The Chewy Blog

Selfless (Self"less) a.

Having no regard to self; unselfish. "Lo now, what hearts have men! they never mount As high as woman in her selfless mood." Tennyson.

This is not a Philisophical discussion about whether there truly is such a thing as a selfless act. I'm going strictly off the concept of thinking of others first: putting other people's needs, interests, or wishes before your own.

It's really a personal decision. A few steriotypical examples include: opening the door for a lady (really just good manners), carrying the groceries up the stairs for your mom (your mother raised you right), mowing your neighbors lawn for free (an industrious young adult), helping an elderly lady across a busy intersection (a gentleman), helping a friend get through a traumatic situation (showing concern for others), lending someone money when they need it (can be risky), etc.

I am increasing amazed at how few people commonly or openly exhibit selfless acts. And I've noticed that people become suspicious of others who say they are doing these acts without the purpose of personal gain in some way. Somehow there must be personal gain or why would someone be "stupid or crazy enough." You could probably list an infinite number of selfish reasons why you think someone would commit a "selfless act." But I can tell you with certainty that there is such a thing as a selfless act, with the only gain being that or personal satisfaction of helping another human being.

Here are some specific materials that you should read if you need help understanding such a concept:

Components of Understanding

Assists for Illnesses and Injuries

Targets and Goals

Marriage

Ethics and the Conditions

Communication

The Emotional Tone Scale

Answers to Drugs

Children

The Technology of Study

The Dynamics of Existence

How to Resolve Conflicts

Integrity and Honesty

Solutions for a Dangerous Environment

Tools for the Workplace

Overcoming Ups and Downs

I think we should take up the subject of awful site design. There are as many opinions about what constitutes good or bad site design as there are people who are looking at sites. Really there is a huge spectrum of likes and dislikes about anything and these would of course extend itself to site design. There are some people who will look at your new, beautifully designed site and say "WOW that looks beautiful, you're a genius". There are some people who look at your creation and say "WOW that looks beautiful, you're a genius" but they're really thinking to themselves "This doesn't look so good (and don't say so)". There are some people who will look at your site and say "Hmmmmm, what if you were to..." (And then proceed to give you some advice). And amazingly enough some times this exterior perspective is constructive and there are some good ideas that can come out of this. A designer in just stepping away from his work and re-looking at his design from a new perspective can alot of times see the same thing. And this is usually a good practice when you get caught up in something your creating. Just step away, take a break and then re-look at what you're doing as if you've never seen it before.

Frequently designers can also get caught up in a, everything I do is perfect and done for a reason, type of mentality. And not accept criticism. They can also get into a I am only creating Art for the sake of Art and I don't care if anyone looks at it. However, I think true satisfaction and accomplishment in art comes about by really being able to successfully communicate a message to your audience (whatever message and whatever audience that may be). Sometimes what you are creating is not understood by your respective audience in the way that you want it to be. You paint a picture of an abstract scenic and you show it to someone and they respond by "What is that crap?" or they respond "That's a great picture of a rabbit (except it wasn't a rabbit)".

And this is something that can be frustrating to an artist. Also, someimes you feel you have to compromise your integrity as an artist as someone is telling you to change what you've just done to something else and you're convinced that what you had done is right and this person doesn't know what they're talking about.

This inability to communicate or past failures to communicate as an artist is, I believe, a lot of times what causes artists to give up their artistic or creative endeavors.

However, there is hope for the Artist and for all these above mentioned scenerios. As a start there is a book written by L. Ron Hubbard called ART. There is also a course you can take which accompanies this book. This book literally gives you what you need to know about surviving as an artist, stable information to operate off of to maintain your sanity as an artist and actually flourish and prosper. I had personally read this book several times and every time I read it I get more out of it. If I find myself in a situation as an artist that seems unresolvable I go to this book and I resolve it. There are answers to such things as which colors should I use and why. What colors look closer or farther away when placed against a light or dark background so as to maintain proper depth perspective. And what do the shapes of lines and directions or lines communicate. There are also answers to such questions as what's the difference between Art and Illustration (Dictionaries actually misdefine this). There are so many answers to these types of questions that you have to read this book youself.

There's also a Scientology Organization that exists to specially cater to artists. This was what the founder of Scientology once said about the creation of this church:

“The world is carried on the backs of a desperate few.” Unfortunately, it is these desperate few who are often the most neglected.

It is for this reason that L. Ron Hubbard saw to the formation of a special Church of Scientology which would cater to these individuals — the artists, politicians, leaders of industry, sports figures and anyone with the power and vision to create a better world. That Church is Celebrity Centre International.

