The Absence Of Light, Isn't Always Just Darkness.

A little Light music for you while you read, if you want.

Recently I'd been through the long process of turning one of my projects into a reality, a lengthy project at that. I had spent the last few years on and off working on a card game, it has two versions, "SPIRIT® Origin" and "SPIRIT® Stealth"

KICKSTARTER IS HERE:

It was a huge process.
- Designing and refining the game mechanics (probably the hardest bit).
- Making all the Art.
- Designing the cards user interface so that they are intuitive and work.
- Making the cards in the right format for print, learning trim, bleed and cuts.
- Designing the Branding.
- Designing Rule book, learning about game wording and consistency.
- Designing the box, product design is it's own theory and learning what is required.
- Making rough box and card prototypes.
- Buying barcodes.
- Buying Web domain.
- Buying hosting.
- Web design (still not finished the website, it's a lot of work)
- Shooting promo videos.
- Learning Video Editing.
- Economics, you need to understand all the costs.
- Alpha testing, Beta testing.
- Registering  a Buisness
- Registering a TM and applying for (and achieved) a ® (Can be an expensive process)
- Social Media Marketing.
- Publishing promotional materials.
- Commission for custom stand for photos.
- Product shoots, and Editing said shoots.
- Custom goodies for testers.
- Thousands of hours work.
- Paying for Press Release (expensive minefield in itself)
- Sending hundreds of messages, Emails and calls to try and secure online exposure.
* I KNOW I missed a lot more out...*

Sometimes in life you can do everything that you think is right, and fail.

However, failure is determined by your own actions after, not during. If you do not understand why your attempt to succeed failed, and make no attempt to understand why then you have most certainly failed.

If you manage  take a step back, look at the rubble and piece together what happened, and learn from it, then it is no longer failure... just merely a lesson(albeit a painful one sometimes).

"Don't cry to quit! You already in pain, you already hurt! Get a reward from it! "

 - Eric Thomas

I learnt the reasons why my project fell just short of being backed, it was a few things but mostly, and importantly it falls to two things.

1. A poor video.
2. Poor Press-Release decisions.

I needed two videos, the title video which should have been a short, snappy video on WHAT the game is, and eject energy. The second video needed to be an extensive, organic play of the game where people are filmed playing and enjoying it so that the investor can understand what they are buying. I feel most of my non-friend investors took a punt on the idea that it might be good. I needed to show that it is good.

A blessing in disguise is that the product isn't bad. As a matter of fact I logically stand by it being a great game, not just because I made it, but looking ta it objectively (which you should always do, to avoid pride blindness) I feel it's strong.

So, you can have a great product, but still fail if your presentation isn't thought through enough.

I learnt a hell of a lot about the process and the struggles.

I wasn't always enjoying the ride, I spent a few days mostly in a bath in the dark feeling sorry for myself as the projections (which turned out to be very close to correct) suggested the project would fall short of the backing. I even had a few darker days, but if I didn't care so much about this project then I should have questioned why bother doing it at all.

We are all dealt different hands, some of us are born into a better life than others. 

What is important is to realise that while you might not be able to (right now) do your dream job, or live your dream life, that it is far better to make steps forward towards your goals than it is to avoid them or disregard them.

If you want to be a writer, then write. You won't become a writer by just thinking about being a writer.
If you want your ideal body (whatever that is) then strive to work on doing it, learn from others that have achieved what you want.
Surround yourself with information that is relevant, if you work in a factory and want to be an entrepreneur and find yourself at lunchtime participating in gossip or idle chit-chat then break from it.

Listen to podcasts in your headphones at lunch or during the commute, constantly immerse yourself in the type of content that is relevant to you.

Remember, just because you can't currently achieve a main goal, doesn't mean you shouldn't have another. I grew up wanting to be a video game designer... now I just want to travel the world and learn about cultures. Boardgames are a passion (not a dream) and if I can use a passion to make the money to live the life I want then I'm doing ok. It hasn't happened yet, and of course might never happen... but unless I try, unless I make the jumps, take the falls what is the point. 

Read articles, analyse them, learn what is useful information and what is garbage or just an advertisement.

You certainly have a much higher chance reaching your dreams if you actually try.

Of course, you have to be able to accept defeats, get up, dust off and keep climbing.

Nobody said breaking out of old habits is easy, but if it was, everybody would be where they want to be.

Remember...
Dreams are worth fighting for. Always.

  

Remember THIS post?
It's one where I set out goals attached to Pokemon Badges so that I could earn them.

Well, let's review them.

I managed 3 Badges from this rather depressing list.

CAREER BADGE, TRAVEL BADGE, CAREER BADGE 2All three of these were obtained in 2016, 2015 wasn't a great year it would appear... but I'll work on that later.

