24 11, 2021

Happy No-Drama Thanksgiving!

2021-11-24T17:52:09-05:00

Awakening on a holiday is a special feeling, with the anticipation of seeing family and friends. The smell of baked goods is in the air from last night, and soon the smell of turkey, gravy, and all of our favorite dishes will permeate the air.

What permeates the air matters. What is in the air at your Thanksgiving gathering? Will it be harmony or strife? Joy or anger?

During the Civil War, families were divided by their beliefs in what was or was not right. Brothers fought brothers. Some families lost all of their sons to the war.

Tough Holidays

Though I have fond memories, Thanksgiving in our house was occasionally unpleasant. Someone would speak up and criticize the ideals of others, and the joy-filled gathering we’d all looked forward to would be turned into a day we could not wait to be over.

Because we were together, sometimes after not seeing one another for months, it became the time for people to express their passionate ideals and to be critical of others with whom they disagreed. Rarely did it end well. Someone would throw a fit, walk out early, or act out in anger.

Blowing My Cool

How did that affect me? I became one who avoids conflict. When I hear anyone yelling for any reason, I can feel my blood pressure rising. I either have to escape the room or ask everyone to stop before it pulls me in and I blow my top, screaming out, “Please stop yelling!”

If you think about the purpose of Thanksgiving today, it is to gather your loved ones, to spend time together and be grateful for one another. Especially since many of us have been unable to see family in person for so long. If everyone comes in with being grateful for one another in mind, it can help. Arguing is unlikely to change anyone’s mind anyway.

Why ruin Thanksgiving?

No Drama

When I hold my in-person or virtual events, I lay out the rules in advance. Why? Because I hate drama. My rule is simply “no drama,” and I’m very clear that if drama occurs, I’ll ask you to leave. It’s only happened one time in 11 years, when a guest was obsessively negative with everyone, complaining about everything unreasonably. So I took this guest aside and asked her to leave, offering a full refund. It got her attention, and she behaved the rest of the time.

You’re Wrong!

We live in a polarized world. We’re going to disagree. Sadly, we’ve all become so convinced that we’re right that we’re unable to carry on civilized conversations and listen to others’ perspectives. We used to be able to disagree and remain friends, but these days, that is often not the case.

I hereby declare this NO DRAMA THANKSGIVING. Simple rules: No drama. No politics. No vaccination debates. And nothing that’s going to destroy the purpose of being together.

If you have to post the rules on the door, so be it.

Of course, do what you wish. But think about this.

What if this is the last time you see your family? Do you want to spend it arguing?

Turn the Other Cheek

There are times when I feel like going to battle, but I bite my tongue. Quite simply, I don’t need to win and I’m unwilling to rock friendships because we are not in sync in some areas. Instead, I seek to find common ground we both love.

Life is too short (proven recently for far too many).

Embrace your differences. Heal your wounds.

Forgive others.

Have a loving and peaceful Thanksgiving.

Eric Rhoads

PS: In case this newsletter is reaching you for the first time, I write a weekly message on Sunday mornings (and sometimes on holidays). You can subscribe here for free. For those who read regularly, thank you. I truly am grateful. There is nothing as satisfying as meeting you and hearing that you read Sunday Coffee every week. 🙂

In the Rhoads family, we’re keeping it small this year. Just my wife and the kids. We’ve missed them since they’ve been away at college, so this is an important time to just enjoy their presence. But there will be a big sign over the table saying, “Save the drama for the theater.”

Here is what’s going on at Streamline this week.

  • We are going to have some awesome Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals, so be sure to check out Streamline.Art over the next few days.
  • Don’t forget that the deadline to enter your art into the PleinAir Salon for a chance at $15,000 and the cover of PleinAir Magazine is coming up on the 30th.
  • We’ll be releasing a new video from Kevin Macpherson soon, so keep an eye on your e-mail for that announcement. This is monumental!! You can find it here. We offered it at Realism Live last week, and lots of people were thrilled to get it.
  • Oh, and we just released a killer new video from Kyle Buckland, which you can find here.
  • And Camille Prezwodek, the colorist and my teacher, is rapidly becoming one of the biggest video  sellers of the year.
  • I should mention that the Plein Air Convention will sell out fast (it’s already 50% sold) for next May in Santa Fe. And because of my daily broadcast, we will see more new people than ever, including lots attending the Basics Course. But we have to limit attendance, so I recommend not waiting. You can cancel any time without penalty. I know I’d love it as a Christmas or Hanukkah gift.
  • Be sure to watch my Art School Live show this week at noon Eastern by following Eric Rhoads, Publisher on Facebook.  And please follow me @ericrhoads on Instagram.
Happy No-Drama Thanksgiving!2021-11-24T17:52:09-05:00
13 11, 2021