Now one might argue that these individuals already have benefits that many will never have. But, ask any one of them — ask yourself — it can become a lonely world. Subject to the unusual pressures that come with prominence and responsibility, being looked upon under a microscope for good or bad — these are burdens others can’t imagine. Not to mention the counter-attack such individuals are subjected to by those less-ambitious who would rather fight to maintain a “status quo” than allow another to attempt a change or improvement.

You see, there’s no shame in helping the artist. In fact, in the larger scope of societal help, we had better help the artist if we wish to advance the society at all.

So as far as site design, this is my solution. Study up on the proper tools and get the knowledge to operate off of as an artist and you're designs will be good.

As my first post I'm going to take up the subject of free personality tests. Most of these tests are really just goofy and should not be taken seriously. The fact that someone came up with a set of questions and programmed a personality test doesn't mean they can evaluate for you and tell you who you are and you should take this seriously. I'm sure you already know this but I'd like to give my take on it.

For example, do a search in Google for Free Personality Test. I get the following:

Personality Tests and Tools (similarminds.com): And this is what they say about their testing, "All the tests at SimilarMinds.com are developed based on scientific measures used to ensure test reliability and validity. Multiple statistical measures and research are used to ensure test questions measure what they are intended tomeasure. Some of the free tests are experimental versions but even those tests are made up of pre-tested and validated questions."

This doesn't give me any confidence of the validity of this test and it sounds like their trying to sound legitimate. After randomly selecting one of the harmless sounding tests and taking it the first thing I get back is an ad on top saying "Italian Suit in La $149," "All Color & Style Italian Men Suit $99 $149 $199 $299 Los Angeles" and then I remembered they asked me as the first question "What city would you most like to live in?" Seems a little fishy (aside from all the typos which also detracts from it's validity).

The second result is, ColorQuiz.com (www.colorquiz.com) - The free five minute personality test! And this is what they say about their testing: "This test is based on the work of Dr. Max Lûscher and is used worldwide, most notably in Europe, by psychologists, doctors, government agencies, and universities to screen their candidates. Since the 1950's the test has been given to hundreds of thousands of people. For more information on the test click here."

After taking the test they tell me "Thank you for taking the Color Test! In the next section your results will be revealed to you. These results are provided as a fun way to examine your personality, but even though the results are very accurate you should not consider them a diagnosis. See a doctor or psychologist for that!"

And then as my final results I get "Your Existing Situation - Unable to exert the effort to achieve his objectives. Feels neglected, desiring greater security, warm affection, and fewer problems." Now I feel real great - thanks. Thumbs down on this test.

The third result is, TestCafe: free iq test, personality test, emotional iq test ... (www.testcafe.com) Under the blinking animated gif banner saying I just won something I scroll down under "Fun & Quizzes" for the "Optimism Test" which seems relatively harmless. On the first page at the bottom it gives their Disclaimer "Disclaimer: The information in the Optimism Test (the Test) is published for the sole purpose of intellectual stimulation, education and general knowledge. In no way is the Test to be considered a complete or fully accurate psychological portrait. TestCafe does not hold any responsibility or liability for your use of the Test or its results. Full Disclaimer"

After taking my test it tells me "...A study performed by the Mayo Clinic on 1145 patients between the years of 1962 and 1965 indicated that pessimism was associated with a 19% increase in the risk of death..."

Your Optimism Percent is: 72%

Anyway, I don't pay for the full evaluation with "the introductory price of $7.99!"

The fourth result is: Free Personality Test - Church of Scientology International (www.scientology.org/oca.htm) The first page of the site tells me "The churches of Scientology are extending an invitation to you to receive an OCA Personality Test and evaluation free of any charge or obligation. Your personality has everything to do with your income, your future, your personal relationships, and your life. A test of this kind would normally cost you $500.00 and up. It is offered to you here free of charge as a public service. If you are not happy with life, you can find out why." This doesn't give any falso claims and sounds genuinely sincere."

The fact that this test is coming from the Church of Scientology also gives me confidence that this is a sincere test based on the research and works of L. Ron Hubbard and so I take the test.

The test is 200 questions and after taking it I get my graph and I am told that I can get my free personal evaluation by just going to my local Church of Scientology. After doing this, what I am told based on my graph/profile really makes sense to me and I feel good after this. I also get told what I should do to improve my graph.

I went to the Scientology Church Locator and found the Church in my area.