A year and a half ago, I embarked on a journey that with my attention span, I thought was not possible. It was a project called #the100DayProject that was re-invigorated by my friend and SHOPTALKradio guest, Elle Luna (LINK TO PODCAST). We were on a mastermind retreat in San Miguel Mexico with Amber Rae (LINK TO PODCAST) and other inspiring individuals. She brought the idea to the table as it was inspired by Michael Bierut’s 100 days. She brought up the idea. We all were down to do the project, but my next quest was trying to figure out what I could do for 100 days straight and that was a daunting task. It had to be something I could do in 2 minutes or 2 hours because of my crazy travel schedule.
I arrived at the epiphany of doing a Hand Drawn Type experiment. I was already starting to get interested in had drawn type a couple months prior and this seemed to be the perfect fit. I finished the straight of 100 days proudly and decided to keep the project going for fun. I just hit day 200, which is why I’m reflecting with this post. If you haven’t seen it you can check it out here: www.instagram.com/nickonken click any of the type posts, then the hashtag #onkenDrawsType to see the whole project.
Here are 5 things I learned from the process:
1. POSSIBILITY – My attention span is so short these days, having the discipline to do one thing for 100 days straight seemed impossible to me. I proved myself wrong. After around 20 days it became habit, and started to feel off if I wasn’t doing it. It turned into a love for the project.
2. EVOLUTION – The project evolved. I evolved. I learned something new by practicing every day. As with any craft if you practice every day you learn all types of things. I learned what tools I like, what mediums, what concepts.
3. DISCIPLINE – Doing one thing for 100 days took discipline to create the time, no matter where I was in the world to create the time to do it. Having the accountability of posting on Instagram kept pushed me to be disciplined. That created what the project is now.
4. IMPACT – Impact not only within my self, but with others. Every day I pick a quote that resonates with me for that day, something that I feel I need to hear. Getting into the flow of creating the art piece out of that quote reinforces it in my mind and impacted me for that day. By sharing it online, I realized how it impacted other people. The response was touching to know I made an impact in someones day.
5. VISION – The project has opened up a whole new vision for me. I’ve created a new hobby that I want to turn into a specific style that can be applied to other art forms and products. I want to take the same project to a larger format.
How can you use the #the100dayproject as a tool to practice something you’ve been wanting to do? How can you use it as a sandbox to play?
Elle just took the project to the next level and collaborated with The Great Discontent to grow and inspire. Check out the more on the project here: www.thegreatdiscontent.com/100days
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CULTIVATING YOUR VISUAL UNIQUENESS AND STREAMLINING YOUR BRAND'S EVOLUTION
A year and a half ago, I embarked on a journey that with my attention span, I thought was not possible. It was a project called #the100DayProject that was re-invigorated by my friend and SHOPTALKradio guest, Elle Luna (LINK TO PODCAST). We were on a mastermind retreat in San Miguel Mexico with Amber Rae (LINK TO PODCAST) and other inspiring individuals. She brought the idea to the table as it was inspired by Michael Bierut’s 100 days. She brought up the idea. We all were down to do the project, but my next quest was trying to figure out what I could do for 100 days straight and that was a daunting task. It had to be something I could do in 2 minutes or 2 hours because of my crazy travel schedule.
I arrived at the epiphany of doing a Hand Drawn Type experiment. I was already starting to get interested in had drawn type a couple months prior and this seemed to be the perfect fit. I finished the straight of 100 days proudly and decided to keep the project going for fun. I just hit day 200, which is why I’m reflecting with this post. If you haven’t seen it you can check it out here: www.instagram.com/nickonken click any of the type posts, then the hashtag #onkenDrawsType to see the whole project.
Here are 5 things I learned from the process:
1. POSSIBILITY – My attention span is so short these days, having the discipline to do one thing for 100 days straight seemed impossible to me. I proved myself wrong. After around 20 days it became habit, and started to feel off if I wasn’t doing it. It turned into a love for the project.
2. EVOLUTION – The project evolved. I evolved. I learned something new by practicing every day. As with any craft if you practice every day you learn all types of things. I learned what tools I like, what mediums, what concepts.
3. DISCIPLINE – Doing one thing for 100 days took discipline to create the time, no matter where I was in the world to create the time to do it. Having the accountability of posting on Instagram kept pushed me to be disciplined. That created what the project is now.