I'm going to re-make these, and assign them better, less vague requirements, here we go!!
(I'll assign them in the correct order this time)

NEW GOALS:
Boulder badge: 
TASK:
Exercise (In some form, no matter how much or little) either cardio, body weight, weights Every day. As of Today. Badge is achieved if this is unbroken by December 25th.
WHY:
Mostly to create and cement a exercise routine, consistency is the most important factor to exercise, this will build a strong routine.

Cascade Badge:
TASK:
Until December 25th, I may only drink the following: (excluding external situations)
Water
Tea / coffee of any sort.
WHY:
I've had a month of drinking poorly, lots of energy drinks and sugary drinks that are bad for the body, and it would help aid the exercise if I consumed more water.

Thunder Badge:
TASK:
Get SPIRIT® Backed /and or/ in stores.
WHY:
Thousands of hours work, I'm not letting one little defeat stop me.

Rainbow Badge:
TASK:
Help my Girlfriend achieve her goals, offer assistance as often as possible, guide her and generally do all I can to help ensure her life goals happen.
WHY:
She's done the same for me, and I want her to be happy.

Soul Badge:
TASK:
Learn to, and practice meditation and yoga.

WHY:
A strong mind is needed to accompany a strong body.
Marsh Badge:
TASK:Finish writing book 1 of my novel. (Pre Edit)
WHY:
Give a shot at being an author, no need to think small when it comes to careers.

Volcano Badge:
TASK:
Partake in a fitness event (tough mudder / spartan etc) 

WHY:
It will require motivation and training.

Earth Badge:
TASK:
Go Camping at the (Location midden)
OR
Take a Holiday (I know I've had 2 this year, but I think it's so good for me to get away).
WHY:

It's nice to get away.

These seem a lot more manageable and less specific, if I can stick to most of these my life will only be more enriched.

This will wrap up this blog post, it's 2:28am and I should really sleep, or at least attempt it!

Thanks for reading, you beautiful readers.

THAILAND ADVENTURE SPECIAL: PART 1 CHIANG MAI

This is going to be a big post, so I'll do my best to keep if from being boring, but this isn't so much a post of "I did this, and this and this" etc.
This post is designed to explain what I've learned and taken away from a spectacular adventure!

The Adventure spans from North to South, hitting 5 locations!

The mountainous Chiang Mai, the spanning metropolis and urban slums of Bangkok, the beaches of Phuket and Krabi finally ending the mammoth 3 week excursion on the island of Koi Samoi.

Beginning in London, England I board a flight on the colossal A380-800 double decker Airbus.

This was the first time I had ever been on a long haul flight (and this one is a 12 hour long flight) and also the first time I'd been a big plane, previously I'm used to the 3 seats, a walkway and 3 seats set-up.
This plan is insane! Fitted with the latest mod-cons and the size of a large ship getting aboard it I had to remind myself the laws of physics to understand how something so huge could ever take flight.

The view was spectacular and I'm that guy that loves to sit at the window browsing the heavens.

12 hours is a long time, and even with the ample leg-room, headpillows, supplied blanket and ear buds I struggled to sleep on route. I did however watch the latest starwars film and "the heart of the sea" which I thoroughly enjoyed... anyway I digress, the food was good! The sleep not so.

Eggs Benidict, fresh fruit, orange juice and yoghurt, this was what I awoke to on the plane as it neared the destination. 

As soon as we arrived in Bankok we got our transfer flight to Chiang Mai and since I had got off a plane straight into the airport and then onto another plane I had yet to experience any climate.

Upon arrival in Chiang Mai, I was greeted by my partners family whom were very welcoming, I had my first taste of heat, that day it was around 33 degrees C. We immediately went to a local food place and ate a huge amount of dimsum. All of which totalled to around £6 (in London this amount would have easily cost £50).

Other than the heat my first culture shock was the conditions in which food places existed, they looked unclean (in comparison to the UK of course) and even if the nurse back in the UK who gave me my inoculations would have protested heavily in eating in such places, I came here for an adventure and if I got sick, then so be it.

The food was incredible, I was not sick. Flies were always buzzing around and while I was mildly uncomfortable I knew that I would accept any opportunity that came my way (unless immediately life threatening) and fully experience the trip.
After all, what's a life if you cannot live it.

Next we was whisked up into the beautiful mountains (while fully jet-lagged and non rested) to a Elephant sanctuary (The word in Thai for Elephant is "Chang" as in the exported beer which you might have heard off) all through Thai history and mythology the elephant has played a huge role in the social development. Elephants, to most are viewed as scared and wise. 

Personally I try to avoid places that make money from enslaved animals, it's not something I fully condone but as previously said, this trip is to challenge my beliefs and try new things.

I have no footage of me riding the elephant but rest assured I did, i got my partner (who can speak fluent Thai) to converse with the elephant driver / trainer. They have a deep connection with the animals and these parks are the only way to ensure their safety from poachers. It's all a bit sad really but the ride was interesting, the elephant easily carried us around and enjoyed the snacks we bought it from a stall. The money the park makes from rides and gap year courses (looking after elephants) helps maintain the park and care for the animals. 

