Here is a list of books that have helped shape my perspective in life and business. This will definitely be a part one. I actually created this a few years ago, but these books still live strong. I still stand by them today!
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferazzi
This book was amazing in learning how to best network and build relationships with people. Keith focuses on giving and helping people without any pretense for reciprocation. Built on a philosophy of when you give to people it will be given back to you. Maybe from someone else or that person. It’s an idea of something I truly believe. If you give and help people it will come back to you. This book is one of my faves. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/ee2Hpr
The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris
This one is a great concept of designing your life and having it’s elements work for you to what you desire. Some of his concepts are a little overboard, but overall the book is a great read and changes the way you think about designing your life and lifestyle. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/evJYol
The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
A basic well done study on economics of business and the culture of how trends/products hit their “tipping points”. Malcom talks about the different types of people that aid in the process. A good mind shifter in thinking big. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/fJ6ceF
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
Yet another fave of mine. Malcom does a study on successful people, why and how they’ve become that way. He talks about opportunity, hard work and talent. One of my favorite chapters is the 10,000 rule which many people have come to talk about. The idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practicing your craft to hit your tipping point of where enter into professionalism and success. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/hzW6g7
A Million Miles and a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
A book recommended to me by my homie Jeff Holt. This book shapes your perspective on creating better life experiences, essentially a better story. Experiences come through in our art and the more we make memorable moments in our lives the better our stories become. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/i4Vp2j
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kawasaki
Robert has many books on the subject of money, but learning and understanding how money works is a key essential in running a business. He talks about learning to see cashflow and how it works. This series of books goes hand in hand with the 4-Hour Work week. Learning how to use money to give you financial freedom and design the lifestyle you want to live. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/ffIdiO
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Creating a life of art isn’t an easy process. In The War of Art, Steven talks about the resistance and how it keeps us from creating. The resistance being that thing inside of us that makes us want to be lazy instead of getting to work. A perfect read for any artist. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/f0GmXb
The Brand Called YOU by Peter Montoya
In the business of a freelance artist, YOU are the brand. Everything you do is a projection of who you are and what your brand represents. This is a great read to help understand the idea of a personal brand and it’s outlets. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/faG2Ot
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck
Yet another great idea, but a little over the top in some areas. Still a great quick read on using the world of social media, blogging, and the web 2.0 world to boost your brand. Youtube stars have taken this idea to a whole other level. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/h6kPhj
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CULTIVATING YOUR VISUAL UNIQUENESS AND STREAMLINING YOUR BRAND'S EVOLUTION
Here is a list of books that have helped shape my perspective in life and business. This will definitely be a part one. I actually created this a few years ago, but these books still live strong. I still stand by them today!
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferazzi
This book was amazing in learning how to best network and build relationships with people. Keith focuses on giving and helping people without any pretense for reciprocation. Built on a philosophy of when you give to people it will be given back to you. Maybe from someone else or that person. It’s an idea of something I truly believe. If you give and help people it will come back to you. This book is one of my faves. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/ee2Hpr
The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris
This one is a great concept of designing your life and having it’s elements work for you to what you desire. Some of his concepts are a little overboard, but overall the book is a great read and changes the way you think about designing your life and lifestyle. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/evJYol
The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
A basic well done study on economics of business and the culture of how trends/products hit their “tipping points”. Malcom talks about the different types of people that aid in the process. A good mind shifter in thinking big. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/fJ6ceF
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
Yet another fave of mine. Malcom does a study on successful people, why and how they’ve become that way. He talks about opportunity, hard work and talent. One of my favorite chapters is the 10,000 rule which many people have come to talk about. The idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practicing your craft to hit your tipping point of where enter into professionalism and success. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/hzW6g7
A Million Miles and a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
A book recommended to me by my homie Jeff Holt. This book shapes your perspective on creating better life experiences, essentially a better story. Experiences come through in our art and the more we make memorable moments in our lives the better our stories become. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/i4Vp2j
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kawasaki
Robert has many books on the subject of money, but learning and understanding how money works is a key essential in running a business. He talks about learning to see cashflow and how it works. This series of books goes hand in hand with the 4-Hour Work week. Learning how to use money to give you financial freedom and design the lifestyle you want to live. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/ffIdiO
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Creating a life of art isn’t an easy process. In The War of Art, Steven talks about the resistance and how it keeps us from creating. The resistance being that thing inside of us that makes us want to be lazy instead of getting to work. A perfect read for any artist. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/f0GmXb
The Brand Called YOU by Peter Montoya
In the business of a freelance artist, YOU are the brand. Everything you do is a projection of who you are and what your brand represents. This is a great read to help understand the idea of a personal brand and it’s outlets. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/faG2Ot
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck
Yet another great idea, but a little over the top in some areas. Still a great quick read on using the world of social media, blogging, and the web 2.0 world to boost your brand. Youtube stars have taken this idea to a whole other level. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/h6kPhj
1/24/14
Onken’s Reading List Part One
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masterfully aligning perception and reality through personal branding
masterfully aligning perception and reality through personal branding
Here is a list of books that have helped shape my perspective in life and business. This will definitely be a part one. I actually created this a few years ago, but these books still live strong. I still stand by them today!
