The Road to Success is paved with Failures.

I was talking with a friend last night about my latest dream of moving to Brooklyn, NY. I said, "you know, I'd like to go up there and try. If I fail, I have friends and family who will still love me". My friend then mentioned how he had been thinking about failure during the last week. "You know," he said, "there's not much I've failed at in my life, that I've gotten back up and tried again". He felt bad about this. You should also know, my friend has a great job and I consider him to be an amazing person. I agreed, though. I also feel, that in my short life I've set myself up to succeed. If I fail, I move on to something I can accomplish. I've mastered taking the "safe" way out.

I'm starting to think that failure is not failure at all, but the path to success. I don't mean the typical definition of success. What if success meant reaching your potential, by investing in the gifts granted to you from birth, rather than burying them? Maybe through failure you come closer to understanding what those gifts are? Perhaps, that is why there is so much to learn from our elders? They have time and experience under their belts, which nurtures wisdom.

Lately, I wonder, how could fail more? I also wonder, where am I burying my head in the sand? Where can I take a risk?

Realize, I don't mean life threatening stuff. I mean the everyday risks... Speaking up for something I care for when no one else will, confessing, approaching friends about hard to bring up topics, dreaming about the future, traveling, talking to someone I don't know, trying a new hobby, writing a blog, and the list could go on.

When have I let fear of failure prevent me from speaking, acting, doing, making, traveling, loving, listening, trying, investing, jumping?

You, Me and Everyone In Between have a choice.

I end with a cliche.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

...Robert Frost

Learning how to share.

I wish I wasn't trained to be so competitive. I wish I wasn't so independent. I wish I could share.

Does it have to do with my name? Think about it. When I design a mark, every time afterward I will think, "I did this". Or I will hope people will say, "wow, look what D.J. did". The reality is, if I am to truly serve the partner, the last thought on spectators minds should be who designed the mark.

Does it have anything to do with efficiency? I think it's faster to work independently. I don't need to make any changes because I'm not listening to anyone or working with anyone else. Less minds equal quicker work. I think I've been trained and I've accepted working independently. Throughout school we're compared individually by our grades. Group projects don't happen enough and when they do, are they truly an authentic collaboration? What if we weren't made to be so independent? What if it wasn't about being faster?

I think about me and only me. How is this design going to enhance my portfolio? How are my ideas going to get me somewhere? I want my idea picked, not his or hers.

What if I shared all of my ideas with you freely and openly? You then could criticize me, constructively of course. Perhaps you could take my ideas to a level I could never reach on my own? Perhaps, I stumbled off of the correct path and you could lead me otherwise. Perhaps, you're better at illustration, or writing, or business plans, or selling an idea, or articulation, communication, architecture, interior design, etc... What if you took my idea and made it into something I could never achieve in my wildest dreams?

Case Study:
I was asked to research, consult, and re-market the company I currently work for.
I interviewed fellow employees, current and past partners, past interns, and competitors.
What was I to do with all of the information I received?
I tried to articulate my findings. I'm not a writer.
I called my friend in Indiana and asked if she could help me. She said yes.
From all of the research I found and ideas I came up with she articulated, for me, a beautiful script for my presentation.
I presented a presentation that even in my wildest dreams I could never accomplish or dream of.
Why?
I collaborated authentically with someone with amazing skills that I don't have.
Previous Feelings: At first I thought, "I want to do this on my own." Or, "What if I don't like the new ideas." Or, "This could take longer."
Current Feelings: Although it took a bit longer, the quality outweighed reaching my personal timelines, & together we served the partner better than I could have ever imagined doing by myself.

Dream: To continue collaborating with different people with diverse skill sets to serve the partner in new and remarkable ways. I want to connect designers, writers, illustrators, lay-people, business folk, storytellers, architects, interior designers, visionaries, etc... with amazing partners with incredible visions to create remarkable activity.

That's a long way down the road, I hope in Pittsburgh. For now I'd like to learn how to share better, in Chattanooga.

By sharing, we serve each other by gifting each other with our thoughts, vulnerability, and ideas. We can help each other handle the weight. Ultimately this serves the client or partner or friend better and I feel it this all effects you, me and everyone in between.

Everyone can do it!

Everyone can do "it".
Even your grandfather, with some help of course.
Don't be embarrassed or afraid to discuss "it".
In fact, talk to your grandparents about it, openly.
Ask that your college make it a required part of the curriculum. (Then again, to do this, would require "it")
Once educated you'll learn how to appreciate "it" and do "it" the right way.
"It's" actually a simple concept.