There was a moment were the elephant got spooked by a moped driving recklessly fast and close and the driver had to hit the elephant (with a stick) across the head.

Now while this didn't wash well with me, after conversing with him I do realise that while the hit did next to no damage to the elephant (they are VERY durable) it did break it out of a potential stampede and ensure our safety. 

A petrol station in the rural mountains, they sell petrol in glass bottles and in barrels like this, it's all very... safe...

This was at another location were we ate (seems that it's not uncommon for Thai people to eat every few hours, I've no idea how they do it).
In almost all restaurants / eating houses etc you'll have bottles of water on the table, if you take one and drink it it's added to your bill, but since it's such a hot country water is always available.

Worth noting that drinking water isn't something you'll really ever find from taps, drinking water is a huge commodity, and this year I happen to arrive in the midst of the country's hottest year in 60 years. 

I drank a VERY expensive coffee made from poo (can't remember the animal). Why? Because I had the opportunity... it wasn't that great (mostly because I like my coffee ruined with milk and a dash of sugar). It had a bitter deep taste of dark berries and earthy after tones.

The mountains of the North of Thailand brought cool winds that kept the humidity low.

What did I take from Chiang Mai:
The prices of eating are cheap, every 20 second walk provided you with multiple options for food, and all of which are amazing!

The climate is very tolerable.

The people are all very friendly and accommodating, from the Monks I met in the sky temple (I got a Buddha necklace and even got it blessed, I'm not a Buddhist, I am however accepting of others right to believe even if I am myself an atheist) to the shop keepers of the 7/11 stores. Everyone is incredibly hospitable.

The way of life is relaxed, slow and rural but there is a good amount of shops and malls to keep shopping needs in check. The night markets are bustling and stocked full of cheap goods that you can almost always haggle down even cheaper.

Days passed and after a lot of activities (this post isn't so much about those activities) we borded the night train to Bankok for 12 hours of travel.

The night train has bunk beds, air-conditioning (if you pay a tiny bit more) and food, you sleep as you travel hundreds of miles and save a lot of money on internal flights.

This night train came complete with cockroaches who scampered across the floor, they are harmless and since the beds are off the floor it's really not an issue.

I've got a headache so I'll wrap this up, basically, Chiang Mai should be visited by anyone, it has a relaxed vibe mixed with traditional life that's not been completely erased by technology.

Past, Present and Future #1

It's been a while readers, a good while all the same!
I've been working on a few fairly large scale projects and as exciting / terrifying as some of them appear to be this blog has fallen to the sidelines.

Between, fitness, work, projects, nutrition and planning I've simply not had the time to properly engage in this, which I'm not really sorry for. I mean after all being busy has been very beneficial to me and it's not as if I've had a great deal of engaging topics to discuss.

I've decided to start a little series of posts, I'm not sure for how long they will be but as the title suggests these will be about the past, present and future. Without further adieu, let us begin!


THE PAST:

This Photo was taken around 2009, so a good 6 years ago, I've changed so much physically speaking since this was taken and I suppose I've changed mentally even more so.

The story behind this photo is one that lends a hand to my heart; adventure.

My father called me that day to talk about something that I no longer remember and before he ended it he mentioned toward the conversations end that he had spotted a dead whale on the beach (miles and miles away from the road, across a channel of water, miles of marshland and nearly half a mile of sand in the distance).

Now dead whales on our beaches are not that uncommon, maybe one every 2-3 years. I've always wanted to be one of the people to take a few of the deceased animal's teeth to aid my habit of owning strange things but every time one washes up, you arrive to find that the tooth fairy had visited long before you.
I couldn't waste time, who knows how long it had been there today!
I rushed off, grabbed my flatmate who was off work and together me and her started the long adventure to find the fallen giant. Halfway across the murky and somewhat dangerous marsh we say a giant laying on the beach, too far away to tell a shape but definitely viewable, and definitely giant.

Now to cut a long adventure short, distance can alter perspective, what appears giant, small, what is small, giant.

And this photo is me, standing on the whale.

You might think this seemed like a fools errand, hours of walking through difficult terrain seeking a treasure that never existed, but for me this is a clear and distinct metaphor for life.

I was happy, not because I got to see and steal some whale teeth, but because I got to share an adventure with my flatmate / best friend. We got to find our treasure, it wasn't the whale or the log... it was the journey.

For me this instilled my love for travel and adventure, for me, journeys are the meaning of life and their outcomes almost abstract to the point of irrelevance.

THE PRESENT:

This Photo is only a handful of days old, I took it while sitting on an embankment overlooking the same marshland I trudged across in search of the fallen whale.

I decided that a lot of my own personal issues stemmed from a natural intolerance for thoughts when I'm alone. Honestly I'm thinking non-stop about many subjects and a lot like when you're at a party or sitting next to people constantly talking on the train, sometimes I want to climb into my skull, slap my consciousness and yell "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!". So I tend to spend a lot of time not alone.

