#not that Melvin is as strong relationship but you get the picture | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

paintingformike · 1 year

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Bc, some people think those moments were meant to draw a contrast rather than a direct parallel.

People think that Will being in between Mike and El's scenes is not necessarily there to imply that Mike likes Will but rather is there to show Will's unrequited feelings, because Will was blurred whereas Robin was at the center of the scene where we watched her visibly being sad but Will was not sad, he was blurred in the background and when Mike and El have a forehead touch moment, he is entirely out of the picture.

Also, people do not exactly notice which music plays at which scenes. Only if they are interested in analyzing or searching, then they can find. Another example is, we know about the 'tender emotional music' because we focused on that and then made an analysis, but even then that wouldn't necessarily look like byler proof to the other parts of the audience, esp when that same music also plays for a melvin scene in one of the scenes where they talk.

It's also that Dan and Vickie broke up but Dan is just some random character, whereas El is a main character and we have been following Mike and El's relationship for seasons (that's how the audience thinks), and they gave Mike a huge monologue, whether or not we argue that it happened due to Will, it still happened. Even if Mike and El do not exactly talk, it does not look like a byler proof for some people but it rather looks like a casual relationship drama which will be resolved in S5 like Jonathan and Nancy's underaddressed situations.

I am saying this bc while I am a byler shipper and I think the narrative has a chance to make Byler fully canon, I also have many queer friends or in general friends who belong to GA, and I can also understand their points when they say that they do not see byler happening because majority of the proof that we have seem far-fetched, random or delusional to them.... or just not enough of proofs in general.

yes i literally just said i know people find it harder to believe in byler because main characters are involved in the love triangle whereas dan and vickie are side characters, and that’s as far as i’ll get their sentiments.

about all your other points, yeah i know that these are all reasons why people from the GA think most byler proofs are farfetched...but it doesnt mean their arguments are valid and understandable though lmao. the rovickie/byler parallels aren't even that hard to pick up on, and if it was only meant to contrast the two relationships then will being out of focus while robin isn’t wouldn’t be the ONLY thing different about their scenes cause everything else is pretty much identical to each other, mike and vickie even have similar conflicted expressions when they look at will and robin (and its ON THEM for not noticing that). also even if will is blurred out he still stands out the most cause he’s dead in the middle of mike and el’s faces and his figure immediately draws your attention (heck he was the first thing i noticed as a casual viewer while watching vol 2), which makes no sense for someone who’s supposed to be just “entirely out of the picture”...and about the monologue. something tells me its just double standards against a queer ship cause this isn’t exactly the first time a character seemingly professes their undying love for another character but still ends up with someone else 🤔

what im trying to say is yeah its true that they have all these reasons for not believing in byler endgame but at the end of the day...how am i just supposed to understand the points they have when they’re the ones who cant read into things that aren’t supposed to be very complicated when you have common sense, and i dont really think their thought process/reasonings are particularly strong anyway. also in this context...the rovickie/byler parallel is literally one of our least “random” byler proofs that just came out of thin air, its very much in your face so 😭 i guess i’d understand if you were talking about other more tiny background hints in relation to this topic but this one is pretty blatant...sorry for going into a tangent

#if i started sounding mean sorry anon im just tired of seeing these same arguments all the time #esp the one about the focus in the rovickie scene vs the mlvn reunion bc...its rlly not that hard to understand why they filmed it that way #all that aside...its on them for being narrow minded while watching the show and immediately dismissive of byler proof #byler

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orendamagau · 6 years

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Bi-Weekly TV/Movie Wrapup (Part One)

Fallen behind in the world of visual entertainment? Well fret no more as Cal Behrendt take a look at some exciting new shows and movies that have dropped in the last two weeks!

The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards (NBC)

The biggest award show for the television industry, the 2018 Emmys (hosted by SNL’s Michael Che and Colin Jost) were a very mixed bag. Bill Hader and Henry Winkler — who won his first-ever Emmy despite five previous nominations stretching back to 1976 — picked up Emmys for their work in Barry. The Academy finally recognised some of the best talent to grace our screens in a long time, but even a shock mid-telecast proposal couldn't even save a trainwreck of a ceremony.

Even a shock mid-telecast proposal couldn't even save a trainwreck of a ceremony

Arguably the biggest surprise of the night was The Americans picking up two Emmys for its swan song run. Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg picked up the Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Emmy for the series finale START. In the same episode, Matthew Rhys finally picked up the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Phillip Jennings (one of my all-time favourite characters and acting performances). But despite this, the Emmys still dropped the ball in many spots. How the hell did Keri Russell not win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and how did the consensus worst season of Game of Thrones win Best Drama Series ahead of The Americans? To me, nothing was worse so than the awkward-as-hell gags where Che and Jost kept cutting back to Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen — self-claimed Emmy ‘experts’ — throughout the ceremony. These gags were painfully unfunny and poorly timed, and they really took away from the rest of the telecast. It only shined in the unexpected moments, like Glenn Weiss’ proposal to Jan Svendsen, and Sandra Oh awarding the Emmy to LaLa Land after ripping the envelope.

How the hell did Keri Russell not win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series?

BoJack Horseman Season Five (Netflix)

Everybody’s favourite sad horse show has returned for another season. Once again, creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg and the crew have created a strong season of one of the best shows currently running. Season Five continues to make these characters feel so real that it is hard to believe this is a cartoon about anthropomorphic animals.

Everybody’s favourite sad horse show has returned for another season

The season also hits many topical issues right on the head, from the perfectly-timed examination of #MeToo to casting race-appropriate actors and actresses. Season Five is a perfect addition to a series that seems to get stronger every year. Once again we have a handful of standout episodes, but the episode Free Churro stands high and proud above everything else this show has done. It pushes the boundaries of what an animated show should be doing. If this episode and Will Arnett’s performance don't find their way into the Emmy winners circle in 2019, I will be madder about this than I will be about Twin Peaks' Emmy snubs.

American Vandal Season Two (Netflix)

Also dropping on the same day as BoJack, true-crime mockumentary series American Vandal makes its return. Season Two introduces a new setting and crime, with the crew travelling to Washington to investigate the ‘Turd Burglar’ — a student who is doing crap-filled pranks at St Bernardine’s. It could have easily been a re-tread of the first season, but Season Two expands on a lot of the previous issues to make yet another engrossing season. Not only do we get another fantastic mystery filled with twists and turns, but we also get a perfect examination of high school culture and how, in this social media-driven age, a lot of us feel lonelier than ever. But American Vandal is not content with just doing all that. It also pulls together a number of strong performances to anchor the season: from Travis Tope’s oddly charming Kevin McClain to Melvin Gregg’s MVP performance as DeMarcus Tillman, a basketball prodigy who, underneath the bright and popular exterior, is an insecure individual who just wants to be loved for something other than his basketball. American Vandal Season Two is a fantastic follow-up and shows why this program has quietly become one of the best shows out there.

