Most people experience a problem and then dig around until they get it resolved.

Smart people experience a problem and then get the help they need to quickly solve it.  This is faster and the solution is usually far better too.

Super-smart people experience a problem and then get the help they need to quickly solve it.  They then look for the best results. It’s this final step, greatness and dedication, which makes all the difference to their results!

Dumb people can always reprise themselves though, so take a lesson and leave the past in the past.

So last Thursday, Nellie's had a special Happy Hour for alll those who wanted to sign-up for the HIV/AIDS walk going down October 29th. The DC Center, who I often volunteer for came out strong. Nellie's offered complementary fries & a beer and the DC Center threw in a free t-shirt or frisbee is you signed up!

ART CARNAGE: Indie Art Market meets the Carnival Train on the last Saturday NIGHT of every month 8pm-12am

Vendors ! Table space just $10! April 30th Art Carnage is being sponsored by Albus Cavus! We are searching for indie craft vendors who have work that is graffiti, urban and pop culture inspired. Art Carnage is juried and you can APPLY HERE! Performers can APPLY HERE. Each month Art Carnage books a variety of entertainment including bands, musicians, comics, poets, rappers, mimes, jugglers, dancers, performance artists, actors and other talented people to infuse their magic into this unique event. Please click on the application link for more information.

Hermann Hess excerpt on Trees

"For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers. I revere them when they live in tribes and families, in forests and groves. And even more I revere them when they stand alone. They are like lonely persons. Not like hermits who have stolen away out of some weakness, but like great, solitary men, like Beethoven and Nietzsche. In their highest boughs the world rustles, their roots rest in infinity; but they do not lose themselves there, they struggle with all the force of their lives for one thing only: to fulfil themselves according to their own laws, to build up their own form, to represent themselves. Nothing is holier, nothing is more exemplary than a beautiful, strong tree. When a tree is cut down and reveals its naked death-wound to the sun, one can read its whole history in the luminous, inscribed disk of its trunk: in the rings of its years, its scars, all the struggle, all the suffering, all the sickness, all the happiness and prosperity stand truly written, the narrow years and the luxurious years, the attacks withstood, the storms endured. And every young farmboy knows that the hardest and noblest wood has the narrowest rings, that high on the mountains and in continuing danger the most indestructible, the strongest, the ideal trees grow.

Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.

A tree says: A kernel is hidden in me, a spark, a thought, I am life from eternal life. The attempt and the risk that the eternal mother took with me is unique, unique the form and veins of my skin, unique the smallest play of leaves in my branches and the smallest scar on my bark. I was made to form and reveal the eternal in my smallest special detail.

A tree says: My strength is trust. I know nothing about my fathers, I know nothing about the thousand children that every year spring out of me. I live out the secret of my seed to the very end, and I care for nothing else. I trust that God is in me. I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live.

When we are stricken and cannot bear our lives any longer, then a tree has something to say to us: Be still! Be still! Look at me! Life is not easy, life is not difficult. Those are childish thoughts. Let God speak within you, and your thoughts will grow silent. You are anxious because your path leads away from mother and home. But every step and every day lead you back again to the mother. Home is neither here nor there. Home is within you, or home is nowhere at all.

A longing to wander tears my heart when I hear trees rustling in the wind at evening. If one listens to them silently for a long time, this longing reveals its kernel, its meaning. It is not so much a matter of escaping from one's suffering, though it may seem to be so. It is a longing for home, for a memory of the mother, for new metaphors for life. It leads home. Every path leads homeward, every step is birth, every step is death, every grave is mother.

So the tree rustles in the evening, when we stand uneasy before our own childish thoughts: Trees have long thoughts, long-breathing and restful, just as they have longer lives than ours. They are wiser than we are, as long as we do not listen to them. But when we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy. Whoever has learned how to listen to trees no longer wants to be a tree. He wants to be nothing except what he is. That is home. That is happiness."
-Hermann Hesse (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛɐ̯man ˈhɛsə]) (July 2, 1877 – August 9, 1962) was a German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi), each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality.

