Immerse Yourself in your work

Immerse yourself in your work. Whatever that work is, whatever you're passionate about, become it. Read about it. Learn about it. Surround yourself with people involved in that field. Embody the subject.

Trade Facebook for online magazines and books. Trade reality TV for documentaries and YouTube discussions. Sketch, write, and research. Discover new people in your field and learn about their work. Simply walk and think. You'd be surprised where your own mind can take you.

Maintaining your motivation and focus is not an easy thing. We all fail at it often. But the greatest people throughout history learned the skill of building and maintaining their energy long enough to accomplish incredible things. And the more they maintained that energy, the more they became that subject.

Think of this concept as a diet plan. If Facebook and television are junk food, reading and learning about your field is the healthy part. And much like a diet, the healthier you eat the less you'll want the junk. It's that simple.

There is genius within us all if we take the necessary steps to find it.

Future Boy

...a brief video to back me up.

Designer's Block

It is inevitable when designing to favor some projects over others. Sometimes the work flows like a beautiful song, effortless, with every piece fitting right into place. These are the projects that get the blood flowing and the inspiration growing. These are the ones that remind the designer why he does what he does. 

But then there are the stubborn designs. The designs that never seem to look quite right, never feel the way they should. They frustrate and depress, and leave the designer wondering why he ever took up a vocation that makes him miserable. It's a sure-fire case of designer's block.

The truth is, anything can be great. Any design can be art. As soon as a design fails to inspire, that's exactly when the designer needs to rethink the vision. It might be a simple twist. It might be a complete overhaul of the project. Whatever needs to be done must be done, both for the design and the designer himself. If there is no passion, there will be no greatness. 

Future Boy