Sukai Todd’s 10 Lessons in 10 Years [2009 to 2019] (Explicit)

Hello All!

The new decade is upon us and I thought I’d share a little wisdom, I’ve gained over the past 10 years. And hopefully help anyone out there who needs it. 🙂

Here My 10 Lessons in 10 Years [2009 through 2019]. And be warned there are explicit words used. Of course, no racial slurs or things like that. But I curse, #sorrynotsorry.

1. Expect nothing and appreciate everything. I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory, but honestly I’ve learned over the years that not expecting (neither good nor bad) can save myself a lot of heartache and grant me lots of pleasant surprises, at times. So, that’s my top lesson over the past 10 years.
2. Expect nothing and appreciate everything; and everything in-between. Again, this one is self-explanatory. It’s more so an extension of the first lesson. But it’s a reminder to myself, that there is good and bad in everything; and that’s okay.
3. Bad things fall apart, so better things can fall together. Yes, this quote is paraphrased from the iconic Marilyn Monroe (not sorry…) but it’s more fitting for this era in my belief. I think it’s a perfect way to handle the worst times in life, just remind yourself that you’re going through all the bad things in order to experience the better things. Most likely even better things, than you originally expected! 🙂
4. I am much stronger than I give myself credit for.
5. Don’t assume you know someone else’s circumstances. Yes, this is true, especially with all the social media nonsense that seems to be running this world, right now. But I can say from personal experiences, unless you’ve experienced someone else’s circumstances or experienced someone else’s circumstances with them, you don’t really know what’s going on. So, to keep this one shorter – Don’t assume. Especially if they seem ultra happy and “perfect”.
6. Silence is sometimes platinum and sometimes painful. Remember this applies to solitude as well!
7. Judge less, spread love more! Be compassionate as much as you can, which is not to say you won’t have your moments but be compassionate with yourself and others. It’s really a relief knowing that everyone is ultimately doing the best they can, even if we don’t agree with it.
8. I don’t need outside approval from anything and/or anyone, in order to have a great life. My reputation may not be what I want it to be, my self-awareness and self-respect is much greater than some random person on the internet’s (more often than not) distorted opinions of me.
9. Everyone’s offended by everything, so you might as well live your life and express your creativity to the fullest! Yea, I know that’s really offensive but it’s true.
10. Despite what social media makes you think, this Universe does NOT revolve around you, it does NOT revolve me and it certainly doesn’t revolve around our shared miseries. There are bigger problems in the world, than our individual situations. So, stop forcing your problems on others and start focusing on being the change you want to see.
11. Bonus Lesson!: Do NOT, please do NOT take anything for granted. No matter how sucky it may seem, everything you think is crappy and that you think you can live without could be taken away from you, in the blink of eye. So, savor every moment. All of it, good, bad and ugly! Mainly because everything you know, love as well as everything you think you know is true about your life and yourself can collapse, right before your eyes. Don’t take anything for granted, because things can change rapidly. And remember, not everyone is as blessed you are, so be appreciative of that fact.
12. Bonus Lesson #2!: Be comfortable with sucking. If you have great goals you want to achieve, you need to be comfortable with sucking for a long, long, long time. Yes, it sucks but guess what? That’s the only way you’ll become disciplined. And disciplined is actually the best friend to creativity. So, if you’re willing to embrace and be comfortable with your sucky progress – You’re already halfway there! It’s okay that you’re not where you want to be, give it passion, patience, persistence and peacefulness (with the fact that you’re not yet where you wish to be); you will eventually get there. Patience is a sucky virtue, bitches!
13. Finale Lesson!: All those perceived failures are just successes being born in a greater way. So, yes, it sucks, you failed 70 times but maybe that 77th time, you just might hit the right note! Don’t give up, but do surrender to the fact that you’re going to fail. Real success is NOT an overnight manifestation, you need to work your backside off if you truly want success. But all those failures are just stepping stones to your greatest success!