Even when I am "alone" at home, working on the PC you'll find 90% of the time I'm talking to someone on Skype / Facebook / Social Networks. I'm naturally very social, I know that, but I also think I use people to quieten down the rabble echoing around my skull.

So recently I've decided to deal with myself, I now spend periods of the day alone, outside looking at the sky and nature, it calms the noise and lets me take real time to think. Not about anything in particular but I allow myself to breath, and instead of suppressing the noise, I now listen to it. And you know what? I'm learning more about myself, my shortcomings and my strengths daily. I've had ideas and concepts for projects flooding in, years of suppressed mental activity let out into the playground, and I regret nothing more than not doing this sooner.

Give yourself some time to be yourself.

THE FUTURE:

The future is something I'd often look toward, plan now so that things may fall into place later, but I suppose the future is a lot like looking for a dead whale washed up on a beach. While you're walking forwards heading in the direction of that solum silhouette take a moment. Take a moment for yourself to look around at the things you've passed, be careful on what you have to tread on to reach your goals and don't be too surprised if that whale you've spent so long looking for turns out to be a tree.

Just because you're not sure if that big thing in the distance is the whale you've been searching for, doesn't mean you shouldn't have a go looking for it, who knows, you might take away more than you bargained for.

Your future is countless threads branching off, which one you take is mostly up to you.

As for me, I'll strive to work hard everyday to find my whale (I'm starting to understand what it is now) and if you want anything worth having in life don't expect it to come easy. Work hard, grit your teeth with a smile of satisfaction and enjoy the ride.

No matter what, no marathon was run standing still, make sure that regardless of size, a step forward is a step closer.

Thanks for reading, fellow whale hunters.

Stage 5.0

Welcome to stage 5.0!!

As you can see, in-keeping with the motto of the blog, as the person progresses so will the visual aspects of the blog and we have progressed.
This blog started as a Lifestyle blog, showing people how to get the most out of their lives, be productive and achieve goals. As my own goals progressed so did the blogs topics and we ended up on health and fitness, which dominated a good few stages. 

I've gone over all I learned about fitness and nutrition I'm going to have to surpass the heavens and shed the shackles of the physical for a bit and talk and discuss things like philosophy and my take of it, this is of course subjective unlike the fitness aspect which is mostly science.

This section will still be about my personal training, be it the body-building or my new return to something else...

Dance games.

I've been playing dance arcade machines since 2000, and had slowly stopped playing by 2010. The last time I in fact had what I'd call a session was summer last year. During my birthday, which was a few days back. I started playing ITG (In The Groove) again and thoroughly enjoyed it!
Since it had been a long time, I was nowhere near as good as I used to be but thanks to the extensive training in the gym everyday I was decent for a comeback!

All I need now is to find someone willing to train me, teach me and help me take myself further than I was, ideally I'd like to comfortably pass 14's (it's a difficulty number).

I'll keep the blog up to date with any training and progress as it's all part of who I am trying to become, a better version of the person yesterday.


A short one for today, I'll post soon you beautiful, beautiful readers! 

The Turning Point.

8    MONTHS    LATER   :

"The ocean is violent but a good sailor can weather the storm"

It's been a long haul away from this Blog, I needed to focus a bit more and now I come back to you a different person.

The last 8 months I stepped up my training, hitting the gym almost daily, cut down on high saturated fat foods, cut down on consuming carbonated drinks and tried to eat a bit cleaner, not clean, but cleaner.

I focused on improving myself and I can confidently say I've achieved that, I lift over double what I could, run longer and generally feel a lot better in myself. My goals in this department are far from over, I have other ambitious goals to meet and when spring appears I'll go into my first clean eating cut (which will be difficult).

Aside from my physical appearances what else has changed?

My attitude, I'm more willing to believe in myself, I did this health change all on my own off research I did about the various items I wanted change. Christmas approach's and I'm going to share my knowledge for all the people wanting to make lasting changes on their health and fitness, so expect me to be back to regular blogs again.

 

How about the rest?

I'm STILL trying to find work in London, and while this has been almost a laughable experience the country as a whole is beginning to recover from the economic depression and employment rates are slowly on the rise, so I'm quietly confident this marathon is reaching it's end. 

I'll be working hard to get job applications out and see where I can get, then finally move to London.

I've been visiting every month for a week or two and really feel integrated into a city environment, I still adore the countryside, the wilderness and the oceans call but I've got to make this move, and it's taken longer than it should. It has been a very long war, but one I will win.

So what's next?

• Step up the resistance training program.
• Build a stronger cardio base.
• Move to London
• New business ideas.
• Think about my long term plans, and start setting some in motion

When working on a few small business ideas or any ideas for that matter, some will fail others will work, the trick is not to give up, pick yourself up, ten, fifteen or even a thousand times and carve out the world YOU want.

