ArtBizVoice: Preventing Dancing Mediocrity in Your Business

Dear Mr. Trump,
I love your philosophy of excellence. The goal of being the best possible while making yourself and what you do better and better.

I have been keenly aware over the last few months that there is actually a dancing mediocrity in most of our culture today. I have actually been trying to figure out why.

This mediocrity can be as simple as an employee sweeping the floor but instead of actually using a dustpan they pile all the dirt in the middle of the floor, then pick up what they can see to place in the trash can. They actually use their hands to pick up the dirt. The last activity in this scenario is to simply swish the broom through the small bits and spread it out all over the room. When you ask them if they swept up the floor they say “yes”. But the floor never gets clean. This is kids stuff. I mean really this is the sort of thing a little child does during chores... until they are trained.

So why on earth would anyone go through an activity that is small but incredibly important for most businesses  but only do enough to say "Yes, I did it."

My theory :

a)these people have never been trained to take pride in their work?  (Maybe)
b) these people have been trained that this is the way its done? ( They probably do it this way at home)
c) these people understand the concept of sweeping and accomplish it as the goal but they do not understand that the goal is actually to clean the floor from the corners to the center and make it shine?
d) they are distracted by cell phones and ipods and are not focused on their work so they don’t even realize what they have done or not done? (easy fix: turn them off during work hours)
e)Every aspect of their life is so filled with drama that it spills over into what they are doing at work. The distraction is so bad that they hinder everyone else from their work and productivity drops?( this is deserves its own blog post)

Everyone of these things combined makes for a dirty floor even if it is swept. And this is the major hurdle that employers have to overcome. Even employees have a good work ethic and are dedicated to the job, the language becomes the issue, even when everyone in the workplace speaks English.

Let me illustrate what I think is the most prevalent issue in the current rise in mediocrity. When I say to someone sweep the floor they I expect it to be spotless when they are finished. And I want to be able to walk barefoot over the floor and have my feet be clean and have the floor be smooth. That means not only do I need to communicate how I want it done and why,  they need to not only understand what I expect and how I want it done. And they need to understand that their job performance is rated on results not busy work that never gets done.

One thing we don’t want is a shinny tile floor and the most important client  of the decade to be walking into  the building just as the sunlight shines through the window and hits that pile of dirt someone left because they didn’t know the difference between sweeping and making it spotless. 

We survived the winds and the rains last night. It always amazes me as to how the sun shines brightest just after a really active storm. Have a blessed day.
~L

ArtBizVoice: Seriously? How are you allowing your business self to appear to others..

Dear Mr. Trump,

Yesterday, I found a blog that was new to me. It was by Shannan Trenholm. Her post was on people who hear what you are up to and tell you to "Be  Realistic" every time you share an idea or dream with them.

Most of my "seemingly successful" friends  who have this "Be Realistic" Attitude are successful because they had chosen to work for companies instead of starting companies of their own.

These friends judge the worth of a company or a business idea by these two things:
 *Are they top among their competitors in profits
*Does the company have  a good reputation among the community.
In other words those businesses have to be paying big salaries and on the social fast track.

One of these friends once told me "I will never put my name with anything that is not successful."

Not to fault my friend, because she is amazing in every way and worth every penny of her hire, but her perspective is that she doesn’t see potential in people or small businesses.  This means she inadvertently says and does things that show me that she doesn’t believe in what I’m doing. Or so I thought.

This past week I was talking with another friend of mine. I told her how exciting everything was becoming how many new possibilities were opening up in my business. Her response was "What do you mean, you just do some of your art on line on t-shirts, right?"

It hit me like a ton of bricks.

My successful friends had been demeaning my work all this time. I never noticed. Maybe I let  them do this because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my work. It has taken me a while to have a clear plan and really run the numbers. Then I mistakenly thought that my friends would support what I was doing simply because they were my friends. In effect they were not taking my business or me seriously.   I had let them demean my business. I wasn’t accepting what they said, I simply didn’t correct their negative attitude and words about what they thought I was doing . I, of course didnt let her demeaning of my business stand this time. I admit it was a little painful standing up to a friend I assumed was being supportive. Amazingly, we are still friends.

