TheLegendsLeague | Bryan Espiritu

It’s the Holiday Season and everyone is frantically wrapping gifts, buying gifts, wanting gifts, and sharing the gift of companionship (I hope), throughout it all. We’re all excited for some down time with friends and family, but as the New Year approaches, we’re faced with the dreaded moments of (enter terror music here) SELF REFLECTION!

So what is it that we can do to improve ourselves in 2010? Probably the same things that we needed to do to improve ourselves in 2009, 1999, and 1989.

See, most people make resolutions for New Years, but not everyone has it in them to keep up and maintain them. So we cycle over and over again with the same resolutions.

Last year, I recorded 10 videos of the Top Ten New Years Resolutions that people make as told by About.com. I’m sure these resolutions haven’t changed much, and as I reviewed the videos I noticed that the information in them is quite timeless.

So I’m posting them again.

It’s funny how much I’ve changed since last year. My face isn’t as fat, my lip doesn’t do that weird Jean Chretien thing while I talk (I don’t think), my hair is shorter, and I don’t really speak like that anymore unless I’m mad. lol. At this rate I’ll be a skinny and bald weirdo by 2012!

I hope you guys can find some value in these videos, and if nothing else, some humor in them. Disregard the mention of the dates and years. I was gonna record new videos, but the information here is pretty useful no matter what time of year it is.

#10 Get Organized

be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Getting Organized”

#9 Help Others

be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Helping Others”

#8 Learn Something New

be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Learning Something New”

#7 Get Out Of Debt

be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Getting Out Of Debt”

#6 Quit Drinking

be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Quitting Drinking”

#5 Enjoy Life More

be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Enjoying Life More”

#4 Quit Smoking

be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Quitting Smoking”

#3 Tame The Bulge

be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Taming The Bulge”

#2 Fit In Fitness

be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Fitting In Fitness”

#1 Spend Time With Family & Friends

be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Spending Time With Family & Friends”

TheLegendsLeague: Looking Back on 09

2009 was a pretty intense year for me. So much happened. So much didn’t happen. But I’ve been able to take it all in stride, and give myself, and you, a bit of a review on the past 12 months.

I lost my job working for a marketing agency in March. This for me, was the real beginning of this year, because a lot of pressure was forced upon me, and I needed to make moves to survive without a full-time job or unemployment. So I immediately began the hustle of pushing IdeallClothing’s online store and making sales happen through e-commerce. It was slow at first, and while it was successful in growth, I still needed to make loot doing freelance design work on the side.

In May I lined up a couple of gigs and took a month long trip to California to organize my work, focus my mind, and work on my new project called, Fully Wholly. I wanted to develop it more, and explore my abilities to create these cartoon characters, but I wasn’t sure what the response to them would be. When I touched back down in Toronto, the response was shaky. The people I thought were going to navigate towards the idea were saying it wasn’t right for what they needed. Those who I thought would be willing to exhibit them at shows were saying it didn’t fit the themes. I was heartbroken, but still motivated by my trust in the idea. And at least I had the freelance gigs and Ideall to keep me going.

On June 1st I started doing P90X and putting myself through a grueling diet plan and workout schedule. It really took me for a bit of a mental spin while I struggled with the uncertainty of my creative future, the belief that others had in me, and the success of my ideas. But physically I was able to get into the best shape of my life, losing 20 pounds and gaining a huge boost of confidence in myself once again. But I needed some work. And beyond that, I needed people to understand my goals.

Nearing the end of August I got a gig from a friend to do some storyboards. The job was about 80 drawings in the span of 3 days. I took it on to help out a good friend, but I foolishly ignored my past injuries in my right forearm. I had re-aggravated what I thought was carpal tunnel, but was actually 2 types of tendonitis and a developing case of carpal tunnel. The injury made my arm almost completely immobile and I thought I’d never be able to draw again.

Struggling from the stress of the injury and the reconsideration of my career, I began drinking in an abusive fashion again, using alcohol to suppress my frustrations over what I had done to my livelihood and the possibility of me continuing to design. I really began falling apart, but throughout it all, IdeallClothing was doing incredibly well.

