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The Artist vs the Contractor

December 1, 2015 By Ahmed Hassan Leave a Comment

The artist is never on time. My artwork is always in transition in creating a thing of beauty. It’s what I’m known for, it’s my art. When I’m present I’m completely present, and therefore, time doesn’t exist. This doesn’t mean that I’m late. No, not at all. It means I’m an artist.

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That’s me contracting away in the background!

The contractor plans for the day of work, well in advance. He creates the critical path for each person, each hour, each day and each week. When he’s on time, and has lined up with his expectations, he’s delighted. When he’s not, he’s stressed, and must work again to plan for success. He guesstimates, estimates and figures on things going one way. He too is a visionary of sorts. More in the realm of practicality of course.

He’s much more rigid, straight forward and driven by meeting his goals and financial expectations. He deals with the never ending changes brought on by life’s circumstances and the artist. The artist sees the design and strives to create it on paper, and in 3D, but it’s the contractor that finally sells the work.

Both must work together in order to deliver on the vision that inspires them, as well as their clientele.

He’s a clever, witty fella that artist. All in love with his dreams and visions. He plays and creates beauty in and with nature. The contractor writes out a clear scope of work and is disciplined with sticking to the script. He settles on what needs to be done and determines that if it’s not clearly stated within the contractual agreement. Then it’s considered a “change order.”

The contractor sees things in black and white, similar to the way a judge might see things. It’s not an emotional thing, it’s merely business. “Time is money” so to speak. It’s about materials and supplies. Labor costs and mobilization. Everything must be documented, clearly spelled out and accounted for.

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artist or contractor… sometimes there is not much difference!

I’d like to consider myself a hybrid of both of these characters. I’m truly striving to balance both modalities, so that I can be more successful in life, and all of my businesses. It all comes down to balance and discipline. In a world of shiny objects and plenty of distractions, I’m doing my best to not get caught up with social media, or watching YouTube videos. To not have friendly, yet meaningless, conversation.

I’m actually doing quite well with segmenting my time and prioritizing what needs to get done versus what I feel like doing. All of life is merely a practice, and now that the sun is up and the coffee is made, we must go. The artist, the contractor and the decision maker called self.

Most contractors that are also self employed can feel and relate to my joys and pains. And most of us wouldn’t have it any other way.

Thanks for reading, for caring and for sharing.

Ahmad “Ahmed” Hassan

Want more updates? Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram! This will keep you in touch with everything my Celebrity Landscaper self is up too! #GoGreenWithAhmed #TeamAhmedTV #ArtistVsContractor

Filed Under: Philosophical Rants & Analogies Tagged With: Ahmed Hassan, Ahmed Hassan Personal Appearance, Ahmed Hassan TV, Celebrity Landscaper, Landscape, Landscaping, life, personal growth, teamwork

How to DO What You Don’t Know How to DO

October 27, 2015 By Ahmed Hassan Leave a Comment

While I’ve worked with a fabulous group of professionals and volunteers to do 2 sizable charity projects to date, I’m still just learning how to make these magnificent projects up, then pull them off when we say we will. I’m sharing this with you in this week’s blog post because it’s chock full of wonderful information that might just help you understand how we formulate, create and pull these projects off.

Step 1. Have the inspiration. True inspiration is more than a thought or idea. It’s an emotional gnawing at your core that’s pest like and won’t go away. That thing that you just know has to happen.

Step 2. Is getting clear with the “why it matters.” This is a necessary qualifying of whatever it is. I’ve done this twice before with regards to these charity projects involving outdoor Living makeovers. These spaces are more than just a pretty outdoor space. They are landscapes and gardens that need to be done in order to impact the health and wellness of the folks they were designed for. There’s gotta be the reason that your goal, be it landscaping or otherwise, is worthy of your time, energy and fortitude.

Step 3. Make a decision around timing. Be realistic with yourself. When I say realistic, I do not mean that you can wrap your head around the “how.” I mean that the timing resonates with your intuitive self that says “Yes, We can pull this off by then.” You have to be able to visualize it happening within your time frame. If you don’t believe it. You will not achieve it.

Step 4. Co-conspire with others. This means to network, consult, attract and inspire. Stay clear of the nay sayers. Heed their warnings, but keep on building. Your mission is to stay focused on where you’re going. Ideally you might encourage them to help you in some way. Otherwise, thank them for their input and head on out!