American Vandal Season Two…shows why this program has quietly become one of the best shows out there.

Also Released:

Maniac Season One (Netflix)

Jonah Hill and Emma Stone star in this Cary Fukunaga-directed miniseries about two strangers who connect during a pharmaceutical trial. Many critics have praised the performances and the direction as well as the overall aesthetic of the series. I think my friend summed it up the best so far: “No idea what’s going on, but Jonah Hill and Emma Stone are great. It is well and truly some weird shit.”

It is well and truly some weird shit.

American Horror Story Season Eight (FX)

The long-running FX horror anthology has returned for another season with the eighth instalment, Apocalypse, which marks a departure from previous seasons. Not only is it set in the futuristic year of 2021, but it crosses over two past seasons — Season One’s Murder House and Season Three’s Coven — into one story. Two episodes have aired so far, and early reviews state that it's another solid entry into the franchise.

The Good Cop Season One (Netflix)

Do you like Josh Groban? Well then, I have the show for you! This Netflix police procedural stars Groban as a cop who goes by-the-book rather than become like his father (played by Tony Danza), who went to prison for being a dirty cop. The Good Cop sees them pair up to solve mysteries in New York, in a premise that sounds as 90s NBC-core as you can get. Most of the reviews I have read have pegged it as pretty mediocre, but if you love shows like Law and Order running in the background while you do other stuff you'll get a kick out of The Good Cop.

A premise that sounds as 90s NBC-core as you can get

Movies

Lizzie (Saban Films/Roadside Attractions)

The story of axe-murderer Lizzie Borden has been covered a lot over recent years. But this biographical thriller directed by Craig William Macneill jumps on top of the crowd, covering the story from a more feminist angle. According to critics, Chloë Sevigny and Kristen Stewart turn in strong performances as Lizzie Borden and Bridget Sullivan respectively, but it appears a common complaint is the story is not as gripping as it could be.

Colette (Bleecker Street/Lionsgate)

Colette follows the life of French novelist Gabrielle Colette, with Keira Knightley taking on the main role. It's directed by Wash Westmoreland, one of the most interesting names in the business, having directed 2014’s Still Alice. Early reviews have been glowing across the board, with critics praising the performance of Knightley who turns in one of the strongest performances in her career to date. Also praised is the direction and overarching themes of feminism and the battle against misogyny Colette experienced. Colette won’t be released in Australia for a while yet, but keep your eyes open for this film when it does release. It's a potential early Oscar contender.

Early reviews have been glowing across the board

The Sisters Brothers (Annapurna Pictures)

This Western dark comedy focuses on a pair of hitmen searching for a chemist in 1800’s America. It features one of the most stacked acting lists I have seen in a while: John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix take on the titular roles of the Sisters brothers alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed, Allison Tolman and Carol Kane. Early reviews peg this film as one driven strongly by the Western genre whilst focusing on a strong character study of family and familial relationships. This movie has already picked up an award for director Jacques Audiard, who claimed the Silver Lion for Best Director at the 2018 Venice International Film Festival. This film will definitely be one to watch when it drops in Australia in the near future.

#movies #tv #bi-weekly wrapup #emmy awards #bojack horseman #netflix #american vandal #maniac #american horror story #the good cop #lizzie

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junker-town · 4 years

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The Chargers’ attendance problem in Los Angeles, explained

Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images

The team’s temporary home stadium has seen quite a few opposing fanbases take it over since it moved to L.A.

The Los Angeles Chargers don’t currently play in a traditional football stadium. Since the franchise moved to LA from San Diego in 2017, the team has been playing its home games in Dignity Health Sports Park, located in Carson, California, just roughly 16 miles south of downtown LA.

The stadium the Chargers play in now is primarily meant to host soccer games. Until the Chargers’ new LA Stadium in Hollywood Park is finished being built (estimated by mid-summer 2020), the team is temporarily playing in a 30,000-seat stadium it currently shares with Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy. It’s pretty small compared to other NFL stadiums, most of which are at least double the capacity:

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The reason the Chargers are playing there? That’s because when the team relocated from San Diego, the Dignity Health Sports Park — formerly known as StubHub Center — offered to host the Chargers before their new venue opened:

“The experience for our fans at StubHub Center will be fun and entertaining, and every seat will feel close to the action,” Chargers president of business operations A.G. Spanos said in 2017. “This is a unique opportunity to see NFL action in such an intimate setting. The new stadium at Hollywood Park will be a tremendous stage, and we can’t wait to play there, but right now it’s about introducing ourselves and getting to know new fans and partners in a special, one-of-a-kind setting.”

However, the Chargers moving to a new city and playing in a soccer stadium has resulted in a real lack of a homefield advantage — so much so that there’s even a possibility the team could be relocated to London.

The Chargers’ temporary venue has seen many opposing fanbases take over a home game.

Not every Chargers home game results in a majority of the other team’s fans showing up, but it happens often. This was evident as early as the Chargers’ LA debut.

2017

The Chargers played their first game in LA against Miami in Week 2 of the 2017 season. Longtime Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers talked about the opposing fans’ presence in the stadium after the Dolphins won, 19-17, when LA missed a last-second field goal:

“Obviously the loudest roar came at the end after the missed field goal, to where you really got to see how many Dolphins fans there were,” Rivers told ESPN. “I heard the roar before I saw the official’s signal.”

The same thing happened throughout the season.

After the Chiefs beat the Chargers in Week 3, the entire stadium erupted in a “Chiefs! Chiefs! Chiefs!” chant:

In Week 4, the Eagles asked for crowd noise in StubHub Center late in the game, and got it from the slew of Philly fans who made the trip out West:

“When we came out, it was like a home game,’’ Eagles offensive lineman Jason Peters said after the game. “A lot of fans here supporting us, and it helped us.’’

The Chargers’ first home win in 2017 came in October over the Broncos — in front of a pretty heavy Denver crowd.

2018

This trend continued throughout the Chargers’ second season in LA. Kansas City fans occupied the stadium for a second consecutive time in 2018, followed by 49ers fans a couple weeks later.

