Some days it helps to have anything to look forward to. MacZot helps me pass the time away by offering unique Mac applications at highly discounted rates. Yay for continued life!

What is even more fun then playing on the computer or spending money? Complaining! Watch their discussions for heated nerd on nerd arguments. Personally, I watch and swoop down to heckle other nerds. This tactic is known as the pocket condor.

When Drawn and 37Signals quote an article, you know it has more than a bit of God's honest truth. Read the full "How to Charge" article from 1099 HERE. It is a really powerful and yet condensed piece of advice.

Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him."It's you -- Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist."So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the women his work of art."It's perfect!" she gushed. "You managed to capture my essence with one stroke, in one moment. Thank you! How much do I owe you?""Five thousand dollars," the artist replied."B-b-but, what?" the woman sputtered. "How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it!"To which Picasso responded, "Madame, it took me my entire life."

Instructables' LeeVonk has an inspired idea for making short animation. I'm definitely tempted to give it a try myself. You have to dig the quality and retro flavor. These look like they were made for Sesame Street back in the 80's. Four steps to a ready piece.

Andy's Early Comics Archive is a look at the long and winding past that is sequential art. While you could debate whether some of these items fill the "comics" definition, it is the most thorough collection of comic-styled art I have seen. I highly recommended swinging by and seeing the elements incorporated within such beautiful art.

The articles on Early Speechballoons in Cartoons and Early Speechballoons in Comics are particularly one-of-a-kind.

I recently came into possession of the single greatest souvenier in existence. In a time where you have to take off your shoes, get aggressively fondled, and then remove all liquids within a 48 mile radius just to view an airplane, the irony bathed photos above are delightful.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

This crappy paper weight/snow globe/pencil eraser shows "Washington - The Nations's Capital" and a floating plane which you can ram into it. Seriously. I can see it now, Osama and friends hiding in the rocks training for their next great assault using these crappy $2 novelties. For shame corporate America, for shame... :P

I first came across Wally Wood's "22 Panels" piece in high-school. It was an entire mini-comic/article devoted to finding better ways to visually represent a conversation. "How quaint!" I thought, and tossed it aside. I suppose I was too busy drawing splash pages to worry about dialouge. Ten years later (and hopefully a bit wiser) I appreciate the usefulness of Mr. Wood's creation much more.

The truth is, conversations are sequential art's blindspot. It takes a gifted writer and artist to mold a scene that is natural, because people can spot a fake hobbling their way. A well paced and illustrated scene can free up the burden of the writer. In other words, good conversation art equals less focus on talking heads more focus on highlighting interesting characters or plot.

Click HERE or on the image to download this helpful, inspirational tool by Wally Wood. Many thanks to Joel Johnson for purchasing and restoring this classic for comic fans to continue enjoy. Now to divert to a wildly different area of sequential art...



Bill Watterson is one my favorite cartoonists due to his whimsical illustration style and his heart-warming characters. A few minutes exploring and you'll find that Watterson hates interviews. As a matter of fact, I've only been able to find two in existence. (Full Interview here)

But back to the point - Watterson's feelings seem to echo Wally Wood's:



Christie: When you sit down at the drawing table, though, do you do one at a time or just keep going?

Watterson: I write separately from the inking up. I'm sure this varies from cartoonist to cartoonist; I find that the writing is the hard part and the drawing is the fun part. I like to separate the two so I can give my full attention to one or the other. Writing it, I'll sit down and stare into space for an hour and sometimes not come up with a single decent idea, or sometimes no idea at all, and it's very tempting to go do something else or just draw up a strip, but I find that if I make myself stick to it for another hour I can sometimes come up with several good ideas. And when I get to the drawing, I really enjoy taking a big chunk of time and working on the drawing and nothing else. That allows me to make sure that I'm really challenging the art, making each picture as interesting as I can...stick in a close-up or an odd perspective. This way, the writing doesn't distract me while I'm drawing and vice versa. I can devote my full attention to each.

There you have it folks. One hundred percent proof that you should make dialogue scenes visually interesting for you and the reader. It just makes sense, no?

- Josh

Like FREE things? Have a Mac?

Go hang out at the coolest dork bar on the planet, OS X APPS.

Everyone comes to a point where they stare at their hard-drive space in amazement. Filled already? How does the time go so fast!

The truth is, with each new application a massive amount of superfluous information is included. Help information, tutorial files, and the translation for all of the components into many, many languages. The eternal question is: How do I keep the stuff I need while trashing these files I will never use?

