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.

Real Changes and how to make them last.

Welcome back, I've missed you. I know it's been quite around here and that is because for the most part I had run out of things to say.

Originally I used to post to this blog almost daily, and while that was an amazing time I realise eventually I was struggling to have anything of value to say. Well now I have things to say, so as a result...

I'M BACK BABY! 

Too much? Naa never too much. 

So what have I been up to?

Well I set myself a goal last year:

"I refuse to spend another new years celebration in the UK"

And this year I spent it in Paris! It was the first time I'd ever been to France and I'd recommend it to anyone. Friendly people, tolerant (to my poor french) shop owners and a very simple to use metro system made for a pleasant stay indeed.

I'm not one for resolutions, I've always been a firm believer that the best approach is to make life changes, you know, permanent changes to the ways in which we live and learn and this year is no different.

I do however, believe in goal setting, and this year I've got a lot going on!

This Christmas was one of the worst I've had. period. But instead of letting that get me down I've decided to use that as fuel for my fire to get me through the early parts of this year. In martial arts like Judo and Wing Chun you use the overwhelming force and weight of an opponent as a weapon against them. I'm basically doing that with life, if I go through a bad spell I don't let those knocks take me down, instead I use them to temper my blade... ok too many metaphors but the jist of it is simple:

> Have a bad Christmas.

> Use that pain to work hard to make the next better.

This was predominantly a fitness and health blog, well now it will become a LIFE blog. One good thing to come from Christmas was a small but cherished gift from a close friend. I was lucky to receive a set of metal Kanto badges (these are the badges you get awarded in the video game Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue for essentially beating bosses).

Now my problem was, where to put these badges? While very awesome I do not have many places for them. I sat and had a long think, and even wore one (the boulder badge, my favorite) on my suit I wore to the London Boat Show, it looked good.

Anyway, I had a thought about those badges. Half the pride in the games was that you earn them, and they feel important because of the hardships you had to go through to obtain them.

What a lovely concept, earning them.
So I decided to earn mine too, give them an important merit for each one.

My MAIN 2015 goals, all set out. Once I achieve one I get to wear the badge, otherwise they stay in my safe. This will give each badge weight and actively represent goals and hardships I've undertaken.

As you can see in the goals, Tough Mudder (or similar events) have been on my to-do list for too long, the main issue I have with this is as a weight lifter I do lack in long range cardio endurance. I run more than average lifters but not enough. Now luckily tough mudder is only 12km, and also luckily my father used to run marathons yearly, he's old school but I have a pool of knowledge to pull from, now 60 years old he still runs now and then and is built muscular much like myself so if anyone is good to seek advice from it is him. I will book the tough mudder soon, forcing myself to train for it, if I can get to 10km comfortably then thanks to my other training I should be ok with the obstacles the events throw at you, and of course I'll document it all on here.

I've cut down on my meat consumption, not because I've become vegaterian or even want to, but more because I believe that here in the west that we just eat too much and that it does have some negative impact on the body.

Nutrition: 

- More water

- No carbonated drinks except sparkling water

- 50% veg plates for main

- Full fat milk (arguably the best for you when coupled with a healthy lifestyle) and proper unsalted butter, margarine is poison there is a reason even insects won't eat it.

- No fast food until my birthday (April)

- Wholegrain wheat flour, brown bread (as good as it gets)

- Avoid sugary substances except fruit

- No late night snacking. (caught myself doing it the other night)

- On non-training days, must not eat as if I was (been making that mistake)

Last thoughts, if you want to make changes do not feel you need to wait for new years to make them. You're capable of setting any date as a date to turn your life around.

The time I quit smoking, I had just bought a pack of 20, I opened it took one out, and then just thought. No. I'm not a slave to you. And crunched up the pack and threw it away.

It was hard, yes, but I did it. I do not smoke and it's been 4 years, I don't even like the smell anymore.

Only 2 things need to be done if you want to make lasting life changes:

1) Do it now, right now, no "I just need to X" or "Let me have one last Y" Just. Do. It.

2) Be consistent. If you falter, and we all do, just get up, start from then and carry on. The longer you're not doing that thing that makes you sad / unhappy / unhealthy the longer you're not sad / unhappy / unhealthy, get it?

Anyway, thanks for reading and PEACE!

IMMOVABLE WARRIOR

Hello Readers!
I hope you all had a great Christmas and new year!!

I'm working hard to a new Training program, it's been great, making amazing progress and getting stronger every single day. I showed the fitness plan to the level 3 instructor (Something I'm thinking of working for) at the gym to see what his opinions where.