Time for another game of "Spot the Los Angeles Chargers fans in an image of a Los Angeles Chargers home game" pic.twitter.com/9g1t7cBMeF

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) September 30, 2018

Before the next home game against the Raiders, the Chargers piped in crowd noise at practice to prepare for a large turnout of nearby Oakland fans.

2019

Broncos fans packed the stadium during a Week 5 game in 2019. Take a look at how much orange there is:

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

During a 2019 Sunday Night Football matchup against Pittsburgh in Week 6, Dignity Health Sports Park looked more like a home game at Heinz Field:

Just...... WOW.#SteelersNation | #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/L1jZz33UQ1

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 14, 2019

The stadium even played the song “Renegade” by Styx, which is frequently heard at Steelers home games. Via the Los Angeles Times:

“It was crazy,” running back Melvin Gordon said. “They started playing their theme music. I don’t know what we were doing — that little soundtrack, what they do on their home games. I don’t know why we played that.“

“I don’t know what that was. Don’t do that at our own stadium … It already felt like it was their stadium … I don’t understand that.”

Said offensive lineman Forrest Lamp: “We’re used to not having any fans here. It does suck, though, when they’re playing their music in the fourth quarter. We’re the ones at home. I don’t know who’s in charge of that but they probably should be fired.”

Steelers cornerback Joe Haden said after the game that the stadium felt like playing in Pittsburgh:

Great win!!! Steeler Nation that was crazy!!! Literally felt like a Home game!!

— Joe Haden (@joehaden23) October 14, 2019

Packers fans also showed up strong during a Week 9 matchup:

Feels like ! (Just a little warmer!)#GBvsLAC | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/8dfSdxHD89

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 3, 2019

Fans even referred to the Chargers’ stadium as “Lambeau Field West,” and tickets were going for around $300 a pop because of the stadium’s size and Packers fans traveling well.

It’s not all that surprising that Packers, Eagles, and Steelers fans came out in full force — they make up three of the largest NFL fanbases (based on a study published in June 2019). But two of the lower-ranked brands, the Chiefs and Dolphins, still were able to take it over.

In Week 15, Los Angeles used a silent count for its game against the Minnesota Vikings at home because there were so many Minnesota fans who made the trip.

Even for the Chargers’ last game in Dignity Health during Week 16 against the Raiders, the team was booed coming out of their own tunnel!

#Chargers booed coming out of the tunnel for one final time in Carson pic.twitter.com/1xRGuv0uDw

— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) December 22, 2019

Opposing fans taking over the Chargers’ stadium isn’t just exclusive to LA, either.

The Chargers experienced a lack of a homefield advantage while they were still in San Diego, too. Chiefs fans (yet again) swarmed Qualcomm Stadium in January 2017:

Welcome to Arrowhead West @ArrowheadPride @Chiefs #KCvsSD pic.twitter.com/qZ2kC8ykBt

— Liz Saidkhanian (@Liz_Saidkhanian) January 1, 2017

The Steelers did the same in 2015.

“If you wondered what a Chargers home football game would look like in Los Angeles, you got a perfect preview Monday,” Orange County Register columnist Steve Fryer wrote. “Qualcomm Stadium was at least 60 percent filled by Pittsburgh Steelers fans. It would be closer to 90 percent Steelers fans if that game had been in L.A.”

The lack of strong fan support paired with the team’s inability to get a new stadium in San Diego were just one of the many reasons the franchise moved in 2017.

Part of the problem for the Chargers is that relocating causes a disruption for fans.

The Chargers settled in San Diego from 1961-2016, after spending the 1960 season in Los Angeles. When they moved back to LA after so many years, it resulted in a severely disjointed fanbase, as my colleague Louis Bien described in 2017:

It’s the very picture of the Chargers’ decades of uneven success and the tense relationship between fans and ownership. They are a cheap ticket in a small venue that is maybe 85 percent full and half-filled — at least — with fans of the other team.

For a team that’s no longer San Diego and not yet Los Angeles, these can’t be the Southern California Chargers, all due respect to T11n. These are the StubHub Chargers, a team borne by the players and the fans who stayed, and only them, in this space, for as long as it lasts. As ownership bides its time waiting for a new stadium, and now that so many supporters have left, the Chargers’ endless journey to find themselves continues in a strange place.

“And that’s unfortunate,” Dotseth says. “When I walk through this, I see a lot of people trying to put on a brave face, but I see a lot of people who are really heartbroken that it’s not the normal routine.”

Attendance has also been an issue for the Los Angeles-based Rams, who are playing at LA Coliseum, home of the USC Trojans. In 2017, a Texas-USC game at the Coliseum had 84,714 people attend, which was higher than Chargers and Rams’ attendances combined!

The Rams’ attendance numbers are getting better, though. Since relocating to LA, the Rams went 24-8 during their first two seasons and made the Super Bowl in 2018. In 2017, the Rams were 26th in average NFL attendance, but jumped to 10th in 2018. The Chargers have ranked dead last, thanks to the size of the stadium they play in. The Rams have sold more personal seat licenses for the new stadium than the Chargers have.

It’s not too surprising that the Rams have had more success than the Chargers when it comes to establishing a fanbase in LA. From 1946-94, the team was based there before moving to St. Louis for 20 years. The Chargers don’t have that kind of history with the city. When two teams are competing for support in the same city, the one that has an existing relationship has an easier time pulling in fans, unsurprisingly.

San Diego and LA are relatively far apart too. Although they’re both in Southern California, there’s 120 miles between those two cities. So when the Chargers left San Diego, a lot of those fans thumb their nose at rooting for an LA team, while LA fans don’t treat the Chargers like one of their own.

The Chargers and Rams’ new stadium is on track to open in 2020.

In April 2019, the stadium’s owner, the Los Angeles Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park, announced that the venue was two-thirds complete. One of the trickiest parts of its construction was the swooping shell surrounding the top that will support the stadium’s roof:

The newly complete shell atop the venue will support the other two components of the stadium’s roof: a cable net system and the clear plastic cover, which will be made of a transparent material called ETFE.

When the stadium opens, a 70,000-square-foot Oculus display will hang from the roof. The dual-sided display will be the first of its kind, according to the Los Angeles Stadium and Entertainment District.

Photos courtesy of Los Angeles Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park

It will be a welcomed sight for both teams to have the stadium ready for move-in. It was initially supposed to be ready in time for the 2019 season, but the opening date had to be pushed to 2020 after a rainy year delayed construction. The venue is already slated to hold Super Bowl LVI in 2022.

