Relationships

Unlocking Potential: Interview #4

Garth Beyer

It’s the weird ones you have to look out for in this world, really and truly. They are the ones that know how to live life, know how to express themselves and know more about success than the most popular person in school.

You are now entering the fourth interview in the Unlocking Potential series. You can view the third here, second here and first here. If you haven’t yet noticed, part of the Unlocking Potential series is to bring out more of the weirdness. John Le, who you will meet in a few seconds, may not seem weird to you, that’s good because you’ve embraced your own weirdness but for the majority, he may seem “different”.

One way I see weirdness is like this. An average American can travel to any other country in the world and they will without a doubt get a large amount of culture shock. The American who understands different cultures and embraces them can travel nearly anywhere without getting hit with a bad case of culture shock. What is comes down to is whether you want to avoid everything outside of America or embrace it. Which one lives life to the fullest? Which one has real experience? Which one has a greater insight into the world?

Embracing culture shock is a lot like embracing weirdness.

After all, we are all a bit weird aren’t we? And that’s a good thing.

Interview: John Le

In high school I had a favorite teacher who knew how to make a class fun, or at least she was okay with my friend (not John) and I making it fun. She was one of those teachers that you go back and visit and that’s exactly what I did, but I didn’t go back and visit after school or during study hall, I went during one of her classes. Of course I made it my goal to make a ruckus while there. But it was during a couple of the classes that I went back and realized someone was already making a ruckus. That is when I met John Le. I was quick to admire him for his openness, wit and downright honesty.

Q: Thank you so much for participating in this interview. Would you like to give the readers a short bio?

I was born and grew up in Rockford, Illinois, and attended the local schools through the RPS205 “Gifted” program for the intellectually advanced students. I grew up in a humble family, my parents had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, so I had plenty of time on my hands to think and grown creatively. I attended high school at Belvidere North High School ’12, graduated with High Honors, and this coming Fall/Winter semester, I will be attending Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois with a focus in Chemistry. My ultimate goal in life is to become a chemist that formulates cosmetic products.

Q: Let’s jump into some questions. What is your passion?

I have a personal passion for the sciences and arts. I plan on pursuing a job related to the field of chemistry, possibly cosmetic chemistry, in the future as a life-long career. On the art front, I plan on privately pursuing portrait photography as a means of emotional expression. I will not work in the art field for a living because I personally disagree with the thought of creating art on demand. I would rather spend time and let a piece of work develop at its own natural pace, rather than mechanically turning out cookie-cutter corporate art that are not unique in their own respect.

Q: What skills do you need to be successful?

Tenacity, motivation, honesty  & common sense.

I could write for endless ages about the skills necessary for success and achievement, but I think my short list of four words should suffice for the common reader.

Q: Which side of your brain do you use more often?

Neither, I am an individual that lingers on the blurred divide of the two hemispheres of the brain. The left side of the brain is said to be of scientific and mathematic manners, and I am a person that is interested in such and exhibit traits that characterize this side of the brain. Such traits would be an affinity for the familiar, categorization, analytical thought process, use of strategy, and pragmatic.

Right minded people are said to be creative, free-spirited, passionate with boundless imagination; I too exhibit these traits alongside those of my “left-brain” personality. Most of my teachers and mentors say that I am a walking oxymoron, a combination of two opposite ideas. I would most likely [think] that this is true.

Q: What or who is your biggest inspiration?

I would say that my biggest inspiration in life is the late British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, founder of the eponymous house of fashion. McQueen juxtaposed strength and fragility in his designs, and made what was once ugly once again beautiful. He was a lotus, a special individual that  could cultivate beauty from common things.

Q: What is art?

I personally think that art, and the definition of art is subjective. What I might view as beautiful may be deemed hideous by another person, but I think that is the beauty in the world of art, different viewpoints are to be had on the same piece of work. It’s very interesting to unravel people’s minds and figure out what they find beautiful, and the reasons that they find certain ideas or images pleasing to the mind or eye.

To be curt, I think the form of the human body is art in itself. Far too many people are offended by the naked human, and this amazes me, for we are all the same beneath our socially constructed idea of  “clothes”.

Do you have a product you want to create that has never been thought of before?

http://www.vat19.com/  Enough said on that subject. Seriously, just check out the website.

