10 Ideas on how to be the Best Version of Myself

In true James Altucher's Idea Muscle fashion, I wrote the following ideas to myself one morning before I started work. 

The list is not absolute. It's a photograph of what I believed would help me become a better person. 

1. Wake up at 4 AM. To work on my morning pages. To Meditate. To start my day early. 

2. Sleep at 9 or 10 PM. To install discipline. To give myself sufficient time to sleep. To have time to do personal activities after dinner. 

3. Work out at least 15 minutes a day. Our bodies deserve the right to be happy and healthy. 

4. Commit to read new and inspirational books or blog daily.  To sharpen my mind and make my knowledge grow. 

5.  Spend 15 minutes on a daily project. If I don't work on it, the project dies. Yes, it will die. 

6. Interact with people on a daily basis. No man is an island. We're much happier and healthier when we relate with people. 

7. Show kindness and positivity. It's a favor we do to others and to ourselves. 

8. Look for the hidden gem or blessing in every situation. From Sara Blakely. this is a life-changing advice. Really. You  turn whatever shit happens to you into gold. 

9. Choose to forgive people and yourself. It's like drinking poison. No, you don't drink poison and hope you will be okay. 

10. Embrace and celebrate failure. Rather, change your perception of what failure is. Failure is part of life, and learning how to cope with this fact is a key to live. 

Stickmen comics and other projects

I started to create comics with cute little stick guys.

This is the first comic I made since... 2012? I can't remember. It's been quite awhile.

Just wanted to go directly to its essence- to tell a story and have fun. 

I didn't resort to my manga style. I doubt if I can replicate what I did 4 years ago. I've changed.

But stick people's good. It's decent and easy to draw. I don't have to stress and demand from myself that it needs to be perfect.

I DID struggle on what scenario I'd draw for these guys. If I applied my 10 ideas a day thing, this would be equivalent to getting a good mental workout. I'm forced to churn ideas for thesw little guys to act.

One of my plans right now, is to fill a notebook with stick guy comics. I have a lot of pages to fill, but targetting 10 per day is a good start. I was able to fill 3 notepads with ideas since July 2015. Thought it would be a fun idea to do with comics :D

Today's a local holiday here. But I went to work because... I was one of the unfortunate ones  (kidding). That was a blessing in disguise though. Enrolled myself in a watercolor workshop with 20 other people. I think it's a perfect idea to get out of my hobbit hole. It was great meeting the owner of the shop too! I was like "whoa, I admire this person! I want to be like her one day".

Got a bunch of ideas while I had lunch too! Couldn't resist planning the initial steps for another project. I have one project that's about to end, and another that I think will last for another 2-3 months. The second one's difficult to maintain, but there are benefits to it!

 Overall, those two projects have surprised me, especially the first one.

I can actually commit and be consistent to a project once I see how it will end.

This new project isn't that time consuming. Once I've planned its contents, all I need to do is write it and I'm ready to ship it to the world! Hurrah!

I'm also thinking of what to do with this blog. I like posting here. Gives me a tangible body of work to show that "hey, I blog". It's just that... I'm not sure what the focus is. My other blog has a clear cut focus- a written documentation of a tv series.

This one's a repository of images, thoughts, essays and whatnot.

So while I finalize what to do with this one, I'd better take nap.

10 things I'm grateful for 3/15/16

1. Published the 7th chapter of an FF8 fanfiction;

2. Drafted 2/6 remaining chapters;

3. Wrote 80 ideas for today (this one not included);

4. Did almost 30 push ups yesterday;

5. Did negative pull-ups yesterday (arms feel sore);

6. Arrived early at work;

7. Published the 7th post in my episode recap blog;

8. Finished reading 2 Seth Godin's books;

9. Downloaded 3 more books to read; 

10. I have the cash enroll myself  for a watercolor workshop tomorrow :)

10 ideas on what i don't know

What do I get when i mix Think like a Freak (to admit what you do not know, but I can learn, right?) and James Altucher's 10 ideas a day? Inspiration for Idea sex.

Here are my 10 ideas: ideas written on paper that I will dispose,  but ideas I will immortalize in my blog. I hope that one day, maybe one day, I will be able to... succeed! Act on one of them and do something about it.

1. I don't know how to cook yummy food.
2. I don't know how to finish a planned project.
3. I don't know how and where to meet people with common interest.
4. I don't know how to sustain a relationship (friendly, casual, romantic ones).
5. I don't know how to manage my time properly.
6. I don't know how to be a proper or great, or well functioning administrative assistant.
7. I don't know the entire procurement process (related to my work, but I'm hanging by).
8. I don't know the answers to a lot of questions.
9. I don't know how to plan projects, especially when it is asked of me. (no wonder I wasn't a good leader in elementary and highschool).
10. I don't how and what it means to give my all and succeed.
11. I don't know how to be a proper nurse.

*why is there number 11? Because when you exercise the idea muscle... everything starts to flow

10 Sketches a day will eventually make me a Sketch Machine Anyway!

I'm a big, BIG proponent of James Altucher's 10 ideas a day.
I have been practicing it for almost a month now. I make it a point to churn out a minimum of 10 ideas. I average 30-50 ideas a day.

What is the reason why i follow 10 ideas?

It's simple.

But first, let me give you a background.

James Altucher created a daily practice. It has 4 pillars. or legs. to be a healthy and functioning human being, you must practice all 4 legs daily. and what are the four legs?

1. Physical
2. Mental
3. Spiritual
4. emotional

The idea muscle, comes from the second leg, the mental body. write 10 ideas a day and make sure your mental muscle sweats. write 10 ideas daily. it usually takes at least 6 months for any noticeable change. once done on a daily basis, once the idea muscle gains strength, you become an idea machine.

And when you become an idea machine, you rock!

That is the premise of the Daily Practice.

Now just what is this.. 10 sketches?

I believe it is a product of practicing my mental body, or the 10 ideas. Yesterday, I was pondering the mystery of my lost Lady Arthemis, of my lost creative body, when i mused how much weak and it must have atrophied.

Why don't I create 10 sketches. I mean, 10 sketches a day will make me an idea machine.
And the point of 10 ideas a day isn;'t to generate good ideas. part and parcel of the 10 ideas is to churn out ideas, good or bad!it doesn't matter if it looks awful or what. whats important is that... you churn out ideas!

In this case, i have a... not so bad case of perfectionism. but perfectionism nonetheless.

and it's what blocked me all these years (3 years). when i try to create something, the critic in me dissuades me from even attempting. "pathetic piece of shit you are. the only thing you're good at is anime and facials. you keep drawing the same thing"

So i never attempted to create something difficult. something fresh.

Strangely, this has never happened when i churn out ideas.  I do not hear the critic. the voice. the monster. i do not. all i hear is "Well, it doesn't matter! good or bad, the goal is to be an idea machine! i'll be a monster! i'll be awesome!"

Isn't that an interesting notion to be? To sketch, for the sake of sketching. to sketch and smile, because I can sketch, that I am thinking of new ideas. It doesn't have to be good, excellent or very good (I can refine the good ones anyway)

Yesterday, I gave permission and drew a bunch of... flowers, mermaids and whatnot. it's very interesting. Today, i have produced 10 ideas to sketch. and 10 ideas to sketch about flowers and gardens. I am excited to show them to the world. Whether good or not. I am an idea machine. I am a sketch machine,

I rock!