Whether or not Chargers fans actually show up remains to be seen, though.

There also might not be an easier answer to determine that — winning and a shiny new stadium helps, but it’ll it take time. The new stadium is expected to fit over 70,000 for Chargers’ home games, which is more than double what the team’s current stadium holds. The Chargers went 12-4 last year and toward the end of the season, more fans were starting to attend games. But the consistency on the field and in the stands still isn’t there.

If there are ultimately even bigger opposing fanbases showing up at the new stadium, the team’s struggles relocating to LA might continue.

One idea being floated around is moving the Chargers to London, even though the team has denied it.

Halfway through the 2019 season, The Athletic reported that the possibility of the Chargers relocating to London has been raised by the league:

The Athletic also has learned that, while the team is fully committed to Los Angeles where it will move into the new $4.5 billion stadium with the Rams next year, the Chargers would at least listen if the NFL approached them about London as a possible option.

Finally, The Athletic has learned that NFL owners are concerned enough about the Chargers’ situation in LA, where a crowded sports market and the presence of the more established Rams has resulted in a tepid embracement of the Chargers, that they would provide the necessary support for a relocation to London if the Chargers pursue it.

Chargers owner Dean Spanos pushed back, uh, rather colorfully on the report:

The full quote from Chargers owner Dean Spanos: "It's total fucking bullshit, ok? We're not going to London. We're not going anywhere. We're playing in Los Angeles. This is our home. This is where I'm planning to be for a long fucking time. Period."

— Jason B. Hirschhorn (@by_JBH) November 5, 2019

The Chargers also tweeted a denial — with a clip from the movie The Wolf Of Wall Street. The NFL wasn’t far behind with its own denial, claiming the report had “no substance.”

NFL statement on the #Chargers pic.twitter.com/PCtih8xBuz

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 5, 2019

For the past three seasons, the NFL has played four games in London, and the games have seen attendance numbers in the 80,000s for the last few years. While logistically it would be difficult, getting an NFL team in London has always been an end goal for the league.

For now, that’s a long way from happening — if it ever does — especially given the Chargers’ 20-year lease it has in LA. Still, SB Nation’s Chargers blog Bolts From The Blue recognizes why the possibility makes sense. If the team still struggles to find its identity in LA down the road, moving it to London might not be such a long shot.

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the-utmost-bound · 7 years

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The Happiness Hypothesis: Chapter 10, “Happiness Comes from Between”

This chapter was about the meaning of life. Haidt doesn’t think that there’s a meaning of life, but he does think it’s possible to find meaning within life. According to Haidt, there’s no one single thing that will give you meaning within life; instead, it’s about recognizing your needs as a human being (which include love, fulfilling work, and participation in larger emergent structures) and trying to make sure those are satisfied.

This chapter basically talked about fulfilling work, and about participation in larger structures.

Haidt starts with these two quotes:

Upanishads: Who sees all beings in his own Self, and his own Self in all beings, loses all fear.... When a sage sees this great Unity and his Self has become all beings, what delusion and what sorrow can ever be near him?

Willa Cather: I was entirely happy. Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. At any rate, that is happiness: to be dissolved into something complete and great.

What was the question?

In this first section, Haidt analyzes the question “What is the meaning of life?” and asks what sort of meaning we’re looking for.

Sometimes, when people ask “What does X mean?” they’re looking for a definition, of the sort that can be found in a dictionary. But this isn’t what we’re looking for; we’re not looking for the meaning of the word “life”; we’re looking for the meaning of life itself.

“A second kind of meaning is about symbolism or substitution.” For instance, Carl Jung once had a dream about a subbasement, and he asked what the subbasement meant, and concluded that it was a symbol for the collective unconscious. But life doesn’t symbolize anything, so that’s not the question we’re asking either.

The third kind of meaning could be called “significance”. If you walk in during the middle of a movie, and see two characters kissing, and you ask “What does it mean that they kissed?”, then you’re asking about the significance of that scene in terms of the overall plot. You’re asking how it relates to other things that happened, and how it fits into the bigger picture. This is the kind of meaning we’re looking for when we ask for the meaning of life; we’re looking for the purpose that our lives play in terms of larger narratives.

The question can be divided into two components: “What is the purpose of life?” and “How can we find purpose within life?” A lot of people ask the first question, and conclude that life has no objective purpose, and then they give up. But just because life doesn’t have an inherent purpose doesn’t mean we can’t find purpose within life. The rest of this chapter is about how we can do so.

Love and Work

People need two things in order to flourish: love (that is, any strong social bonds with other people, either romantic or platonic) and work (that is, “having and pursuing the right goals, in order to create states of flow and engagement”).

Love and work are important because they both connect us to “people and projects beyond ourselves. Happiness comes from getting these connections right.”

There was already a chapter about love, so this chapter will just focus on work.

People have an “effectance motive”, which is “the need or drive to develop competence through interacting with and controlling one’s environment”. That is, we have a strong desire to make things happen in the world.

Effectance can help us understand why certain jobs are more satisfying than others. The industrial revolution alienated workers from the products they created, which decreased their sense of effectance.

“In 1964, the sociologists Melvin Kohn and Carmi Schooler surveyed 3100 American men about their jobs and found that the key to understanding which jobs were satisfying was what they called ‘occupational self direction’. Men who were closely supervised in jobs of low complexity and much routine showed the highest degree of alienation (feeling powerless, dissatisfied, and separated from the work). Men who ha more latitude in deciding how they approached work that was varied and challenging tended to enjoy their work much more.”

"[M]ost people approach their work in one of three ways: as a job, a career, or a calling.” The job people are just doing it for the money; they don’t actually enjoy the work. The career people are working towards promotions and advancements and see it as a life-long endeavor, but may ultimately wonder what the point is. The people who have a calling find their work inherently satisfying and would probably keep doing it even if they got rich and didn’t need to work anymore.

People doing blue-collar labor are more likely to see it as a job, managers are more likely to see it as a career, and high-status professionals like doctors and scientists are more likely to see it as a calling. But it’s possible for the lowliest menial worker to see their work as a calling; there are some hospital janitors, for instance, who think of their work as contributing to the larger project of healing people, and take pride in doing what they can to help.

According to positive psychology, you are more likely to enjoy your work if it engages your strengths.

Vital Engagement

Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, the man who discovered flow, also discovered something called “vital engagement”.

He interviewed a lot of successful creative people: scientists, artists, etc. who have devoted their lives to a single all-consuming passion. He wanted to understand how they ended up so committed to their goal.