Become as Big as Possible

2021-11-13T21:19:13-05:00

I feel so blessed to stare out my window this morning and see the brilliance of color splashed on the trees in the back of the property, the distant gray-blue hills, and the twinkle of light kissing the slightly moving leaves. Sleepily I shuffle across the porch, hot coffee in hand, shoeless, and my ears are treated to the sounds of Sunday morning as I open the door. A distant lawnmower from a neighbor, the faraway harmony of a train horn, and the sounds of notes coming from tiny beaks.

But how do tiny beaks become big birds? How do we as mere mortals become mega-mortals, or giants? How does one become the top in one’s field? How do people become wealthy or highly accomplished?

There is no easy answer, but I can share some clues.

  1. It starts with work ethic. No one I’ve ever met that at the top had it easy. Outworking everyone else is the starting point. You have to be willing to do everything, and work harder than anyone you know, and have the ability to sustain a high level of work for decades, even after your success begins.
  2. Next on the list is passion, desire, and commitment. I never have believed that money is a driver for most people. Money is a byproduct. But if you are passionate and committed to something, you’ll work to make it happen and won’t get discouraged when things get difficult.
  3. The biggest challenge in success is mindset. Your mindset controls everything — which can be positive or negative. Most of us have deep limitations in our beliefs about our ability or ideas. A good rule of thumb … if the idea seems impossible and scares you, that’s the idea you should pursue. If it does not seem impossible, it’s not big enough.
  4. Next, embrace and overcome your fear, giving yourself the courage to go forward. You need to adopt the attitude that you’re going forward no matter how difficult.
  5. Of course with work ethic, passion, commitment, mindset, and overcoming fear, you still have the problem of not knowing HOW to do it. You cannot succeed without capability. But where do you get it? I believe when the other things are aligned, you will do what it takes to learn what you need. We tend to rise to the occasion each time we need more capability.
  6. The final step is confidence, which comes with the accomplishments you make. Confidence drives you to embrace fear, and keep stepping out to get beyond the next limitation.

I might go so far as to say that sometimes a little luck or a little timing comes into play, but most people make their luck and are ready to jump on opportunity because of their mindset, their willingness to overcome fear, and their courage.

The other thing is that, though it’s lonely at the top (true), we all need other people to help us succeed. It’s important to pick people who believe in your passion, people you can trust. And be sure to share your goals with others (though they may not dream as big as you).

Limitations do exist, but fewer than we think. And if you have courage, you look at roadblocks and ask yourself how to get over, under, or around them. Most limitations are fear-driven and self-imposed. Overcoming these kinds of limitations is the best predictor of success. In reality, in most cases you’re not too young, too old, too underprivileged, too sick, too poor. Motivation comes from desire to solve a problem like poverty or bad circumstances.

And if you think being privileged offers an advantage, it sometimes does, and sometimes does not. I know wealthy people who gave their kids opportunity, but the kids did nothing with it. Wealth isn’t a predictor. Passion is.

If you allow yourself to have big dreams, you can make them happen. I deeply believe this. My belief isn’t based on theory but from seeing it in action. You truly can dream the impossible dream.

Eric Rhoads

PS: Necessity is the mother of invention. Sometimes our plans don’t work out. When COVID hit, it slammed my business and we were on the edge of not surviving. But we had to face it head on, and do it fast, and that meant facing fear head on. It also meant reinvention. The good news is that so far, by doing online events, we’ve been able to get through it. Just this past week, ending last night, we wrapped up our four-day Realism Live event. Our next one, in January, will be Watercolor Live.

I’d like to thank the hundreds of people worldwide who joined us to learn, grow, and be part of the community of artists. I’m honored by your presence.

PPS: If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram  (please do) stay tuned for a new art challenge in honor of Thanksgiving. I’ll be announcing it soon!

Here is what’s going on at Streamline this week.