In case you were wondering, NO(!), I am not being compensated to advertise the website, I just think that this website has every weird product that has ever been thought of.

On an entirely unrealistic level, I would like to create tiny devices that would be utilized in a medical setting to repair bodies of patients that ordinary human precision could not do. These microscopic “robots” would mend human flesh and bone. Imagine a bucket of silver robotic spiders being poured over a tragic wound like a shattered face, or a broken leg, and then watching these tiny robots healing your body right before your eyes. Amazing, right? Right.

Q: What makes you standout?

I think the fact that I am very blunt with my thoughts and speech truly makes me stand out in today’s society where all taboo subjects that everyone questions is quietly swept under the rug of propriety for the sake of society’s general comfort. Sometimes I have a bad habit of speaking my mind openly on subjects that make people feel very uncomfortable, and it gets me in a few “hot-water-debates” sometimes, irregardless I never blame myself for the fact that others do not feel at ease when certain subjects are talked about in public. The only people that dislike me for speaking the truth are those that are living a lie, until then, I will continue to speak the truth. No sugar to sweeten the subject, or any frills to make any unappealing subject for palatable for the common mind.

Q: What advice or life lessons would you give to someone with an interest in your field?

For any young man or woman pursuing the fields of science or visual arts, you’re a special person for wanting to help this sick world and helping it to be a better person through scientific work and also filling it with beautiful art.

Addressing those specifically interested in the sciences, there are not many people that care enough to make the world a better place in the long run, rather, they choose to fulfill their own desires for the sake of personal gain, which by all means is fine, but you are remarkably special because you are doing a service for all of mankind by uncovering new knowledge that is necessary for the survival of our species. Do not allow others to mock your choice of the path you plan on taking, because they are most likely too afraid to take the one that you’re going to leave a blazing trail of glory on.

For those interested in the arts, I want you to never lose your inspiration. Personally, I view the best inspiration as intrinsic, coming from within, only you can have the unique power to express the universe that is confined to the cells of your brain. Art takes time to fully ripen and mature, and I want you to always let your art to mature at it’s own rate, though I do not agree with the idea of creating art for money, I want you to be able to share your art with the world. Never let money impede on your artistic process. Never be afraid of any subject matter, or to try something unconventional, it will almost always end up more beautiful in its own manner than you would have possibly ever imagined.

Q: Define your life purpose in 11 words?

Never abandon your dreams due to obstacles, they’re opportunities in disguise.

(this subtext doesn’t count, but the above sentence is my life motto and purpose)

Q: What quality does a person need in order to achieve living their passion?

Personally, the most important quality/trait/what-have-you that a person needs to achieve living their passion is tenacity in the face of adversity. Let me break it down, a person must still want a certain goal in their life to come true even if nobody in their surroundings believes them. (This idea might be redundant in this interview, and I want to stress that every time it is mentioned, it is used in the utmost importance of inspiring the people of the world) Millions upon millions have lost hope in their wildest dreams because some person in this world told them that it was impossible, or that they would never be able to achieve something so great in their lifetime. I always think that these people are seriously wrong, and incorrect with their judgement on the subject. Only the dreamer can shape their own wishes, not another person. Who told these idiots that they had the right of imposing their will over a person? Whoever you are, if you’re still reading this, I don’t want you to give up on your wildest dreams, they might come true one day!

Q: Do you have any art you would want to share?

I have a simple(and small) photography portfolio that can be viewed at; http://johnle815.carbonmade.com/ (user friendly!)

For the art-minded folk; http://johnle815.deviantart.com/   This portfolio will have the bulk of my portfolio added to it, slowly, but surely.

My stream of consciousness using photos; http://johnle815.tumblr.com/ (potentially NSFW, I guess people are afraid of the human form in all of its infinite splendor)

Q: Any last comments?

Yes, I do have a few last comments. If you ever want to bribe me to do anything, legal(!) of course, feel free to dangle a few steak tacos and fruit slushies in front of my face. I’m quite serious…..

(You can contact John Le at Viet611Forever@aol.com or visit his profiles listed above)

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Stay Positive & Ever Hear That After Being Shocked Enough Times It Starts To Feel Good?

Garth E. Beyer

Three Things You Can Always Give

Garth Beyer

I’m currently working on my Kickstarter project, but more on the specific project later. What I want to point out is that I don’t have many “material” things to give. Most people often don’t. So I am discovering that there are three ways that you can always give.