He and his colleagues found that most of them had similar life paths, which led “from initial interest and enjoyment, with moments of flow, through a relationship to people, practices, and values that deepened over many years, thereby enabling even longer periods of flow”. They called this deepening process “vital engagement”.

Haidt gives the example of a student named Katherine, who started riding horses at age 10, and soon started riding in competitions. She made most of her friends through horseback riding, and chose her college based on it, and “her initial interest grew into an ever-deepening relationship, an ever-thickening web connecting her to an activity, a tradition, and a community”.

Vital engagement doesn’t come just from a person, or just from their environment, but from a certain harmony between the two.

Careers differ on whether they promote vital engagement. If people feel like they need to sell out to do their job, or if their job requires them to violate their values, it won’t create vital engagement. Vital engagement requires coherence between one’s work and one’s values.

Cross-Level Coherence

As humans, we exist at multiple levels. “We are physical objects (bodies and brains) from which minds somehow emerge; and from our minds, somehow societies and cultures form.”

“Whenever a system can be analyzed at multiple levels, a special kind of coherence occurs when the levels mesh and mutually interlock.” As mentioned in a previous chapter, it’s important to find cross-level coherence between one’s basic personality traits and one’s life narrative. But it’s also important to find cross-level coherence between the physical, mental, and social levels. This is one of the major things that leads to a sense of meaning.

Haidt gives the example of Bhubaneswar in India, from the last chapter. The physical purity rules, and their social meaning, help connect the body to society, and people who have been raised in this culture experience the rituals at a very visceral level.

On the other hand, empty rituals fail to provide that coherence; even if you understand the symbolism intellectually, it won’t necessarily make you feel anything, unless it evokes specific bodily feelings and connects to a larger tradition.

When you live in a culture that has many rituals, and those rituals engage you across all the different levels of coherence, and your culture “also offers guidance on how to live and what is of value”, then you’re unlikely to experience an existential crisis because you’re enmeshed in a web of meaning.

But if your culture doesn’t provide coherence, and if the different levels conflict with each other, or your culture’s practices conflict with your values, then you’re likely to experience anomie.

God Gives Us Hives

Morality may have its origins in religion.

”Morality and religion both occur in some form in all human cultures and are almost always both intertwined with the values, identity, and daily life of the culture.”

How did altruism and morality evolve? Darwin said it was group selection, but modern researchers discovered kin altruism and reciprocal altruism, concluded that this was enough to explain morality, and dismissed the group selection theory.

The only exception is ultrasocial animals, like termites and bees, where it makes more sense to think of the hive itself as the organism, with the individual bees or termites being cells in it. The queen is the only one who can breed, and the survival of the group is the survival of the queen, so group selection pressures are definitely at work.

But evolutionary theorists claim that this doesn’t happen in humans, because all humans are capable of breeding, so individual selection will always play a role.

However, it could be both: there could be group selection pressures and individual selection pressures happening at the same time.

People don’t just have genes; we also have culture. Culture itself is subject to evolutionary and memetic processes. Haidt argues that cultures and genes have co-evolved.

Biologist David Sloan Wilson argues that religion and the part of the brain susceptible to religion co-evolved via group selection, since religion promotes groupishness and makes people act more morally.

But again, both group selection and individual selection operate on human populations. People can display altruism but they can also display selfishness; culture and circumstances will determine which one people exhibit.

Harmony and Purpose

People accuse religions of hypocrisy because they preach peace and kindness but then wage war against other groups. But this makes sense from the evolutionary perspective of group selection; religion encourages people to be altruistic within the group but even more aggressive to people outside the group.

This evolutionary argument also explains why mystical experiences involve transcending the self and becoming part of something larger.

Neuroscientists have investigated how this happens, and found that mystical experiences deactivate the part of the brain which tracks where the boundaries of your body are, as well as the part which tracks where you’re located in space. So “[t]he person experiences a loss of self combined with a paradoxical expansion of the self out into space, yet with no fixed location in the normal world of three dimensions. The person feels merged with something vast, something larger than the self.”

These states can be activated by ritual and coordinated movement. Human groups across history have used this to create group cohesion.

Here’s Haidt’s conclusion:

What can you do to have a good, happy, fulfilling, and meaningful life? What is the answer to the question of purpose within life? I believe that the answer can be found only by understanding the kind of creature that we are, divided in the many ways we are divided. We were shaped by individual selection to be selfish creatures who struggle for resources, pleasure, and prestige, and we were shaped by group selection to be hive creatures who long to lose ourselves in something larger. We are social creatures who need love and attachments, and we are industrious creatures with needs for effectance, able to enter a state of vital engagement with our work. We are the rider and we are the elephant, and our mental health depends on the two working together, each drawing on the others’ strengths. I don’t believe there is an inspiring answer to the question, “What is the purpose of life?” Yet by drawing on ancient wisdom and modern science, we can find compelling answers to the question of purpose within life. The final version of the happiness hypothesis is that happiness comes from between. Happiness is not something you can find, acquire, or achieve directly. You have to get the conditions right and then wait. Some of those conditions are within you, such as coherence among the parts and levels of your personality. Other conditions require relationship to things beyond you: Just as plants need sun, water, and good soil to thrive, people need love, work, and a connection to something larger. It is worth striving to get the right relationships between yourself and others, between yourself and your work, and between yourself and something larger than yourself. If you get these relationships right, a sense of purpose and meaning will emerge.

#books #jonathan haidt #the happiness hypothesis #existential #cooperation and coordination

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melvinfellerstuff · 5 years

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Melvin Feller Business Ministries Group Looks at Proactive Independence

Melvin Feller Business Ministries Group in Burkburnett Ministries and Dallas Texas and Lawton Oklahoma. Our mission is to call and equip a generation of Christian entrepreneurs to do business as ministry. We provide workshops and resources that help companies discover how to do business God’s way and provide a positive outreach as the director. When the heart of a business is service rather than self it can be transformed into a fruitful business ministry earning a profit and being of service to the community and their customers. Melvin Feller is currently pursuing another graduate degree in business organizations.

Proactive Independence by Melvin Feller

An abundant, successful, and happy life can be yours when you proactively become independent and dependent at the same time.

"Let us now hang together or surely we will all hang separately."

-- Benjamin Franklin

It has been over 30 years since my college history class and I do not remember much. However, I do recall my professor saying, "We are a strong nation because we are both fiercely independent, and, fully dependent upon each other for our success."

In my youth, his statement meant little more than a call to support our sports teams and service to my country. Now with the perspective of age, his proactive insight has taken on far greater significance.

