Can one person build an extraordinary life while working a full-time job?
If it’s your first time here, welcome!
This blog documents my journey of building an extraordinary life through art, lifelong learning, and meaningful creativity.
I’m Mauna from Mars. And I’m challenging myself throughout my creative journey and you’re welcome to join in on the fun.
The reason behind the 31 Portraits challenge this July?
Today is June 30 which means tomorrow begins the July 31 days 31 portraits challenge.
The goal for this year is to complete 300 art posts before the year closes out. But before I begin I decided to start small, and build a daily habit first. So for this month the target will actually be 31 portraits.
What makes this challenge challenging for me?
I have to go to work five times per week. I’m pursuing a career in art but I also have a bunch of hobbies outside of the fact that I enjoy creating . I’m building for myself a complex inner world. I’m a firm believer in faith.
I’m trying to build a life that adds beauty wherever I go. I want to create beauty, think beautifully and behave beautifully. And for me that means being creative, disciplined, meaningful, a life of lifelong learning and decency.
But how can I create my dream life?
I believe in lifelong learning and my dream is to be a very well cultured, refined woman so I tend to pursue other things that don’t necessarily relate to my art career.
I think part of becoming who I intend to be means investing in knowledge and understanding. Reading more. Learning more. Actualizing more.
My current concern is that art takes a lot of time, patience, and energy. And after a long day at work how will I have enough time and energy to socialize, do chores, be a good daughter and sister, maintain my spiritual life while pursuing my other dreams.
This is something I’ve been thinking about for years. I see brilliant people from around the world who get a lot done throughout their day and it makes me ask myself do we share the same 24hrs better yet do we share the same 12 to 16 hrs?
And I’m wondering what are they doing differently than I am?
Well, I don’t know.
If you’re an organized, focused person please share with me in the comment section and tell me how you get a lot done and what are the sacrifices you’ve made to upkeep your standards. In fact what are your standards?
Anyways, back to the main point, so while I’m building, these are my current challenges and concerns. And that’s why I came up with the 31 days portrait challenge.
I aim to build a level of consistency and momentum in this planet of my universe while simultaneously pursuing all my other interests!
For the next 31 days…
I’ll be documenting every portrait, every lesson, every struggle, and every small victory. If you’re building something of your own or simply trying to become more consistent, I hope you’ll join me for the ride.
I’ll be posting a new episode of the 31 Portraits Challenge every day on Instagram. You can follow along there and keep track of my progress throughout the month.
Therefore, stay with me and find out if I can keep up. Or if you looking for company to share your struggles with as an ambitious person.
Log 1 June 30, 2026
Challenge: 31 Portraits in 31 Days
Progress: Day 0 of 31
Goal: 31 Portraits
Current Status: Challenge Begins Tomorrow
