HUSTLE FILE #96: Elizabeth Skadden

NAME: Elizabeth Marguerite Marie Skadden

OCCUPATION: Visuals creator, artist, director, musician

LOCATION: Between Berlin and the U.S.

WHAT’S YOUR HUSTLE: Creating all the visuals that are in my head.

WHAT DOES YOUR HUSTLE MEAN TO YOU: I like to concentrate fully on one thing at a time, changing each month or so to a new focus.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONLY THREE TOOLS FOR YOUR HUSTLE, WHAT WOULD THEY BE: DSLR camera, airline ticket, time spent alone

A WORD OF ADVICE TO WANNABE HUSTLERS IN YOUR FIELD: Stop thinking about everything. Just make it.

elizabethskadden.com
collapsingnewbuildingz.blogspot.com

HUSTLE FILE #95: Justin Gakuto Go

NAME: Justin Gakuto Go

OCCUPATION: Writer

LOCATION: Transient. Usually in the US or Europe.

WHAT’S YOUR HUSTLE: I write novels. But you don’t hustle writing. It hustles you. If you’re lucky maybe you get back something in return.

WHAT DOES YOUR HUSTLE MEAN TO YOU: Telling stories the best I can. And hoping to create something lasting along the way.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONLY THREE TOOLS FOR YOUR HUSTLE, WHAT WOULD THEY BE: Paper, pen and coffee. You don’t need the coffee. You probably don’t even need the paper and pen.

A WORD OF ADVICE TO WANNABE HUSTLERS IN YOUR FIELD: Decide if you really want to do this. Writing novels is pretty much guaranteed to make you broke, depressed and crazy, sometimes all at once. Then do it anyway and never doubt yourself. This is impossible advice for an impossible job.

justingakutogo.com
@justingakuto

Justin’s first novel The Steady Running of the Hour will be published by Simon & Schuster in February 2014.

Balancing Your Way Out of the ‘Busy’ Trap

Happy Sunday, everyone! Greetings from my front porch where I sit with my MacBook on my lap, plus notebooks, papers, writing projects and to-do lists all around.

Leisurely diving into my to-do’s for the day, I had a laugh when my best friend, fellow blogger and busy person Justina Blakeney sent me a link to a piece in the New York Times titled, The ‘Busy’ Trap by Opinionator contributor Tim Kreider. Wow, what great piece to read as I do my best to balance relaxation and ambition on a Sunday afternoon. I highly recommend you give it a read.

What I like most about the piece is Kreider calling out that being so “busy” is often self-imposed and something we’re addicted to, and that even though it can be the result of good things like drive and ambition, saying you’re so busy is a “boast disguised as a complaint.” Ha. So true.

Now while I’m not too guilty of using the word “busy” too much, I am guilty of always feeling like I don’t have enough time to do everything I want to do. So, yeah, I might have a little bit of this self-imposed problem described as being stuck in a “busy trap.” In fact, I’m sure most of my friends and family would cite me as having a serious case of busyness! I mean, I do have a blog called Hustle Up. : )

So, for this relaxing and rejuvenating Sunday, I’ll balance all my to-do’s with some down time and necessary idleness. As Kreider points out:
The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done.

Yes, I hustle, but I also know how to chill and skip the stress of feeling busy, even if I am busy. And it’s this balance that keeps me from feeling trapped. It’s something I’m very aware of and try to keep in check.

Brad Feld of Business Insider also wrote a great piece on the topic today titled, Have You Fallen Into The Busy Trap? And what I like most about his piece is his closing paragraph stating that even though he’s busy, he feels fine and is having fun:
I work hard. I work a lot. And I have in the past month. But I don’t feel “busy”. I don’t feel overwhelmed. I don’t feel oppressed. I feel like I’m doing some of the best work of my life so far. And I’m having a lot of fun.

And that’s just the point. Do all the things you love, but only as long as you’re having fun doing them. Yes, yes, my fellow hustlers, here’s to all the fun of being busy!!!

