A bird's eye view

A bird flies over a forest and identifies a safe place to begin nesting. Once it's found its location, the bird gathers twigs and leaves and starts weaving a nest that becomes a resting place for its eggs. But that's just the beginning of the process. With a bit of nurturing and love, within a few weeks, eggs hatch and you have new birds that will one day do the same. Are you seeing the metaphor yet?

If you are working on a problem or trying to come up with a campaign, start from way up high. Look at the issue from a bird's eye view and zero in on your concept. Gather ideas and weave a solution. Once you have a solution in place, there is one more step to take, one that we often forget: nurture it and watch it grow on its own. The success of that solution will inspire even more ideas. It's the circle of life AND ideas.

Act accordingly

We are responsible for the world we handover to our kids. We aren't here long. It's not about us, it's about them. Act swiftly act thoughtfully and act accordingly. And make sure the kids realize that soon it will be their turn.

SHUT UP AND WORK!

Shut up and work. We all get frustrated. We feel impatient. We feel discouraged. We try to shift the pieces so they make sense. The belief that the world is a puzzle for you to decode is discouraging, demotivating and just plain inaccurate. Shut up and work. All that noise feels like progress but in actuality becomes wasted energy. The bottom line is to do what you are good at. And do it a lot. Never stop. Don’t get too hung up on the results of the work because the act of working consistently with commitment yields progressively improving results. Work creates opportunities and is the birthplace of innovation. Trust that putting your energy into something will lead you to where you need to go. Shut up and work. Stop trying to second guess your progress. Stop talking yourself out of taking chances. Stop placing judgment on the validity or value of your work. Stop fighting the richness of your capacity. Shut up and work. If you’re good at what you do, you’ll get better. If you’re great at what you do it will show. Do what you are good at. And do it a lot. Never stop. Shut up and work. Nothing will fall in your lap. Keep your eyes open for opportunities and act on them. Nobody owes you any favors. It’s up to you and me to shut up and work.

AlexRaffi's photostream

AlexRaffi's photostream on Flickr.

I became involved with St. Baldrick's in 2009 when I discovered a family friend had a daughter who was diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Since then I've seen the passion and commitment of all involved in raising money for this charity. Worldwide, more than 160,000 children are diagnosed with childhood cancer each year. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation coordinates worldwide head-shaving events that raise money to support childhood cancer research. This is the 4rth year that I will be having my head shaved to stand in solidarity with kids fighting cancer, but more importantly, to raise money to find cures. Please support me with a donation to the St. Baldrick's Foundation. This volunteer-driven charity funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U. S. government. Many of us are fortunate enough to have healthy children. This is an opportunity to help those who aren't so luck. Your gift will give hope to infants, children, teens and young adults fighting childhood cancers. Click here to make a donation and just for fun you can even request a photoshop image of me in some ridiculous situation. I will create it with a big thank you publicly on this page: http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/503119/2012.

I was interviewed by BeBety.com. Here it is.

View the interview on the page here..

http://bebetsy.com/2012/01/21/alex-raffi/#.Tz_EFHJAYgU

Alex Raffi – Writer, Artist, Cartoonist, Creative Genius

Alex Raffi is the author and illustrator of The Sheep Counting Dream.  We recently caught up with him to learn more about this richly-illustrated and heart warming book.  Alex was kind enough to spend some time talking about his journey.

What inspired you to write The Sheep Counting Dream?

I enjoy creating art and have dabbled in many mediums.  I always wanted to take on the challenge of story telling and with my short attention span children’s stories seemed perfect.  I believe that’s why I enjoy writing in rhyme.  I find it more interesting to tell a story that way and the limitations provide a process of discovery.  My inspiration came from wanting to create a book  that I would have found interesting as a child.   Thankfully I had the encouragement of my wife Debi and daughter Elli. They helped fuel my passion.

What’s the message in your book that you want readers to grasp?

The world that lives within the imagination of a child is powerful. I guess that’s the point of the book for me.  It reminds me how special young minds are.  As a boy I imagined that each piece of furniture in my house was alive and had specific personality traits.  I’d say goodbye to the couch and the chair and the tables and lamps on my way out the door to go to school.  I imagined that the dining room chairs must be jealous of the couch in the living room  as it had full view of the television!

The idea of counting sheep had always intrigued me.  I had trouble doing it when I was a kid as my mind would wander.  I always wanted the sheep to turn into soaring dragons and exploding starships.  

In addition to writing you have other creative endeavors. What are your other interests?

I enjoy playing and writing music and painting.  The biggest creative endeavor of my life has to be the exploration of my own creative process.  I share these ideas in a workshop called Creative Courage.   Creativity in schools and business is often ignored.  In my view, nurturing creativity in yourself and others is one of the most important things you can do in life.  We need more innovation and passion!  

What would you like to tell our readers?

Surprise yourself!  Explore the uncomfortable every once in a while because that’s where you learn new things about yourself.  Be fearless when exploring new ideas. And never stop.  Why would you?  It’s so much fun. 

Glad to be able to repost this cartoon that originally ran on November 15, 2001

Originally published in the Henderson Home News paper of Nevada.

So proud of our troops. 

It's a good day.

Unnecessary Amendments

We see this in business, politics and even the school system. There's a limit to how much you can change a thing before it breaks. Sue at my office mentioned how Nasa spent so much time and money creating a pen that would work in space. The Russians just used a pencil.