The first is time. It matters not that if it’s a little or a lot. What matters is that time is always there, and it’s extremely dynamic. You can play with time in a little way by waiting an extra five minutes before you leave or as complicated as working your entire schedule around to fit in some 1 on 1 time with your spouse. No matter what you need time for, you can work it out.

The second is attention and I mean this in the most general form. You can give your own attention to a matter, you can bring something to their attention or you can help someone create something that draws attention. It may feel that it costs money to get attention, but it is always free to give it.

The third is passion. It requires such little effort because your passion is your effort. Your passion is the most powerful thing you can give and transmit through another person and it is the total game changer in any relationship.

All three of which you can look forward to getting your hands on when my Kickstarter is released because you deserve the best, most value and something that I can always give.

 

Stay Positive & Boycott White Elephant (Try And Give These Things Away!)

Garth E. Beyer

Unlocking Potential: Interview #3

Garth Beyer

I was thinking about motivation (what’s new…). I thought about how much I love to motivate people, I mean, I live for it, I give motivational speeches and obviously I write a lot of motivational content. The question popped in my mind, what motivated me to motivate people?

I came up with two answers. The first is that seeing people like Zig Ziglar, Seth Godin, or my interviewee today Karthik, motivate other people. If there weren’t people motivating other people, nothing would get done in the world, it would be void of accomplishments that matter. The second answer is that I am freaking amazed at us, at people, at human beings. Our abilities are out of this world, literally. I simply want to bring out more of these godlike abilities in people, I want to continue to be amazed at a higher level which means I need to motivate more.

This is an aspect of the Unlocking Potential series. To motivate these artists and to have these artists be motivated to motivate other artists. If you are just jumping in, you can catch Interview #1 here and Interview #2 here.

Without further do,
Interview: Karthik Puvvada

As you know from my “Pick Yourself” post, I attended Seth Godin’s Pick Yourself event in New York a couple of months ago. This interview, the third in my Unlocking Potential series, is with Karthik Puvvada, a friend who I met as a member of Seth’s tribe. Karthik’s blog is one I visit often for, not so much for information on how to fail, be free and break the status-quo (although it’s loaded with it), but for a reminder that there are other people like me that have a truly unbelievable spirit for progress, an unstoppable force for enjoying life and making the most out of it in every way possible. This is only touched on in Karthik’s introduction to the interview and provides great insight to the rest of the Q&A. -Enter Karthik-

My story:

I’m Karthik Puvvada and I hail from India. And like most Indians, I was brought up in a very conservative and struggling middle class family nudging and budging my childhood dreams with whatever little money we had.  Since I was born into the era of  “Great Indian Outsourcing Boom”,  I was compelled to chose the well established path of becoming an engineer and to work at a software company that I disliked.

I was clearly unhappy with what I was doing with my life.  Modifying bits and pieces of computer software written by some other engineers didn’t seem appealing to me. Especially when I loved building things. Especially when I believed I should be able to create things.

As a kid I dreamt about robotics,  and that suddenly appeared to me as my next destination. Despite heavy peer pressure and uncertainty of how I’d manage the finances to afford such a costly technological degree, I gave all the entrance tests with full vigor and hope.

After a dramatic turn of events, and with help of some amazing people, here I am, in the USA,  doing Masters majoring in Robotics with full scholarship.  I started believing in dreams even more from then.

This phenomenal dream-come-true incident in my life changed my perspective totally. It gave me enormous CONFIDENCE to go get what I want in life. I started reviving my half-killed dreams from childhood.

Writing is one.

Q: What would you die without?

Fire in the belly.  If there’s going to be a day when I feel sapless about my dreams, and give up on them, that day, you can proclaim me dead. Officially. I don’t see any reason to be called alive when I’ve killed my dreams. I am what my dreams are. The rest is just a piece of flesh.

Writing, film-making, advertising, technology startups, for now I’m in love with these. So badly that I can exchange going to heaven for a chance to live my dreams.  This feeling, the feeling of otaku, the feeling of going any far to follow your passions in life is what I call “fire in the belly” and that is something I can’t afford to live without.

Q: How much time does following your passion consume each day? What is a typical day in your life’s conquest?