I have to say that my world view of being a self starter and taking the risks, while noble to me, it was not something my successful friends could relate to. In fact, those friends would never be able to run a business ever. They had no desire or talent for it. They are highly paid skilled worker bees that provide, sometimes white collar, services to large established firms. That sort of explained to me why people making 6 figures feel like they are middle class. They are workers but they just get paid more and have more social exposure.

Here is the thing, every business out there started with an idea or a dream. All of them had small beginnings. The success of a business is simply the pay off in the gamble in my opinion. All those successful friends of mine would not even have a job if someone like me and you had not taken the risk. It takes creative people with big ideas that they are passionate enough  to make it happen. As you know it can take a life time.

I am not against  being "realistic"; however,  I must say that realistically without people who have the dream and the passion to take the risk there would be no place for any one to be successful.

~L

If  you would like to see Shannon Trenholm's blog you can read it here: http://shannatrenholm.com/2011/work/be-realistic/

ArtBizVoice: Getting People Involved. ( The PPN Project)

Dear Mr. Trump,

Since I basically have no start up money and I live on a shoe string budget on the best days, I came up with this idea of how to market my work. I call it Partner Marketing or Partnership Program for Non-employees(PPN). Perhaps there is a better name already for it.

Here is the need: I need to make sales to pay for art supplies to keep making art and pay for my expenses.  The people I invite into the program want to buy original art but cannot afford it. Usually the art they want is something special to them like a pet portrait or a painting of their child and their horse etc.

The goal:

The key to my marketing strategy is to sell as many reproduced products as possible. These products will fund further art and some additional programs I would like to accomplish in my community.  By using PPN participants to share the product s  this increases my chances of making the necessary sales and gives them  an opportunity to have art that they couldn’t otherwise afford.  The cost of making the art is covered.

How it works:

Sample of PPN Project invitation

Each person agrees to participate for a year(They can actually participate as long as they want to). For the first month I work with them to teach them how to do the project. Basically participants share three or 4 pre-determined items throughout the day on their social media venues. Each item they share has a special code assigned only to them. Each sale of an item with their code gives them a point. The points are tallied at the end of the month. The participant then receives a statement of points that they can use as a discount against the purchase of original work or signed prints.

The participants in the PPN project also are taught how to do recommendations and reviews and given support in how to market as they go. In the program they do this about 2 or 3 times a week.

The program is active marketing, meaning sharing the content in a public way and talking about it to generate interest.

I read once in Guerrilla Marketing, that a product or brand name must be seen at least 15 times before  a potential client will remember it and act on it. IF, of course, it is something they want or can use. Participations should begin seeing a response to their efforts by sales that begin on about 15 day once they fall into the routine. It generally should take no more than about 15 minutes a day to do this sort of program, especially if they have multiple social media venues. This program will allow people to see what is available multiple times on multiple venues, help a worthy cause, empower people in the project and help me to go on to paint another day.

One important distinction about this program is that it is not aggressive marketing; Meaning that those who participate are not allowed to spam. Spamming is repetitively posting the exact same information over and over again to a large number of people who have no interest or who have not asked for information. If participants spam on their social media or email they will be removed from the program and banned from further participation. 

Active Social Marketing will do four things:
Provide information about the product,
Provoke a discussion
Show people how to purchase the product
Lead people to other products they might enjoy having, if the original product is not to their taste. 

Beautiful day today! Warm and sunny. Have a great day,
~L

ArtBizNews: Epiphany of Qualified Hires

Dear Mr. Trump,

Last week I heard about the casinos that were opening in Maryland. They were holding classes for people to become dealers. It was a two week class to train potential hires. I found it fascinating. A prerequisite for even having an interview was to take the class.

I filed the information away in the back of my mind and Friday it hit me. Every time I advertise for some one to partner with me to market my work on line they usually cant seem to figure out the process.The problem I was having trying to get people to work for me was that it was so foreign and complicated to them that they couldn’t do the job. They were over whelmed.