I love being independent; in fact, I became an avid reader upon discovering the "do-it-yourself" section of the library. Yet I have learned through mistakes and failure, that true independence only comes by way of being connected with the right people in the right way. My weaknesses are made up for by other people's strengths, and likewise, I have been given unique strengths to make up for areas where they need help.

Being independent will bring you huge benefits when you are fully connected and dependent on the right people in your life. Only then will you be able to go "full-throttle" toward your major purpose.

Do you have an independent nature? Perhaps you are in business for yourself, you are a single parent, or you have a major personal goal you want to achieve. If so, what my professor said is good news! In fact, it should give all of us hope for a great future.

An abundant, successful, and happy life can be yours when you proactively become independent and dependent at the same time. I have discovered that you can be both when you make the following three declarations a part of your belief system.

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Declaration 1 - I Like Myself

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Make this an affirmation each morning, "I like myself and I am worthy of every good thing." This is an extremely important attitude to have because your success in life is directly related to your level of self-esteem.

When you begin to believe the same thing about yourself as your Creator does, you will have the power to overcome any obstacle and you will have unlimited potential.

More importantly, self-confidence will permeate your relationships and you will attract endless opportunities into your life through people who will want to help you. It is not magic or luck; it is just how a life works.

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Declaration 2 - I Love My Work

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When you truly love your work and perform a valuable service to people who want and need your expertise, there is no limit to your satisfaction in life. In addition, you will happily discover that there is no limit to your income potential either.

People sometimes mistakenly believe that they will be happy when they make a lot of money. Yet the truth is, you should seek to do what makes you happy first, and then the money will follow.

If you don't love your work, then your most important job right now is to create a plan for finding and getting into the type of work that you can love to do.

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Declaration 3 - I am Grateful

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The universe is conspiring for you, not against you. It was set up to answer your every request so that you can achieve your major purpose in life. When you believe that all things happen for a good reason, it will be like lifting a veil and you will begin to see the 'big picture' of life.

Abundance thinking starts and ends with being grateful. It is how we admit that we are not perfect and it is how we show our appreciation to others for helping us out.

Make an effort each day to acknowledge the things you are grateful for. In addition, when adversity comes to you, continue to be thankful and be open to learning the reason for it.

I believe every adversity carries with it the seed of opportunity for us to have a happier and more abundant life.

Let each day be your independence day by making the above 3 declarations a part of your life.

You will discover that they will help you to attract the right people into your life that you need to be dependent on. Then together, we can all create abundant, successful, and happy lives for ourselves.

Melvin Feller Business Ministries Group in Texas and Oklahoma. Melvin Feller founded Melvin Feller Business Consultants Group and Burkburnett former grace Ministries director in the 1970s to help individuals and organizations achieve their specific Victory. Victory as defined by the individual or organization are achieving strategic objectives, exceeding goals, getting results or desired outcomes and a positive outreach with grace and as a ministries. He has extensive experience assisting businesses achieve top and bottom line results. He has broad practical experience creating WINNERS in many organizations and industries. He has hands-on experience in executive leadership, operations, logistics, sales, program management, organizational development, training, and customer service. He was a Burkburnett man. He has coached teams to achieve results in strategic planning, business development, organizational design, sales, and customer response and business process improvement. He has prepared and presented many workshops nationally and internationally.

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jillmckenzie1 · 4 years

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The Grind

We’re all scared. Can you blame us? There’s a pandemic cutting through every corner of the world. The guy who’s supposed to be in charge doesn’t appear to know what he’s doing. People are hoarding toilet paper, for God’s sake. As a species, as a country, and as individuals, we’re living in a time of great uncertainty, and it might feel like we’re going to hit bottom any minute. What are we supposed to do?

You know who knows a little something about that? Ben Affleck. It wasn’t easy for him, growing up with a father who was an alcoholic and the eventual split that took place between his parents. It wasn’t easy for him to break into Hollywood, yet both he and his childhood friend Matt Damon managed to make the dream a reality.

Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy was Affleck’s breakthrough. His co-written screenplay Good Will Hunting nabbed him an Academy Award.* For a little while there, things seemed to be perfect…until they weren’t. There were too many flops and lousy decisions, too much time in the tabloids, and too many good films that went unseen.** Even after his comeback, his successful move into directing, and another Academy Award win for Argo as Best Picture, it seemed like Affleck couldn’t catch a break.

Affleck played Batman three times. For a minute there, the plan was for him to direct, write, and star in The Batman. The only reason he didn’t put on the cape a fourth time was his own bout with alcoholism and the worry that the pressure would kill him. Every few years he’s been forced to claw his way back into the limelight and remind audiences that, along with being a kinetic director and intelligent writer, he’s an unappreciated performer. His latest film, The Way Back, reminds us of that.

You’ve seen guys like Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) before. You might even know them. Jack is a construction worker. He does his job adequately, is friendly enough, but there’s something off about him. Is it the occasional slurs in his speech? Could it be that his stainless-steel travel mug smells more like booze than it does coffee?

People worry about him. At a family gathering, his sister Beth (Michaela Watkins) notices that Jack spends an awful lot of time by himself. Even when he’s at the dive bar he frequents, and even when he’s yukking it up with the other regulars, Jack often seems alone. He’s been separated from his wife Angela (Janina Gavankar) for months, and their marriage seems destined for divorce.

You’ve seen guys like Jack before, and you might think that he drew the loser card at birth. Father Devine (John Aylward) runs the Catholic high school Bishop Hayes, and he remembers Jack as a driven athlete and star basketball player. He summons Jack to his office, tells him the current coach is recovering from a heart attack and offers him the job of head coach.

Jack doesn’t exactly start his job with a ton of advantages. The current basketball team at Bishop Hayes is terrible. They include Marcus (Melvin Gregg), a center who’s more concerned with showing off than nailing goals, and Brandon (Brandon Wilson), a quiet point guard who doesn’t realize how talented he is. His assistant coach Dan (Al Madrigal) means well, but as the school math teacher, he’s not quite the right guy to inspire the team. But is Jack? Maybe, if his alcoholism doesn’t kill him first.