The answer is four little applications below. Each one does a bang-up job of reducing application bloat and pushing back the inevitable upgrade:

1) AppZapper

Demo: 5-uses
Full Version: $12.95

Start by cleaning house of the old programs gathering dust. If you haven't used it in 6 months, it may be best to move on. AppZapper will not only remove the application, but it will also destroy any hidden files the program may have filed away into your computer.

AppZapper starts with a free trial of 5 test zaps. I'd recommend purchasing the full version for only $12.95 as it is an exceptional piece of software. Or if you're running low on cash, you can zap a few programs and then force quit AppZapper bringing your "free tries" back to 5.

2) WhatSize

Full Version: FREE

Next, determining where your computer is wasting hard-drive space is key. WhatSize will scan your drives and catalog their memory usage. You'll notice that certain areas of your computer may be taking up huge amounts of disk space. This is the most manual of the applications because it asks you to root through and eliminate the items you don't need. The below are some quick tips to get you started:

- Search the Library. Help resources and printer drivers take up huge amounts of room. If you know that a new printer is far off, delete all of the drivers you don't need. If anything should change you can simply swing by the company's website to re-install.

- Remove the extras. I'm a Photoshop user for over 10 years, but most of the installation items are not needed. Removing their stock photography application and sample files saved lots of space.

- When in doubt, don't erase! It should be clear what is not needed. If it isn't it to you then it may be best to leave that file and move on.

3) Monolingual

Full Version: FREE

The next two applications do all the work themselves, so no more rooting through folders!

Monolingual may have one of the worst logos ever (because everyone is enthralled by seeing their country's flag in the trash) but it a handy cleaning tool. Like the name implies, Monolingual will remove all other languages then those you specify. It will pull them from OS X as well as all other applications.

ONE GIANT NOTE: Monolingual defaults do not include United States English. If this is your preferred language then be sure to view the preferences to double-check the ideal set-up for you. If you move ahead and remove these fonts without checking your preferred language they will be removed for good, and an entire system install would be needed. Not to mention the reinstall of non-standard applications. In other words: Check your preferences!

4) Youpi Optimizer

Full Version: FREE

Youpi Optimizer does the exact same thing Monolingual does, but both seem to miss files individually. By running them both you can be sure your Mac is optimized to your preferred language.

GIANT NOTE NUMBER TWO: Youpi Optimizer defaults do not include United States English. If this is your preferred language then be sure to view the preferences to double-check the ideal set-up for you. If you move ahead and remove these fonts without checking your preferred language they will be removed for good, and an entire system install would be needed. Not to mention the reinstall of non-standard applications. In other words: Check your preferences!

I hope you've enjoyed this mini-guide. Using this method I saved over 10 Gigs!

Best,
Josh

Surrealism + 1970 French Animation + Updated Techno Soundtrack = One mind-bending experience

Giles Trehin has built his own city. A little inspiration for to help do the same...

I stumble upon many inspiring videos that may be of use to comic/cartoon artists and thought it would be best to share them here. I hope you'll find a bit of refreshment in them!

Windsor McKay is one of two early newspaper comic artists that I believe opened up the industry to be recognized as an art-form. McKay's work on Little Nemo is a stunning visual accomplishment and showed the power of sequential art to transport a reader to a far away place. "Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend" is an interesting newspaper strip as it is very one-note and almost always ends negatively.

McKay was also the inventor of animated film, and below are two of his early examples: Gertie the Dinosaur and Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend. They're worth a watch, though I feel that they Rarebit contributes 1/20th that which Gertie added to animation. I'd take them instead as a good sample of the where Animation was over 90 years ago.

(The second artist would be George Herriman's Krazy Kat, though this remains popular for its' exceptional use of honest and like-able characters.)

Click the image below to visit the Online Drawing Application I've worked on for the past 6 months. Well, I designed and managed but it counts for something right?

I have a confession. It is something I try not to admit, but I'm going to test and write it down in the hopes of a magic blog catharsis.

I was a production assistant to Paul Horschemeier while he created books 2 and 3 of the Forlorn Funnies "Mother, Come Home" graphic novel and Forlorn Funnies 6. I scanned, prepped, and added colors to nearly each and page. I also worked on scanning, coloring, and preparing Jefferey Brown's artwork for print in the "Project: Telstar" and "Unlikely".