It’s an interesting question because the time it actually consumes to me is irrelevant.  I rather count it based on whether I had done the task I intended to do for that day or not.

Consider blogging. Sometimes it takes 20 minutes to write a blogpost, and sometimes 3 full hours. The beauty of imagination is it’s without limits. All kinds of limits, including time.

But, yeah, if I look back and estimate an average number, I think I spend around 2hrs per day on writing. The rest of time I spend on my other passions.  And on sleeping.  And on eating. And wait, on bathing too.

Q: How do you go about searching and finding motivation/inspiration?

Two things. One, I go outwards into the huge sea of knowledge online and offline and try to find stuff that stimulates my thinking. Something that pushes me away from my comfort zone. Something that provokes my mind, into action.

Steve Jobs, Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Mahatma Gandhi, Ayn Rand, Friedrich Neithzche, Swami Vivekananda,  Gautam Buddha, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Randy Pausch ,Jon Goethe, Rabindranath Tagore,  Aristotle,  Michelangelo, David Ogilvy etc.

I read a lot about these incredible people. And their incredible faith in themselves that they can change the world.

Second, I go inwards into myself finding resonance for all that I read. There is a deeper level of consciousness in your own self that you can actually unleash if you poke it long enough.

It unravels an incredible urge that was within you all these years to do something in this world. To make your presence felt. To shake the world gently. Not for the heck of fame or money,  but to leave a legacy in the world, to leave a story of yours, to write your own destiny. This motivates me frantically. Sometimes, the motivation stays for weeks and drives me nuts to do something I thought I couldn’t do earlier.  I will elaborate on this in the further discussion.

Q: What two habits have you developed that produce the best results?

Over the past 2 ½ months, the greatest habit I have developed is the habit to develop a habit.  Like I wrote here, it was extremely painful for me to write everyday initially.

Most amateur writers would know that, after a few days, the challenge of writing something original is by itself a challenge and to do it every single day makes it even more of a nightmare. But still I didn’t give up. There were days where I sat with my laptop for hours and yet couldn’t produce an interesting write-up. But still I didn’t give up.  I tried just once more. That made the difference I think.

I once wrote, “The greatest thing about doing the greatest thing is actually doing it.”

So I knew there is no red button.

Though it didn’t look appealing to me initially, I realize how accurate Steve Pavlina was. He speaks about creating a habit, like a ritual everyday and doing it for 30days. Non stop. If you can pass this phase, most likely you are already enjoying what you are doing and you’ll want to continue. Makes total sense to me.

So, the two habits I’ve developed are a) develop a habit and b) develop a habit. Damn, that is the single most important thing.

Q: Do you plan on shipping a tangible product? Any ideas?

Yes. First, I want to finish up a new screenplay that I started last week. It’s a sci-fi mystery about a delusional scientist on a marooned island.

Second, I want to film an already existing script that I have. It’s going to be about fortune cookies in 3 different countries.

Third, I want to write an ebook, with illustrations, on my most favorite theme, “failing”. I love failing. I think that’s the best thing that happens to me everyday so that I wake up with a better game plan.

Fourth, I want to start up a new project on advertising this September online.

Q: How do you conquer the troubles that come with trying to write every day? (Time, Writers block, etc)

Simple. Have an iron will. I earlier had a plastic one I guess. It would always give up on my dreams. But this time around, I took the pains to form an iron will. The will to do it at any cost. Anyhow. Anywhere.

I remember writing a blog post borrowing a friend’s laptop after having a tiring day of paintball shooting.  I wrote one in a vacation in Chattanooga. I wrote one while I was sick with a stomach bug. When I’m in my regular daily routine, taking time out for writing is easy because I would have planned the day accordingly. It was quite a challenge to do the same when I’m out on the roads travelling or camping etc. Still, the iron will to do what I wanted to do cleared the way for me.

I don’t do it for the count, I don’t do it for the world. I do it ‘coz I challenged the most important person in my life, Myself.

Writing block, well, here’s where the travelling inwards theory I spoke above helps me. Swami Vivekananda spoke volumes about the power of the mind. He says, the question is in the mind, and if you look deeply, and probe keenly, the answer too is in the same mind, just a few blocks away.

It was a fantastic eye-opener for me. All my frustration, disgust and restlessness vanish into thin air whenever I recall this, and I head straight into a peaceful self-questioning mode. And voila, it has worked magic so far.