He took the paper with a reserved look about him, he probably gets to see all, kinds of crap.
After looking it over, then re-looking it over he said the words "It's pretty good... Very good actually...A really good plan!"

This made me very happy, I'd targeted each day to a different muscle group, leg day on Thursday and Sunday is a much needed rest day. It hits you very hard on Wednesday and Saturday with a bit from all the muscle groups, I had declining reps, usually 10/10/8/5, using high weight. Each part of the training uses a complementing muscle so as to not burn you out after only a few different exercises. I even considered equipment rotation so that you don't end up walking all around the gym and then losing a piece of gear you needed to someone else.

FEELING NEXT-LEVEL PUMPED for today's session.



Taking something to retain focus, drive and clarity. Korean Ginseng. I know some people don't think Vitamins and herbal supplements can do much but I'm amazed at how combining it with Omega 3 1000mg really is for the brain! It's like that film limitless, minus the surge in intellect. I take these and 20 mins later I feel like my eyes are opened, everything becomes more clear.


Here is the plan, It's followed until April then gets a V.2.

So this is how my afternoons are spent, job searching in the morning until around 4pm then hitting it hard.

I'm not employed at the moment, I've got various little bits keeping me occupied but I'm doing all i can do to fix that problem, and as for the things I have direct influence over; my health, my diet, how I am to other people and my own motivation, I'm giving it more than my all and I'm succeeding.

I'm pushing forwards, and focusing on what needs to be done and I think that is a key mentality for success in any of life's aspects, focus on the main goal, give it all your attention, don't go to the gym and think about how shit your life is, or about the shopping, go and focus on getting your form perfect, focus on making weight increase deadlines, just keep your mind on the task.


We all have the ability to get most of what we want from this life, but it's not going to fall into your lap so go and tear it all apart, toss aside all the packaging and ignore the voices because this is YOUR life and YOUR story!!

Thanks for taking the time to read this, you beautiful, beautiful people.

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?

The CHALLENGE!!

It's been too long... but onto that later!


THE CHALLENGE!!!

I'm still struggling to find work in London in the job field that I wanted (Digital Art / Graphic Design / Image re-touching) so I've got to make a decision.

The weather is starting to get good, and I'll have only a few months oppertunity to get the models on location for a shoot. This will also take massive planing, so I've got to stop and make a stand.

To get this all rolling, I'd need a minimum of £1,600 but to ensure everything is PERFECT which is what I always strive for, Ideally would like £3,000 - £3,500.

SO my challenge is to go, all or nothing!!

Doubt killed more ideas then failure ever could.

GOAL: 

- Gather £3,000 

Why?
To finally launch business at full speed, with a wide range of products, website, model shoot, promotional video.

TO BE ACHIEVED BY:

- July16th

Why?
So that there is still time and good weather to have the shoot and promo video on location.


HOW?:
- Phase 1 
Sell various personal affects that have either less use to me or just for the monetary gain. 

- Phase 2
Get some work, part time, full time not in the profession I wanted. Once the business is stable hopefully that can become my full time job.

- Phase 3
Freelance work, granted it will be in dribs and drabs but this will grant some finance.

-Phase 4
Any small scale business ideas that have a small capital start up cost that I might invent during this process.

I've had some great progress lately in my endeavor to get a better body and become more healthy.

I go to the gym five days a week, weekends are used to rest and sunday is the day that I'll eat a little worse than I should, mostly because I don't want to feel like I'm denying myself bad food as a punishment, its more of a case of clever moderation.

The biggest change is my massive reduction in bread, I now hardly eat it. Don't get me wrong, I love bread, LOVE IT. But it was just something I ate on a daily basis which I didn't need to.

I've found that its just being consistent and working hard (you know in yourself if you've not tried your hardest) sometimes you have to put in the miles to make it all worth it.

As I've become more healthy, and exercised regularly I'm starting to really enjoy my time at the gym, I'm getting more self confidence and can see from my documented progress that Ive improved in leaps and bounds. I will say this for definite; you really do need to put the work in to get the results you want, no point relying on supplements, drugs or surgery, if you've not made the mental changes in your approach you will never achieve what you want.

Eat well, exercise regularly and more importantly, make sure you learn a good variety of exercises, for each area of the body there are tons of exercises for each part and with the right ordering of the exercises you can spend a hour and a half on one body part without it becoming too tired after 2-3 exercises!!