 
It isn't that I'm ashamed of these actions, as a matter of fact I enjoyed them quite a bit, the problem is that I occasionally live in the shadow of them. How do you follow-up one of the "IT" creators of 2006 without feeling inadequate? Paul's work has since been heralded by Time, Entertainment Weekly, and Rolling Stone. And though our contact was brief Jeffery's work is also equally regarded within the comic industry.

It began with a letter simple enough. I wrote him to pass along how much book one of "Mother, Come Home" had moved me. It is one of only a few comics that I had a visceral reaction to within the first 10-pages. I had a feeling it was going to be something special. I jokingly offered to be his intern, free of charge. He kindly responded and asked that we meet to look into my offer.

It didn't hurt that I was a huge fan of "Sequential", Paul's experimental comics during his college years. In high-school my mom and I drove to SPACE, a mid-Ohio comic convention in hopes to walk-away with some sign that this was my future. We loaded up her sparkly green station wagon and landed in a crummy hotel miles away. SPACE was a dump. After driving a few hundred miles to be greeted by what appeared to be a converted gym was a surprise. The folks inside were equally downtrodden.

I was in love because of this. Soaking up the atmosphere. Speaking with each artist. Asking stupid, pointless questions just to say "Hi". I realized at SPACE that this is what I want to do with my life. In my memory, Paul was the only one there standing to greet shoppers and he even had a makeshift booth. We made small talk, but his comics caught me off guard. They were good, very good. They are the only comics I held onto that day. His 5 minute meeting had an impact on me. He could do this, I could do this. So I started drawing "Nothing Left to Lose".

Back to the present: I began to swing by his place a few times a week. Scan in his art, clean it, adjust the levels, and fulfill any shipping orders. I'd then color the art at home and return the next day with the files. It was an exacting schedule because if the strict printing limitations Paul worked to. To go outside of one line was unacceptable. To miss a deadline was unacceptable. Though, oddly enough, I noticed that Paul expected neither of these of himself. Yet, he still did a great job of putting the fear of God in me.

Sometimes I'd come by and we'd just hang out. He wouldn't have any pages set or shipping was done, and I'd play with Margo, his adorable puff-ball kitten. My job would be to acquire food while he worked. In retrospect, my visits seemed to be a good way to twist his arm to create consistently. I kept noticing we'd miss deadlines but we would be working as hard as we could. The deadlines existed to give him a goal to strive for.

The closest thing I can compare it too was like being in an abusive marriage. We both had gripes but we pushed through the routine with robotic precision. We weren't great friends and that is precisely the reason it worked. We forced each other to get some stuff done. We continued on this way for a long time. Paul's temper (and my own) were bound to clash eventually, but the other shoe never dropped as expected. I was continuing a career as a designer and I was getting tired of spending so many nights commuting. Paul was most likely sad to see my help go but wouldn't miss me as a person. It was a clinical goodbye followed up with a handshake.

I made the mistake of using a quote from an email he'd sent me in promotional materials for "Nothing Left to Lose". It was an overly kind quote, one that you'd give a friend, and in retrospect I may have took advantage of it. Paul found out about it down the line and wrote me a very angry letter, asking that I remove his name from anything in the future. I did and have since.

Here are a few additional bits of wisdom he passed along or that I gleaned while hanging out on his couch, now paraphrased by time:

- The beginning of the story is the most important. Hook them there and it carries them to the end.

- Make every panel "magnet worthy" – worthy of being appreciated

- A deadline is the only way it will be a priority

- When you break a deadline set a new one and don't fret over it

- Conventions matter. Attend them.

- Cartooning is the concentrated act of isolation

- Organize your life so that comics are your priority

- Never lose sight of your mission

- Keep friendships with cartoonists. It is helpful for motivation/sanity

- Be prolific
 
And maybe the most important:

- Have idols that you live in the shadow of  - He painfully loved Chris Ware's work though he seemed to try and hide it due to comparisons
 
Paul is an amazing man, and one of the few truly driven people I have ever met, but I don't think we ever saw eye-to-eye. Even in the end when we'd been working together for almost 2 years. He is also brilliant, and his brilliance is probably part of the problem. I felt over-worked, under appreciated and a bit jaded. I was learning that while I admired my hero, it was questionable whether I liked him.