My mistake was to expect that because someone was on line that I should expect them to know how to do the marketing I wanted them too only having to give them simple instructions. Just like a person might be able to gamble doesn’t mean they know the nuances of being a dealer or the legal ins and outs, just because a person shops on www.zazzle.com does not mean they know how to help share and market  products you have available.
Something I thought should be so simple is actually quite daunting to the average shopper. Its especially daunting to the middle age woman who has to have her children show her how to do even the simplest email.

So now I have figured out that I need to but together some sort of training video or videos to show potential partners how to do what I need done.

Its a big part of the solution to marketing on the Internet. Teach before you hire. That way you not only give people the opportunity to partner with you but you also give them knowledge and skills that they can use other places. It builds good will.

I think that is already a philosophy Learn one, do one teach one.
Here is the upside, If I am not mistaken, once they know how to do it then I can partner with the best of the best to make our business even better.

I can barely believe that its almost the end of January and my grass is still green. We woke up to ice this morning. I hope your weather is better today.

~L

ArtBizNews: The Crab Pot Theory of Community Dynamics

Dear Mr. Trump,

There is something really important that hinders the poor and disabled for being successful sometimes. Its something that they can overcome with a bit of help. My dad called it the "Crab Pot Theory" of Community Dynamics.

 The Crab Pot Theory is based on several false statements:

 1. Rich people never have to work a day in their lives.

2. Rich people got that way because they used poor people.

3. You cant leave us because we need you.

4. When we get money we have to spend it on what we want to because thats the American Dream.
5. We don't have to pay our own way because someone else will take care of us
6. Any money you make belongs to us
7. No one in our family ever made anything of themselves so you cant either.


I would call these false statements curses. There is a verse in the Bible that says: "faith comes by hearing"When people hear these statements over and over again they begin to believe them and it becomes a physiological disability. Like calling a child stupid and dumb and telling them they will never amount to anything. Soon they believe it and act accordingly.

My dad illustrated the "Crab Pot Theory" this way. We visited Tidewater where he grew up and one day all the adults decided to have crabs for dinner. So they went out and caught the crabs and brought them home. Dad invited me into the kitchen to show me. The way you cook crabs is to put them alive into cold water then slowly heat the pot. The gradual heating slows the crabs and they don't realize they are being cooked. Well most dont. Some sense something is not right and want to get out of the heat. So they start climbing out of the pot. But just as they get to the top the crabs below them use their pincers and grab their legs. The lower crabs then pull the ones trying to climb out back into the pot. Thus none are able to escape.

The Crab Pot Theory of  Community Dynamics is not insurmountable. People do over come it. Usually its when they wake up one morning and figure out that everyone around them is happy except them. When they take stock of their lives they discover its because all the enabling they have done has pretty much sucked them dry. No one is looking out for them. No one is helping them. No one is even listening to them.

What happens when someone stands up against this sort of  community dynamic:Guilt trips and derogatory statements to hold them down make them fail. The real reason the community does this is because the community has become so dependent that they are fearful to loose the bread winner. Some of these bread winners are 13 and 14 years old. By the time they are 25 they have nothing but three jobs a day that keep them poor, keep them from spending time doing what they love and keep them from being with their own children.  Their poverty has nothing to do with who is rich and how they got there. It has to do with the unhealthy dependency of their family and sometimes their community that holds them back.

Why I think this is important to understand is because those people are a growing number of our population. Those are potential work force. And that is a whole sub-strata of creative ability that is being squandered by a culture of forced economic failure. I realize we cant help everyone of them out of the pot; however, maybe we can lift the ones at the top out of the pot and release them back into the sea of possibilities.

Have a wonderful weekend,
~L

ArtBizVoice: State My Passion, Then SUPER SIZE IT

Dear Mr Trump,

Today my goal is to figure out how to state my what my vision for my business is in One quick sentense and then in the second sentence say how I am doing it.

What is my Vision?
Ok, this is going to be a bit harder than I thought. Why? Because just defining vision is probably too broad. People would assume my vision would be simply for my business.  I have bigger fish to fry and my business is going to get me there. And no I’m not really that political, so politics is not actually part of my vision. However, they possibly overlap as politics affects policy, and policy affects the daily lives of everyone living in the country.

So what is my true Vision for my life:
To  provide a platform for the issues I care about while providing entertainment and education for  my community, my state , my country and the world ( I guess that would be globally). 
Ok let me say it this way.