Take a moment and imagine the classic sports movie Hoosiers but imagine that Dennis Hopper’s broken-down alcoholic is the head coach. At first glance, that’s what The Way Back seems to be. It’s true that director Gavin O’Connor leans into sports movie clichés such as the player with a shaky relationship with his father, and the incorrigible horndog who learns to get serious. A closer look shows us that, as much as O’Connor knows the rhythms of high school basketball and how it can electrify or depress a community, he hasn’t really made a sports movie. Instead, The Way Back is a character study, and O’Connor is content to follow Jack. He takes his time showing us his isolation, his patterns, his despair, and his desperation to break free somehow. O’Connor has excellent timing, and he knows when to linger on character moments and when to toss us into the midst of the action. Most importantly, just like his other films Warrior and Miracle, O’Connor has a real gift for finding the ideal actors and giving them time to inhabit their roles fully.

The screenplay by Brad Inglesby is perceptive in the almost robotic routines common for an alcoholic to settle into. There’s a sequence where we see Jack at home. He opens the refrigerator to reveal numerous cans of beer. One can is removed, then the freezer is opened, showing us a chilled beer. He removes the chilled can, replaces it, drains the chilled beer, and continues the ritual. At no point does Jack seem to enjoy drinking, and that’s where Inglesby’s script is so smart. If you have an alcoholic in your life, or if you are one, you know that it’s not about too much overindulgence or a moral failing. Alcoholism is a disease, a biochemical affliction, and we can feel that when Jack stops drinking and subsequently relapses, it’s not because he’s weak. It’s because he desperately needs treatment.

A film like this is all about following a central character, and for it to succeed, the right actor needs to be cast. O’Connor seems to be one of the few directors who knows how to use Ben Affleck properly.*** Along with comedy, he’s an actor that excels at playing regular guys who work like hell to hide their flaws. In Gone Girl, watch how he tries and fails to keep up with a spouse who’s much smarter than he is. Here, watch how he initially tries fading into the background of social situations and when his confidence rises, he overcompensates. His performance is a battle between extremes, and we can see him fighting for a little equilibrium. His physicality is also one of his most potent tools. Affleck has always been a big dude, but here he’s got the hulking frame of a former athlete who devotes time to booze rather than the weights. But he never moves confidently. Instead, he’s always a little awkward, as if he doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the world.

The Way Back doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It doesn’t need to, as it’s a solid little film that features a brave and vanity-free performance by Ben Affleck. Whether due to bad choices or bad luck, Affleck is someone who’s always gotten kicked in the nuts and managed to get back up. He hit bottom. He got up. We can, too.

*This is despite the persistent rumor that screenwriting legend William Goldman was the actual writer.

**A good example is his ethical thriller Changing Lanes with Samuel L. Jackson. Seek it out, it’s a hell of a good movie.

***Say what you will about Kevin Smith, but his hyperverbal scripts tend to be a strong match with Affleck’s comic timing.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/the-grind/

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junker-town · 5 years

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The Chargers’ attendance problem in Los Angeles, explained

Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images

The team’s temporary home stadium has seen quite a few opposing fanbases take it over since it moved to L.A.

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Chargers’ temporary venue has seen many opposing fanbases take over a home game.

Not every Chargers home game results in a majority of the other team’s fans showing up, but it happens often. This was evident as early as the Chargers’ LA debut.

2017

The same thing happened throughout the season.

After the Chiefs beat the Chargers in Week 3, the entire stadium erupted in a “Chiefs! Chiefs! Chiefs!” chant:

In Week 4, the Eagles asked for crowd noise in StubHub Center late in the game, and got it from the slew of Philly fans who made the trip out West:

“When we came out, it was like a home game,’’ Eagles offensive lineman Jason Peters said after the game. “A lot of fans here supporting us, and it helped us.’’

The Chargers’ first home win in 2017 came in October over the Broncos — in front of a pretty heavy Denver crowd.

2018

This trend continued throughout the Chargers’ second season in LA. Kansas City fans occupied the stadium for a second consecutive time in 2018, followed by 49ers fans a couple weeks later.

Time for another game of "Spot the Los Angeles Chargers fans in an image of a Los Angeles Chargers home game" pic.twitter.com/9g1t7cBMeF

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) September 30, 2018

Before the next home game against the Raiders, the Chargers piped in crowd noise at practice to prepare for a large turnout of nearby Oakland fans.

2019

Broncos fans packed the stadium during a Week 5 game in 2019. Take a look at how much orange there is:

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

During a 2019 Sunday Night Football matchup against Pittsburgh in Week 6, Dignity Health Sports Park looked more like a home game at Heinz Field:

Just...... WOW.#SteelersNation | #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/L1jZz33UQ1

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 14, 2019

The stadium even played the song “Renegade” by Styx, which is frequently heard at Steelers home games. Via the Los Angeles Times:

“I don’t know what that was. Don’t do that at our own stadium … It already felt like it was their stadium … I don’t understand that.”

Steelers cornerback Joe Haden said after the game that the stadium felt like playing in Pittsburgh:

Great win!!! Steeler Nation that was crazy!!! Literally felt like a Home game!!

— Joe Haden (@joehaden23) October 14, 2019

Packers fans also showed up strong during a Week 9 matchup:

Feels like ! (Just a little warmer!)#GBvsLAC | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/8dfSdxHD89

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 3, 2019

Fans even referred to the Chargers’ stadium as “Lambeau Field West,” and tickets were going for around $300 a pop because of the stadium’s size and Packers fans traveling well.

Opposing fans taking over the Chargers’ stadium isn’t just exclusive to LA, either.

The Chargers experienced a lack of a homefield advantage while they were still in San Diego, too. Chiefs fans (yet again) swarmed Qualcomm Stadium in January 2017:

Welcome to Arrowhead West @ArrowheadPride @Chiefs #KCvsSD pic.twitter.com/qZ2kC8ykBt

— Liz Saidkhanian (@Liz_Saidkhanian) January 1, 2017

The Steelers did the same in 2015.

The lack of strong fan support paired with the team’s inability to get a new stadium in San Diego were just one of the many reasons the franchise moved in 2017.

Part of the problem for the Chargers is that relocating causes a disruption for fans.

The Chargers and Rams’ new stadium is on track to open in 2020.

Photos courtesy of Los Angeles Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park

Whether or not Chargers fans actually show up remains to be seen, though.

If there are ultimately even bigger opposing fanbases showing up at the new stadium, the team’s struggles relocating to LA might continue.

One idea being floated around is moving the Chargers to London, even though the team has denied it.

Halfway through the 2019 season, The Athletic reported that the possibility of the Chargers relocating to London has been raised by the league:

Chargers owner Dean Spanos pushed back, uh, rather colorfully on the report:

— Jason B. Hirschhorn (@by_JBH) November 5, 2019

The Chargers also tweeted a denial — with a clip from the movie The Wolf Of Wall Street.

