Painting Sold at Silent Auction !

The painting by Wheels shown here was sold at a silent auction held during the Division A Toastmasters contest hosted by WestConn Toastmasters.

The painting is acrylic on canvas titled, "Fall in VT" and is 11 x 14 inches. It was created in 2004 and was donated to the silent auction.

The winning bidder, Anne Swartout of Ridgefield, CT , was also the Chief Judge for the Division A contest held on September 23rd in the Wooster School Library!

Congratulations Anne and special thanks to Carmine Coco De Young who organized the silent auction along with the refreshments at the contest!

Before 7 - after six weeks off

I had not realized how long it had been since I last worked on this painting... Aug.10th was the last update.

What happened since then?

Well, I went to Chicago (and did about 3 minutes of standup comedy at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts open mic night).

I went to Montana for a family reunion.

I went to NH for a couple days with my Dad & sister.

And lots of Toastmasters activities!

As Lt.Gov.Marketing for District 53 Toastmasters, I am in charge of many activities (and I can't help getting involved in others too). It is alot of fun and all of it is a "growth experience" so I don't feel too bad that the painting progress is slow.

Besides, there haven't been too many comments on this blog, so it's hard to tell if anyone is paying attention anyways! (If you are reading this... leave a comment and let us know what you think of this blog.)

Sometimes the Art just has to come out...

Jeff Hanson is an young artist featured in an article by Debra Skodack for the Kansas City Star.

He started painting and selling notecards, some of which "from his own driveway". International rock star, Elton John has even taken an interest in Jeff's art and asked him to paint pictures for his AIDS Foundation “cluster homes” in South Africa where "pregnant HIV-positive women receive medicine so their children will be born HIV-free".

While this could just be a story about an artist being discovered by a rock star and introduced to the world stage, it is much more.

Jeff is only 14 years old, has learning disabilities and is legally blind. He sees spots within his field of vision ... but his art must come through!

What's holding you back from fully engaging in your art? What are you using as an excuse?

What if you could find a few minutes a day? What could you create?

Dream Big... but start small.

Dream Big.

You don't get passionate about daily chores like taking out the garbage, do you?

You need a bigger vision. A bigger goal.

A destination that promises incredible rewards, experiences and personal fulfillment.

There's nothing wrong with that, is there?

But why isn't everyone achieving their BIG DREAMS immediately?

Bee-HAG it:

By definition, a really Big Hairy Audacious Goal ("BHAG" as author Jim Collins and Jerry Poiras called it in their book, "Built To Last") is like an island or a mountaintop. No easy way to get there.

It isn't until you have identified or outlined the path to your BIG DREAM that the real journey can begin.

Passion & Path:

If you don't have a passionate goal... and a view of the path to your goal... it is very easy to fall into an EASY life.

In America, it is actually TOO easy. You can eat yourself to death with all the excellent and tasty food that is easily available in America.

Discipline = Progress

Success requires discipline. Making the choices that may not be comfortable... but the ones that move you towards your goal.

Tony Robbins defines that Fulfillment as the act of PROGRESS towards a goal. Progress requires discipline to follow the path to your goal.

And progress starts small. VERY small. Insignificantly small.

How long?
Start small and build your discipline until ... well until you die. Once you experience the feeling of progress you won't want to stop at your initial goal... you will reach for bigger and bigger goals!

How Small?
If starting small is so powerful, what is the smallest unit of action?

It is your "rituals" or "habits". Here is a good post on how to improve your rituals. Tony Robbins calls it "NET" time for "No Extra Time" !

For today...

Today is the day to DREAM BIG

... and Start small.

Start here.

Start NOW.