Epilogue: In conclusion, I’m sending everyone who reads this some warm thoughts and speaking life into your situations, whatever they may be. Let’s make 2020 the most epic year ever, by working (and sucking, and being patient, and failing; and being compassionate, and giving ourselves more credit. And of course, being less judgmental…) our smartest, hardest and healthiest ways to finally achieve what we want. Here’s to the new decade… Are you ready for it?

Ready For It?: New Year’s Resolutions

Hello Dear Readers!

It’s me, Sukai and yes, I’m referencing Taylor Swift’s 2017 song “…Ready For It?” as well as it using as click-bait. But that’s not the only reason I chose that title. So, I bet you’re wondering why I did, in fact choose such an intriguing title… Right? Well, it’s all about the idea of being prepared! Obviously, right? But I don’t think people take being prepared and ready to achieve their goals for the new year seriously enough. Although that’s just from what I’ve seen and experienced, in my own life…

So, this blog while it is not a how-to blog specifically; I will be putting in some basic suggestions on how to prepare yourself for the new year of 2019 (or whatever year you’re preparing for, when you read this! Lolzness…) and just take them as suggestions or leave them as annoying tips that are “in every other blog post, like this” you’ve seen and read. Take it as you will, my dear reader! 🙂

Anyway, before I get to the tips; I’d like to talk about the reasons why people don’t prepare for the new year coming and some of my experiences in 2018 that have helped me stay on course although these experiences could be considered “failures” and painful experiences, for sure. I’m sharing them, because that’s what blogging is about to me. Sharing my stuff with the world, lol.

Okay, so my first experience was when I tried to open a store on Etsy (nothing against Etsy) and ended up closing it, this year due to lack of having any sales. I think part of it was not my marketing, but rather my lack of belief in myself and lack of preparedness of what having a store on Etsy would be like. So, I did end up closing it and I felt extremely disappointed in myself. Especially, after making a YouTube video promoting that store and the short-lived Patreon page I had. I don’t use that page anymore and I didn’t even give Patreon any of my banking information. Because, again, I was not prepared for what would happen if I had a successful and/or unsuccessful business on Patreon.

Those two experiences taught me something extremely important about business when it comes to being prepared. The first lesson is 1. ALWAYS believe in the power of your ideas! Yes, it’s an obvious lesson yet I can speak for myself and say it’s not always an easy lesson to learn. Which is why, I will reopening my Etsy sometime in 2019 and you will see a post about it here on my WordPress site; if you decide to follow me. Which I highly recommend you follow me, if you enjoy my blogs at all! 😉 😉 Now, for lesson 2. Good things take time! You’re not going to sell out of your products, your very first day in business. It’s a lot more work than that and it takes much more patience than that, especially if you want to have a successful shop on Etsy. You need to understand that things take time and especially, if you’re a newb to having a shop on the website — It’s not going to be easy to prove your ideas are brilliant, even with a strong belief in yourself and your product ideas. And the final lesson which ties into lesson 2; and that is 3. Favorites are important! People who favorite your shop and like your products are valued people and future customers. If you believe they are! Again, you must believe in yourself and your ideas. But you also have faith in your business and that if people are showing signs that they are interested in your products, then you certainly have a chance! It’s all about never giving up. And I do not consider my situations with Etsy and Patreon failures; but rather lessons on how to really be prepared in online businesses.