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melvinfellerstuff · 5 years

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Melvin Feller Discusses Ways to Determine Are You Entrepreneurship Ready

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Melvin Feller Discusses Ways to Determine Are You Entrepreneurship Ready

Melvin Feller Business Group in Burkburnett Ministries and Dallas Texas and Lawton Oklahoma. Our mission is to call and equip a generation of Christian entrepreneurs to do business as ministry. We provide workshops and resources that help companies discover how to do business God’s way and provide a positive outreach. When the heart of a business is service rather than self it can be transformed into a fruitful business ministry earning a profit and being of service to the community and their customers. Melvin Feller is currently pursuing another graduate degree in business organizations.

If you have recently started your own business—or if you are thinking about it—you have a lot of company. Entrepreneurship is becoming an increasingly popular career choice in today’s marketplace.

While many individuals go on their own internal reasons—a passionate need to be independent, a burning desire to turn a hobby into a profession, or the love of a challenge—others have chosen the entrepreneur route in response to external situations, including layoffs, frustration with their current workplace culture, or a need for greater flexibility in their lives.

Owning a business has become the twenty-first century version of the 1950s American dream of owning a home. However, entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It is important to consider whether you have what it takes to start a business and run it successfully.

You have probably heard that start-up statistics are grim. The truth is that just 30 percent of business start-ups survive more than five years. Stories of overnight successes and young millionaires are rare. The dot.com era ended two years ago, and venture capital money is increasingly hard to secure. The hardworking, determined, visionary who dedicates long hours and endless energy to his or her business is the more realistic picture of today’s entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs face a myriad of internal and external challenges. Within their companies, they need to offer a superior product or service. They need to manage cash flow and maintain profitability and hire and retain the right mix of people. Externally, factors such as access to financing, the economy, government regulations, and technological issues affect entrepreneurs on a regular basis.

Many small businesses fail because of weaknesses in general management, financial management, and marketing. Undercapitalization—or insufficient funds—are another common pitfall. Michael Gerber cites the “entrepreneurial seizure” as a primary reason for failure in his book “The E Myth, Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work, and What to Do about It.” Gerber says many entrepreneurs pursue the dream of being their own boss but fatally assume that an understanding of the technical nature of a business is enough to achieve success.

To avoid becoming a casualty of the start-up craze, it is critical to be aware of the pros and cons of running a business. Sure, you have the potential to earn gobs of money; you can set your own hours and be your own boss. However, there are many long hours, substantial risk and lots of dirty work required in the growing stages of any young firm.

“What surprised me the most was the sense of isolation I initially felt,” says Melvin Feller, who runs a Coaching Group out of his home in Texas. “I was used to walking down the hall to bounce ideas off someone, and that was suddenly not an option. I quickly learned to schedule time out of the office to meet with people and gain a different perspective.”

Are You an Entrepreneur?

One recent study of entrepreneurs (William E. Jennings, “A Profile of the Entrepreneur”) asked subjects to rank several traits and attitudes related to business ownership in order of importance. Results showed the most important attributes to be:

Perseverance

Desire and willingness to take initiative

Competitiveness

Self-reliance

Strong need to achieve

Self-confidence

Good physical health

Filling out the bottom of the list were some surprising attributes, including a strong desire for money, patience, organizational skills, and a need for power. Today’s entrepreneurs are more interested in competition and achievement than money or power.

So do you have what it takes to run a business? Ask yourself these questions to help you decide.

Are you willing to work long hours and make the sacrifices necessary to get your business going?

Do you want to bear the responsibility for all business decisions and responsibilities related to your company?

Are you independent, disciplined, and committed to entrepreneurship?

Are you ready to serve multi-roles within your organization?

Finally, successful entrepreneurs often allude to good old-fashioned luck as playing a role in their success. Nevertheless, successful business owners prepare themselves to recognize and seize opportunities when they arise.

Where to Start

Gather as much information as you can about your idea. Learn about the industry, the best ways to deliver your product or service, your competition, and potential obstacles. Talk to other entrepreneurs about what has worked for them, and read relevant trade journals, books, and business publications. Attend some gatherings of a professional association of entrepreneurs or prospective customers. Stay abreast of trends within your chosen field and keep current on issues affecting entrepreneurs.

Create a detailed plan for your business. If your venture will require any outside funding, you will need a business plan. These plans are a key building block for any successful business. Set goals for your business, and then break the goals down into achievable steps. A good plan will help you maintain focus when things become overwhelming.

Networking can begin immediately when starting a business. If you have chosen to keep your day job until your business gets going, then maintain good relationships at work. Tap into professional organizations and your personal network of friends and family. Keep in mind that effective networking creates mutually beneficial relationships.

Research all financial aspects of your business. Access to capital is the “make or break” of many firms, so learn about the various ways to obtain funding—friends and family, bank loans, venture capitalists, angel investors. Know how much money you have, how much you will need to get going, and how much you need to make to achieve your goals.

Determine what types of equipment and materials you may need. For some—consultants, writers, coaches—a computer and a phone line may be sufficient. Those seeking to manufacture products may need to set up an entire assembly line.

Human resources are a huge asset to successful firms. While it may not be realistic when a business is just starting, hire out your weaknesses as soon as possible. If bookkeeping is a time-consuming chore, hire an accountant. Get an assistant to handle clerical work. This frees you up to spend time strategizing and growing the business.

Trying to decide when to give up your day job can be tricky. Go gradually. Wait until you have some regular clients lined up, a plan in place.

Starting a business can be overwhelming, especially for those who are maintaining other employment. Remember to carve out time for friends, family, and fun. Create boundaries between your business and your personal life and honor them.

Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted. There is no magic formula. However, for those willing to work hard and take a chance, dreams can come true.

Melvin Feller Business Consultants Ministries Group in Texas and Oklahoma. Melvin Feller founded Melvin Feller Business Consultants Group and Burkburnett Ministries in the 1970s to help individuals and organizations achieve their specific Victory. Victory as defined by the individual or organization are achieving strategic objectives, exceeding goals, getting results or desired outcomes and a positive outreach. He has extensive experience assisting businesses achieve top and bottom line results. He has broad practical experience creating WINNERS in many organizations and industries. He has hands-on experience in executive leadership, operations, logistics, sales, program management, organizational development, training, and customer service. He has coached teams to achieve results in strategic planning, business development, organizational design, sales, and customer response and business process improvement. He has prepared and presented many workshops nationally and internationally.

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