I've got to go now, but I'm going to be updating more frequently now I have things to say, peace you beautiful, beautiful readers!

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!!

A Personal Tale

Hello Readers! I thought I'd talk about some things I've been up to and trying to achieve this week. Why? Well because I'd like to keep you people in the loop!

But firstly I'd like to give you something to listen to when reading todays post, something easy on the ears and a little relaxing, I want you to be relaxed... ARE YOU RELAXED YET?
NO!?
Ok, here, this is for you!

 

Today I created the basic frame of the Facebook page for my buisness, it looks ok, this will be one of the main ways I get updates and new products out to customers, you can find the page >HERE<!

I'll be posting up onto the FB page daily, just posting updates on the buisness progress etc so you won't actually be able to purchase any items until the main site is complete, and that is the next topic!!

The main site, something that has been in the centre of all my problems, issues seem to gravitate around it and due to some bad choices on people to actually help create it it's taken me nearly a year to get going.

Since August last year I had everything set up:

Suppliers, and a good relationship with them.
Machinery to produce the items.
Models to use for photographing the goods.
Designs ready to print.
A solid marketing platform and strategy.

What I didn't have left was much money, and apparently a good choice in friends.
Due to my lack of funds, and a lack of E-commerce knowledge I'd need someone to make the site for me, and through my desperation I asked a friend at that time if he could help me.
I was assured that the project was simple and shouldn't take more than a few weeks, those weeks passed and then the deadline was pushed to November. This was frustrating, but because this was a favour being done for me out of someone's own time, I couldn't really complain and besides I was thankful for having the ability to get things rolling and start making money.

Every deadline was pushed further and further away, each time a new excuse was made, and each time my patience and understanding nature where misled.
A few times during the whole ordeal I asked the person if he just didn't have the time to do it, as I was contemplating learning how to do it myself, and I would have. But again, the usual reassurances where given and I lapped them up like a fool.

So, the person had made little attempt to make the site, I had provided everything the person asked for near enough when it was asked of me. I offered a way out, and even asked it this was too much to do.

In the end, I was gifted with the money to make this happen myself, and I contacted the person stating that I had gotten money and would now look elsewhere since he had done nothing for- wait for it- 8 whole months, this is a person who claims to be a professional in the field.
Anyway, the person basically told me that if I'd told him money was involved that it would have been done sooner.
Sadly the deluded fool must have thought favours  require personal gain, the reason he was even asked was because of my lack of money... what a fool.

When you make a promise or favour to another person, that is what it is, its your word that you will do what you've stated to do, this had not happened for 8 months, and I was expected to PAY this person for 8 months of no work? so that he would do it!
To cut a long story short, I have nothing to do with the person in question, there is no need to surround yourself with people that are unreliable and selfish.
And readers, when someone tells you they will do a favour for you but keep putting it off and even say they are ok to do it when you ask them if they still can... what do you do?

In my eyes, a favour should be made in the idea that it will be undertaken, and if you can not do the task, then state that you cannot do it any longer.

This may of sounded like a little rant, but up until now I've kept this behind closed doors, I was so disappointed with the person in question it's even worse when I think back to all the selfless favours I've done for that person, even shared my home with him for half a year to help him out.

I've lost what little respect I had left for the person and sadly know that his blind and selfish attitude towards life will take him nowhere nice.

The main site is being done by another person whom is a professional, but actually works for a large well known company and has a lot of experience with E-commerce, plus a impressive list of coded products.

This new guy will hopefully be working on the website very soon and I'll be finally able to get things rolling hopefully before mid summer.
The pleasure I have knowing that this could get done and to finally have the buisness I've worked so hard towards, is almost too much to think about!!

This week it's mostly about the website as well as creating new designs!

Some Great tips!! 7 not-so-obvious habits to increase productivity!

Sourced and copied from >HERE<

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1. Monday – Ignore The Unimportant

I firmly believe that the art of ignorance should be taught in schools. We live in such an information-rich society, our focus is so deeply challenged by dozens or hundreds of stimuli each and every second, that we have a really hard time focusing on what really matters.

Especially on Mondays, when all the previous week unprocessed stuff seems to crash on us, try to apply this. Focus only on what matters. If you have a presentation to finish in one hour, cut out everything – and I mean: EVERYTHING – that is not connected to it.

Slash out Twitter, Facebook, email. Turn off the music. Close the door after putting a big sign with “Abandon hope all ye who enter here” on the other side. In time, you’ll become better at this. The hidden frustration that “you’re missing something” will fade away.