Now, for the deeper, more painful life experiences. And that is in late Spring/early Summer 2018, I spent the night at a party at a former friend’s house (his name is Brian Pond and he still lives in Alabama); and he got drunk, humiliated me in front of at least six people and said my music was so “cringe-worthy” that “it hurts” to listen to. Which I’ve honestly gotten better insults about my art, from people on 4Chan, when they raided my YouTube channel… But this guy is a scumbag and he did try to gaslight me, and blame me for his bullcrap. However, I kept moving forward and I’m still posting YouTube videos with my music on them. As you saw from my last post, if you read it! If not, I do recommend you reading my previous blog. 🙂 It’ll help you come alive! 😉 😉 … But the lessons I learned about preparedness from this painful experience, with this scumbag and his whipped girlfriend (Amanda Elliott) is that 1. People are always going to try and tear you down; especially if you have the courage to share your creativity with the world. 2. Sometimes, it’s best to cut out toxicity from your life in order to find yourself and gain strength. And 3. It’s always good to be prepared for the worst. Yes, as bad as that sounds; there are people who are phony and who will try to be your friend only to stab you in the back — You need to be prepared for the B.S. that comes with friendships and finding people worthy of your trust! I know, I know it hurts to face these facts. I know it was painful for me, to accept but I do accept it and I’m learning to trust myself first. Because without self-trust, your intuition will be a bit blurry, when it comes to negative people. Although my aura and sense of people has gotten much clearer, over this past year and that is something I’m extremely thankful for! 🙂

Alright, now for the fun part… My few tips on being ready for the New Year of 2019 (or whatever year you’re reading this…) and a little YouTube video at the end as a reward for reading this all the way through. 🙂 So, my tips for being prepared for the New Year; if you choose to start preparing for 2019 and create goals for yourself! Which if you do that’s great; and if you don’t, that’s fine too. I understand that some people simply read these types of blog for entertainment, and that is perfectly okay by me. ^_^

Tip #01: Year in Review. It’s a simple pen-to-paper exercise, I learned from Marie Forleo and you can find her video on YouTube. But to sum it up, just take out a notebook and a pen and/or pencil and write down the things you accomplished in the year as well as the things you learned and the things you’re willing to let go of when the new year comes. It’s an amazing tool, in terms of gaining perspective and it can be tweaked to fit your way of writing and creating in the personal development area of your own life!

Tip #02: Write Your Resolutions. This is a super simple tip, as well. But just writing down the resolutions you want to make in the New Year; is extremely helpful in you finding your main goals as well as what you really want from yourself inwardly and outwardly in 2019 (or whatever year is coming when you read this…). So, just write your resolutions and you can as many as you want or as few as you want. It’s up to you! Although for me, I’ve realized that shortening my New Year’s Resolutions into a list of 5 items is the greatest way in seeing what you truly want. But that’s just me. Just do you, friend!

Tip #03: Write Your Goals. This tip ties into no.2 quite perfectly, in my belief. But on a separate sheet of paper, just write down your goals and again, I recommend writing up to 5 items. But with the goals, I also recommend adding a section that reads “Extra Things I’m Achieving in 2019” and write down three items you’d like to achieve in 2019. So, it’s 8 goals overall. And the idea is, if you only achieve 5 to 6 of those goals; or even only 3 of the goals then you can look back on 2019 and see that because you planned, you achieved greatly and it payed off well for you. And to quote a great fortune I read, “Good luck comes from good planning.” (Credit to MyFortuneCookie.co.UK). Please keep that in mind, if you’re deciding to actually make this three page inventory and see what comes from it in an experimental mannerism. Because, that’s one way to see how you can have a better year, if your year was anything like mine and was extremely challenging and at times, hellish.

Well, I hope this blog was helpful in some ways to whomever reads it! And now, the sweet treat for all of you who have read this far. And don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel, like the video and share this blog as well as this video on Facebook, Instagram and wherever you like to share your favorite blogs! Thanks! xoxo

#LotsOfLove,

#SukaiTodd! ^_^

 

Coming Alive, Again!: No More Shame in My Shameless Plugs…

Hello Dear Readers,

I hope everyone is doing well, when you guys read this! 🙂 Alright, so this blog is obviously inspired by “The Greatest Showman (2017)” and particularly, “Come Alive” from “The Greatest Showman”… So, I finally uploaded a video on YouTube of the cover I made of the song “Come Alive”, which I made at least six months ago back when I still lived in Alabama. Yes, it took a while for me to awaken that light within me, again, that’s for sure!

