Ideas are so cool! I love how ideas progress from thoughts to preoccupations to mantras to a way of life. Have you ever had one of those moments where you were thinking about some good idea and then let it slip your mind only to be smacked in the face with it again by some unrelated circumstance? That happened to me tonight.

A few days ago, I started realizing that I had a lot of little projects stacking up and it was about time I started getting working on them or soon enough I would be in a world of hurt. Tonight after our meal at the local Thai restaurant, I cracked open my fortune cookie only to be greeted with, “It’s time to help out a friend in need”, which just happens to be the idea behind almost all the projects I’m facing.

On the walk back home, a persistent thought kept running through my head, “If you rest, you fail.” I repeated it a few times and decided to post it on the face of my laptop to be reminded of it daily. I also added to it, “Work Now, Sleep Later.” It was a great idea, but I let it slip away when I got home because of some BS we’re dealing with at home that really isn’t worth mentioning except that it distracted me from my intention. Then I read Naomi’s latest.

Read the whole post about dealing with fear and you’ll come a point where she says, “I’m afraid if I rest, I will fail.” I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried. I don’t know Naomi sans a few email exchanges, but I’m certain she plays a role somehow because there have been way to many parallels to ignore. Regardless, I’m off my proverbial ass and working on stuff… right after I finish this post.

On a somewhat related note, I received two exceptional compliments today from people I’ve given advice to recently. Getting honest unsolicited testimonials is quite possibly the best thing in the world for a “consultant”. I use that term very loosely because sometimes I feel I’m a hack just faking it for the cameras. Thankfully I have folks like Naomi and Sean to kick me in the ass occasionally so I don’t pity myself for too long. Coincidentally, they’re both Canadian, or at least both in Canada. Maybe it’s the fresh air and clean living.

So what the hell is your point, Dave?

Glad you asked. My point is that I’m going to be redesigning this site once again. Why? To accommodate my venture into an honest entrepreneurial effort. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome me into the ranks of marketers flying by the seat of their pants in an effort to help others grow their business. I can only pray I make the rest of y’all proud.

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I received two pieces of unfortunate news in one week last week. It turns out that two opportunities I was hoping would present themselves to me at work both crashed in flames within 24 hours of each other. After 4 years of plugging away and hoping for some sort of growth with the company to no avail, I’ve decided to stop holding my breath and start really focusing on making the jump.

I started working on the portfolio today… again… and getting myself ready to jump back into the work force. The problem is that I’m not seeing a lot of design jobs at my level. I’m kind of in this middle ground where I’m more experienced that a Senior Design, but lacking the management experience as a true Art Director. I don’t want to take a step down from where I’m at, so I’m going to aim high and try for a job I’m not ready to perform. Got to take a risk if I’m going to make anything out of myself. Plus, this place I call home is expensive and I need to make a certain level of cash if I want to keep the wife I’ve grown accustomed to loving so much.

On September 7th, Malakye.com is hosting the Shmoozapalooza, a job fair of sorts for the action sports industry, held at the annual ASR show. I’m using September 7th as my due date to be completely up and running and ready for job search attack. The action sports industry is a tough one to break into, but even if I don’t make it in, at least I can hone my chops for awhile and then move to the other big fish. I’m in not real hurry to jump on the first job offer. It has to be the right job, so I’m willing to run the slow and steady race. Hopefully I won’t have to do that for long though.

Anyone out there looking for a mid level art director with tons of print and publishing experience? Give me a shout out.