Let's talk about "it", the "L" word.
What do I mean? Leadership.

I think most of you are afraid, (myself included), to take leadership.
I think leadership has replaced public speaking as a Human being's number one fear, even over death.

Proof:
Why do so many Facebook groups come into existence only sit idle? "Most" people are afraid to take leadership and write on the wall or forum. We're afraid of what people will think. I know that many people after a forum or conference are loaded with thoughts. How come all of these forum and conference pages are empty? I wonder what would happen if each of us picked a group we are passionate about on Facebook and gave some leadership? Ask the group a question each day, add personal thoughts (especially ones that we're insecure about, those attract the group), meet up with the people in the group, or create a group chat or party somewhere?

Why do so many individuals come home from work unfulfilled? "Most" people are managed. We do what we are told and then we go home exhausted. We're afraid to do something without being asked. Too often we compromise.

Why do so many people have better ideas, yet let them linger in the darkness of our head, never to see the light of day. We love to vent. We love to talk about how our ideas are better than our bosses. Ok, do something then. (Again, myself included) I'm lucky, my boss is very humble. He knows that everyone has their own individual gifts and talents. He knows that he doesn't know everything. (He tells me all the time. Though, sometimes I think he does know everything.) I can propose new ideas to him very easily. I don't know if that will be so at my next job. This doesn't only go for work. How many times do we have great ideas for our neighborhood? Like a block party, flea market, gardens, and we don't do anything.

Lastly, why do we make propaganda uplifting one individual into leadership? (I admit the person I voted for has the most propaganda) It's because we depend on that one person to be our voice. Think about it though. How many people live in our country? Do you actually think one person can do it alone? NO! We need the little people, the medium people, and the big people all stepping up as leaders. Let's spread the leadership before we do anything. And no, you don't need propaganda. (A blog helps though)

What do I think leadership is?
I think it's when you do what you think and feel is right (and your passionate) to serve your family, home, fitness center, work, church, daycare, the list goes on. I'm passionate about connecting others and uplifting and inspiring people. That's why I right stuff like this. I risk putting my thoughts out here with the hope that you will challenge them and teach me (or hurt my feelings in the process).

Culprit = Failure
Erase Failure. When you're doing what's right you can never fail, especially if you're doing what you're doing to serve someone else. If you're afraid you'll lose your job, maybe you actually don't have much respect for your boss? Meaning, you think he or she would actually fire you for doing something good for the company.

Culprit = To Much Work not enough Energy
Wrong, you will gain energy from the fellowship you will receive and the feeling of achievement.

Culprit = What will others think?
Show others your vision. Help them understand it. Draw a picture. Make them excited to be apart of something.

Culprit = I'm Not a Leader.
Maybe so, but the greatest of leaders are servants. Find someone who does have a cause you are passionate about and serve them. Let me know where this takes you?

Culprit = Independence
Never do anything by yourself or without the support of some friends. Have someone spotting you in case you fall. It's okay to depend on others. The greatest leader of all time had 12.

Challenge to You, Me & Everyone In Between.
Let's say you put yourself out there, what's the worse that could happen? Imagine if you found others who share the same passion as you... What you could accomplish? I imagine lots of people would love to hear what you're thinking and they don't even know it yet.

Ideas from Seth Godin's book tribes, and Tim Ferris's book the Four Hour Work Week inspired my thoughts.
I apologize for grammatical errors. Feel free to take leadership and offer to edit my blog.
dj.trischler@gmail.com

Having fun with work.

I think I've found ways to enjoy my day at work more so that I would if I weren't applying the following disciplines. I learned some of the following thoughts from Tim Ferris and Seth Godin. 

Don't wait for your boss to tell you what to do. Keep a list of all that you're asked to do and a list of stuff you'd like to do. Chances are you boss didn't have the time to come up with your "great" idea and she will enjoy it, as long as she doesn't have to do the work. There have been many occasions, thus far, that I've mentioned ideas and did things that my boss hasn't asked of me, and I felt better afterwards and I think he enjoyed it as well. Do something different for yourself, if anything. 

Take on multiple jobs. I accomplish work much slower if I am only working on one project. I think my brain enjoys the diversity of switching gears. Lately, I've been working on jobs dealing with 401k, Printing, and the Environment. 

Stop checking email. Every time an email comes in, a little red circle flashes on my dock. I'm distracted by the red circle and lose my train of thought or position. All of the time an email can wait. Only once, in the past month have I had to see an email immediately. I turned the red circle off and I only check my gmail account twice a day. This has made my work flow much smoother. 