Q: If you had to give one piece of advice what would it be?

“It’s not the deed; it’s the “doing” that you should attach yourself to.”

I wrote a post titled “Do you love the doing?”. I’d say it is by far the hardest advice anyone can ever follow. But ironically, it is the surest way to excellence according to me.

Q: I believe mottos are vitally important for motivation. Would you create a new motto right now for the readers, a motto they have likely never heard before?

Speaking about how important risk-taking in life, atleast once in a while is, I wrote, “Trust your guts, and remember it’s all about the journey, not the destination. No one jumps of a cliff to experience landing, but to experience flying.”  

The favorite ones I wrote are:

“When your ideas, energy and focus are united by one, you become divided by zero, Mathematically they call it, THE INFINITE!  Be that!”

“Be the king. But first, fight the war.”

Q: As you know, I am on a constant verge to learn new life lessons and share them with people. Do you have any crucially important life lessons you would like to share?

I only have one lesson in my life. The lesson of hope. The lesson of dreams.

Einstein once famously said, “There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; or you can live as if everything is a miracle.” For me, everything has begun to appear miraculous once I started following my dreams. Once I opened my eyes and shunned my doubts. We want the perfect world. The perfect skills. The perfect people.

And hence we are eternally pissed off at what’s at hand. If you think about it, an email from a teenage artist in Europe telling you how much he loved your writing is a miracle. A subscriber asking you if you majored in English literature is a miracle. A counselor of anti-bullying campaign loving your blog you wrote from miles away is a miracle. What more you want?

Life opens up to the fullest when you are ready to see it positively.

I once wrote, the moon is the moon always, it depends on who you are to perceive it beautifully or full of scars.

Look at life differently. Be the most energetic person you have ever met. Surround yourself with tons of positivity. Make new friendships. With extremely positive people. Have the brightest glimmer of hope in your eye. Feel thrilled about little things. May be you’ll look delusional to your naysayers. But try new things. Fail at them. Fail often. Fail publicly. Have an extra coating to your chest called courage. Coz it takes just one time to get it right, and remember, you will never be the same person again.

Q: Where can people find you and your art?

I write my heart out at www.bethepurplecow.tumblr.com.

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Stay Positive & Purple

Garth E. Beyer                                                                                       “moo”

 

 

 

Unlocking Potential: Interview #2

Garth Beyer

We’re now on our second interview of the Unlocking Potential series. This is a series of interviews I have given to a small pocketful of truly important and respected people. For some of these people, I have never really talked to 1 on 1 until I had the interview like interview #1 with Rose Kendall. Other people like today’s interview, I have only met twice in person and have had my expectations blown to the point I continuously keep in touch.

See, this is what the world calls for, what people seek when they need something. Linchpins, people who care, people who always do more than is asked and have absolutely incredible potential. Help me in unlocking even more potential by reading the following interview with Katie McBody.

Interview: Katie McBody

I’ve been lucky enough to come across this fitness Linchpin through an extension in the family tree. Katie McBody takes fitness to an entirely new level as you will notice in the interview below.

Q: Thank you so much for participating in this interview with me Katie. Before we jump into it, is there any background facts about yourself you want the readers to know?

I have always been active- but never knew my potential in the fitness world until I met my husband, he pushed me in the right direction and has helped me achieve many goals. I started rock climbing and skiing at the age of 4 and later in life I was an instructor in both fields, I was also a softball player into college and now I volunteer my time to coach kids.

Q: What is your life calling, your passion?

Fitness- our bodies were designed to move and I want to share my love of exercise with everyone (especially kids!).

Q: What three habits have you created to continue progressing in that passion?

1. Make time for myself- I schedule a couple hours a day to have alone in the gym/ track/ trail/ climbing that I can use to focus on pushing myself mentally and physically.

2. Involve family- my husband is active duty Army (currently deployed) but when he is home, we spend his lunch break together at the gym. Or we make time to go play soccer as a family with our 4 year old son. Our son also joins me on a lot of my track workouts and participates with modified exercises.

3. Set goals- even if they’re just little goals, accomplishing little challenges you set for yourself is a confidence booster and it keeps you motivated to keep going!

Q: Where do you find your inspiration?

