NOTE: this is equally wonderful for anything you watch. Seriously, lounging on a couch is a lovely way to watch TV because then when I do other things I literally have to get my tuckus OFF the couch.
So taking that into consideration, I’ve watched upwards of 40 TED Talks (not in a row) and it got me into thinking of what I will do in my life. For those who don’t know, I recently resigned from the corporate job I had been in for 7 years in favor of pursuing several endeavors and investing my time more wisely.
NOTE: I’m not always on the couch, so no worries. I like staying busy. I might occasionally drape myself on a lounge chair as well, but that's besides the point.
So a couple of questions I’ve asked myself during my life and more so the last couple of years came on a crawling through my consciousness the last few weeks, most notably:
What do I want to achieve?
NOTE: Do NOT confuse this with what I will do to make ends meet until things hit critical mass (that’s another post).
Instead, look to these questions for a better example of what was running through my brain:
What is my mission?
Who am I as a human, a professional, a creative individual, a writer, a singer songwriter?
Why am I that way?
Then I’ve thought of how a post I’ve written has set me on a route to commit something to a public forum to be accountable. To remind myself, you SAID you would do this, so do this. You SAID you wanted to do something, so WHAT are you doing to achieve the thing. NO excuses. This is not a trial, but your oath to what you want to achieve.
So then I get to ask myself what are my vision and mission. If JD Estrada stands for something, what does JD Estrada stand for?
And here are a couple of answers.
What’s My Mission?
To have a positive impact through my craft. To promote values, to invite people to think, to never take my audience for granted, to challenge the status quo, while still being kind. To offer fresh perspectives and truly demonstrate that everything has NOT been written and we are not rehashing old ideas. That is a defeatist attitude and we have enough of that going on. The mission, the base mission is to create and to give purpose to what we create. To embrace the power of a story and demonstrate we can improve the world one story at a time.
What’s my vision?
To be an ambassador of creativity, whatever that may mean every day. To look at every single day as an opportunity to create, to have fun, to do something meaningful, to help, to make someone smile or laugh. To inspire people to throw caution to the wind, ignore naysayers and share their most genuine self.
What are my values:
- Creativity to share the best of our humanity
- To cultivate common ground where perspectives can be shared with respect and an open heart
- Create obeying your inner self to be true to you while being of service to others
- Inspire others so they can release the world within them
- When the opportunity to help arises, take it
- Dance beyond your comfort zone
- Smile
The Human Cycle – my exploration of humanity through fiction. A very personal work that takes Tolkien elements, mashes it up with Jungian psychology and countless other influences to create a perspective of the world and humanity as I see it. There are vampires, therians, photogeni, and a whole lot of exploration of humanity.
Daydreams on the Sherbet Shore – Although YA in tone and content, the mission is to create smiles across the world and bridge the gaps distance and other factors may create. We are one world and we can all dream together.
Poetry – exploring the world, emotions, humanity, and trivial things to show the inherent beauty in bliss and pain and everything in between. Life is beautiful and poetry is the literary reminder of this.
Workshops - to give perspectives at a community level and corporate level to inspire people to offer the best of their humanity. This is me dancing beyond my comfort zone again. I want to make a positive impact in the community and in a company. Why? Because the more we nurture a community, the more we can do and why a company? Because in these vast wastelands of malaise, frustration, and disenchantment with life, I’d like to remind that life is good and that every day we can do something to be happy even on the job. If you want more info on this, drop a comment and I'll gladly share with you what's in store.
Visual Typos – Every Monday the mission is to help bring at least ONE smile to the world. If I get more, awesome. But my aim is to make at least ONE person laugh to show that in mistakes there is an opportunity to smile and laugh and that being silly is good for the soul.
For writing out loud – my blog where I allow my messages and creative perspectives to converge into one online hub. It is as personal as it gets and I’m always pushing to go deeper and share perspectives with more people. I love guest bloggers who want to collaborate or who want to contribute. So in short, if you have an idea, write me and let’s make something together.
Teactionary – Every Tuesday I profess my love for tea in a creative manner as cerebral as it can be silly. Humor can have several layers to it as can some of the most savory things in life.
SkyThoughts – Every Wednesday I look at the sky and offer positive thoughts to inspire harmony and a warm smile. They are not pre-made, they are where my head and soul are at that moment to show we can invite light to shine even on hard days and send good intentions across the world.
Blanc Comics – They are my invitation to artists of all ages and around the world to help me see my stories so that it becomes OUR story.
The Perception Collective – This project aims to promote tolerance and acceptance of different points of view to promote harmony and peace. In a period of time where there are countless polarizing things occurring and there are people who crave the divide, I want to speak to all the people who would rather come together than grow apart in the hopes we can change a few minds and give our best.
These are several of the things I am working on or will work on. It is a first draft but it’s pretty close to what I have in my heart. Can it evolve? Of course As can I. But I just wanted to share this with all the people who read me and who are kind enough to believe in me and share this journey with me. If you like what you see, let me know. If there’s something you’d like to see, let me know. If you have any question, let me know. :D
My thanks for everyone who reads this and for your support.
Peace, love, and maki rolls.
Nice, thank you for this
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