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferazzi
This book was amazing in learning how to best network and build relationships with people. Keith focuses on giving and helping people without any pretense for reciprocation. Built on a philosophy of when you give to people it will be given back to you. Maybe from someone else or that person. It’s an idea of something I truly believe. If you give and help people it will come back to you. This book is one of my faves. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/ee2Hpr
The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris
This one is a great concept of designing your life and having it’s elements work for you to what you desire. Some of his concepts are a little overboard, but overall the book is a great read and changes the way you think about designing your life and lifestyle. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/evJYol
The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
A basic well done study on economics of business and the culture of how trends/products hit their “tipping points”. Malcom talks about the different types of people that aid in the process. A good mind shifter in thinking big. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/fJ6ceF
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
Yet another fave of mine. Malcom does a study on successful people, why and how they’ve become that way. He talks about opportunity, hard work and talent. One of my favorite chapters is the 10,000 rule which many people have come to talk about. The idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practicing your craft to hit your tipping point of where enter into professionalism and success. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/hzW6g7
A Million Miles and a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
A book recommended to me by my homie Jeff Holt. This book shapes your perspective on creating better life experiences, essentially a better story. Experiences come through in our art and the more we make memorable moments in our lives the better our stories become. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/i4Vp2j
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kawasaki
Robert has many books on the subject of money, but learning and understanding how money works is a key essential in running a business. He talks about learning to see cashflow and how it works. This series of books goes hand in hand with the 4-Hour Work week. Learning how to use money to give you financial freedom and design the lifestyle you want to live. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/ffIdiO
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Creating a life of art isn’t an easy process. In The War of Art, Steven talks about the resistance and how it keeps us from creating. The resistance being that thing inside of us that makes us want to be lazy instead of getting to work. A perfect read for any artist. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/f0GmXb
The Brand Called YOU by Peter Montoya
In the business of a freelance artist, YOU are the brand. Everything you do is a projection of who you are and what your brand represents. This is a great read to help understand the idea of a personal brand and it’s outlets. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/faG2Ot
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck
Yet another great idea, but a little over the top in some areas. Still a great quick read on using the world of social media, blogging, and the web 2.0 world to boost your brand. Youtube stars have taken this idea to a whole other level. Pick it up here: http://nonk.it/h6kPhj
1/24/14
Onken’s Reading List Part One
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It’s an ongoing creative partnership focused on bringing your personal brand identity to life.
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Your brand photos lag behind you because you kept evolving and the images stayed frozen. Why the gap opens, how to spot it, and what closes it.
The kung fu school had rules: locked-in weekdays, dawn starts, push-ups for lateness. A month inside taught me that constraints you choose are what make depth possible.
A daily creative practice is making one real thing every day, however small, to stay in a proactive state. A working definition, and how to build one that lasts.
AI describes your brand by averaging your public record. How to codify one identity, repeat it everywhere, and get the machines to echo you back accurately.
I’ve photographed Justin Bieber several times and seen fame up close. His stripped-down Coachella set showed the thing I keep relearning about creative work: production amplifies, and only artistry carries.
You recover from creative burnout by treating it as a nervous system state: build real down-cycles, read your own signals, and return to the work you love.
A magnetic personal brand comes from coherence and one clear through-line. Here is how entrepreneurs build one, in order, and the trap that keeps most brands scattered.
I spent a month training kung fu in Wudang at 47, the oldest and slowest learner in the room. What being a beginner again in midlife taught me about pace, comparison, and starting anyway.
You develop taste through thousands of reps of looking closely and deciding what works. A photographer’s honest answer on how taste gets built.
You make a personal brand more coherent by naming the identity underneath it, distilling a one or two word through-line, and bringing the four layers into agreement. The full path, in order.
You cannot pour from an empty well. Travel is how I refill mine. Here is why new places are creative input rather than a break from the work, and why output without input runs dry.
There is a difference between making something and performing the act of making it. Here is what I learned about the creative act, content, and why the resistance is the whole game.
AI can generate endless brand content, but it cannot construct the identity underneath it. Here is the real line between what AI can do for your brand and what only you can.
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.