My Personal Vision is to build a company that will provide entertainment and educational opportunities for issues I care about that will benefit the local community and can positively impact the world.

How am I going to do that, you ask?

I am doing this by passionately creating art that encompasses those issues and working that art into designs that can be incorporated into everyday things that people wear, use and collect , then marketing those items globally.

Gosh, I could really use some input here.

Simply put my Mission is to: Use my talent and skills; build a business,  then help make life better for as many people as is my ability to reach.

I saw this quote by you yesterday on twitter:

"You have to love what you do or you are never going to be successful no matter what you do in life.” - Think Big

I do indeed love what I do. I love connecting with people who love their animals and want to make a better life and I love creating things that bless them.   I am already living it.. now its time to Super Size it!

Today was my kind of snow btw. Just enough to be beautiful.

Blessings of the Day to you,
~L

ArtBizVoice: 30 Seconds

Dear Mr. Trump,

I’ve been sitting here for the last two years thinking about  what direction I would like to take my business in.   And as I did I realized that my communications skills need some major improvement.

So before I go any further I’m going to say that It has really taken me a long time to figure this out. In business we don’t want to be friends we want to be beneficial acquaintances. That means that time is of the essence. That means in the first sentence I have to state my proposal.

I have to say its very intimidating. Everything in one’s life boiled down to one sentence and spoken with concise passion so as to convince the world that your project is the one they should choose. Scary!

I have of course seen your program, The Apprentice. Well I did years ago. That was the first time I  ever saw it in action. I think writers and artists, because of the time they spend alone and in their heads, sometimes are not aware of how to condense and efficiently  use  language for  busy people.

I remember seeing writer Dick Francis in an interview years ago when I still had TV, I remember how he had to think about answers and then slowly spoke. He wasn’t aware of the 30 second sound bite. There was a lot of dead air space that seemed like an eternity and it made this brilliant man seem a bit less intelligent than he really was.  I suppose that is what it boils down to. ..yes, between 15 and 30 seconds to get  one’s point across.

So here it is… you want to make a proposal.
1. Do it on one sentence  to get the attention
2. Follow through with details in the next 2 sentences
2. Keep it narrow
2. Have all the information so you can answer questions.
3.Get the message out as quickly as possible.

So  Tomorrow I am going to try this out on my blog.

Have a great afternoon. Think we might have some snow here tomorrow.

~L

Bloggers Note: I gave up TV in 2003 because of the expense of Cable. When the new change over to digital happened in 2009 I had to give up watching most TV because the antiquated TV's  I have (black and white) and an archaic Color set  are of little use in the "digital age of TV. The money I could use for that entertainment I put into  my business.

ArtBizVoice: Taking Steps and Finding the Right Person.

Dear Mr Trump,

Today I decided the best thing to do, since I am serious about finding another person to work with me is to put together an ad.  I made a list of all the qualities that I wanted in this person who will be the face of my business.

Here is what I came up with:

Needed Experienced Person in Merchandising, Marketing and Sales
This person would be the public face of my business, negotiate contracts and help implement the marketing strategy, find new leads, and act as an advisor and provide feedback in design directions.

Requirements:

~Must have good networking skills and the ability to build a high profile reputation
~Must have experience in  the Gift and Clothing markets or specialty fields

~good social and language skills.
~Must be articulate and professional

~Must enjoy the challenge of building a business from the ground up.
~Must be willing to invest time and work on spec.

 Interested parties email Resume and references to:

Info@llmartin.com

While it is true that I am an artist, The real money to be made is in the conversion of my art into designs on clothing, gift and housewares products. Eventually, I will probably also contract with designers as well.

I am a small business with no start up capital, so everything is on a shoestring. One thing I did learn about hiring a few years ago is a lot of people want a job, but few are willing to research the business. I have a respectable on-line, Internet,  presence for my skills, talents and my business, so the people who are going to be working with me will also be able to take the initiative and figure out who I am and what I do. That is one of the most important things to me. Anyone who works with me has to care enough about what I am doing to take the time to do the research.