I find inspiration from everywhere. My husband inspires me to keep pushing myself. We have a healthy dose of competition between us, which keeps us pushing our limits physically. I find inspiration at the gym, I’m fortunate enough to be able to train in a facility where a lot of Special Forces members train- so I watch them and try to “compete” with their workouts. I’m also inspired by my clients, especially the ones that show up and give it their all during our sweat sessions. It’s really rewarding to be helping someone better their life by getting them involved with something I’m so dedicated and passionate about.

Q: What is your motto? Why?

“Be yourself and watch it bother other people” I spent a lot of my youth worried about how other people viewed me. Getting older I’ve realized that it doesn’t matter. If you have “haters” it means you’re doing something right. I live with high moral standards and have found self confidence, I may as well be proud of who I am and stop trying to make other’s happy.

Q: What skills do you need to do what you do? How do you train those skills?

You need to get certified as a personal trainer, there are different routes (ACE, ISSA, etc) or college programs to get you there. And then you need dedication to learning more everyday. Be humble and realize that you don’t know everything, and you never will- so keep studying! I try to expand my knowledge and get certified in other fields (next steps is TRX and kettlebell certifications). Plus, I believe that a big part of being a personal trainer is looking the part! Would you want to take fitness advice from someone who was 40lbs overweight?

Q: What are three of the best benefits to exercise/eating clean?

The best benefits to leading a healthy lifestyle is the energy to always be ready to go! I love to fuel myself with good foods so I don’t feel sluggish during the day. One of my favorite fitness related quotes is “you wouldn’t put sugar in your gas tank- so why would you put it in your body?”

Q: What makes you unique, indispensable, a fitness artist?

I believe my level of competitiveness makes me unique- I don’t shy away from a challenge ever! I know I can be beat, but it makes me push harder. I’m indispensable because I have a vast array of fitness related knowledge and I’m skilled in other areas besides being a gym rat! I have worked as a ski instructor and a climbing instructor and I’m always excited to teach people new skills. I also have found a passion for teaching people to run, and run with proper form to reduce their chances of injury. Not too many trainers (at least that I have met) really take the time to teach the basics of how to run.

Q: As you know, my website is centered on life lessons. What are four life lessons you have learned from following your passion?

1. No excuses. Ever.

2. It’s okay to step out of your comfort zone- that’s where life happens. It’s also where greatness is achieved.

3. Set goals! Long term and short term. Reaching “mini” goals along the way is rewarding!

4. You can always do better- so keep pushing yourself.

Q: Anything else you want to add?

There are no excuses in the world of fitness. I believe in training without supplements- your results will last longer if you’re achieving it through eating well and exercising. Almost every injury can be prevented if using proper form- so if you’re new to weight lifting/ fitness please have a trainer show you form and technique.

You can “Like” Katie’s Facebook Page at http://www.Facebook.com/McBodyFitness or email her at mcbodyfitness@gmail.com

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Stay Positive & Fit in

Garth E. Beyer

Stop Trying To Make More Jobs

Garth Beyer

Making old jobs new and allowing creativity and freedom for passion to play in the jobs of our workers is what makes them new. It makes the old jobs work without the need to keep creating more jobs, especially when the jobs that are being created are just more of the old ones. It gets us nowhere.

More jobs are created when old ones are made new. These people, now with freedom, are able to advance in the job they are working at. In this advancement, they open doors for more people to enter a new job. One that is a stepping stone from which the original person has placed.

People don’t just create new jobs, all they do is create more of the old ones and less and less people are going along with it. (Which is one reason the unemployment rate continues to rise)

It is the creative people who introduce new jobs and I mean new jobs. Not more of the old ones. These people, these marvelous people, are able to follow their passion in their job, in doing so they come across problems we have never had before because we never let our workers have freedom to their potential, never let them be innovative. In their innovation, in their dire need to improve their job, and through their creation of new problems, they need new solutions and that is where new jobs come from.

When people are given the chance to be truly creative, they don’t develop small changes, they manifest huge ones. Ones that require help, a team, a tribe, other like-minded people who have a similar passion, who will work together to produce even bigger newer problems which then calls for more even more remarkably innovative people. And so on.

When we make old jobs new, we make new new jobs.

Making new new jobs will bring this -us, our neighbors, our coworkers, our politicians, our government, our nation, our friends oversees and those who look up to us- closer together.