Looking for Some Action?

It’s summer y’all! And if you’re like me and mostly thinking about the beach and chillin’ as much as possible, I totally understand. But if you’re looking for some action…some socio-political-economic-justice action, here’s something important (and fun) that’s happening this Friday night and Saturday in Downtown LA’s Chinatown.


Friends No Age, Tearist, Ooga Booga, Jim Smith and more will all participate in the event “No Walmart in Chinatown.” All info and press release here on Unionosity.
When: June 29th, 2012 – 7:00 PM – 11:30 PM
Where: Human Resources – 410 Cottage Home St. in Chinatown, 90012
Cost: $5.00 suggested donation with proceeds to benefit nonprofit organizations driving the anti-Walmart effort.
Links to participating organizations/bands:
unionosity.com
humanresourcesla.com
oogaboogastore.com
subpop.com/artists/no_age
tearist.bandcamp.com
myspace.com/thelafog

And following Friday night’s fun fundraiser, here’s all info for Saturday’s LA Union AFL-CIO’s No Walmart Action at LA State Historic Park. According to the LA Union site, “it will be the largest Walmart protest in the history of the U.S.”

See you there! Both Friday night and Saturday at noon.
In solidarity & with love,
Shannon

HUSTLE FILE #94: Kris Fagan

NAME: Kris Fagan

OCCUPATION: Designer/Craftsman/Artisan, Steam&Piston Designs

LOCATION: Los Angeles

WHAT’S YOUR HUSTLE: Repurposing furniture, wrangling up anything I can to make things. Collaborating with creative people on design projects. Being a true craftsman and artisan.

WHAT DOES YOUR HUSTLE MEAN TO YOU: Designing and trying to figure out how things work from the inside out. Being grateful for everything I have — all the amazing people in my life and my family for always being there, guiding me when I needed guidance.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONLY THREE TOOLS FOR YOUR HUSTLE, WHAT WOULD THEY BE: Integrity, respect and humility

WORD OF ADVICE TO WANNABE HUSTLERS IN YOUR FIELD: Be a leader not a follower. Always treat others how you would want to be treated. Love not hate. Always have a sense of humor, it makes life better. Never leave home without your compass, always trust your gut instinct, and never look back.

SteamNPiston@gmail.com

There She Blows! Old Faithful & New Ideas

My rad dude Randy just sent me these photos of the Old Faithful geyser erupting in Yellowstone National Park. Wow! And what’s even more amazing is he rode his motorcycle there to see it!

Above is a shot just before it erupted and below is the full blown eruption!

Whoooo hooo!!! What a wild burst of energy! Funny how just a couple photos like this can inspire new ideas and a fresh perspective on all the exciting things out there in the world! Whoooo. What fun! I just had to share. Hope you’re feeling it, too!

Explosively inspired,
Shannon

HUSTLE FILE #93: Minel Louis

NAME: Minel Louis

OCCUPATION: Actor/Writer/Producer

LOCATION: Melbourne/Sydney/Los Angeles

WHAT’S YOUR HUSTLE: Actor in film, TV and stage. I’m also, in no particular order, a professional fairy, writer, producer and F1 Princess.

WHAT DOES YOUR HUSTLE MEAN TO YOU: Trying to accumalate as many frequent flyer points as I can, thus allowing me to continue my creative adventures all over the world.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONLY THREE TOOLS FOR YOUR HUSTLE, WHAT WOULD THEY BE: A dress-up box, my MacBook Pro with wifi connection, and a case of sugar-free Red Bull to give me wings.

A WORD OF ADVICE TO WANNABE HUSTLERS IN YOUR FIELD: Enjoy the hustle but always take time to eat chocolate. It’s not about winning, it’s about how you play the game. In the wise words of Nate Dogg (RIP), When I wake up in the morning, when I get up out of my bed / At all times I remain a hustler, at all times I be chasing my bread.

Minel on IMDB, Vimeo and Facebook.