I might have to update that later but think this is a good start.
Have a great day,

~L

ArtBizVoice: Criticism, A Failure's Best Friend

Dear Mr Trump,

Wow what a beautiful sunny day today after all the dreary week. I bet those who had snow last evening even have it brighter and even more beautiful.

All of those dark days made me think of something. I think one of the most difficult things I have had to over come in all these years has been my own attitude. You see its very easy for someone who is isolated by poverty and disability to fall into a very disgruntle critical view of life. It really isn't helped much by people who surround you that are also disgruntle and critical.  This is a trap that a lot of  very talented people fall into when they think they can not move forward. Then they make the fatal error. Blaming those who are successful.  Its the kiss of death, I think.

I caught myself one time falling into the trap. I criticized a group of people. The very group that was most likely to be  my clientèle. I haven’t a clue why I did it except it was a really bad habit.  Well a competitor used it against me right while I was standing there. Yes, the result was it killed my business. There is nothing worse than being better than your competitor in every way and having them steal your business right out from under you because you had the bad habit of only seeing the wrong and never pointing out the good. What a hard lesson. Yet,  I am thankful I learned it.

Most disabled people already have isolation and poverty against them. Those are pretty insurmountable without the favor of people who believe in what they are doing. Maybe people in poverty criticize those who have wealth and success, because they have not figured out that is the successful that can help lift them up.

 An artist, or business man for that matter, just does not know where that help is going to come from.  So a really smart person is not going to criticize or be little anyone on any economic level.  Smart people know that the favor they need can come at any time from the most unsuspecting directions.  I think criticism is in fact a form of offensive insulting behavior that destroys any hope the budding business person has of getting the help they need to be successful. 

I think that most people, including successful people, already know their weaknesses. They don’t need them pointed out and to be constantly reminded of them.  I think we want to favor those who favor us.  And we favor those who are kind and helpful to us. It works both ways.

What a great thing it would be to help people who want to be successful to be positive instead of critical.

Wishing you a very wonderful and safe weekend,
~L

ArtBizVoice: A Different Sort of Life Part 2

Dear Mr Trump,

With all the help I received from Social Security and  The Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services there is one thing that was never addressed: How to overcome the limits of Isolation caused by on going poverty.

Counseling happens and that helps those who are disabled to overcome the self image issues.  It is also true that some spending does happen and field trips but those are mostly to show what is possible and be encouraging. It is all helpful however it doesn't address my problem.

You see most people who have seen the possibilities and  have over come the self image issues would have already developed social graces and would already have put aside money to join organizations that would give networking possibilities. Disabled and impoverished people don't actually have that opportunity.

Here is why: It costs money and effort. And it needs someone savvy and experienced to generate the income in doing it. There are 7 or 8 Local organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Business Women Associations, Artists groups and guilds, Rotary, etc etc  and all of them take cash.  And even if you had the cash  most of the time if you haven't had a good meal or you are disabled, fatigue and clarity of mind are not going to be an asset you can draw on. Then of course there is the problem of accessibility.

All of the rehab programs in the world are not going to get the disabled where they need to be if there is no one to partner with who can do the networking and the sales and marketing leg work.

I don't have money so I tried to get somewhere with this through the only two options left to me. The SCORE organization of retired business men who help small businesses to get started And my local church.

Here is what happened. The available gentlemen from SCORE wouldn't even touch what I am doing because I currently use Internet Marketing venues. I didn't need more information on Internet Marketing I needed a way to connect to real people and real businesses face to face and I needed some alternate ideas on how to do that since I  am unable to do it myself. SCORE wouldn't touch me.

I  also joined the only church in my community that  had access to the building for disabled people. Well they refused to help even connect me with any business people and got mad at me because I would not commit money I didn't have to participating in galleries or art shows. And they got even madder when they saw that I had no money to give to the church.  My dad was a pastor, I never heard him not help anyone who need it, even helping people get jobs. So that was a real shock.

Really, I need some help here. Do you have any ideas on how I can network or who can be my networking face?

~L

ArtBizVoice: A Different Sort of Life Part 1

Dear Mr Trump,

Wow, I just saw your endorsement of  Mr. Netanyahu. Surprising, but nicely done.