In this sense, in this slight improvement to jobs, we make progress. Slight progress, but nonetheless, necessary progress.

 

Stay Positive & Progress For The Sake Of Progress Is Still Progress

Garth E. Beyer

Unlocking Potential: Interview #1

Garth Beyer

I get a lot of people telling me that I inspire them, that they like the way I think and the status-quo-breaking ideas I come up with and test. I admire that. It’s important to note that the motivation I get to inspire other people comes from being inspired myself, from seeing extraordinary potential in people who lose themselves in creativity and from the challenge I give myself to help these artists as much as possible.

With this now in mind, I will be showcasing a small handful of interviews over the next few weeks. These people are artists that I have kept very little touch with, in fact, I may not have talked to them in years until I messaged them recently inquiring if they would participate in an interview. These are noteworthy people, people whom I noticed there to be potential that I would hope to be cracked open all the way. So with that, I am handing you the hammer, the ability to connect, learn from, enjoy, and inspire these people.

Interview: Rose Kendall

The first person who’s interview I will be sharing is Rose Kendall. I met Rose in a Poetry 101 class over two years ago, never really talked in class other than when there were class discussions, and I still remember the passion she poured into her poetry. It’s easy to standout in class by dressing uniquely, being pretty and always participating. It’s not however, easy to standout in poetry. Rose does this and I hope you enjoy the following interview. Feel free to leave a note in the comments section or add Rose on Facebook.

Q: Now, I know your passion is writing. What type of writing do you love most and why?

My favorite type of writing is poetry. I love all types of writing, but poetry speaks the most to me because on one level it is trying to compact so many different emotions and thoughts into one small space, but on another level it can bring so many different ideas and concepts to the table in the subtle meanings of line breaks and punctuation. While I do believe that fiction also has a tendency to be descriptive, poetry is tantalizing because to me personally it propels the imagination like a movie, with the possibility of going in so many different directions.

Q: What gets you through the hard times of writing (depleted inspiration, writers block, time, emotion, etc)?

Listening to good music (I usually pick Sia, Damien Rice, Stateless, Florence + the Machine, and David Gray), closing my eyes, and thinking about what exactly the message is that I want to give off. Then I can usually come up with images that accompany that message. Most times it’s a good start.

Q: If you had to make your own writing prompt, what would it be?

It would be to take a piece of paper, fold it in half, and write on one side a list of nouns that are very common (like clouds, or sun) and on the other side list five adjectives you would never think to use to describe the noun. You will be challenged in so many ways you never thought were possible

Q: What do you want your legacy to be?

I want to be able to share with the world the sadness and anger I feel at the horrifying things that are occurring on a daily basis all over the world. As a society, I feel there are so many topics we are afraid to talk about for various reasons, so we sweep them under the rug (whether conscientiously or not) and choose to avoid them. Yes, they are hard topics, but if we are not made aware of them we will not be able to appropriate the change needed to stop these crimes from happening.

Therefore, I hope to shock my audience enough that they can’t decide if they want to get out of their chair and leave when I’m reading to them, or if they want to stay and consider what is really happening in the world. I would love to be able to travel around the globe and present to large audience my heart and my passion. I also want to continue to become published, and maybe one day be able to publish a whole book of poems.

Q: What determines a successful writing day?

A successful writing day usually is accompanied by a thought or an idea taking form into a poem, but very successful if a whole poem (or more than one) is written.

Q: Take me through a though process of a poem. Do you plan it out? Relate it to your life? Free write?

When I’m writing a poem I generally pick a topic I feel strongly about and concentrate on how I feel as well as why I feel that way. Once I come up with that, generally I will “see” what I want to write in my head. It’s like a movie, and at the risk of sounding like a schizophrenic, I have seen several of my characters chatting with me at the edge of the bed. Maybe less chatting and more just standing there and telepathically telling me their story. Either way once their story is being told it kind of just flows out. Some stories are harder than others, but most times I listen to a lot of calming or inspiring music to try to urge them to tell me. Sometimes when that doesn’t work, lines of poems come to me when I’m trying my hardest to sleep.

Q: What is the most helpful advice you have been given?