So make big audacious plans, make goals that terrify you, push yourself to the edge and beyond of your comfort zone, think, fight and live.


"If you can't fight for the life you want then you don't deserve to have it any other way." - Kiko


I know I can do it. Can you?

SPRING IN MY STEP

Spring is here, the sun in out and the very gloomy and record breaking cold winter the UK has just had is but a mere frosty fog on the lens of our memories. I'm sure, like myself you've noticed a drop in posts and to make this up to you and myself I'm currently taking a train back from London to my home-town  It only just occurred to me that I could write my posts in advance to save me work in the evenings which is my normal posting time. The main issue is simple; I've gone from a slow pace of life to what is now a constant stream of things creating disturbance and distraction in my normal posts. I’ll talk about a few of the things I've been up to anyway.

Things I have to fit into a day on average:

• Eating well (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
• 1.5 Hours in the Gym.
• Work on my Business (Which includes):

- Finances

- Product Design

- Marketing

- Business Model and strategy

- Streamlining workflow

- Social media presence

- Designing new products

- Maintaining strong supplier relations

- Email Sifting

- Arrange photo shoots

- Work on Shoots

- Arrange, and edit images after finding right shots

- Branding and Company Identity

- Promotion

- Setting and meeting milestones

- Organising all documentation and filing

- Conceptualising new directions

• Work on various Freelance design work.
• Work a job (at the moment I've got some intern work).
• Host game nights (most nights).
• Attend a hobby club on Wednesdays.
• Work on miscellaneous personal projects.
• Visit parents once a week
• Skype my girlfriend in the night when not in London
• Skype friends and family when in London
• Update Blog
• Update Various Facebook pages and groups

Things I have coming up that I need to find space for:

• Birthday of a good friend
• My own birthday
• 2 weeks intern work
• 2 weeks in a clinical trail testing Flu vaccines (It’s really helpful for other people and I also get paid to do it)
• Dental Surgery
• A event at London I may be attending to set up a stall
• Freelance work creating designs, manufacturing and printing T-Shirts for another event
• Creating a cheap range designs and prints to sell off old out-dated stock

So as you can see, I'm pretty busy and updating the Blog isn't a speedy system, I normally write it up, and upload the various images you see on here like the headers etc, this all takes time! My average Blog post takes just under 2 hours, which in the grand scheme of things is a huge amount of time!

However, I do not view it as work or even a service. I view this blog as a way of relaxing and noting down things that (most of the time) will help other people save money and time or just provide what I consider invaluable information I've discovered or learnt the hard way.

Anyway as you can see I've got a pretty tight schedule, so from now on I'm going to have to put to good use any waste time(like the long train journey to London) to get things lower on my list completed.

I hope everyone is well, oh and on the fitness and health front, I'm doing ok!

Why I'm trapped in Hell.

I've never really spoken about my employment, and if I have it's not been recently so I thought I'd talk a little about the problems in the UK with finding a job for me personally.

Before I start I'll run down a list of my education:

• GCSE CC in science (I did badly at school)
• NVQ in Art And Design
• Degree in Games Art And Design
• Masters Degree in Digital Art

So I'm not under skilled in any respects.

Previous work experiences?

I lived in a very rural seaside town in the UK, very small population and mostly populated local owned business. As a result of the downsized nature of my town the opportunities here are very limited, in fact non existent.
Before I finished university I worked in the following fields (In no order):

Chip shop.
Waiter.
Argos Stock assistant (Last employment was here).

Second Chef.
Stock manager at a small paint firm.
Train guard on a small train.
Chocolate factory line feeder.

So as you can see these jobs have nothing to do with Art and Design.

Since I finished University in 2009!

I realised pretty fast that the ONLY way I'd get employment in the fields I'd studied so hard in would be to in fact buy employment. What do I mean by that? I mean make my own business!

So after a brief hiatus I started work on my first buisness plan and concept for "Rocket Punch Web Design" and worked out all the things I knew I could do well. Promotional materials, scout for clients build a system of work and of course make it profitable. Since all I needed was software to make this business work it was a very cheap start-up idea! Low investment with high potential earnings. To make this work however I'd need to cover my weakness which is coding. So I talked it through with a friend at that time and we decided to work together to make this work! We did a test run designing a site and making all the elements towards it and it seemed to work good.
Then as we approached launch the coder dropped out as that person got employment with the rival company in the town.
That was that, all that time and work wasted, there was nobody else to ask for help and I had to take a step back and accept defeat which for me is a hard thing to do.

There was a period of time I sat about thinking about my next move (all this time being supported financially by friends and family since I didn't want to get money from the government for not doing anything) and a year  nearly passed. Everything I could think of would require huge initial capital investment and I just didn't have anything to invest.

Mid way through 2010 I saw a video (during my daily search for good business ideas) about a man in the US who designed, printed and heat pressed T-shirts on a religious basis, he made enough to get by, not something I plan to do since I wish to make a buisness successful as oppose to just an employment option.

