Since that my layoff and subsequent online writings, I found a lot of freelance work at various agencies, and did a decent job being an independent soldier of creative fortune. I felt fortunate to have found work when I did. Honestly, I think a lot of it was luck.
I sit on the couch with my daughter, teaching her to crack peanuts with her fingernails
her hair still wet from the dip in the pool on this 95-degree Sunday.
Joe Castiglione calls balls and strikes on the radio.
1-0 for the good guys.
My son and wife are in the kitchen, cooking cupcakes from a recipe in the [...]
When I was a child, my father spent two years going back and forth between underemployment and unemployment. I still remember those times. They were hard. They were so hard that they left a mark on me. Not repeating his story was my biggest motivation to get an education and start a career. But that [...]
Note From Erik: I met Harris Davis during a January screening of “Lemonade” in NYC and we instantly connected. He believes there’s a place for ethics and integrity in advertising as well as advertising schools. So do I. What do you think?
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Back in November 2003 in NYC, an art director friend of mine found himself [...]
There’s a fantastic community of people out there who get off on helping others overcome their bullshit excuses for complacency. One of the best is Hugh MacLeod, the always genius and often surly cartoonist, author, and blogger behind GapingVoid.
Like me, Hugh once worked in advertising. Unlike me, he’s figured out how to fully commit to [...]
We’re going for it. With no backers and very few scruples, we’re pulling a Field of Dreams. (Actually, we’re pulling a Teddy Roosevelt. But I digress.) Build it first, get funding later. Gain momentum by doing. Create something people want to be a part of.
It’s what I’ve been preaching for the past year, and now [...]
“Would you do it again?”
Yesterday, I asked this question to my beloved wife, who endured months of uncertainty and inflating credit card balances for the sake of “Lemonade.”
Yet there I was, asking her again to look down the barrel of a loaded mortgage. To fall on the grenades of our finances. Wondering if she could [...]
Willful checks emails every five minutes hoping to hear from a recruiter.
Willing leaves the Blackberry at home while it volunteers at a food bank.
Willful spends sleepless nights worrying about money.
Willing cancels cable and sells the second car.
Willful tweaks the kerning on its resume.
Willing launches a side project cool enough to eliminate the resume.
Willful opposes force, [...]
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Do something interesting. Do something worth talking about. Do something worth sharing.
That’s how you stay alive, vibrant, and employed (if you want to).
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Red Pencils are a San Francisco-based group of adfolk who are training for the 7-day, 545-mile AIDS/LifeCycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. To raise money for this incredible cause, they’ll be holding a fundraising event on Feb 23 at the Barrel House, which includes a screening of Lemonade, Q&A with me, and [...]