Keep a journal of all of the compliments and accomplishments I have made in writing. When I feel like I’m not a good enough writer, or I’m having a dry spell, I read them to remind myself how much I have accomplished. Also, keeping old poetry no matter how bad it is shows to me how far I have come.

Q: What advice would you give to other writers?

Do not worry about what one person thinks about your poetry. There will always be that one person (or a group of people) who are offended by what you write or think it’s no good. Keep working on your goals, and you can accomplish anything. Do not be afraid to have other people give you constructive criticism, it can make you grow in ways you never imagined.

Q: Would you care to share a poem?

After tonight
she’ll never ever again
have to wonder
what it feels like
to try to jump over a barbed wire fence,
catch her foot,
and slam her throat
into the wire
–it’s like climbing to the top
tippy top
of a tree,
* snap *
that first breath
you suck in after collapsing
back first, lungs turning black—
only his weapons are his words
and last night he decided
to see how many it took
before they wrapped around her neck
like his thumbs
squeezing
tightening
thrusting
until she’s one breath away
from dying.

and then he lets go.

She sees herself in the reflection
of the spit he sprays across
her face
the growl that echoes deep in the caves
of his lungs
and she remembers
how beautiful she once was
before the cancer
of the vacuum of his world
started eating away at her face
formed valleys and canyons
that were never there in her youth
even though she’s only 29.

when i first met her
she was perched on
the windowsill of my breaking heart
trying to kick her way
into the bullet-proof glass
surrounding my hope
and complicated things
like how I felt seeing
her teeth sprawled
across the living room floor
after last night’s fight
came too close
to leaving too much proof
so she lies
tells her friends that the dog
pulled her up the stairs and she tripped
(which dog she does not clarify).

but i can feel her,
see her floating nightgown
near the ocean on the edge of my bed
tangerine sunrises
screaming “helpme”
because even though
he’s a vacuum
trying to rid her of herself
of the filth she carries around
in the form of personality
she’s stronger than the marble
statue he wants to turn her into
and her beauty
is a cool breeze in the desert

he does not know how
to appreciate her love.

they always taught him
“be stronger than your fist”
but his fists are like concrete
and his words are like
espestice
eating away
at her lungs
liquid drowning her
under the tide he confuses
with affection.

so i pull her into my bed
twist her hair around my fingers
and show her
what a field of roses
feels like when it’s growing
just beneath your breastbone
and she’s blooming

i know i imagine
what her love would look like
as a photo on my mantle
–my prized wife
because she’s too beautiful
to be a trophy
she deserves to shine
like the sun.

so after tonight
i’m going to take her hand
twist out the fear
gently
and carry her
to the palace
she deserves.

and if he shows up
at my door
looking for her
i’ll blow his fucking head off.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Stay Positive & Poetic In Your Own Way

Garth E. Beyer

The Types Of People Who Tip In A Coffee Shop (Starbucks)

Garth Beyer

I’m spending my 4th of July observing and writing in Starbucks. This post is about all the observations I am making about Starbucks, customer service, behaviors and types of people.

The people who feel they are really cared for and given friendly service, not just customer service. These people will, after they have already walked out the door, come back in just to put a dollar in the tip jar.

The people who understand that the little adds up and are the predecessors of change. These people will not just toss change into the tip jar, but thank the coffee connoisseur for their effort.

The people who I call jingle haters. They can’t stand the spare change in their pocket so they toss it in the jar, doing their hardest to ignore the last clink of change they will hear until they make another purchase and get change back from that. I doubt any Starbucks employees complain about these jingle haters, they account for 3/8 of the tips.

The financially conservative people who treat themselves from time to time don’t tip. They also don’t just keep the change, they keep the receipt too. More power to them I suppose. Everyone’s gotta make a living.

Want to get tips? Make a game out of it? There are two registers and two tip jars, which person at which tip jar can serve remarkably enough to get larger tips? One wins but both have fun.

What I love about Starbucks Barista’s really is that they have fun. They really do live the Starbucks motto of “Rewarding Everyday Moments”. They don’t care about tips, it’s just a bonus, it’s not something they actually work for, serve for or slave for. It just so happens anyway that the more fun you have making and serving Coffee, the more tips you get. Starbucks understands the essence of relationships, not just between customer and coffee but between customer and barista.

 

Stay Positive & You Get Tipped For Having Fun Outside Of Starbucks Too

Garth E. Beyer