4. IMPACT – Impact not only within my self, but with others. Every day I pick a quote that resonates with me for that day, something that I feel I need to hear. Getting into the flow of creating the art piece out of that quote reinforces it in my mind and impacted me for that day. By sharing it online, I realized how it impacted other people. The response was touching to know I made an impact in someones day.
5. VISION – The project has opened up a whole new vision for me. I’ve created a new hobby that I want to turn into a specific style that can be applied to other art forms and products. I want to take the same project to a larger format.
How can you use the #the100dayproject as a tool to practice something you’ve been wanting to do? How can you use it as a sandbox to play?
Elle just took the project to the next level and collaborated with The Great Discontent to grow and inspire. Check out the more on the project here: www.thegreatdiscontent.com/100days
7/16/15
5 Things I Learned From Doing One Thing For 100 Days Straight
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A year and a half ago, I embarked on a journey that with my attention span, I thought was not possible. It was a project called #the100DayProject that was re-invigorated by my friend and SHOPTALKradio guest, Elle Luna (LINK TO PODCAST). We were on a mastermind retreat in San Miguel Mexico with Amber Rae (LINK TO PODCAST) and other inspiring individuals. She brought the idea to the table as it was inspired by Michael Bierut’s 100 days. She brought up the idea. We all were down to do the project, but my next quest was trying to figure out what I could do for 100 days straight and that was a daunting task. It had to be something I could do in 2 minutes or 2 hours because of my crazy travel schedule.
I arrived at the epiphany of doing a Hand Drawn Type experiment. I was already starting to get interested in had drawn type a couple months prior and this seemed to be the perfect fit. I finished the straight of 100 days proudly and decided to keep the project going for fun. I just hit day 200, which is why I’m reflecting with this post. If you haven’t seen it you can check it out here: www.instagram.com/nickonken click any of the type posts, then the hashtag #onkenDrawsType to see the whole project.
Here are 5 things I learned from the process:
1. POSSIBILITY – My attention span is so short these days, having the discipline to do one thing for 100 days straight seemed impossible to me. I proved myself wrong. After around 20 days it became habit, and started to feel off if I wasn’t doing it. It turned into a love for the project.
2. EVOLUTION – The project evolved. I evolved. I learned something new by practicing every day. As with any craft if you practice every day you learn all types of things. I learned what tools I like, what mediums, what concepts.
3. DISCIPLINE – Doing one thing for 100 days took discipline to create the time, no matter where I was in the world to create the time to do it. Having the accountability of posting on Instagram kept pushed me to be disciplined. That created what the project is now.
4. IMPACT – Impact not only within my self, but with others. Every day I pick a quote that resonates with me for that day, something that I feel I need to hear. Getting into the flow of creating the art piece out of that quote reinforces it in my mind and impacted me for that day. By sharing it online, I realized how it impacted other people. The response was touching to know I made an impact in someones day.
5. VISION – The project has opened up a whole new vision for me. I’ve created a new hobby that I want to turn into a specific style that can be applied to other art forms and products. I want to take the same project to a larger format.
How can you use the #the100dayproject as a tool to practice something you’ve been wanting to do? How can you use it as a sandbox to play?
Elle just took the project to the next level and collaborated with The Great Discontent to grow and inspire. Check out the more on the project here: www.thegreatdiscontent.com/100days
7/16/15
5 Things I Learned From Doing One Thing For 100 Days Straight
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About the Blogger
I was born in a low middle class conservative religious family in the suburbs of Seattle. Art was and always has been my passion, and more than that a way of life. Starting as a graphic designer, I taught myself photography, built a commercial/editorial business shooting for the worlds biggest brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas and more. I've also had the opportunity to photograph the world's biggest celebrities like Justin Bieber, Usher, Jessica Alba and more. I've curated a lifestyle around creativity and have learned a lot along the way which I get to share here.
I was born in a low middle class conservative religious family in the suburbs of Seattle. Art was and always has been my passion, and more than that a way of life. Starting as a graphic designer, I taught myself photography, built a commercial/editorial business shooting for the worlds biggest brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas and more. I've also had the opportunity to photograph the world's biggest celebrities like Justin Bieber, Usher, Jessica Alba and more. I've curated a lifestyle around creativity and have learned a lot along the way which I get to share here.