The initial idea sat with me for a few weeks thinking about the pro's and cons.

Pros:

• Cheaper start up cost than most of the ideas I had.
• I can cut out the middle men and design, print, press and distribute myself saving money and widening the profit margin.
• Requires only a little learning process

Cons:

• If printing onto dark colours, the design has to be simple in shape since you have to actually trace cut the image, the more complex the image is the harder and longer the print process with increased chance of error.
• You have to have a target audience and do some work making sure the products have a place
• You'll need a website OR a shop location (Shop is out of the question on my limited funds)

My grandfather lent me a chunk of money on the premise I'd pay him back when I'm "Rich and famous" in his words. This was greatly appreciated and I set about finding the right equipment that was cheap, effective and reliable.

I also set about looking for a wholesale provider for the raw T-shirts that the designs would be set in. If you've ever looked at wholesale you quickly realise just how much variety there is, and this variety is matched in price.

Eventually I settled for more expensive T shirts that had a denser and stronger quality because I thought that a product had to not only look good but function well also, hard to rip and warm where my choices after all if a T-shirt is comfortable and wears well people will remember that when for if they wish to buy another of your products!

Once I had bought everything, stock, heat press, Printer, industrial heat transfer papers (both colour and clear) inks for the printer I was ready to work on the designs and also start to drum up interest for the products.

I enlisted friends and did a photo shoot for the products, digitally retouched and designed the images like this one (Steak Kitty):

 

I was on a roll, I had designs, models, stock and started to generate online interest and then rather ironically was underfunded for one aspect of the buisness. The one element I miscalculated and crucially overlooked, the website.
Now while this website fiasco happened my grandfather sadly passed away having never seen a return for his investment which left me heartbroken, but I had to carry one and make something of this, he had left me a little money which immediately most of it was invested into the business further.
Now I'm aware of media's like Etsy and other free online shopping systems but I'll explain why this wasn't an option.
For this buisness stratagem to work it needed a heavily stylised and designed website that was unique to the buisness since I'm more than aware of how important branding is. Etsy and the like are nice and work well for someone after small earnings with it's limited customization and lack of a unique domain with little work but for me I'm after forging my own company that will eventually be quite successful.

So I tried and even called in favours to try and get the site done for as little as possible (I had about £400 available and the lowest quote I could get was £1200)

But alas I had ran out of options, at this time my old friend who now worked for this other company said he would do it for me, for free on the condition I'd pay that person back when I started making money form it all! I just had to pay for a hosting package from where he worked which was about £75 for the year.

I asked what he would need from me so I could speed his work up. Firstly was the core design which took some time to finalize.

This whole process took a year.
12 months. 

365 days.

A long time, each monthly deadline he set he had an excuse, I had no money and no option, I believed each excuse before after a year had passed we had an argument about this.
I think he was envious of my idea and combined with being lazy that person let me down for the last time. I cut ties and was left with an incomplete business and no money.

Everyday since I've had to walk past my stock, still there un-moveable.

I really didn't want to end the business and still don't and since September 2012 I've been looking for employment. I can't get employed. and I'll explain why.


I've sent tons of applications, and heard nothing from most I did get feedback from one and regardless to having an Online CV.

www.kikojui.com

And a well designed CV I still don't get a look in, here is why.

Since I left uni I have not got ANY work experience in Art And Design other than my own buisness.

They don't care about Argos and all the other jobs, because they have no relevance with a job in the Digital Design field.

My portfolio might be ok, and my CV might be ok.

But right now when people are all clutching for jobs (most jobs I apply for have had well over 100 applicants) there will always be someone with previous work experiences and will require less training and thus money.

I just can't be hired, which leaves me at a dilemma, to continue living in London I'd need a £18,000 per year job to sustain myself, to get into that bracket you need a professional job, I can't make that doing jobs that don't require a skill since there is a whole horde of people more applying for those positions, again with previous experiences.

I can't make the buisness because I don't have any money, and I can't get money because I can't get employed!!

It's a vicious circle. and if I manage to break it I promise to share to you how I did it.
So if you're in a job, even if you're not a fan of working there, be thankful because some people can't even get a job.

If you read this I just wanted ot get this all off my chest and will happily answer any questions you may ask, peace!!

The clouds call me to me.

This weekend was the unleashing of a months work, I had spent the last month planning and arranging a surprise birthday for my lovely girlfriend, I had invited her friends and picked the venue etc.
She had a lobster with candles in for her cake (She loves sea food) and we all had an amazing time, even if I was stressed and over heated (was a VERY hot weekend in London, more so in a suit)  I still enjoyed and even relished in the challenge of making it all work.

It also reminded me just how much I like having adventures, more tales to tell my kids, so now I'm trying more than ever to start crafting the money I'll require to fund such a lifestyle!