 

But the positive from this challenging year for me, is the fact that I’ve been so blessed in gaining a stronger sense of self-love and beyond that, freedom to express myself no matter what people say and what the odds are against me! And I think, for a creative person like me – I won’t speak for everyone else, but for me; I’ve gotten to a place mentally where I don’t a (BEEEEEEPPP!) what others think. But, I’m still in the process of gaining the strength to actually see those idiotic, poorly written, badly typed comments full of horrendous grammatical errors and just pathetic typos… So, I’ve made it past the first step. Which is to be in the place, mentally and soulfully, where I believe in myself, no matter what! Which in a way, I’ve never given up hope on who I am and my goals and dreams. I can say that for sure, because I watch so many self-help/self-care videos lol!

However, the point is… I’m not ashamed of who I am or what I create, anymore. I’m not scared of the bitches who are jealous, rude, heartless and just plain foolish enough to talk shit about me! Because I’ve got a blank space in my notebook and I love Misa On Wheels, baby… Just keep that in mind! I may have ADHD, but I don’t ever forget the names of the dumbass, scumbags who are truly unworthy adversaries to me. I mean, this bag of utter trash Brian Pond… If he’s not a scumbag in every sense of the word, I don’t know who is! Anyway, just keep my vengeful streak in your mind, if anyone decides to leave a stupid-ass comment… Ummkay?

 

Finally, to wrap things up! Here’s my amazingly unique cover, that I can do even better live of “Come Alive” from “The Greatest Showman” starring Hugh Jackman. Ladies and gents, it’s the link, you’ve been waiting for… Oh! And one more thing… It’s called a hustle, sweetheart! 😉 😉 :)!! Shame-free plugs done! 🙂

Lonesomeness: The Most Common Sadness?

Hello Readers,

Sukai here! And in case, you couldn’t guess from the title; this is a little blog about my thoughts on lonesomeness and how being lonely relates to sadness for me. Okay, so in case anyone is wondering, I have self-diagnosed, slightly severe depression as well as professionally diagnosed general anxiety disorder. So, I’m not afraid to say – I have thought patterns of how “alone” I feel that I need to change for my own health and bettering my own well-being.

I honestly believe that pretty much everyone (whether or not they have depression and/or other mental illnesses) feels alone, in life. I believe we all feel alone, at some point or another. But I think there is a beauty in lonesomeness, believe it or not. The beauty in the lonesomeness and the sorrow, it brings; is that it can actually lead you – Or me, in my case to discovering how I truly feel about people, life and the ever-popular antidote for pain and suffering music.

Music is my medicine, of course. I mean, yes, I’m a writer, obviously… But music has been my lifesaver, many, many times along with animes, movies and more music! So, that’s the beauty of being lonesome and feeling like absolutely no-one understands. It’s that often times bittersweet realization, that “Hey! Oh, wow!”, I’m not really completely alone. I may be writing in a quiet room, with only some K-Pop in my ears and some ambient music in the background… Or whatever those millennials do when they’re writing their deep, inspiring and full of complaints and nitpicking blogs about movies and TV shows that have executive producers making more money than they could ever dream of…

Okay, okay, I’m getting off-topic. Although, I think it’s quite humorous in my own way. And I may be completely alone, in my thoughts. Though, I honestly believe with all the animes involving themes of the main characters feeling deeply alone at some point and all the music about being misunderstood out there in the world, all over the world… I don’t think I’m absolutely alone! Although I could be wrong? Who knows? But this blog, was more for myself than anyone else.

Although, if it helps someone else, then yay me! Because I think we all feel lonely at times. I believe we all feel lost, like there’s not a soul in the world who could possibly understand and in the end, we find out that maybe there is at least person who understands or at least tries to understand. And in the end, that’s really matters! At least, in my belief. I think above all else, having someone who genuinely puts the effort in to try and understand means a lot. And it’s not something that should be taken granted, in my belief and from my own life experiences.