Today, I look at the recent paperback edition of "Mother, Come Home" and notice my name has been removed. It hurts a bit honestly. I know each and every line of those pages, but that is the price you pay for being on the sidelines. I've listened to this advice ever since. So in keeping, this is the first and last time I'll discuss this here.

- Josh

While the recent surge of users to the Macintosh computer scene is surprising, I'm very happy to see it happen. As a Mac user for over 10 years my once obscure interest has taken a pop-culture turn of massive proportions. OS X is most simply the most user friendly and functional operating system on the planet, not to mention that it is also gorgeous.

But even the best has room for improvement. With the inclusion of Widgets into Tiger (tiny little gadgets that have very specified functions) it was possible to create system add-ons that blended perfectly into the background. Quite a few of these widgets are fun diversions but quickly lose appeal. There are a few widgets that once added to your dashboard, will quickly become your little best-friends:

SnatchEm - FREE

Need to download a batch of images or PDFs and don't feel the need to awkwardly create an Automator action? Meet SnatchEm, an auto-downloading tool that pulls the specified file group (images/documents) or even file type (jpg, PDF, Doc) you need right to your desktop. Amazing tool that is routinely handy.

iClip $19.95

Or iClip lite 2 - FREE

Have you ever had a scrap of useful information but it wasn't important enough to warrant its own document? Well now, with iClip, you can store these important bits and recall them at your own pace. And small notes or URLs are just the beginning, iClip can store sounds, movies, practically anything you'd need!

It allows you to have a consistent storage system for items so that you can keep moving forward now, and easily reference them again when you have free time.

Screenshot Plus - FREE

Screenshots are very helpful to have, but kind of a pain in the butt to create in OS X. Well no more! Screenshot Plus allows you to quickly choose whether to take a screen of a monitor, a specified area, or even a timed shot. Finally you'll have a chance to preview before you save. An excellently useful widget.

Note: While trying to take a screenshot of the widget in action Screenshot Plus stopped working :P. An update on the developer's site proves that this indefinite loading bug is a common error when using OS 10.4.7. A previous edition (with only the loss of saving to the desktop) can be found HERE until the issue is remedied.

Basecamp Widget - FREE

Or Backpack Widget - FREE

If you are enjoying 37signals Basecamp or Backpack group productivity tools, then you'll be relieved to find these dashboard accessible versions. It is surprising how such a minor move to your dashboard can add so much to their usefulness!

Pandora Widget - FREE

Pandora is the developer of the Music Genome Project (aka. they analyze music with precise accuracy). Utilizing this information they created the Pandora music player. It functions almost exactly like a personal radio station except that you have full control over all aspects but don't need to micro-manage it as well. It plays full songs of music you will like based on your preferred artists.

The website is a nice diversion, but the practicality of keeping a browser window open for radio has never made sense to me. The Pandora Widget changes this completely by allowing the full functionality from Dashboard. It even imports your Safari cookies allowing for seamless integration of your music preferences!

While the Amazon ads included are a minor (okay major) issue, and the size is unruly, and the UI is buggy, but the benefits outweigh the negatives by far. Oh, and if you find any music you enjoy you might want to try this: G2P

Cyberduck Widget - FREE

A few years back I moved away from the grey skies of transmit, to the perky Super Mario-esque hills of Cyberduck. Cyberduck is the best FTP program on the Mac due to its simplicity and stability all for free. This widget makes Cyberduck twice as useful by allowing you to simply drop your file into the widget without launching the program. My love for the duck is unnatural.

iRate - FREE

Rate your iTunes music to faster and in a shiny golden hue.

iStat Pro - FREE

Say goodbye Activity Monitor. This baby condenses all of the useful stat loving geeky-ness into one rounded corner block.

Watchmouse Widget - FREE

This is one I don't entirely understand why it is free, but I'm happy to add it to the list. Watchmouse is a web site monitoring company specializing in uptime service. When your site goes down they let you. Their lowest package is $35.99, or you could get the free widget with nearly identical options. It will check at your chosen time intervals and even warn you if your server hits the fan.

Package Tracker - FREE

No more navigating to the same sites over and over. The package tracker saves sanity as well as well as time and is a great addition to your widget arsenal.


And the hidden 11th bonus widget:

Stop Dashboard - FREE

Dashboard is great but having many little applications in the background can degrade your system. With Stop Dashboard you can pause them for later use and a boost in your system performance in a jam. Hit F12 and your widgets come back online.


