cut above the rest? Here are some of the things you can think and improve on that should be enough for a week.
1. Know your purpose
Are you wandering through life with little direction – hoping that you’ll find happiness, health and prosperity? Identify your life purpose or mission statement and you will have your own unique compass that will lead you to your truth north every time.
This may seem tricky at first when you see yourself to be in a tight or even dead end. But there’s always that little loophole to turn things around and you can make a big difference to yourself.
2. Know your values
What do you value most? Make a list of your top 5 values. Some examples are security, freedom, family, spiritual development, learning. As you set your goals for 2010 – check your goals against your values. If the goal doesn’t align with any of your top five values – you may want to reconsider it or revise it.
The number shouldn’t discourage you, instead it should motivate you to do more than you can ever dreamed of.
3. Know your needs
Unmet needs can keep you from living authentically. Take care of yourself. Do you have a need to be acknowledged, to be right, to be in control, to be loved? There are so many people who lived their lives without realizing their dreams and most of them end up being stressed or even depressed for that matter. List your top four needs and get them met before it’s too late!
4. Know your passions
You know who you are and what you truly enjoy in life. Obstacles like doubt and lack of enthusiasm will only hinder you, but will not derail your chance to become the person you ought to be. Express yourself and honor the people who has inspired you to become the very person you wanted to be.
5. Live from the inside out
Increase your awareness of your inner wisdom by regularly reflecting in silence. Commune with nature. Breathe deeply to quiet your distracted mind. For most of us city slickers it’s hard to even find the peace and quiet we want even in our own home. In my case I often just sit in a dimly lit room and play some classical music. There’s sound, yes, but music does soothe the savage beast.
6. Honor your strengths
What are your positive traits? What special talents do you have? List three – if you get stuck, ask those closest to you to help identify these. Are you imaginative, witty, good with your hands? Find ways to express your authentic self through your strengths. You can increase your self-confidence when you can share what you know to others.
7. Serve others
When you live authentically, you may find that you develop an interconnected sense of being. When you are true to who you are, living your purpose and giving of your talents to the world around you, you give back in service what you came to share with others -your spirit – your essence. The rewards for sharing your gift with those close to you is indeed rewarding, much more if it were to be the eyes of a stranger who can appreciate what you have done to them.
Self-improvement is indeed one type of work that is worth it. It shouldn’t always be within the confines of an office building, or maybe in the four corners of your own room. The difference lies within ourselves and how much we want to change for the better.
Money Is Evil! (So Sid Gatt reckons!)
By · Comments
You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you. Maya Angelou
Money will come when you are doing the right thing – Mike Phillips
Money without brains is always dangerous! Napoleon Hill
Don’t ever underestimate the importance of money. I know it’s often been said that money won’t make you happy and this is undeniably true, but everything else being equal, it’s a lovely thing to have around the house. Groucho Marx
Cartoon Motivator – becoming more fit and attractive!
By · CommentsHere’s a cartoon on getting fit and some quotes to inspire you…
Hard work truly does pay off! .. I started a long time ago in hopes that this day would come, where I could be recognized for my hard work on my abs. Usher
I have lost 10-12 kilos. The reason why I have lost weight is that I looked at the international schedule and thought that I wanted to play for another two years. It is a very hectic schedule and if I want to get through that then I have to be in the best shape that I can. Shane Warne
“Getting fit is all about changing the way you think. You shouldn’t exercise because anyone tells you to, but because you want to do it for yourself.” Peter Cohen
“Make exercise a reward, rather than a punishment. Think about how you feel at the end of a run and use that to motivate yourself.” Peter Cohen
BELIEF – It’s all about having it!
By · Comments“To be a champ, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will.”
Sugar Ray Robinson
1920-1989, Boxer
Limiting Beliefs!
By · CommentsUnderstanding beliefs
The intention of the limiting belief
Think of a time when you have wanted to do something and then countered it with the thought, ‘I can’t because I’m…’ or ‘Yes, but….’ and talked yourself out of it. We’re often afraid to start something for fear of not being good enough, or fearing failure. The thoughts that warn us of impending potential failure can see us walk away from opportunities. This is the result of our subconscious trying to protect us from failing. This is often termed ‘protecting your comfort zone.’
This is another extract and cartoon I drew for Tracy Plaice’s Face The Music and WIN! book.
Cartoon Illustration – Face The Music and WIN! Part 2!
By · CommentsHere’s another cartoon that I drew for Tracy Plaice’s book titled Face The Music and Win .
Here’s an extract and cartoon from the first chapter…
Memories of mistakes and humiliation…
One of the worst Sundays I recall, all my relatives were there, my Mum, Dad and sister – Beverley, my Grandma, Grandpa, Aunty Margaret, Uncle Raymond, and my cousins – Kate and Steve.
“Tracy, Beverley; play us a tune,” came the request after lunch. My sister had taken up the piano after me. She sat down and dutifully and perfectly, played a simple piece of music. Then all eyes were on me.
I felt the muscles in my back tense up, my stomach folded into knots and I squirmed and tried to get out of it, but to no avail.
The pit of my stomach was churning and all I could think about were the mistakes I was bound to make, how awful they would sound, and the fact that they would expect me to be so much better than the performance I was about to give. I hated feeling this way.
I sat down to play and did as I was told, stumbling my way through the music. After just a few bars, fear got the better of me and I froze. It was like someone had pulled the plug; my brain no longer being connected to my fingers. I couldn’t think straight. All I remember is an overwhelming feeling of absolute embarrassment. I wanted the ground to open up to swallow me and the piano stool – whole.
After that experience, whenever anyone asked me to play in public that dreadful feeling instantly came back.
Later in the book Tracy goes through the stages she went through to overcome her fear. Stay tuned for more!
So if you have a book in your mind that needs illustrating I’m your man!
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