I mean, of course! Of course, I also believe we all want someone who truly understands us and accepts us, as we are, for who we are, the way we are, in the moment we’re deeply in need of it. But sometimes, it’s a blessing to have someone who is genuinely trying to understand us and it takes a lot of compassion to want to understand someone who is in such a dark head-space and such a heavy place in their heart. Again, I’m speaking from my own life experiences of being that person who was being hard to understand and just from what I’ve learned over the past few years… To be real, I’d rather have genuine people who give their best efforts and who eventually understand me, than a bunch of phony-ass bitches who are only wanting me to support them financially with their businesses (con artists, Akioboy is a good start, for those of you who live in Alabama….) without supporting me and helping me in my darkest moments. So… Yea, those are my thoughts are lonesomeness and why I think it’s actually a beautiful thing in real life. Because, as cliched and played out as it sounds, we’re not all alone!

 

Even with all that said though, I do recommend if you’re feeling suicidal in your lonesomeness – While I’m not a psychiatrist, doctor or therapist, I do seriously recommend getting help. Call the suicide hotline or online chat! Or message a friend via social media (I.e. Facebook messenger, Instagram DM or whatever it is…). Make sure, it’s someone trustworthy and who won’t judge you. And please find professional support, because I’m working on finding a new therapist myself; and I believe there should be no stigma in getting therapy. Self-care and self-help is just as important, as taking care of your friends and family! So, please keep that in mind.

Thanks For Reading This!

Sukai 🙂

OCs & Originality: What I Think

  Well, hello readers… Today’s topic is going to be a bit controversial, but these are my thoughts about OCs (original characters, including ones based off of already copyrighted characters…) and the idea of originality, itself. Now, by definition originality is: the ability to think independently and creatively. Basically, it means, you can create whatever you want with your own thoughts and it’s all yours because you thought of it, all by yourself. Right? That’s putting it in common enough terms, in my opinion. But here’s where the problem arises for me; and keep in mind, these are just my thoughts based off of my own experiences and how I view the world. You do not have to like, agree or appreciate them. That’s your choice. And to me, it really doesn’t matter how you feel about this journal because it’s me expressing myself. I don’t feel the need to be approved by people, in order to be happy with myself and what opinions I am sharing and validating for myself. So, just keep that in mind with your further readings of this journal!

Okay, so the problem I have the idea of “originality”; and I know plenty of people will disagree with and hate me for this; but my belief is I do not think there is such thing as originality. That is a concept created by man’s yearning to feed his ego; I think those who truly believe that they are the most “original” with their creations are actually the most insecure with themselves and have an enormous issue with their own egos. Go ahead and hate me, for that one… But I honestly think, the most original thing to do is to instead of trying to be so “original” with all of your creativity and I am not speaking from a legal perspective, but rather a philosophical perspective – The point is, what I think is truly an “original” thing to do is instead of trying to be “original” and getting offended when people “copy” you and/or your work; accept the idea or at least, open your mind to the idea that rather than being “original” and letting your ego explode in ways that are despicable in your own unique, original way… Try to be innovative! Innovation is taking something that is already existent and making it better. It’s the idea that instead of striving for feeding your ego and getting the approval, that you ARE the most original artist alive; why not? Why not try innovating? Why not, instead of being a diva over people who actually like your artwork and spreading it; being innovative with it in their own ways – Be innovative! And accept the fact, that there’s nothing new under the sun.