It reminded me today,  I was thinking that Israel has had a lot to over come in its long and varied history. The first being that many out side of a few countries, think it only came to be a nation as a result of World War II.  History is so important. The nation of Israel has historically been the only nation to make the desert bloom.  When I was a child I remember seeing photos of Israel from people who had lived and visited there and I thought wow how dry and barren, rocks upon bare earth, upon rocks all where the houses built the same color as the earth. It made me feel thirsty just to look at the photos.

Yet, just before Christmas this year I saw a wonderful photo of Israel now. It is blooming and green and thriving and feeds a good portion of Europe. Why would people want to destroy that which makes the desert bloom?  Seems to me instead of trying to destroy it that all of its neighbors would want to make friends so they too could  learn the secret to making life happen and letting people thrive. Then if they focused on those things instead of the quarrels of generations past everyone could thrive and have peace.

I realize I've just over simplified about 70 years of recent world history from my naive perspective.

I suppose different people are disabled by different things and that makes them impoverished. The "I can't " mentality is very prevalent in the disabled. Isolation is one of the greatest causes of it. And the fact that people other than themselves make decisions about their lives so that they think they can not.  Then there are physical limitations as well as limitations by society. Its hard to climb out of the box when you start seeing yourself as others stereotype you.

One of the things I read about Israel today is that many in the opposition think by following Mr. Netanyahu's plans that it will bring isolation to Israel and that will impoverish it. Um. I think that is incorrect. A country, just like a disabled person, can become an oasis in the midst of a dark world simply by remembering how far they have come and what they hope to do and reminding people of it so no one forgets.

I firmly believe that rising above one's circumstances is not dependent upon what others say or think about you, but about what you know and remember about your self.  It doesn't hurt to have advocates that agree.
You are an "Agreeable Advocate" in this Mr. Trump.
~L

ArtBizVoice: Limitations (The Joy Is In the Striving!)

Dear Mr. Trump,

My Limitations:

  I have never used my disability as an excuse for failure.  I wanted my art to stand on its own merit. Thus I never  advertised myself as a disabled artist. Pity does open doors; however, it won’t necessarily make your work timeless or masterful..  

One of my friends years ago told me it is not  about beating the competition, its about beating your own last best effort. He was an endurance rider who  competed in 100 mile rides. He told me you have to be able to run a marathon in order to do it because you don’t want your horse so tired at the end that he cannot go on for another  20 miles, if needed. That means knowing when to rest, knowing when to let your horse carry you and knowing when to get off and run along side him.

I asked him once why he did it. He had this far away look in his eye and said “ The joy is in the striving”.  He was passionate about it. He loved it and the challenge to accomplish it was what drove him.
He died of cancer in 1988. The only race I ever remembering him not finishing was the one before he was diagnosed. People knew him by his dedication and passion. Many people joined the sport because of him.

When I look at my limitations, I think it is not the fatigue, the weakness I have sometimes, the pain in my legs, and how hard it is to move around . Sometimes I think that my biggest limitation has really been the stereotypes.  I am stereotyped as a artist. It hinders me with people who could help because they think I should be showing at shows, exhibiting in galleries. At my income level, as a disabled person that just doesn’t work, and is a complete waste of money.  Those who I have approached ( and no they don’t know about my limits physically beyond what they see) do not talk to me about what I am trying to accomplish and they don’t want to hear my vision. The word artist puts me in the artist box.  Just like the word disabled puts me in the disabled box. 

For me, the Internet has been a lifesaver and away to get the word out about myself and my art. I have a cult following of appreciative followers. However, for me to thrive and really be successful, I really need more. I need a way to get the word out to the majority of the people who don’t have time to be on-line. It takes preparation. It takes mentorship and it takes a person to partner with me just like my friend was partnered with his horses. In the mean time I am following my passion. Because, the joy really is in the striving.

Blessings of the Day to you.
~L

ArtBizVoice:We Shall Over Come( Skills Development)

Dear Mr. Trump,

I hope you had a very nice weekend. Today I'm writing to you about some of my experiences and skills development.  I have done many things to improve my situation, develop my talents and overcome the limits of my health. My motto is not  “I can not do it” but  “How can I do it.”

