Tomorrow I’ll be working in North Portland. In the afternoon I’ll be hanging my hat of the day at Lucky Lab. I’ll be meeting some folks at 1 PM, but if you find yourself in the area after that please come by and say hello. I’d love to meet you or get reacquainted.

Last Thursday, Jenni and I came across a little place on Alberta called Back to Eden. They’ve got vegan baked goods and they now have a friend in me. One of these Thursdays I’ll be hanging out there. Maybe I’ll buy you a pastry if you see me there. Little surprises around every corner.

For tomorrow, see ya in NoPo!
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What be this Mobile Pants thing?

Today I will be traveling a bit (no kidding, in Portland this time). This afternoon I’ll be downtown and later in the evening I’ll be hanging around on Alberta in the Concordia area (likely near 33rd Ave).

If you want to check in on my whereabouts and say hello, I’ll be updating on Twitter. I hope to see you around.

By the way, I just realized that this all sounds like “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.”

Dammit.

What be this Mobile Pants thing?

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Mobile Pants: January 14

Ahem. For my first trick, I’d like to demonstrate [drum roll]… flaking out!

[scattered applause]

When I posted about Mobile Pants, I neglected to mention that I would be in Seattle. Oops? I’m back home today but staying in the studio. Seattle was my Mobile Pants location this week.

I’ll post my planned whereabouts on Wednesday, I promise. Likely I’ll be in NoPo at Lucky Lab. Thursday, January 21st.

Lead, follow, or get out of the way

That’s one of my favorite quotes, by Thomas Paine. I admit, it sounds kind of like something you’d hear on an “Outward Bound” retreat or something your boss might say to “motivate.” Framed in those circumstances, it makes me want to vomit. However, in my own little world it’s sometimes helpful for sorting things out.

What made me think of it today was a hater comment on a forum I belong to. Haters just get in the way.

See, I meet a lot of people every week. Many of them are small business people (which includes freelance designers, illustrators, and animators). They’re all trying to get work, keep work, and figure out how to grow their businesses.

Some of them are confident but looking for new ways to get where they want to go. Some are not so confident and looking for direction. Some are downright terrified or lost and need a boost from someone else.

It’s extremely rare that any one of these people is only looking out for Numero Uno, even if Numero Uno is their first priority at the moment. Most people I meet, even when they’re struggling, are ready to jump in and help someone else.

For that reason, I’m confident that even the terrified people are going to figure out a way to succeed, even if it takes longer than they hope. It’s because of their passion for what they’re doing combined with a passion for seeing other people do well. It’s a powerful combination.

Those people are looking for ways to lead their people, sometimes by following other people to see how it can be done.

None of these people are in the way, because they’re too damn busy trying to make something happen.

Haters are trying to stop things from happening. They don’t follow and they certainly don’t lead.

The thing is, everyone has off days. Everyone says things sometimes that they could have phrased more tactfully (myself included). It happens. It’s easier to let fly when you’re behind the safe wall of servers and IP addresses.

But there’s a fundamental difference between someone having an off day and someone who expresses themselves in a way that is purposely hurtful (i.e.; in the way). Do you get that?

Even so, the so-called Haters are deeply scared themselves. They have their own fears and reasons for being afraid. So they’re still people, but they’ve put themselves in the way of you accomplishing your stuff.

So what do you do when a “hater” gets in your way? One of two things:

A. Ignore it. Pretty much everyone else recognizes the “hater comment,” so don’t feel like you even have to acknowledge anything. What’s there to acknowledge, anyway?

B. Respond in the most diplomatic way possible – and turn it over to them for answers. What are they willing to do to help improve things? Are they willing to go farther than mere complaining? You’ll find out soon enough.

Sounds easy-peasy, right? Riiiight.

Even when you understand all of this logically, the raw emotion of somebody hating on you and your thoughts is probably still there. Seek out someone you trust to help you analyze the comment. Vent. Get it off your chest, blow up. Be illog

Mobile Pants: January 14

Ahem. For my first trick, I’d like to demonstrate [drum roll]… flaking out!

[scattered applause]

When I posted about Mobile Pants, I neglected to mention that I would be in Seattle. Oops? I’m back home today but staying in the studio. Seattle was my Mobile Pants location this week.

I’ll post my planned whereabouts on Wednesday, I promise. Likely I’ll be in NoPo at Lucky Lab. Thursday, January 21st.