In the end, the widget push in OS X Tiger was more of a glimpse at the potential in store for Leopard. A few of the widgets listed here should be easy to create by users such as you and me. But until Leopard hits I'm happy to take a look at the best Tiger had to offer and dream for the future. Many thanks to the talented developers for releasing these exciting applications for free!

- Josh

So, I’ve beat quite a bit around the sequential bush the past few weeks about my exciting new book: Welcome to Pixelton. You’ve been good so I can let one big golden nugget slip: It will be an entirely unexplored dimension of comic storytelling which I’m pushing to an extreme.

Big words, no? Yep. How can I be so sure? Because I’ve looked far and wide and only a few people have attempted this style even in a small form. It is an untapped use of comics that I’m beginning to feel may be their most appealing face. It will be everything that my last book wasn’t. It should have a chance at affecting people in a unique way.





It isn’t a genre, but a new approach to comic storytelling. A storytelling avenue that could work with any genre, or style. And It isn’t through the use of certain panels or storytelling techniques.

Before you roll your eyes, people doubted me before Nothing Left to Lose existed too. They would hear about my debut 200+ page graphic novel and self-publishing debut and chuckle. But when I arrived with NLtL at SPX Fall 2004 they changed their tune. I had a show campaign that was featured in USA Today, and a postcard that many said was “the best they’d ever seen.” Folks learned that I could deliver on my talk and that even at my weakest outing, I was swinging for the heavens.




Now I’m 50 pages into the first chapter of a story and format that is ten times as ambitious. Each day I grow a page stronger, and I get more excited about 4 years of planning coming to life.

I hope this doesn’t come off as ultra cocky (though a good 75% would suffice). It is from pure elation that I write this down. I’ve found the place in comics where I hope to spend the rest of my life – enjoying creating each and every second.

I understand that drawing comics can be hard. We all feel it. You do another 2-hour page only to realize the next morning that your timing is all wrong, your main character is way off-model, and you're already behind as it is.

Breathe!

In a few years you'll look back at all of the sweat and tears with a big smile. Here are five time tested techniques for improving your pages and you're outlook on the empty page:

1. Build a Desert Island.

Like it or not, you need some sort of routine to create your own comic. Drawing a page here and there not only allows you to slack on your job as an artist, but it ensures that the writing of your book will be just as dis-jointed.

I've learned that the most effective way to make the "Page a day" mark is to trap myself. In other words, place yourself in a situation each day where a large portain of your time is open to only comics. How? In college I would schedule 2 hour gaps between classes. It was just enough time to do some quality work, while not enough to allow me to wander home or become bored. Today, I use the 45 minute train rides and my lunch break as Desert island time to work. Effectively using this time instead of wasting it away is key to keeping sharp.

2. Haven't drawn in a month? STOP.

You may not like to hear it, but procrastination means you are not having fun. Waiting until inspiration hits again for your 200 page story is a big waste of time. Tell a story that excites you today.

3. You have one month to live.

Imagine you have a month left to prove to the world your existence meant something. Go tell the story you were born to tell. Be creative. Be human.

And ignore everything you've ever heard about comics. Many wonder why comics aren't recognized as an art form - the reason is because it's an inbred industry. Do work that you think has a chance of toppling your greatest heros

4. Publishers? Meh.

I occassionally receive material from independent artists looking for Water Media to help publish them. They have a full book, completed and xeroxed to perfection. Many also include a cover letter which does an exceptional job of explaining their reason for creating their work. I need some sort of form letter that simply says "You're done. What are you waiting for?"

Publishing is as simple as bringing finished pages to a printer. Sure, computer work and money are involved, but these are afterthoughts compared to your exceptional work.

In other words, don't wait for a publisher's help to begin considering yourself a comic book creator. You can do it yourself. Start HERE.

5. You are your audience.

You are the one who will be spending thousands of hours to make it - have fun! Enjoy what you can and elminate those things that bring you down. Write stories that you enjoy for people like you.

Speaking from experience, about 10% of those who read "Nothing Left to Lose" really understood what I was getting at. While it could be argued that this is failed storytelling (and they may have a good point) my belief is that the most powerful forms of art are by definition exclusionary. Some people will not get it. Some will not try to get it. But the few who share your unique world view will hear you speaking to them.

So don't dilute your message by ensuring that it matches the homogeny of culturally approved slop. You can do this by writing for fun and enjoyment and the rest will follow.

Still looking for websites that inspire creativity (or entertain)?