I've got as much ready myself and even paierd with other artist's to create a more dynamic online store, I'm just waiting for the website, seems even if I've shaken the bad flea from the last attempt something is preventing me from getting this moving, and the amount I am trying to get in contact with the new coder it might seem almost like I'm very demanding, but I'm not, I just want to get everything finally launched and the products available online where they belong.

This week I'm going to Try my hardest to get SOME progress with the online store, I refuse to give up and I refuse to let up until I get some progress, this my dear readers may come across strong but believe me, in business you can only rely on other parties for so long, sometimes you got to grab the bull by the horns, snap them off and shove them deeply into the bulls ass.

Some point this week, as a treat IF I can achieve the Website progress, I will be having a camping adventure, maybe even by myself, so I can get some time to myself and evaluate some of life's aspects.

I'm hoping the weather remains as it is, if so I'm sure it will be a great and welcome break.

As I mentioned Earlier, I've been promoting products and collaborating with other artists, the Offical Rocket punch blog can be found > HERE <

The biggest problem was when I headed to the London MCM Expo, it seems people just do not care about copyright rights for the products they sell, so many people selling other companies logo's and designs without prior permission.

I was half contemplating on doing the same, I would make a lot of money, but after a lot of thought, I'm going to stick with my morals and company integrity. I may want to make profit, thats the main goal of most buisness's but I want to preserve my morals, I want to provide a quality product without stepping on those games and Tv shows that actually provide the initial interest and clientèle.

My products are more of a silent nod towards them, not a copy.
I felt I needed to air this, as some people might wonder why, with a market saturated by people ripping each other off why I'm not following suit.

You might agree with me, or think it's foolish to sacrifice income for base morals, but that is just how it is.

It all started with my first ever print, I wanted to test the quality of the heat press and the quality and finish of the industrial heat transfer paper, the finish was amazing, and thus was my first T-shirt ever printed.

You might remember seeing this a long time ago on the blog, I was just thinking about how far I've come, I could be very established by now if not for the whole website fiasco, but I learned an important lesson, leave  professional jobs to a professional.

I'm thinking of Framing this T-Shirt, it was the first in line, and lead the way in the direction I'm still following today even with all the issues and hurdles I've had to jump.

Recently I've started learning Traditional Mahjong, and I'm not going to lie to you, I'm still not 100% with all the scoring patterns as it is quite complex where scores can even go into the millions if you have not set a score limit.

What I will say is that it is VERY addictive.

Now I don't mean Mahjong solitaire, that is the most common mistake, that is a 1 player game, nothing like mahjong and calling it is the same as calling snap poker because it uses cards.

Anyway I won't rabble on too much about it as I'm certain its not everyone's idea of a fun game.
Where am I going with this?

Not sure... I'll move on!

That feeling of vastness, the open road and the uncertainty. All these things are for me the signs of a great adventure.

If I had to say what one thing makes me feel adventurous it would be the big billowing clouds on a hot and sunny day, where the clouds themselves look like snow topped peaks on the horizon, for me that is the loudest call to the adventure for me.

Have a great day readers!!

Something a little... Different.

So it's been a long time since I last posted, and for once this was deliberate.

I had come to a point where I thought I had nothing more to say, and instead of just feeding you forced information I thought I'd take a leave from the blog until I had something to say again.

Well It occurred to me that maybe this blog could be aimed at not just healthy living and life changes. I have parted a lot of my wisdom but it is not infinite.

I realised that recently I've been learning a lot of other aspects of life, not just improvement but things like integration to environments and how to be efficient, and while i don't claim for a second that you the readers do not know most of what I've discovered I will however, like usual, impart this knowledge in the hope  that you might learn at least one thing. 

Since writing this blog I've always wanted to reach out and if only 1 person has learnt only one thing from this entire blog then it has still been as successful as I'd had hoped.

Time to unleash a couple of new topic headers!! Designed to help with the difficult economy we are facing today. 

There are thousands of ways to save cash, but I feel that the most important of them all seems so horribly obvious that it needs re-addressing.

Kikojui Cash Saver rule #1


LEARN TO MONITOR YOUR INCOME VS YOUR EXPENDITURES!!


You're probably shouting at the monitor right now, saying "WE KNOW" well you would be very surprised at how many people do not realise the power of this technique.

Now, to illustrate this easier, I'll tell you how to do this in a simple way, I'll make an example.
-----------------------------------------------------
(Example) INCOME PER MONTH:

Wages: £700 (after TAX)

Money owed by friend £50

Total: £750
-----------------------------------------------------
(Example) EXPENDITURES:

Rent: £500

Bills: £50

Food: £50

New Clothing / Treats: £50

Meals Out (Takeaway / restaurant): £100
--------------------------------------------------

Total Spent £750

--------------------------------------------------

Money Saved that month £0.00


Sometimes we think to ourselves where did that money go? I thought I had more.