I mean, think about it… What poetry inspired your favorite song lyrics? What movies inspired your favorite parodies? What songs inspired your favorite jokes and references? What animes and manga inspired your favorite genres and writers of manga and anime? Who inspired you to create, what it is you’re creating, right now? Were you born with the most amazing brain ever and do you have the power, to not ever be inspired or want to reference or even copy your favorite idol? Because to me, that’s fear… It’s being afraid to flatter those you look up to! Even if some of those people, are actually unworthy of your admiration. I am speaking from personal experience, here. The point I have remains to me, none-the-less. Why do you think covers and parodies are so popular, on YouTube? Why do you think they even have the fair use copyright act? It’s because, in my opinion; originality does not really exist! People love being inspired by other people and people love stating their own opinions, based off of what they’ve learned from other people. It’s not rocket science, in that way. I think this common knowledge and if it isn’t, it should be. But I’m not going to force these passionate views on you, reader. There’s no point…

Also, let’s talk about the now corrupted and touchy topic of cosplay and originality in that! We’re getting nitty-gritty, here, folks… Well, when it comes to cosplay and the bullying I faced for hand-making my costumes, originally, piece-by-piece and being absolutely perfect with every, single, little, minor detail – You could say, it became motivation for me! And there is a cosplayer, I absolutely love on Facebook who goes by the name Misa-On-Wheels. She is amazing and what I love is that she encourages people to lift each-other up, rather than tear each-other down when it comes to cosplay shaming and the importance of craftsmanship or buying your cosplay from someone else. She basically says and I deeply agree with this, everyone has the right to cosplay whoever they want, however they want in whatever way makes them happy! And for me, that’s a truth; that I think a lot of cosplayers in this more corrupted cosplay society are scared to accept. Also, allow me to say; there’s nothing wrong with making your cosplay and paying attention to every, single, little detail. I respect those who do, as long as they aren’t being divas about it! That’s where things get ridiculous…

Now, let’s really get deep and controversial… OCs! Original characters… What are original characters? Usually, that means by my definition either an original character created for an innovative work and/or a character based off of another already created character for things like roleplaying, fanfictions and various other creative outlets. Okay, so what’s my problem with OCs that are actually based off of other already copyrighted characters? The fact that people are so possessive of them and act as if, any other human being alive decides to innovate a character (which is not really their character, to begin with…) is the most evil, shameful, disgusting, horrendous crime against humanity on earth! Which is, in my humble yet passionate opinion; a little ridiculous… Because 1. There are much bigger issues going on in the world, than someone’s OC getting shared in a way that is not how they approve of and I feel these people should actually look at the world for what it is; and examine just how much they are corrupting it in their original ways! And 2. Someone is always going to their art and hate them, as a person. It’s just normal, you do not have to like the artist to like what they’ve created. You don’t have to “respect” the artist, in the way that they feel is “respectful”. We all have free will! It is a law, we have universally. The Law of Free Will… For any of you who like self-help videos, like me.

Speaking of which, I do need to say that having an ego is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a good thing to be confident in your work, it’s a good thing to believe in yourself and it’s a good thing to believe in your worth as an artist/creative person. What is not good, in my opinion, is the idea that because you are confident in your “original” work that you are somehow above everyone else and that you are better than anyone; that gives you the right to act foolishly and cross people in a digital world. And when people cross me, I do believe in karma. So, you can say whatever you please about this journal overall and/or about any of the topics, I’ve spoken about from my own perspective. But I am not looking for your approval or agreement or validation, with what I’ve said. Art is subjective. Creativity is subjective. Reality, itself is subjective. So, in your reality; I may be a shameless bitch who is talking shit about people who are obviously “better than me”. But in my reality, I am a shameless bitch talking some real shit, that needs to be addressed and whether anyone agrees with it or not; someone needs to say it. So, why not me? I repeat, art is subjective. And to me, that means the idea of originality, itself is subjective. These are my subjective views. And you are entitled to your own subjective and objective views. So, overall I think the idea of “originality” should continually be debated and the idea that innovation is actually a better strength to have; should also be debated. What’s the point of even opening these subjects, without a conversation happening? I do hope, although I’m not counting on it; that people are able to discuss and debate these topics – If they don’t already on this website and others. And maybe, just maybe, realize that being the “most original” really isn’t the coolest thing to be. Maybe letting your ego control your views on your artwork and how others view your art, isn’t such an awesome thing. Maybe being innovative and making things your own, is a better way to be?