Then check out my Delicious.com links!

What is Delicious? It is a lot like the favorites on your computer except when you choose a site it is shared publicly which allows everyone to enjoy them as well. You can search from user's favorites to see the "Best of the best". Plus, they make it easy for you to categorize the content to your viewpoint to easy share on your personal site.

You can always view what is new by checking out the Linkroll page. The information there is displayed as a "Tag Cloud" and this shows by size and color the most popular terms within my chosen sites.

Enjoy!

On a recent trip to GameFaqs.com to do some academic research on how to properly destroy something in Shadow of the Colossus I stumbled upon the following poll.



Ouch! It appears that brand loyalty has about as much ability to destroy a product as it does to exhalt one. May those poor 25% that plan to buy one "off the shelf" see the error of their ways by June 2007. (Right about the time PS3's will be able for purchase without starting a riot.)

While a few days back I blasted "Pop" business books for re-selling nearly the same themes, there is one recent title which I can't seem to shake. Getting Things Done is a book by David Allen about...well I think you can guess. It is a fairly light read but it talks about how to better organize your life to maximize your potential through simple steps. The interesting part is that Allen discusses why these steps have meaning and knowing the why upfront is key to setting this into motions. Plus, I think his "why" is correct.

Well, I tried to ignore the hype. Fervent users are said to have joined "the cult of GTD" and obsess over how to implement it's tips more effectively. I just didn't have time to be more productive right now.

A few weeks back I caved in and read it in a train ride. I thought it sounded great, like many of these self-help novels do, and I was pumped to begin. But putting it into practice I started to wonder if it was truly possible to follow the thoughts inside when a person has spent their life using a self-created system. I set the book down and gave it some thought.

Low and behold, I'm happy to say today I've implemented most of the tenets of GTD. My home office is spotless, I have a firm list of ongoing projects marked by priority, and I updated my filing system so that inspirational thoughts or idea. I still have a long way to go but I do feel its benefits.

The most important note here is that Allen frequently discusses GTD in the context of a day-time job. While I understand that this is the audience he is aiming for I find GTD many time more compelling for everyday life. When juggling a job plus all of the other bits a system to enjoy it along the way truly helps.

Imagine applying your full self to every page of a new novel or painting!

If you're interested in GTD I'd highly recommend the following links:

Your hard earned money in action folks. The longtail works both ways, with a billion idiots spending trillions on Adwords.

Get your Butt Face Towels while they're hot!

Facetags.com has a few big announcements coming in the next two weeks. Watch the Facetags 2006 Telethon below for a scoop on the exciting changes. Large, unwieldly kudos to Mr. Nate Kuhn for rocking out the slickest informercial starring action figures this side of the Mississippi.

He is living proof that the internet generation is better than every other. Take that Medieval Renaissance!

I've read my share of "pop-psych" business books in the last few years.

Be it about effectiveness (Seven Habits), excellence (Good to Great), the or a new view of the paradigm shift (Tipping Point or Blink), or more recently, Chris Anderson's The Long Tail.

All of them are nice interesting reads, but they have about as much unique content as something scribbled on a bathroom stall.

On first impression it is easy to believe these titles are non-fiction. Surely the author set about in a scientific fashion to gather the data and then come to a conclusion, right? Well, the answer is obviously "No". Careers are made or lost on their books and the bigger more dynamic claim one can make, the better your book can sell. That is why many of the above default to literary masters to pull their best parts.

Let me summarize these five books in two sentences:

Being meek or humble is the ultimate business benefit. - Seven Habits, Good to Great

The actions of a few can ripple affect the many. - Tipping Point, Blink, The Longtail


There could also be a third line which encompasses another thread in both:

Trust your gut instincts.


Take a good look at the above and compare them to your experiences. Do they have the ring of truth to you?

When I realized that I'm being resold the same narrative tale I've always heard, now dressed up in a non-fiction trapping, it was disconcerning to say the least. I might as well get out Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces and start a comparative checklist.

Or maybe these are modern retellings of America's streets being paved with gold. Lies - yes, but as long as the masses are entertained we can continue.

The point here being that catch-phrases exist to distract the lazy into thinking that life can be won by simply repeating a simple password. Upon uttering its last syllables the pearly gates open and we all dance into the sunset. The truth is hard work, good ideas, and a spirit that never gives up will trump any other method hands down. Pop business titles are great to read if you understand you are being sold a pretty plastic truth.