Stop receiving junk email. How many emails do you receive that you don't need to read? Think about all of the mail from Facebook, MySpace, Local Newsletters, Updates, Amazon Coupons. Their like 10% important compared to a work related note or a message from mom. I set up a separate gmail account for all of my online accounts. I called my account signupDJ@gmail.com. 

Never forget a good thought. Sign up for Jott.com. You can call Jott with your ideas or thoughts and it'll record your voice into a transcript that you can find online. I check Jott every morning to see my thoughts. For the less technically advanced, by a cheap note book. The trick is, though, you have to go back to Jott and to your notebook. Your thoughts are no good if they are just written down and never looked at. 

Share ideas and discuss them openly. I hit the wall all the time. I push an idea and I can't go any further. Recently, I have been working on a major project for my company. I've interviewed clients, employees, competitors, and former interns. I have so much information that I don't know what to do with it. Well, I had some ideas, but I needed input, other ideas. I sent my thoughts to a friend of mine who writes. I was so impressed with the new ideas she had. Ultimately, this helps the company I work for. But, it also helped me enjoy my work even more by sharing it with a friend. I think she's enjoyed the experience as well. 

Eat lunch with someone else. Pretty simple. Talk about whatever you want or maybe just don't talk at all, just eat and get away from work! 

There's so much I am learning which will come in subsequent blogs. However, I must mention one last thought. Know when to stop. For me I must leave at four. (I usually start at 7) I think we've been tricked to think more time means more productivity. I'm not so sure I think that's true. Do you? I've found the less time I spend working, the more natural work happens when I am working. 

 

These disciplines have helped me become even more creative than before, and I love my job. I don't think that all of these are made for you and everyone in between. I would encourage you, though,  to find you own ways to get through the day better. If you're having more fun, that will effect You, Me and Everyone In Between.  

Who Would You Rather Work For?

Today I received my absentee ballot. I now have to make a major decision immediately. I believe that the decision isn't as complex as most make it out to be. I believe it is rather simple. Who do I want to work for? 

Before I go on I should say a few points. 

1. This is the most I have participated in any election, yet, somehow I still feel uneducated and confused on the topic. 

2. Both candidates have lied and will continue to lie. 

3. Neither of them will fulfill the promises they've made. 

4. An elected official will not end abortion in this Country.  (I wish they could)

5. American's will have to work together to gain respect back from other countries, to work ourselves out of the huge dilemma that we are in, and to thrive like our inventors dreamed that we could. We will succeed because of the bright minds outside of Washington who are not afraid to take a risk. In my mind a politicians job is to empower these people, not themselves. 

I am not suggesting that you don't vote. All I am suggesting is, these candidates are not nearly as important as they or You, Me and Everyone In Between make them out to be. The most important person is You. And what Senator Obama and Senator McCain are not telling you is, you are going to have to do something, make a sacrifice, otherwise, America will fail. One human being cannot save this country, or this world. It will take a community of amazing people with incredible ideas, impenetrable faith, a willingness to take a risk, and who are ready and willing to work hard and make sacrifices. 

So now I pose the question, who would you rather work for?

Either way, You, Me and Everyone In Between will make sacrifices. However, together we can and will succeed. That fact, does not depend on either of the candidates being elected. I strongly think and feel that Senator Obama will help that progress and I'd rather work for him (that is why I will vote for him). However, he is not a required aspect of the formula. But you are, same with me and everyone else in between. 

Vote and then do something! 

What is Love?

Last week a friend pleasantly reminded me of what love is... 

Love is patient.

Love is kind. 

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. 

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

Whenever I am anything but patient, I am not permeating love. 

Whenever I am not kind to others, I am not giving to my fellow brother or sister in love. 

When I envy, boast or I am proud, I am doing for my own good and not of another, which is not love. 

I personally need to examine all of these, however, the red highlighted words I need the most work on. 

When I'm not patient, easily angered, or self-seeking during the next week, I'd like to stop what I'm doing and think, how could I do what I am doing with love? 

Don't you think this could effect You, Me and Everyone In Between? 

What are you hungry for?

Picture this: Your stomach starts making noise. You feel a tingle in your body. Weakness sets in.

This is what happens when you feel hungry. Your body tells you through different types of messages in it's attempt to communicate to you. I would bet that none of us ever think we are hungry. We only feel hungry.

