It is fitting I am finally getting around to the last relationship piece in the formula — WORK. What has it been–a month since my last post? Well, the good news is that the time has been spent working on bigger, better things for you. I have a clear direction that should keep us energized for a while. I’m glad I waited to make this post, because I have a lot more insight now. Let’s recap this formula.
(TIME) x (HEART) x (ENERGY) = VALUE of the COMPANION.
Work will, of course, be the ENERGY behind everthing you do. FOCUSED ENERGY would be a value of 9 or 10. NONCHALANT ENERGY will be a value of 1 or 2.
The work you do will cultivate the relationship you are building with your companion–feeding value into a person’s life. Not just once, but for a lifetime. What we’ll discuss today, as we finish the examination of our formula, is how our companion will be involved in the work we do. We will explore two roads as we will travel.
ROAD ONE: WHAT CAN YOU GIVE OF YOURSELF?
“There are only 3 colors, 10 digits, and 7 notes; its what we do with them that’s important.” –Jim Rohn
Your energy — your work — will be either leave a lasting impression for good, or a lasting impression for evil in the mind of your companion. You want to always give goodness. Remember when we talked about the heart, in KEY 1? That defines your work. This is the kind of focused energy you want to continue working in. This is the kind of work you want to do.
Don’t get sidetracked into doing a million things that are some off-shoot of who you are. Stay true to who you are and what you want to be. The more you do this, the more you will become in tune with where you want to go with your work and your life. You will get better at what you do and people will know that it is you who can do this thing you do.
You are very special. There is no one else like you on this planet. You have been given a gift. You are made for a purpose. Artists create. No one is like another. Every line is different. Writers create. The tools are the same — 26 letters. However, no writing is like another. What is your reason for creating? Why do you want to create? How do you create? Who do you create for? Where do you create? These are important questions, for they make up the very fabric of your being. Get in tune with you so you will know what it is you want to give of yourself. If you are having difficulty, don’t worry. It’s in there somewhere, you just have to draw it out.
ROAD TWO: WHAT DO YOUR COMPANIONS WANT?
“It is important for the ‘spirit’ of the painting to be transferred to the viewer.” —Todd Reifers
The next road we will journey on is what you will remember from Key 2 –The Companion. You are not alone. You have to work on something your companion wants or else you are working in vain. I see many, many, many artists go down road one. It is a very lonely road. You must find the intersection where Road One will connect with Road Two.
How do you know what your companions want? You don’t. Unless you observe. Unless you ask. Unless you get to know them. Once you are part of their world it can sometimes be easy to see. Oftentimes if we would just travel on this path for a little while, we can see exactly what people need. And they can see what we need. This is why Twitter and Facebook are so popular. They are both Road Two mechanisms. It’s sometimes a lot easier traveling on Road Two and ignoring Road One. We can be our toughest critic. Just know that there is someone out there who wants what you have.
Now this is the fun part–CONNECTING THE ROADS. If you have travelled on both roads long enough through Key 3 (Time) You will know the ins and outs of the road. You will know when they intersect and when they separate. Have you ever started driving to on a route you always drive, then think about other things until at some point you have arrived and your can’t remember how you made it to your destination, but you did? It is automatic. Almost like breathing. When you travel both these roads enough, you will get better and learn to drive these roads very easily. The great news is there is a lot of connections on these roads. Different companions will be at different intersections at different times. And if you’ve done your job right–listened to my advice, and followed the formula–you will have made a companion for life. And both of you will be better off for it.
JUST SO YOU KNOW I’M NOT BLOWING SMOKE:
I’ve been reviewing our formula and I want you to know I haven’t just been talking the talk. I know how valuable you are to me. And quite frankly, it’s a lot. I look at the formula a little differently. I know you are valuable, so I try to put as much time, heart, and energy into it to balance it out.
VALUE of the COMPANION = (TIME) x (HEART) x (ENERGY)
For the last 4 months I’ve been actively engaging in what will bring the most value to your life right now. I’ve invested the time. I’ve also thrown every fiber of being of my heart into this; all my energy has gone into this work. You will be pleased. Finally, we can start directing our attention to things that matter, and not the things that corporate America thinks matters. It’s time to rebuild. This is the first step in the journey.
I want you to connect with me closer than you have connected with any other editor in existance. And to do it, I am letting those who have always been on the outside of the comic book industry get an inside, indepth look. You are going to be working with me first hand. You’ve read my posts. I want to build a relationship now with you. I want you to be my companion, and I want to be yours. I want to travel on this journey of life with you, but it won’t work if we can’t get to know each other. I’m not talking watercooler tweets get to know you. I’m talking brass tax, in your face, blood brother get to know you. This may turn nasty. But we’ll both be better off for it. Lifelong friends are made during the heat of battle.
More coming soon.