by Marty Coleman | Dec 16, 2011 | Marty Coleman |
I had a friend in college who was a great keyboard player. His specialty was church organ music. He even had a real organ in his little apartment. He LOVED to play the organ and wanted to be a professional organist for a church. It was his ideal.
But his father wanted him to be a banker. So, he worked in a bank as a teller. That was his father’s path for him and he didn’t have the guts, at that point anyway, to confront his father, OR himself, and take the path he really wanted to take.
He wasn’t living his ideal, he was living an ordeal.
Tell us the story of your ideal and your ordeal. If you have achieved or are on the path to your ideal, tell us how you made that change. If you haven’t made it but want to, tell us what you think might be stopping you. Your stories will help others so don’t be shy to tell them.
Drawing, commentary AND quote by Marty Coleman, a man who lets his fingernails grow too long.
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 13, 2011 | R. J. Rehwinkels |
This is simple enough. Trying to ‘get even’ with anyone because they have wronged you may not be a wrong in and of itself, but it certainly makes you walk down a vengeful path. Do you want to be thinking about vengeance? Do you want to be spending your days plotting how to hurt someone? Is that REALLY what you want to spend your one and only life doing and thinking? I didn’t think so.
Last night I went to a Tulsa Blogger meeting. One of my fellow bloggers, Kelly Kincaid of Kellyology, started talking about her new found passion for running. She just finished a 1/2 marathon recently after only starting to run in March of this year. She was asking my advice on some things since I have a bit more experience than she does. At the same table was Nicci Atchley of Nicci6. She has also started running recently. She has a running buddy who is a life long runner. She is learning a lot from him as they run together. Nicci and Kelly are both focused on running positive paths in life and are tapping into others who are farther along those paths for help. That is a great way to ‘get even’ if you ask me.
So instead of revenge as your ‘get even’ motivation, maybe think about who is above you and try to get even with them. I don’t mean in value or worth, you are of equal value with anyone else already. I mean in terms of seeing someone as a role model, or wanting to achieve something you have seen a friend achieve. They are farther along a path you would like to take so ask them for help and make your way towards them. Make that your ‘get even’ strategy and you will be happier and do great things!
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, Publisher of The Napkin Dad Daily blog
Quote by R. J. Rehwinkels
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 8, 2011 | Marty Coleman |
I used to work at a great restaurant in San Jose, California called Eulipia. One night after work a number of us, 3 women and 3 men, were hanging out at the bar just shooting the breeze. The women got into a discussion of what sort of men they were attracted to. One had specific requirements. Another had an ‘ideal man’. The third had a long list of traits she was not attracted to. Us men sat silently listening to them explain these mysteries to us. It took quite a while.
After they were done one of the women turned to us men and asked, “So, what sort of women are you attracted to?” And without missing a beat, all three of us, in harmony said, “Whoever pays attention to us.”
And that is the secret of how to attract men, seriously. Yes, looks matter. Yes, we can like certain ‘types’. But within the very wide range of attraction most men actually have, there is one thing that stands out, the clincher. And that is charm. The woman with charm, the woman who pays attention to a man, is the one with the advantage, not the one who is most beautiful or has the best figure.
And here is another truth for you men who might be reading this. It works the other way too. Are you worried you aren’t the most handsome, buffed or tall guy? Worry less about that and more about if you are actually, sincerely showing interest and care about the woman in front of you. THAT is what matters most, even for the 3 women at the bar that night.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, Publisher of The Napkin Dad Daily.
Quote is by me. It’s a variation on a much longer quote by Adlai Stevenson of all people.
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 7, 2011 | Abraham Cowley |
I am a Pilgrim of Curiosity. Not to say I am not devoted. but if I were going to go on a pilgrimage, it would be to find, learn, feel or understand something, not to prove my devotion to something. What about you, are you a pilgrim of devotion or a pilgrim of curiosity or a pilgrim of something else all together?
By the way, it might be the perfect time to check out some Napkin Dad merchandise at Zazzle, just in time for Christmas!
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, publisher of the Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Abraham Cowley, 1618-1667, english poet.
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 6, 2011 | Anonymous |
Is there such a thing as ‘good’ worry? If there is, could it be called by another name? Could it be called ‘concern’? Perhaps it could be called ‘problem solving’? Whatever you call it, good worry goes somewhere. It isn’t a rocking chair, moving but staying in the same place. It’s more like a vehicle that takes you to a solution or resolution. But if neither of those things happen, then it brings you to a place of peace with what is.
