Joshua Tree Under the Milky Way from Henry Jun Wah Lee on Vimeo.

I can’t remember where I found out about Henry Jun Wah Lee’s incredibly time lapse photography, but ever since I’ve been mesmerized viewing the videos. The video above of the Perseid meteor shower and the Milky Way as seen from Joshua Tree. When we were in New Hampshire we were able to see the Milky Way from the Kancamagus Highway like I hadn’t seen it in a very long time. Everyone should have the opportunity to see the Milky Way like that.

The other video/time lapse I fell in love with is the Time Lapse Tour of Yosemite National Park. A place I would love to visit and hopefully will someday with my camera.

Craig and I were having a good discussion tonight about his take away from reading the book The Not So Big Life by Sarah Susanka. One thing he mentioned was the concept of your life being like a movie, and then having that feeling of why am I in this movie? If you’re answering with “I don’t know”, then it’s pretty clear something needs to change.

Several years ago, that question went through my head quite often. I had considered what life would be like without me in it and just wanted a break. It seemed like the weight on my shoulders was too much to bear. I’m grateful to say things turned around and particularly this year I re-inspired myself to not lose another 10 years to doing for everything and everyone else. Because at the end of the day if I’m not happy with my life and who I am, what else do I have.

In that spirit. I happened to love the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. I always found it funny and cathartic. It’s a great metaphor for what many of us do, sometimes without even realizing it. We make decisions that are not ones towards a life we’d love but rather slow chips away at ending the one we’re in. But amazingly like the movie, changing your perspective, removing culprits from your life that bring you down, can make huge steps towards being in a life you actually like and want to wake up to and be alive for. You always have tomorrow as an opportunity to change the path.

Find that road not taken.

There are some great tips to avoid creative blocks over at Inspired Mag‘s website. The one I have the hardest problem with is #5 self-doubt. Which lead me to remember Leah’s post about Self-Employment: The First Six Months. She mentioned previously feeling guilty when a potential client would say they couldn’t afford her services. I’ve had that feeling many times, and foolishly buckled to bringing down my rate to something where it was no longer respecting my time and services. She summed it up best, “…let go of the guilt that I can’t help everyone.”

The other tip in the article that I need to follow more is #3 Take a Walk and #6 Get Away for a Day or Two. Staying home and just not going out is not the same. My home is my office, and it’s filled with personal projects that also peek at me from behind their boxes and I feel like I should at least be doing those. I remind myself to just go look at my OmniFocus “Due” perspective and only worry about what is there.

Walks are so underrated, I had forgotten how cathartic they can be. We took a peaceful, albeit very cold walk yesterday along the river. It reminded me how much I like what I do, along with memories of our days driving up Route 7 and planning out our future. It gave me hope. I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but somedays it’s what I need to be reminded life is about. The dreams and reaching for them.

Thank you to my dreamer, who constantly reminds me to never give up.

you make lemonade.

More than 130,000 advertising professionals have lost their jobs in this “Great Recession.” Lemonade is about what happens when people who were once paid to be creative in advertising are forced to be creative with their own lives.

Craig and I have talked often over the years of the “what if I lost my job” scenario. Both of my last two jobs had layoffs, and I grew to understand in my first job at a dot com, that at any moment it could be you. Don’t take it personally, you’re a number in the end, not in a bad way, just a salary and when budgets are not being met, it comes down to numbers. To me layoffs have become a fact of life, I’m always some what prepared in my head, a box under my desk and trying to stay one step ahead.

The advertising industry to me feels like the canary in the coal mine. The arts always take the first hit of being the “unnecessary” expense businesses cut in tough times. The irony there is with good marketing and imagery your product will continue to be successful.

It’s wonderful someone is making this movie. As creative professionals I think we generally have the ability to bounce back quicker than others and start off in new directions. Many times, happier directions more in line with our true callings.

America
by Walt Whitman
(1819-1892)

Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear’d, grown, ungrown, young or old,
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair’d in the adamant of Time.

via (kottke.org)

I forget sometimes how lucky I’ve been in life. This happens often since I’m typically consumed by the current moment and how it may or may not be living up to my standards. Perspective and time often help rectify this situation.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some very talented people over the years, and still do currently. Some people I’ve connected with in the field I’ve never even met in person and I’m regularly humbled by their talents. They inspire me. They also remind me I’m not alone and it’s a process that keeps me growing.

I’m taking a risk, something I don’t seem to like to do when it comes to my career and have said “yes” to several side projects. My time is limited but I need to feel inspired and alive again. The opportunities that have been presented to me recently are exciting, challenging, inspiring and making me very happy.

I hope to look back at this time with a large smile on my face for having grabbed the reins and taken my life in a direction I wanted to go in.

And to think I haven’t even received my copy of Gary Vaynerchuk’s Crush It book.

Americans have access to:

• 1,000,000,000,000 web pages
• 65,000 iPhone app
• 10,500 radio stations
• 5,500 magazines
• 200+ cable tv networks

Pretty impressive numbers. The folks at XPLANE™ have created another video educating and inspiring the community. This is from their Did You Know series.

We forget sometimes how much things have changed and what kind of future possibly lays before us. The power of the computers in our pockets is incredible in relation to just 20 years ago.

I stumbled across SAAB’s microsite called “Change Perspective” tonight, all I can say is I’ve been back to it 5 times to play with it and sent it to several friends.

Flash has been of much debate in the web design community. Some vehemently oppose it, others think it’s the solution to everything. My feelings are more middle of the road. In the right application it’s the only tool for the job, this site happens to be one of those.

The music is great. The whole site is clean, simple, easy to use and just feels like fresh air. My favorite part is the safety section with the pop up book. Visit the site.

(Via bikepornftw.)

Today was our 9th anniversary. Looking forward to many, many more years.