How to master an artistic skill

"mastering the guitar has been one of my greatest accomplishments so far."

How I did it: it's something i worked really hard at, although i've enjoyed it all the way. i don't think you ever really 'master' something in the sense that you couldn't improve somehow. it's just that i've reached a level on the guitar where i can say that i feel like i can do what i want to do with it and make the music i hear with it. how did i do it? discipline, practice, hard work, open mind, listening, and practice... oh... and practice.

Lessons & tips: practice. find a teacher. love what you do.

Resources: videos. books. the internet. other musicians. teachers.

It made me rock!

See more progress on: master an artistic skill

making room for new goals

i just haven’t had the desire to really do this. the idea is interesting to me, and i’ve actually followed other people online who do this. it’s very cool – portable art that people find. i just haven’t done anything with it, and i don’t mind saying that i think i can live without accomplishing this task. it’s not a goal. it’s an idea.

See more progress on: write anonymous, loving post-its for strangers to find

10 weeks of walking to work everyday

it’s been about 10 weeks since i found a new job within walking distance of my home, and i have never regretted having to walk to work. it’s just a short walk – about 10 minutes – but if i get up early enough it is a relaxing time to shuffle down main street towards the office. after work, i love not having to fight traffic. i’ve felt much more free than i have for a long time. now… grocery shopping is a different story. walking home with 5 or 6 bags of groceries really sucks. i did that last week, instead of taking a cab home, and it was a bad idea. the plastic bags stretched almost to the point of coming apart, and they were much too heavy for walking. my backpack can only hold so much, and i am not going to be dragging a wagon down the street or sneaking off with a grocery cart. i’m thinking about an electric scooter or maybe a very fuel-efficient or even hybrid personal vehicle. i’m still walking to work, though.

See more progress on: Walk to work everyday for a year

i've been thinking a lot about design, style, and fashion lately

for most of my life i haven’t really put too much thought into what i wear – the clothes that i pick off the rack. if i have an unconscious liking for a t-shirt, a button-down, or a pair of shorts or pants, then i try it out. however, i’ve mainly shopped in the ‘big box’ kind of stores – target, kohl’s, walmart, marshalls… i haven’t really wanted to spend a lot of time picking out clothes, trying them on, and spending a lot of money. now, however, i realize that i just have no unique style. i just wear these generic clothes that don’t really fit me well. my favorite clothes are usually the clothes that certain people in my life have given to me as gifts. on the other hand, i have all of these other bits of clothes that i don’t even really wear, that i bought, and they just take up my closet space and keep me from buying newer clothes. i see things i like, but i feel like it’s a waste of money to buy them. then, when i feel like i need clothes i go buy clothes that i see on the rack – generic, boring, and tiresome. so, now, i want to empty my closet of a lot of what’s in there and replace them with clothes that i pick out – that i really like and will honestly wear – clothes that make outfits. this is not a gay thing. this is not a ‘metrosexual’ thing. this is an ‘i want to look how i want to look’ thing. the same goes for the haircut. i tend to shave my head when i get tired of my hair being in that mid-way point between short and long. i want a haircut that i can actually maintain and ‘style’ without having to do much with it. that’s what’s so great about a shaved head – no need to do anything. but, i guess i’m bored of having no hair.

See more progress on: develop my own style