The Caterpillar and the Butterfly – Public Relations #3

 

Here we are fluttering into day #3 of Public Relations week.

public relations 3

Media Whore

I get a lot of publicity. I am in the newspaper and on TV much more often than makes sense.  Even when I am not trying to get publicity I tend to get it.  People are always saying to me, ‘Marty, don’t forget us little people when you become famous!’ They usually say this when I get interviewed on TV about something.  My response has recently been, ‘haha…I have been ‘almost famous’ for decades now, don’t expect me to get really famous any time soon.’

Bad Caterpillar

Why is that?  Well, the truth is I am better at being a butterfly than I am at being a caterpillar.  It’s not that I don’t work.  I work really hard at my various jobs as artist, photographer, designer, speaker and running coach.  I work equally hard at my principles of love, encouragement, forgiveness, critical thinking, and intellectual integrity. But there is more to working than just working hard.  It’s about working smart and focused, with repetition and habit.  It’s about timing the work with the public relations, meaning integrating the two with diligence, consistency and follow-through.

That is where I am not all that good.   I am still working on it.  

Two in One

So remember, this is not about being angry at some dandy that gets publicity due to good public relations while you toil away in obscurity. Why? Because you and the dandy are one. You are the caterpillar AND the butterfly of your own destiny.  Maybe you are the opposite of me, maybe you are a really good caterpillar but shy away from the bright lights that the butterfly lives in.  If you believe in something, if you believe what you offer is good and valuable for the world, then it’s time to start your work on that area you aren’t very good at. It’s time to put on the sunglasses and get out in the butterfly sunshine or perhaps it’s time to take off the shades, draw the curtains and work in the caterpillar shadows.  Whichever it is, it’s  time to do it.

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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman

Quote by George Carlin

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>I Couldn't Commit Suicide if My Life Depended On It

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Yesterday I heard of a friend who is depressed and had suicidal thoughts.  Luckily she had already reached out for help from a good friend and had found a place to go to talk.  Her circumstances seem to be the catalyst in this case, as opposed to someone who is clinically depressed.  But either way it’s crucial for those in contact with those people to listen and be aware of hints, words, behaviors, that seem to indicate thoughts of suicide.

When I have come in contact with someone contemplating suicide I have always returned to this:  If you are alive, there is hope. If you are dead, there is not.  It doesn’t matter if you THINK there is hope.  It doesn’t matter if you THINK things will get better.  All that matters is that you ACT as if there is hope and that things will get better.  Be an actor, pretend your way through it.   

I don’t mean to be trite.  I don’t mean you shouldn’t get help, of course you should. And I don’t mean you don’t eventually want to get to the place where you actually have hope and believe things will get better.  But for now, you obviously do not think that. I can’t make you think it.  But actors don’t have to believe, they just have to act.  And acting is what will keep you alive until the help and hope comes about.

I am not talking about the pretending all is well when it isn’t.  I am not talking about living a lie, living in abuse, living in unbearable circumstances. I am talking about acting out a set of steps that will keep you alive.

First step, admit it to someone who you think has the best chance of helping you.  If that person doesn’t step up, keep going, find another person.  Don’t give up, don’t stop until that person has appeared.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily

Quote by George Carlin, 1937-2008, American comedian and writer

Separation of Church and State – updated 2017

The country I am from, the US, has a long history of this separation. It is constantly being questioned and sometimes people want to rewrite our history to say we don’t really have this separation, but the truth is we do, and it’s always been there. I believe it is a good thing.

What about those of you in other countries? How does it work where you are from? Do you like it like that or would you like a different system?
 
Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman
 
“I’m completely in favor of the separation of church and state. My idea is that they both screw us up enough on their own, so them together is certain death.” – George Carlin, 1937-2008, American comedian