posted September 27, 2008 12:18 PM
This week I've spent some time thinking about Shane's "retirement" announcement. He expressed what so many of us experience - burnout.
The passion that comes from loving what you do also has some serious side effects. You tend to loose sight of the real world. You escape into a space that closes out others. In the time that I've spent trying to perfect what I do I've hit that same wall that Shane described several times. On a regular basis, it seems.
If you talk to enough old timers in our craft you will hear the same story over and over. And it's probably true of other professions - we are not unique in our love/hate relationship with our niche in the world.
Not long after after reading Shane's post I had the common experience of trying to sell a design job to a customer/friend who had definate ideas of what good design was all about, but actually had no clue as to what was best for his "image". It would have been much easier to just have done what he wanted and cash the check...but, no, I had to actually convince him that what I was proposing was in his best interest. There was no difference in the dollar amount between what he wanted and what I was proposing - just image design.
When relating the incident to Jeanne, her response was "why didn't you just do it the way he wanted and avoid all the hassle?". Fortunately, our son Mike stood up for me and even helped in the selling process to the customer.
All of that was to say this - afterwards I reflected on the situation and had to ask myself why I keep doing this. My position was important to me, but made little difference in the grand scheme of the world. Few people would notice the difference or even care, but the fire was still there to do what I thought was best for the client even though the dollar amount was the same.
A few weeks ago I posted a personal scenerio with the conclusion that I was living the best life possible...and I still believe that, but there are times when you just want to throw up your hands and walk out the door. Frustration with the continual desire to do "top shelf" work opposed to "just going along" is a constant battle.
When the greeter job at Wal-Mart begins to look favorable something will come along that puts me back on the right (at least in my opinion) track. I'm sure that the trip to Dan's will do the trick rather quickly. I'm fortunate to have folks in this profession that inspire me to get back up when I feel lower than a snake's belly.
The grass always looks greener on the other side, but the water bill is probably higher, too.
Oh well, so much for spouting off - there's MDO to be coated out.
[ September 27, 2008, 12:21 PM: Message edited by: Raymond Chapman ]
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted September 27, 2008 12:54 PM
Well said Raymond,. I share your thoughts,wisdom,& moments of melancholy. But...I am living the art life now and it is working. Luckily, I have royalties and designer fees to help the wants of things I like. I also still do consulting with nearby city governments. So you can still be busy and not be on your feet all the time so to speak.
Jack
[ September 27, 2008, 12:57 PM: Message edited by: jack wills ]
-------------------- Jack Wills Studio Design Works 1465 E.Hidalgo Circle Nye Beach / Newport, OR Posts: 2914 | From: Rocklin, CA. USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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posted September 27, 2008 01:29 PM
If God wanted grass to be green all year long he would have provided rain for it. The grass is more greener on the other side and much more potent too.
I"ve always taken one day at a time so as to stand back and smell the roses
-------------------- HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952 'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'
quote: The grass is more greener on the other side
The grass is greener on the other side.. But the dog is craps there too..
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5273 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted September 27, 2008 05:35 PM
Wow! It seems to me Raymond we both have lots in common.Every other day there seems to be someone come in my shop with an ugly design that they want me to do, and I feel it's up to me to tell them it is not a good one...
Maybe it is because every Tom, Dick And Harry have a cheap cutter in their basement and have no experience in layout and design and are doing it for nothing...( I would love to feed these people through my paper SHREDDER!!)
People aren't the same as they were five years ago, and I find "people" forget how to be NICE... we all have our favorite customers too, BUT soon they will retire and then what?? Scary , isn't it..
posted September 27, 2008 06:08 PM
It's called "Pride in what you do".
The general public has little to no idea what it takes to design a nice layout, but they sure THINK they do.
It does get harder every day to try and train the customers that we are in the business and DO know why some things are more appropriate then others when designing.
I used to fight for proper design work, but the advent of the computer has flooded the market with some of the most God Awful work, that I pretty much have given up with many of my customers.
You're not alone my friend.
-------------------- David Thompson Pro-Line Graphics Martinsville, NJ
I'm not this dumb, it's just the paint fumes talkin' Posts: 396 | From: Martinsville, NJ | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted September 27, 2008 06:09 PM
I believe all of us have tough days or longer periods in our professional (and personal) lives on occasion that make us question what we do and why. There's nothing wrong with that and I would argue its critical to do it from time to time.
We all go through periods where its all about business and the art gets left behind - and I don't like or enjoy those times very much. But if we simply do the art side and indulge our passion the other side of the equation can get out of balance, never mind our personal lives in either scenario.
In our own business, by its very nature, its often feast or famine, a roller coaster of sorts. Our kids grew up with the motto... "it will be better next year" and still live with that same frame of mind to this day.
In tough times we seemingly slide backwards despite our best efforts... in good times we play catchup, working like mad while hoping things hold steady until we actually get ahead this time.
Owning a design and fabrication business is about riding this roller coaster while still trying to keep the passion alive and yet still balance all that against all the other important things in our lives - especially those we love.
Doing the things we are interested in and passionate about is often at odds with the business side of the equation. I know for a fact that most of my clients are far more interested in the money they will make on the things we build than the art I invest in it. Their main concerns are how much does it cost (how low can we go?)and when can it be done? Its the world we live in these days.
I have found it critical (and I'm still working on it) to have balance. Life is not just about what goes on in the shop. Its not just about money although one certainly can't have enough of that - especially at the end of the month when those envelopes with windows arrive.
We have to figure out a way to satisfy ourselves creatively while still giving our clients what they need too. Its a tough balance!
When our profession no longer satisfies us we need to muster the courage to make (sometimes drastic) changes to the way we do business or even switch gears entirely like Shane is doing. Life is far too short to live unhappily and we spend far too many hours at work to do otherwise.
In our own business we are constantly reinventing what we do and how we do it. Its critical to keep the passion inside me alive.
The slow times we use to reinvest in new skills and abilities. We purchased our router just before a major slowdown and during that time I worked hard to learn the new skills required to do the things I wanted to do with the new technology. When the work did come in (and it always does) we were ready. The samples we did to learn the ins and outs of textured routing came in handy and they were great sales tools.
This past year has been another very slow year for us - even discouraging at times (if I let it). But I wasn't depressed or overly worried... but instead excited to get out of bed and come into the shop each day. I kept yself busy doing new things - learning. The 3D name plaques were my big investment this year in myself by learning even more. While every attendee of the upcoming workshop will take home a fun memento, I was the clear winner of the excercise during our slow period. I more than doubled my knowlege and capabilities of EnRoute software. We created a whole shelf full of new 3D samples for the showroom which leave little doubt of what we can do for our customers.
The slow period we have been experiencing officially ends with a big project that starts the day after the workshop completes.
While I love the busy times I also welcome and look forward to the slow times too for then I can forget about the money side of the business and concentrate instead on the creative side. When I excercise the creative side of my brain it creates a flow of ideas that serves me well into the future. There's no coasting here - its full blast, pedal to the metal into the unkown... no matter if its a project for the client or an investment in our own future.
I strongly believe that the greatest danger we face is when we do the same thing day after day, not ever venturing into new uncharted territory. We need to keep out of well worn ruts - especially those of our own making. Passion quickly dies when that happens. Burnout is the result.
At this point in life I've pretty much figured out a few of the important questions... and I'm still working hard on the answers in Yarrow...
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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