My Manila Guerilla tees were sold to raise money for The Philippine Red Cross, my Die Enormous hats sold fast as all hell, I was picked up by LiveStock Calgary and Reap&Sew in Ottawa, and my Free Gucci Mane tee got so much attention that I was sent a cease and desist by Warner Bros. Records. In October, I reached a milestone that I have never reached in my life, generating more revenue from sales of IdeallClothing than I would have ever imagined possible this early into it’s life. I was so proud and so thankful for everyone’s support, and I will never forget the feeling that that month gave me. Thank you all once again. I appreciate it more than you know.

I spent a lot of time on Twitter in 2009. Foolish? Sometimes. Fruitful? Sometimes. But I used it as a tool to communicate to those who don’t read my blog. I used it as a means to speak with those who do. And I was able to make direct contact with supporters of my brand from Florida, California, Virginia, Toronto, New York, London, and all over North America. I truly believe that Twitter played a big role in people’s exposure to TheLegendsLeague in 2009. And as odd as it may sound, I can say that my time spent typing into my BlackBerry to post tweets was well worth the laughs, the contacts, and the further promotion of something I truly believe in – my work.

In November I got sick with H1N1, arguably the biggest brand of 2009. It put me out for a good 2 weeks and as a result of the illness, developed into a mild pneumonia. It was the worst sickness I’ve ever had, and the time I spent sick was absolutely terrible. It put a hiccup in what I had planned for development in 2010, but didn’t stop the movement towards my goals.

As the year closed off, my thoughts of a return to Remix began intensifying, and I was having a lot of conversations with my brother Drex about going back to bring some fresh life back into The Remix Project. Remix closed this year, which was hugely emotional, but also very necessary. Sometimes we need to shed our skin in order to start our lives anew, and my hope is that the new facility will provide a rebirth for Remix in the new year. I have a very strong love and genuine concern for those who come in and out of that program, and I hope that 2010 will mark my resurfacing within the program. Wish me luck.

Knowing the level of uncertainty behind my return, I started to put my portfolio together and posted much of it on this site. The response was incredible, with most people almost completely unaware of some of the work that I have done. It was very humbling to get praise from my peers and complete strangers, and it provided me with the confidence in my skills that I’ll need if I go back to working an agency job as a designer or art director.

And then there’s the move.

I just recently signed the final papers and cut the appropriate cheques for a move I will be making in the next couple of months. It’s a step that was hard to take away from my comfort zone, but necessary to take towards attaining my dreams. This LegendsLeague thing will be my life. It has to be. Because it is entirely based on it. And I do all that I can to share with my readers and my supporters everything I can to become a window into my movement and messages, but also a potential door to the futures that you all can attain on your own. I hope that this move helps me to connect even further with you all, and allows you to catch a small glimpse of the world I am building around myself.

My structural approach to TheLegendsLeague is going to have to go through some changes in 2010. As great as the support is from my positive anchors, there is negative energy that lurks and swarms around my openness, my honesty, and my outright willingness to reveal myself to the world unapologetically. Unfortunately, that energy is enough for me to decide to change. But that change will nudge this tribe in a direction that will motivate us all to move and not just show you all the direction I have chosen to go in. I am not a leader by nature, I am a soloist. But I would like to think that the things that I say and do are enough to encourage others to become true leaders and make incredible changes and provide incredible influence.

This year my daughter turned 10. I celebrated my 5 year anniversary with my girlfriend. I silently reconciled differences with my mother. And I was given a very special gift from my father. I realized who my friends are. I discovered who uses the term “brother” loosely. And I was given a greater understanding of how a spotlight for some is like a flame to a moth. I have failed. I have grown. I have been accused of plenty of wrongdoings. But I have been completely honest and 100% true to myself and those who I have sworn friendship and loyalty upon. I am proud of the changes that have occurred within my life this past decade. I would have never thought 5 years ago that I would be where I am at today. And I am grateful. 2010 has plenty of promising opportunities. I can only hope that what I’ve done this past year will bring me closer to them.

Enjoy your Holidays guys. Thank you so much for the support you’ve shown me. And please be safe and responsible when you’re out there doing your thing.

Until next year,
LLove&Above&Respect as usual.
be.