2. Tuesday – Reward Yourself Constantly

Each tiny task that you finish is an achievement. We forget too often that our big successes are in fact big chains of small tasks performed on a daily basis. So, in order to keep this chaining process running, put a little reward at the end of each small task.

Tuesdays are great for this habit, because they’re the first link after the week hast started. Just do something nice at the end of each task. Listen to your favorite tune or read your favorite blog (and that would be, of course, Stepcase Lifehack) for the next five minutes.

As much as we won’t want to admit it, that Pavlov guy was right. And I’m not talking about the dogs here. I’m talking about you. Because you gotta be your own Pavlov and the dogs will be your productivity habits. Train them constantly. And, if need will be, feed them some sugar every now and then.

3. Wednesday – Negotiate The Expendable

It’s the middle of the week, and, by now, there must be some garbage accumulated. Some stuff that you don’t really need to do, but, somehow, it’s still in your to do list. It’s a perfect time to negotiate that stuff. Does it really need to be on your to do list?

The pressure of constantly doing, delivering, accomplishing made us forget that we do have this option too in our arsenal. I’m talking about negotiation. “Talk” with the task. Or with the person at the other end of the task. Does it really need to be done right now?

I compare this negotiation process with taking out the water from a gulf. If you’re lucky, you will see an ancient shipwreck. That’s your task. It’s not a yacht anymore, it’s a shipwreck. You will start to realize that what you thought is important, may not even be there anymore. It’s just the ghost of the task.

4. Thursday – Reuse Past Approaches

This comes from a long history of programming. I’m still doing it, this programming thing, by the way, because I enjoy it so much. Just try to look at what you have to do and compare it with previous experiences. Like “Have I done this before?. How did I do it?”

Thursdays are perfect for that, because you now must have a consistent “week work history” to dig through. And, allegedly, you’re also pretty much at the top of your potential. From now on, it will start to go downhill, somehow.

So, try to identify similarities in your work before you will do the same thing twice, just because you don’t remember doing it before. Pay attention to the circumstances, because they’re never the same, but isolate what you can repeat.

5. Friday – Ask For Help

If I would have a dollar for each time I didn’t ask for help when I should have, I would certainly be a millionaire. Seriously. Being “productive” has this aura of “I’m doing all the stuff by myself. I’m so cool.” Well, maybe you’re cool, but you don’t have to do anything by yourself.

You have a unique set of skills. Other people have their own unique set of skills. If you combine your set with their set, it’s absolutely obvious that you will get far better results than by using only yours. It’s just simple mathematics here.

And Fridays are perfect to test this habit, because, admit it, you’re a little bit tired. And it’s also a good pretext for some social interaction. Isolate some task that you know somebody else may be doing better than you and ask for their help.

6. Saturday – Switch Workplaces

Ok, we don’t have to work on Saturdays. As I told you, you can just put this tip on any other day of the week. But I chose Saturdays because they are perfect for traveling. Short trips around the town, seeing some new places, meeting some new people.

Try to do the same with your workplace. See if you can work for a day somewhere else. From home, or from a coffee shop. Or even in another office. Or, if you can’t live your office, on a different chair. Just change something in your surroundings.

All our habits are shaped by our surroundings. The more you’ll change the surroundings, the better and more consistent your habits will become. This constant stimulation will summon energy resources that you didn’t even know you have.

7. Sunday – Change Deadlines Into Livelines

I kept this from my GTD routine, you know, the weekly review. I did this on Sundays, trying to project the next week. I still try to have a look at the week just before it starts.  And now, a little bit of explanation about the word “liveline”.

I stopped use the word “deadline” long time ago, because it has “death” in it. The “task slasher” approach. I don’t do this anymore. Because crossing off tasks from your to do lists will eventually end up with crossing off your entire life from your to do lists. Rushing straight to your own death, one crossed task at a time. Change this perspective. A deadline is not the end. Make it a liveline. Make it a beginning.

And by that I mean something connected with something else. A new start. Think in terms of new beginnings not in term of endings. If you really need to reach the end of something, use the word “milestone”. And replace “deadline” with “liveline” every time you can.

It will be enlightening, believe me. :)

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Another Chilled out drum and bass song, I like the mix of energy and relaxation the melodies offer.

Lastly, as a little and somewhat pointless treat, here is how to make your very own DUCT TAPE WALLET!!

Thanks for reading, I appreciate you taking the time out to read the Blog, hope you learned something new, PEACE!