Trying to defeat a problem by running away from it is seldom an effective strategy; unless you are being chased by a lion, of course!  Most of the challenges we experience in business (and life generally), require a solution.  Otherwise the challenge will simply persist.

Escaping to the countryside is seen as some kind of magical cure-all, for many people who want to solve the stresses and strains in their lives.  Sadly, it is not: As thousands, maybe millions of people can testify!

The reality is that if you have unresolved problems with your marriage, relationship, business or whatever; you will simply be experiencing them in a different location.  Once the newness of the “escape” wears off, the situation will be just like before, only without the support network you moved away from.  Like they say; most of our problems are caused by the person we see in the mirror each morning!

The difference between relocating and escaping: When you relocate to make a great thing even more magical.

If one of your goals is to escape (rather than relocate) to the countryside, the beach or the mountains, you will get a lot more from it if you fix whatever you are escaping from before you leave.  As one of my friends says; “the only way to solve a problem, is to face it and fix it!”

To everyone who made it to Nova Rays thank you and for those who were there in spirit you are fully appreciated. The night was brilliant and I was taken back by all the love. Everytime someone walked up the steps to the 2nd floor of Tabaq an even larger smile exuded my face. I was glad to see people I hadn't seen in a while. Well all in all I sold 4 pieces last night. Muy bien!

Well next up UTP has a summer open mic series coming to you. Yes we just don't stop so stay tuned. If you plan ahead just go ahead and reserve every other Wednesday from May 11th to July!

Nova Rays exhibition; an artists first

An explosion in the sky is the definition of 25-year-old Oklahoma bred artist, Dawn J.’s first solo exhibit. Nova Rays, which coincides with the position she is now taking on within the D.C. art scene; a star that has been forced to explode and in the process emits valuable rays into the universe.

Come Sunday, March, 27th Tabaq Bistro will be open for all those who want to view this cataclysmic occurrence. From 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. her art will be on display with the accompanying sounds of D.C.’s own DJ Natty Boom and up and coming, DJ Prizm.

Dawn J.’s work displays a combustion of color, combining various mediums of material from aerosol, latex acrylic, water based acrylic, vinyl records and more.

 “My pieces often provoke my abstract thoughts on community, humanity, spirituality and connections of present and past,” Dawn J. says. “It’s somewhat conscious but I’m definitely aware of the freedom of the subconscious.”

She often uses bright colors that contrast with each other; allowing the paint to tell a story while leaving it all up for the viewer’s interpretation.

Quite possibly the phrase she uses, ‘life is an art form, expose your roots’ comes from her love of art at an early age. Art carved a niche in Dawn J.’s life in high school but after taking one drawing class in college, she quickly realized the art she wanted to create could not be taught.

“Drawing 3 hours in class actually discouraged me from wanting to be creative and so I dropped art as a minor and pursued it as a hobby.”

In 2006 Dawn J. sold her first pieces at the University of Oklahoma’s student art gallery while obtaining a journalism degree. Marketing relocated her to the D.C. metro though in 2008 but after a year the itch for pushing her creations came scratching hard she says. Since then, she’s found that D.C. has a pretty healthy love for artistic locality.

“You wouldn’t think from the outside that D.C.’s underground art scene was a hit but as you move around and tap local venues, you learn the natives really love knowing where there art is coming from,’ Dawn J. says. “I’ve learned a lot in the two and a half years I’ve been here.”

She began with a wall on U street in a store called Dekka, which relocated to Florida just last year and from there she’s participated in a market on Rhode Island, Baltimore’s Artdromeda, D.C’s 1st on First annual art walk and more. Now with the help of her business Underground Tree Projects and a new pseudo name, ‘Tree’, she’s standing alone and setting the stage for many works to come.

“Life’s a journey and we should be set on taking leaps all the time,” says Dawn J.