One of Two of the programs I have benefited by is The PASS ( Plan for Achieving Self Support)program with the  Social Security Administration. I was told at one point that I was the first person to be admitted into the program in the state of Virginia in 1992. They actually allowed me in the program because I could prove to them that I could still paint and make art from bed if I had to.  I have, too.

The second is the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services. They have been instrumental in helping me obtain much needed equipment, training and counseling in doing business better. I cant thank them enough for their hands on approach.

In addition to developing my skills at making and selling art, I also in the 1990s published a Regional Thoroughbred Racing paper, freelanced for a number of regional papers as a feature writer, researched and developed my own interest in my faith enough, so that at one point, I was leading groups at my local church and offered myself as a lay speaker.  I am a spiritual mentor now. I also from time to time worked with homeschooler families holding Highshool and college prep level art classes in their homes.  I also was able to photograph horse sports for a number of years.   All of these things were in spite of my disability and from them I gained amazing experiences. They also helped me to go out into the community for short times and connect with people I was serving.

One of the most difficult things for the disabled to overcome, in my opinion is the isolation and inability to connect with everyday people.  It is a skill they often lose by isolation. So even though I wasn’t making a living going out I was trying to maintain my social skills. I have to admit it was scary. I still don’t do very well in large groups of people especially where I don’t know anyone.   This may be the largest hindrance to successfully integrating the disabled into the work place.

Somehow in all that time I have managed to keep on developing my skill as an artist, I’ve kept up with trends in the horse industry and worked with some wonderful animal and people service charities to help them in fund-raising.

More about challenges and limits tomorrow.

Have a prosperous Monday.
~L

ArtBizVoice: A Life Before Limits ( A little personal history.)

Dear Mr. Trump,
 I have read your bio  so I will give you mine now. Well, ok it will be more like a personal history.

I am a 57 year old college graduate who trained in art and education.  I really wanted to have a business and journalism degree, however,  I have dyslexia. I was willing to try but everyone did all they could to talk me out of it. Since spelling is a bit of a problem for me; well one must adapt.  Lets just say in the 1970’s no one was going to let someone who couldn’t spell into those sort of jobs. I also trained for a year at a small western Virginia college in Horse management. I have a life long love horses.

One of the problems with having Dyslexia is that you really seem sort of dumb to the rest of the world and lets face it, people who can see fine have no trouble making fun of people who fumble for their words, cant tell the difference between g, h, d, y, and b ( if I close my eyes I can sometimes write them correctly with a computer) and  cant tell when to punctuate or when a letter doesn’t belong.  I have been laughed at many times by people who should know better. Intelligent people even.

The up side of Dyslexia is that I can look at a model in art class and draw it completely backwards in detail.  Which on a number of occasions surprised my Professor. The scary part of Dyslexia is making sure your check book is balanced.

After college I was hired by a small rural private school to teach art and fill in. It seemed I was so talented that they eventually gave me my own class and made me liaison with the public school system in dealing with special needs children. I was 23.

 I loved the children, however,  being in the class room made me claustrophobic. I was encouraged to go for a Masters in special education with recommendations to University of Virginia. However,  the truth was  I was afraid I couldn’t pass the entrance tests  and qualifications exams, and how on earth would I ever write so people could read it.  How on earth could I ever read all those books.  The one thing that really never crossed my mind was how much it might cost. 

At that time, I also intuitively felt myself  becoming weak, it was just a feeling. I knew I only had a small window of time to have horses, so I bought a few and started training and coaching. I don’t regret it one bit.  I was at my happiest but  I was having issues either with genetics or just that my body wasn’t made for that kind of work.  One minute I was filled with hopes and dreams of helping anyone, rich or poor to work with horses and the next I was flat on my back with a number of health issues. I don’t think I was as depressed as much as I was in mourning.  In 1988 I went on disability.  I have been trying ever since to figure out how to get off of it and using my talents and skills to sustain my own life.  I was right at the edge of actually pulling it off in 2008 when “change” happened.

I'm trying to keep these letters short so I will share with you what I did to improve my chances for success  in my next letter.

Have a wonderful weekend. I hear that we are suppose to be having  very warm weather on the east coast.
~L