  • The deadline to sign up for our next virtual online conference, Watercolor Live, and save up to $600 off your ticket is TOMORROW, November 15.
  • Tuesday, November 16 is your last chance to get the new Kyle Buckland video, Courageous Color, at a pre-release discount! Don’t miss out before the price goes up.
  • I’m always signing artists who are hot. In fact, we don’t sign anyone unless they are the best of the best, or if they are a hot up-and-comer. We’ll be releasing a new video from Kevin Macpherson soon, so keep an eye on your e-mail for that announcement.
  • We’re all ready to be out and about freely, with our family of artists. If that’s you, I should mention that the Plein Air Convention will sell out fast (it’s already 50% sold) for next May in Santa Fe. And because of my daily broadcast, we will see more new people. But we have to limit it to 1,200 people, so I recommend not waiting. You can cancel any time without penalty.
  • Be sure to watch my Art School Live show this week at noon Eastern by following Eric Rhoads, Publisher on Facebook
Become as Big as Possible2021-11-13T21:19:13-05:00
7 11, 2021

Finding Yourself Through Others

2021-11-04T15:48:34-04:00

In the distance, as I sit on this old porch, I can hear the hum of a train whistle, a million miles away. It is barely audible, yet there is something so soothing about that sound. Somehow it brings me back to a better time, a time when I was a kid, and we would actually take locomotives to Chicago.

In fact, trains became a part of my life in many ways. We always had a train set around the Christmas tree (still do), and my best friend was a “railfan” who had his entire basement filled with a giant train town, with multiple tracks. We would put our puffy striped train hats on and play with his trains for hours. Once we had our driver’s licenses, we would drive to intersections at certain times to watch trains pass, and we would walk tracks just to be closer to the train world.

Clackity-Clack

One day, my friend Charlie called and said, “Let’s go, we’re going up to the train in Angola,” which was about an hour north of us. He had been part of a team that found an old train in Tennessee and managed to ship it to Indiana, restore it, and give rides. People would come from all over to ride the Little River Railroad. On this particular day, we had a mission. Being a self-taught musician, Charlie had determined that at a certain speed, each crosstie holding the track equaled a beat. So he calculated when the train would reach a certain speed, and at what spot. We then went to that spot and placed gun caps on the rails for about half a mile.

With a recorder down near the rails, we boarded the train, and when it reached that spot, the caps played a special beat loudly. The recordings were later used as a soundtrack on a song he had written. Charlie was a genius.

Another day we learned that the famous Norfolk and Western 611 had been restored and was coming through our area, so we greeted it among hundreds of other railfans, and then rode it, windows down and with soot in our eyes.

A Name with Meaning

When I founded my company, I needed a name. I loved trains, loved design, and at the time was an art deco collector. The Streamliner, a sleek, shiny silver art deco train, had been designed by the great designer Raymond Loewy. So I named the company Streamline, because it represented what I wanted the company to be … streamlined and efficient, yet focused on beautiful design. Ever since then I’ve tried to live by those standards, to do things efficiently and to find ways to stand out with beautiful design in my magazines and products.

Losing Someone Important

Charlie was my best friend. We hung out for countless hours, never running out of things to talk about. We both loved radio (he actually got me my first radio job and trained me). We loved music and audio and well-done advertising. Of course, we loved trains. Though I was never the rabid nerd he was, I liked them because I liked being with him.

Sadly, Charlie died young, and I’ve had to spend the last couple of decades without him. To this day, I find myself thinking of Charlie when I see something he would have loved.

Obscure Obsessions

When I think about my friendship, which began when we were about 15 or 16, I realize that what I loved about him was that he was not obsessed with the things others obsessed about. He did not care about money, ever. He was an incredible writer and musician, writing hundreds of songs, yet he never cared about being famous. He would entertain with friends at various local venues, but he never took a shot at recognition outside of our small town. My buddy John and I were talking about him recently and realized he would have been internationally famous if he had just taken his shot. But that was not important to him, which is why we all loved him. He was driven by his art and never allowed other standards to influence who he became.

 

Living His Own Terms

This week, I lost another good friend, Ralph, who was my dad’s age. Ralph was very similar to Charlie, walking to his own beat, loving his art. The big difference is that Ralph took his shot and became a wealthy man. And though he ended up with the big mansions, he was never one to lord it over people about his wealth. To him, it was simply a tool to do more. Still, he did what he wanted, on his own terms, and was not trying to be what others wanted him to be.

I look at these two mentors and realize they helped shape who I am. Though they both put their families first, they both pursued what they loved with passion. They never cared what others thought. They did not follow the path we all think we’re supposed to follow.