That, to me, is the only kind of worry worth worrying about.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, Publisher of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Anonymous
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 5, 2011 | Anonymous, Illustrated Short Stories |
The Story of Arm and Hand
Arm and Hand are at war with each other. Arm is lazy but Hand is not. But Arm find ways to stop the communication between Hand and her owner, Head. Head ends up thinking Hand is lazy too but it’s really just Arm’s message getting through, not Hand’s. Head feels like she can’t do anything since she can’t get Hand to do anything. Head needs help but Hand isn’t helping.
But one day Arm falls asleep and Hand gets a message through to Head saying, “I want to WORK, tell me what to do!” Head says, “OK! I want you to heal Mr. Sink.” And Hand goes and fixes Mr. Sink. Head then says, ” I want you to give Foot a massage” and hand does it.
Arm has woken up by this point but it is too late. Head and Hand have fixed the communications path and Arm must now obey whatever they decide to do. Arm is not happy about this but there is nothing she can do.
Head becomes very happy because she is able, for the first time, to see life through Hand. She likes the world she sees and lives happily ever after.
The End
Drawing and story by Marty Coleman, Publisher of The Napkin Dad Daily and Owner of MAKE Design and Photography Studio
Quote by Anonymous
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 2, 2011 | Anonymous |
One of the most important things for a parent to realize is they are smarter than their kids. Well ok, I know some dumb parents with smarter kids, but what I really mean is that you as a parent must be shrewder, subtler, wiser than their kid. Why? So you can teach and lead them without the kid consciously knowing it.
Kids hate being lectured to, right? So don’t lecture, be smarter than a lecture. Put a napkin in their lunch with an intriguing idea written on it, for example. Put interesting, thought-provoking art up on the walls. Read books that help you understand something and make sure the book is out for them to see. Go to a play instead of a movie one night and tell them (briefly) about it’s content. Clip a headline out of the newspaper and put it on the fridge. Not the whole article, just the headline. Comment below with your own examples of how you lead and influence your children, ok?
If you want them to go in a certain direction the only way it will happen in the long term is if there is interest and curiosity on their part. Stimulate that curiosity for them to find out things on their own and guess what? They will learn what you want them to learn.
AND if you do it right, in the end they will teach you more than you taught them!
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, Publisher of The Napkin Dad Daily blog
Commentary by Anonymous
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 1, 2011 | Marty Coleman |
I was invited to be the guest at a twitter chat last night put on by Blog World, where I spoke last month. I answered questions about creativity, prompting a discussion about it among the participants.
One of the questions was:
“What advice would you give to folks looking to use social media to showcase their art? ”
In the process of answering I said the quote above. It is something that creative people sometimes balk at, they don’t want to be so deliberate or marketing oriented, as if it dilutes or diminishes their work.
But the truth is having a hook is not diluting or diminishing. It is refining and clarifying. It is allowing for a focal point, that is all. What focal point do you have, or could you have, for your creative work? How would it change your work? How would it help you move forward in your creative endeavors?
If you would like to be part of future chats simply get on twitter and use the hashtag #bwechat to see when the next one will be. You can find me on twitter as @thenapkindad
Drawing, quote and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 29, 2011 | Peter De Vries |
I love this quote because it’s simple and true. How many of you who have kids feel like it was having them that caused you to turn the true corner into adulthood? I know it was for me. It takes you from obsession with self to realizing you aren’t the center of the universe. Of course the irony is you are now in the process of raising a child who will one day think they are the center of the universe!
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Peter De Vries, 1910-1993, American editor and novelist
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by Marty Coleman | Nov 28, 2011 | Anonymous |
You would think I would be all about the self-made man, being the creative, artistic sort. And in those areas I am. But the man or woman who thinks they really created themselves and their wealth all by their lonesome are usually overly ego driven and somewhat delusional. They can also tend to think that the ‘self-made’ label excuses them from being kind, respectful, well-mannered and appropriate.
I am reading the biography of Steve Jobs right now. He was brilliant and he was also a jerk. That’s ok, I have been a jerk myself. But the problem comes when a casual reviewer of his life thinks his accomplishments as a self-made man means that his jerkness was ok. That it was important to his success. I don’t believe that to be true. I believe he could have been a success while still being a kind and thoughtful person. Millions of people do it every day.
For every Picasso the jerk there is a Matisse the good. For every Bernie Madoff the criminal there is a Warren Buffett the good. They made their way in the world; making fortunes, families, empires of business and fantastic art all while being kind, respectful and good.
Don’t make your success an excuse for your idiocy and meanness to blossom. You might have an obligation (or obsession) towards your business or creativity. But you have a greater obligation, at least in my mind, to working just as hard to be the good and kind person you truly want to be. Work on that just as hard as your business, be obsessed with that in equal measure, and THEN let them write a book about your greatness.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Anonymous
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