Lead, follow, or get out of the way

That’s one of my favorite quotes, by Thomas Paine. I admit, it sounds kind of like something you’d hear on an “Outward Bound” retreat or something your boss might say to “motivate.” Framed in those circumstances, it makes me want to vomit. However, in my own little world it’s sometimes helpful for sorting things out.

What made me think of it today was a hater comment on a forum I belong to. Haters just get in the way.

See, I meet a lot of people every week. Many of them are small business people (which includes freelance designers, illustrators, and animators). They’re all trying to get work, keep work, and figure out how to grow their businesses.

Some of them are confident but looking for new ways to get where they want to go. Some are not so confident and looking for direction. Some are downright terrified or lost and need a boost from someone else.

It’s extremely rare that any one of these people is only looking out for Numero Uno, even if Numero Uno is their first priority at the moment. Most people I meet, even when they’re struggling, are ready to jump in and help someone else.

For that reason, I’m confident that even the terrified people are going to figure out a way to succeed, even if it takes longer than they hope. It’s because of their passion for what they’re doing combined with a passion for seeing other people do well. It’s a powerful combination.

Those people are looking for ways to lead their people, sometimes by following other people to see how it can be done.

None of these people are in the way, because they’re too damn busy trying to make something happen.

Haters are trying to stop things from happening. They don’t follow and they certainly don’t lead.

The thing is, everyone has off days. Everyone says things sometimes that they could have phrased more tactfully (myself included). It happens. It’s easier to let fly when you’re behind the safe wall of servers and IP addresses.

But there’s a fundamental difference between someone having an off day and someone who expresses themselves in a way that is purposely hurtful (i.e.; in the way). Do you get that?

Even so, the so-called Haters are deeply scared themselves. They have their own fears and reasons for being afraid. So they’re still people, but they’ve put themselves in the way of you accomplishing your stuff.

So what do you do when a “hater” gets in your way? One of two things:

A. Ignore it. Pretty much everyone else recognizes the “hater comment,” so don’t feel like you even have to acknowledge anything. What’s there to acknowledge, anyway?

B. Respond in the most diplomatic way possible – and turn it over to them for answers. What are they willing to do to help improve things? Are they willing to go farther than mere complaining? You’ll find out soon enough.

Sounds easy-peasy, right? Riiiight.

Even when you understand all of this logically, the raw emotion of somebody hating on you and your thoughts is probably still there. Seek out someone you trust to help you analyze the comment. Vent. Get it off your chest, blow up. Be illog

One of the main themes this year in my life and business is connecting with people.

In a home-based business it’s all too easy to spend my days head-down, buried in my latest projects, Twitter, or writing posts like this one. Not that there isn’t value in these activities. Working in my track pants until 2:00 PM is cool, but getting dressed and connecting with people in the “real world” is something I need to be doing a lot more.

But you know me. I can’t just meet a few people. I have to create an event, right? Something Victoria knows quite a bit about.

In fact, when I meet with people like Victoria in Phoenix, or Mark in Portland, or Lori in Seattle, I feel refreshed. Energized. Ready to do stuff. And I like to think they feel the same (gee, I hope so).

So let’s do more of that!

Connecting with Mobile Pants

I live in a rural area outside of Portland. So if I’m meeting with a colleague or a client, I bring my mobile office with me. Before or after the meeting, I set myself up in a cafe and get my work done. Not only is it more efficient than turning around and driving right home (really hard to sit back down in the studio after that), I get to experience the hustle and bustle of the city, which feeds my creativity.

So I decided to make a commitment to connecting and working in a very public way every week. So here’s the deal.

Every Thursday, I’ll be Sparky Mobile Pants. I’ll be setting myself up in a cozy spot somewhere in the city of Portland for the day. It won’t be the same place every week, but I’m sure I’ll hit some of the same spots two or three times. Some of my favorite haunts are:

Muddy’s Coffee

Concordia Coffee

Lucky Lab (North Portland & SE Portland)

Powell’s on Hawthorne

On Wednesdays, I’ll post where I’ll be setting up. Sure, I’ll be working, but I am keeping myself completely interruptible. Which is really the point, isn’t it?

So if you’re in the area, I hope you’ll stop by and say hello. If you sit long enough, I’ll even create a Firepantsian doodle for you to take home.

How will you know it’s me? Hopefully there aren’t any Sparky Firepants imposters running around the Pacific Northwest, but to be absolutely sure, I’ll put up a sign at my table that looks like that graphic up on top there.

I swear I won’t bite. Or burn. Come out and say hi. Please!