Change the question you ask yourself and it immediately changes your subsequent thoughts — as well as your feelings. It’s no surprise then, that the greatest innovators, leaders, teachers, and students are excellent mental shepherds… they have made a habit of asking excellent questions.
Despite the oversimplified beliefs about the necessity of earning a degree from ‘art school,’ a true artist knows that art school does not groom one to become a world-class artist. They understand that such an education may help hone their skills, but not reveal them.
More often than not a decision alone is not enough. And action without a thoughtful decision is dangerous. But when decisions and actions are married magical things happen.
We should be optimistic in viewing our setbacks as preparation for future circumstances and opportunities that we cannot yet foresee.
In doing so, failure becomes cross training.
The pursuit of success can be demanding, tough, painful, and tiring… but you know what? The Honey Badger doesn’t care. Nothing will stop it from attempting success.
What about you? How would traits of the Honey Badger increase success in your life?
Sometimes it seems society’s goal is to produce conforming, non-inquisitive, and apathetic grown-ups. This, of course, is an excellent way to shun both fun and success from life.
The opposite of such a stoic existence is to embody the curiosity, liveliness, playfulness, and spontaneity of a child (and yes, these traits can co-exist with maturity).
Why does this lesson plan strike you as odd? Because in conventional education (chalkboard and all) there is so much structure we come to rely on teachers, leaders, scholars, and a predetermined program to “educate” us.
It’s no question that those who enjoy more, do more, and achieve more are those whose own daily lesson plan reads: “Educate myself.”
This is my tribute of an unaccredited image that spread like wildfire on the internet way back in 2005… and yet I still have not forgotten it. It’s simple, it’s funny, and even though the teacher may not enjoy the same degree of laughter, in some strange way, it’s still, literally speaking, a correct response.
When the first thing I see is a road block or what appears to be a dead end, I derail my interpretation by labeling the situation as a ‘NOppertunity.’ These are simply circumstances whereby the no’s, can’ts, and don’ts are initially the most obvious aspects, but not the only ones.
Opportunity, by nature, is introverted. It won’t appear with flashing lights and boisterous music. Instead, the greatest opportunities are revealed to those who seek them.
Too many people still view the world as ‘flat.’ They think in very limited, 2-dimensional terms.This is a shame, because it limits what is possible. To experience more you have to believe more exists.
If Christopher Columbus believed what the experts told him (“Young man, the world is flat. Sailing far to sea is a death wish!”) then he never would have left the shoreline and certainly never would have stumbled upon North America – a voyage and discovery that ironically completely changed human’s ‘perception’ of our world.
Craving to creatively express myself in early 2011, I drew this image late one January night. Truth be told, it’s the very first image that inspired the new Maxims4Mavericks as a ‘visually nutritious’ blog.
I hope this image shows that originality can be simple. Expressing yourself, your desires, and your talents need not be a complicated process. Sometimes the journey of becoming a better version of yourself simply begins by looking in a new direction with a new pair of eyes. But whatever direction you look, be sure it’s your own. Creativity flourishes when the primary obligation we embrace is seeking to be oneself.
Some sandcastles boast an impressive existence spanning several days. Others do not. Why the difference? The short answer: A passion to create something awesome. +The enduring sandcastles shared an obvious commonality: They were apparent displays of deliberate effort and attention to detail. They were transformations of sand to art – and most people had no desire to destroy them. In fact, people gladly changed the course of their beachfront strut to avoid spoiling the frail creations. Others stood by in admiration and signaled their friends to take a closer look.