It’s so easy to lose sight of who we really are because the world is always telling us what we should be. We’re all too often seduced by shiny objects.

What if you and I were truly ourselves at all times?

How would we change the way we live?

In the early days, I spent a lot of time trying to turn my friend Charlie into what I wanted for him. I could see his talent, so I wanted him to take a shot, because that’s what I would have done. Yet he was strong, he resisted, because it was not what was important to him.

The Richest Man I Knew

As our friendship grew, I realized that in his life of poverty, he was one of the richest people I knew. And it took me a lot of years to understand that wealth isn’t about objects, it’s about the jewels we acquire from our families, our deep friendships, and doing what we love.

What are the jewels in your life?

Who are the jewels that you would miss if they were lost?

What do you want to be doing that you’re passionate about, but are not doing?

What are the things you are doing that you don’t want to be doing?

Finding Your Jewels

I have a lot of regrets because when living in different cities, I did not spend enough time with my jewel of a friend. I got busy with my career and failed to get on the phone with him enough or visit enough. Then, suddenly, he was gone. Thankfully, I visited him before he died, took him to chemo treatments, but what I found amazing is that each day, he was having fun, laughing, and doing the things he loved. He did not change a thing, because he was already living well, and continued doing so.

Too many others have a wakeup call and suddenly, when they learn their time is up, start trying to catch up and do what they love.Do it now.

Don’t wait another moment.

Don’t burn time on meaningless things.

This week alone I lost two good friends, each I’d not spoken to or visited, yet wish I had. And in today’s uncertain world, you, me, or the jewels in our lives could be gone instantly.

This fall, at my Fall Color Week artist retreat, I realized how important each of these people had become to me, and I made a point to spend more time enjoying their company, knowing that the uncertainty of the world might mean it would be our last time together. The result was that my experience was richer and deeper.

Who do you need to see or talk to more?

What do you need to do that will bring you more joy than anything else?

What’s getting in your way?

Obsess about things that matter.

Eric Rhoads

P.S. I fell back. Did you? Don’t forget to change your clocks.

On Wednesday, I hold the 1 Day Atelier, my Beginner’s Day for Realism Live, my virtual art conference. Hundreds are attending. It is a great way to learn how to draw or paint, and learn lots of different subjects. If you’ve always felt you had some hidden talent and don’t know how to tap it, or if you feel you have no talent but wish you had some, come with me and I’ll make sure you learn the important first steps to becoming an artist. I even guarantee it. And then, if you want, attend the other three days. You’ll find it all here.

Here is what’s going on at Streamline this week.

  • This Monday, November 8, is the last day to get the pre-release price on the new Camille Przewodek video, A Colorist’s Guide to Painting. As you know, I studied with Camille, and she changed my life when it came to understanding color.
  • Wednesday, November 10 is the last day to vote for your favorite painting for the PleinAir Salon’s October People’s Choice Award. You can vote for your favorites HERE.
  • Speaking of Realism Live, there’s $444 in bonus gifts if you get signed up by TONIGHT. Oh, and I do an “If You Don’t Love the First Day, You Don’t Pay” Guarantee. The lineup is amazing, including Quang Ho, Jacob Collins, Mary Whyte, Graydon Parrish, and dozens of others. The event starts on Wednesday with Beginner’s Day and then the main event on Thursday.
  • The deadline to sign up for our next virtual online conference, Watercolor Live, and save up to $600 off your ticket is November 15.
  • I’m always signing artists who are hot. In fact, we don’t sign anyone unless they are the best of the best, or if they are a hot up-and-comer. We’ll be releasing a new video from Kyle Buckland soon, so keep an eye on your e-mail for that announcement.
  • We’re all ready to be out and about freely, with our family of artists. If that’s you, I should mention that the Plein Air Convention will sell out fast (it’s already 50% sold) for next May in Santa Fe. And because of my daily broadcast, we will see more new people. But we have to limit it to 1,200 people, so I recommend not waiting. You can cancel any time without penalty, but if you don’t have a seat, you’ll miss out on our 10-year anniversary of the event, and by now, you know we do special things on special events.
  • Be sure to watch my Art School Live show this week at noon Eastern by following Eric Rhoads, Publisher on Facebook. Guests include _____ (if we don’t have any, eliminate the guests part) .
  • Please follow me on Instagram @ericrhoads
Finding Yourself Through Others2021-11-04T15:48:34-04:00