This is a free event with happy hour specials running all night at Tabaq Bistro, which is located at 1336 U Street, Washington, DC 20009.

Healthy habits can protect you from the harmful effects of stress. Here are 10 positive healthy habits you may want to develop.

1. Talk with family and friends.
   A daily dose of friendship is great medicine. Call or write your friends and family to share your feelings, hopes and joys.
2. Engage in daily physical activity.Regular physical activity relieves mental and physical tension. Physically active adults have lower risk of depression and loss of mental functioning. Physical activity can be a great source of pleasure, too. Try walking, swimming, biking or dancing every day.
3. Accept the things you cannot change.
   Don't say, "I'm too old." You can still learn new things, work toward a goal, love and help others.
4. Remember to laugh.
   Laughter makes you feel good. Don't be afraid to laugh out loud at a joke, a funny movie or a comic strip, even when you're alone.
5. Give up the bad habits.
   Too much alcohol, cigarettes or caffeine can increase stress. If you smoke, decide to quit now.
6. Slow down.
   Try to "pace" instead of "race." Plan ahead and allow enough time to get the most important things done.
7. Get enough sleep.
   Try to get six to eight hours of sleep each night. If you can't sleep, take steps to help reduce stress and depression. Physical activity also may improve the quality of sleep.
8. Get organized.
   Use "to do" lists to help you focus on your most important tasks. Approach big tasks one step at a time. For example, start by organizing just one part of your life — your car, desk, kitchen, closet, cupboard or drawer.
9. Practice giving back.
   Volunteer your time or return a favor to a friend. Helping others helps you.
10. Try not to worry.
    The world won't end if your grass isn't mowed or your kitchen isn't cleaned. You may need to do these things, but today might not be the right time.

You may decide to hire people and train them to do what you do (if you can), but many small business owners prefer not to; especially those who work from home.  If they decide to employ more people, they need to consider investing in commercial premises and stocking those premises; which is expensive and a risk, as they have no idea if the new business model will work.  Equally, if they elect to hire people to work from home, there are issues regarding quality monitoring.  Both those models can work, and for many they do work (extremely well), but it’s not for everyone.

It’s also an outdated model for most small business service providers, who want to have a great income and a great lifestyle too!

You want to stop exchanging time for money.  You can look at developing a very interesting 12 part course, which is delivered over a 12 month period to clients who pay an annual fee.  The course consists of workbooks, videos and a members only website, packed with useful information.  If the marketplace decides this digital product is great value, once it’s developed, it can be scaled indefinitely.  There’s no income ceiling.  With the right marketing and a strong product, this coach can achieve a 6 figure (or 7 figure) income goal with no scaling issues.

Here’s a suggestion!

If you are a service provider, you have specialist knowledge, which you can develop into a high value product or program.  Make your product or program something that can be downloaded, like the coach I mentioned earlier, and you eliminate the need for; stock, storage, distribution and suppliers.  People like myself, with large, targeted readerships can sell your product and collectively get it in front of millions of people each year.
If you know what you are doing, the potential is huge.

Courtesy of Jim's Marketing Blog

Flashpoint Business Center has partnered with the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) to present a Brown Bag Lunch Hour at Flashpoint!

Eleanor Whitney, Program Officer for External Affairs and Fiscal Sponsorship from Artspire, a project of NYFA, will present on Artspire/NYFA’s resources, fundraising and support programs available nationwide for artists in all disciplines at every stage in their careers.

The presentation is geared towards individual artists across all disciplines and small/emerging arts organizations and will cover Artspire/NYFA’s extensive resources, fundraising and support programs.

The lunch hour is a FREE event and will be held on April 1, 2011 from 12-1PM at Flashpoint (916 G Street NW, Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro). Bring your food, your questions, and register now for an Artspire One-on-One for after the talk!
 
To attend, you must RSVP by Thursday, March 31st to Kate Judson, Program Coordinator, by e-mailing kate@culturaldc.org.