I propose that hunger is like our purpose. Like hunger, purpose is a feeling. When we are not walking in our purpose our body starts to tingle with anxiety, a head ache might set in, and you might even feel weak. However, walking within our purpose is quite the opposite. For me, when I know I am doing what God created me to do, I feel similar to how I feel after a good steak. It's an indescribable sensation through out my body.

I challenge myself to stop thinking and feeling for my purpose. Listen to the gut instinct, and almost every time, I sit in retrospect and say, "dang, it was right!"

I think we're all fasting. (well most of us) Quench your palette! Feed your hunger for life! As you sit and read this, take a moment and listen to your gut! What is it telling you to do? If you're dreaming of becoming a nurse, feed your desire. If you've got headaches from working or you feel weak when you get home, take inventory! Find out what you're doing throughout the day that drains you. You see, our purposes should be life giving.

Now, one might say, "D.J., I love what I do, but I can still get tired at the end of the day." Well, I would say, I love steak, but if I eat too much I feel tired and worthless. Define how much is too much! Too much of a good thing is never good. Step away from your purpose and walk outside. Have lunch with a friend. Read the news. Search Flicker. Take a sabbatical.

Now stop... Remember I am a very idealistic person. All of this sounds great, but it's hard. It takes time to discern what it is your gut is feeling. Just like a chef experiments to perfect the taste of his finest item, so to must we try new things to find our purpose. Never settle for less. Keep learning about you, about others, about the world. There are no formulas.

That's it. That's all I got today.

This post was inspired by thoughts from Seth Godin, Rob Bell and Andy Rutledge. I look to them for advice and inspiration. They are much better people than I. Their links are provided on the right hand side of my blog.

Entry edited by Brandon Brown.

Update

Well, it's been quite a long time since I've wrote and you've read. Sure, I have plenty to  say and tell you. Rather than waste your whole afternoon, here's a few things I'm doing, learning and thinking about. 

Doing: 

I moved to Chattanooga, TN after I spent the majority of the summer living in a sorority house with 30+ college students. Now, I'm even further below the Mason Dixon line pursuing my field of study, design. I live with my good friend Brandon Brown. We live on top of Lookout Mountain, technically, live in Georgia. A wonderful lady, who lives all by her self in an enormous house, asked Brandon and I to live in the basement apartment. Brandon and I witness some of the most incredible sunsets from our kitchen window. 

The primary reason I found interest in Chattanooga was a small design studio called, Widgets and Stone, who I now intern/apprentice for. The most attractive aspect of Widget's is not their design, which is stunning. Their approach is what gained my attention. Widget's only designs for people who inspire them. They treat their clients like people. I've actually seen them turn down clients because it they would of taken on the job it would of alienated one current client. That's taboo in a field where the dollar sign rules. Behind the mask of widgets and stone lie strong values founded in serving ones neighbor. Find out more... www.widgetsandstone.com

After work, life seems to begin, not stop. Brandon and I are living together with the intention of becoming better people. While living with each other we are learning new ways of serving our neighbor, forgiving one another, encouraging each other in our individual pursuits, establishing open communication, and much more. 

Learning: 

All of the above! 

At work I am learning how to motivate myself and take my own initiative with out being told exactly what to do. Most of the time I am given a task and, usually, I have to figure out how to accomplish it. I like this style of learning/training. For instance, the first day I was given the task or researching, consulting, and marketing Widgets and Stone. Instead of asking how to do it, I just jumped in. For me the project has looked like many one on one meetings with clients, employees, past interns, and citizens of Chattanooga. I encourage anyone who interns to read A Message to Garcia. Questions are great when the the person who is asking is served, a long with the person sharing. 

I'm learning how to eat slower and enjoy the taste.

I'm trying to learn how to become a better listener. 

I would like to learn how to serve others better. Interning, living with an older lady, and living with a room mate have presented serving opportunities. (Could be doing a better job)

Thinking about: 

Joseph (Advisor and co-worker) and I are in the beginning stages of creating a mural outside of our office. I'd love for our mural to help encourage more murals to follow. We've connected with the local Mural Guy in town and he's more than willing to help us. We're also trying help him and his vision of Chattanooga becoming a mural friendly city. (like Pittsburgh). 

Brandon and I are taking photos at Joseph's girlfriend's sister's wedding next weekend. Well, I should say Brandon will be taking the good photos. I'm there strictly for encouragement. This will be fun though to take on a project as a team.

This weekend Brandon and I are traveling to Nashville to visit some friend I made during my nine month internship. 

Well, talk to you soon. 

D.J.