It's the little expenditures where we spend money without thinking about it's impact on the total money earned.  Those few takeaways, or packs of cigarettes (you shouldn't smoke anyway :p) and little treats all cost money and all build up.

Looking at this list, we could say if we only cut back on 50% of the takeaways and meals out you'd be saving £50 a month, that's a massive £600 pounds Saved a year, from one small cut back!!
Stop buying new clothing / treats each month and make it every other month and you'd save another £300.
Pushing the total Yearly saved amount to £900 Saved.


Kikojui Cash Saver rule #2

Save money each month, no matter how small!


Some people have the mindset that it's ok to spend all of your wages just before the month is over because they will soon have money again.
And while this is in fact true it is unwise to assume you might not have a need for a reserve amount of money in case of emergency.

Many things in life can and do pop up, causing a strain on a months wages, be it medical bills, insurance, tax's, bill increases or even quarterly bills, things that are not factored into a normal months wages.

So to be prepared for these events it is ALWAYS wise to have money in reserve that would not be touched unless needed, and if you managed to have a large excess of this money you could use it towards a holiday or other luxuries you might desire.



Kikojui Cash Saver rule #3


Make your money work FOR you!!

Spending money is nice, BUT instead of spending all of you're money you should try to at least INVEST some of your leftover money, be it in stocks and shares or just buying commodities like gold or land that don't really change much in value.

A little well placed investment can double your money or better, so it might be nice to buy that £1000 suit you always wanted but it would feel a lot better if you earned £2000 from a £500 investment. You would be getting that suit from money that your leftover money generated.

Now with all things nothing is certain with stocks and shares, gold's value changes from time to time but it's a safer way to tie up some spare money.
Gambling is not really investing, something worth remembering.

So be wise with the money you have left over and try and make that little money work for you!

I'm currently in the process of working out the mechanics of making our new flat (I move around September time) more economical in the electricity department, and also maximize the available space.

I turned my attention towards our friends in Japan, more so in Tokyo where space in the housing there is very limited indeed! I'll be posting my findings as I discover them.

First thing I've been thinking about is a wall bed for the bedroom, the bed would effectively be stored away during the day using minimal space, this a very effective way to re-gaining the lost space a bed would normally take up while providing storage space with the shelving etc

Ever been on your way back from shopping, and you have some carrier bags and they are cutting your hands off and uncomfortable?

Small but effective fix, take a small object with you (pen knife / pocket metal torch / something cylindrical and small) And when you're carrying plastic bags from a supermarket (I'd suggest bags for life personally as they are stronger and have multiple uses) use the object under the bags handles to save them from cutting into your hand, the longer the object the more bags you can comfortably hold!!


That's all for today's post, no idea if people need to know this information but I like to think somone out there will get some use from this.

Have a great day you beautiful, beautiful readers!!

War... HUUHH!!! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

THE BATTLE CONTINUES!! 





So this new system is interesting, I've learned what changes will be made to Monday's new plan, battle plan number2.
I also have come up with a clever way to visually depict how the battle is going!! I'll upload that later if it's finished in time.


The main problem I'm finding is remembering everything that needs doing each day.
So I've come up with a good idea, one I might have mentioned doing in a earlier post, I can't remember if I did.
Right, well, the idea is to make use of the space macbook I have laying around by converting it into a   tool for optimum performance.

It will contain a day to day schedule, exercises, have all my favourite fitness websites and articles in it's bookmarks and have apps for counting calories and assessing my exercise output. 


This will be named project "Command Centre" as it will be a hub of useful info, I'll also transfer all the blogs files needed to make daily posts, so if I'm not at home I'll be able to post and update as long as I have a connection, and even if I don't I can type up the text and just quickly import it!! (useful when I'm on trains and have nothing productive to do.

I realised today I've been doing this all wrong, I'm in too much of a hurry and contradicting my body, before I start hitting the weights heavily I want to reach the weight of 12 stone 4 pounds.

once I reach that weight from cutting, I'll then go for the muscle, I have plenty of that as it is I'd rather just work on the cardio and get myself back into a fit shape before sculpting.

I will still press every day, but just a light session, nothing to strenuous mostly to stop the loss of too much muscle while I am cutting.

===========================================================
WEEK 1  ~O.S.W.G~  BATTLE REPORT!!
===========================================================

Lose 4lbs. Simple task. (0 pounds lost)

Run one mile, three times this week. (Mon 1/1   Wed 0/1    Fri 0/1)

Create  three new designs for the "Hunter Series"   (0/3)

Bench press once a day (3/7)

Sort through and throw out / donate clothing that never gets used. (0/1)

FINISH WEBSITE. (0/1)

Do not eat after 8pm (2/7) *had a slip up Tuesday night*

Finish first main ark in "A Guards Tale"  (0/1)

Blog daily. (3/7)

===========================================================

I'll try and post another update tonight showing off the idea I mentioned, the visual representation of progress. (I like these kind of things)

Have a great day!!