Step 5. Continue to get and stay organized, and do something daily to move towards your goal. Focus on the vision. and address what you think is of the highest priority. You might be wrong but just do your best.

Step 6. Hold the vision front and center always! It’s like your torch that must stay lit. In spite of whatever you’ve committed to, make this happen.

This is actually where I am right now with #Astergardens.

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Our design is on their website. They are excited about the project!

We’re in the midst of creating this awesome space for Inter Faith Community Services. We’ve already begun raising money to assist with the creation of the space. My hope is that anyone reading this week’s blog will feel generous and big hearted enough to give and assist my team of Sustainable Heroes (#sustainableheroes) as we take on the physical, mental and financial challenge of doing this actual makeover, construction and landscape work. Donations are fully tax deductible and can be made by simply clicking (Donate) and selecting for your monetary gift to go towards the Aster Street Garden Project.

These funds will primarily go towards, travel expenses, lodging and meals for myself and my team that travels from near and far. With the last 2 projects we solicited sponsors that could assist, if they were willing. Most often they say yes. It’s the Green Industry and we’re a bunch of loving people. If they say no, we simply have to ask again or ask another. Our goal must always be the project coming to fruition. Any challenges, doubt, no’s or other adversity simply isn’t acceptable. We’re on a mission that’s bigger than ourselves.

The commitment to accomplish and reach our goals is bigger than any single person’s vision or the lack thereof. We expect to face adversity but do not seek it out. We believe that who ever recognizes the problem or challenge, is the one that gets to start fixing and dealing with meeting that challenge. We subscribe to the philosophy of “By any means necessary. Get it done!

We also have to remember to spend our time, energy and other precious resources for good. This means no in fighting. No taking others inventory. No complaining about what somebody else is or isn’t doing. Instead, we must each dig deep and determine what we can do to be loving, encouraging and effective within our group or as a solo artist.

Today my responsibility is to begin reaching out to a list of sponsors and potential sponsors in order to get them once and for all committed for what’s needed in order to get the work done. My friend, and fellow sustainable hero, Tracy “Tylee” Sewell went to the GIE-EXPO and single handedly solicited every company on our list.

tylee-sewell-ahmed-hassan

Friend and cohort Tracey Sewell on the Cover of Lawn and Landscape

 

She has already secured commitments from Stihl, Fire Gear Outdoors, Tufx, and Pavestone. Those are just a few of the 26 companies on my list that are aware of what we have going on, thanks to Tylee. I am not sure what they will do, but I am sure I can get them to help with something!  All of her hard work has made this day full for me. And the beat goes on! Thanks for reading, sharing and caring.

If you’re in the San Diego or Los Angeles area and would like to volunteer and work with us November 21st and 22nd please register here. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Also, if you have any way of helping with the project please contact us at astergardensca@gmail.com.

Want more updates? Follow Ahmed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest!

#TeamAhmedTV #GoGreenWithAhmed #AsterGardens

Filed Under: Aesthetics & Gardening, New Trends & Ideas, Philosophical Rants & Analogies Tagged With: Ahmed Hassan, Ahmed Hassan Personal Appearance, Ahmed Hassan TV, Celebrity Landscaper, charity, interfaith, Landscape, Landscaping, sustainability, teamwork

From Dog Urine to Design, A Beautiful Mess!

July 14, 2015 By Ahmed Hassan Leave a Comment

Two weeks ago I said I’d blog about dog urine damage and it’s treatment for turf. Lucky me! Dr’s. Foster and Smith have already covered the subject in a very well written article. I’m gonna take this as a sign that I get to opt-out of writing my own blog post on the subject today. I’ve got plenty of other work to do anyway. The months of summer, running my landscape improvements and nursery businesses, are beyond busy right now. I’m typically up at 5am, dodging shaving bumps in my bathroom mirror, and done with my days work around 8 pm, 5 days a week. I’m a pretty tired guy. I usually spend open weekends working in my own yard and planning the week to come.

For the past year I’ve managed 2 small nurseries, one at Churchill Hardware and another at Under the Arbor. It’s been a great learning experience in the retail nursery business. I’ve got even more respect for the nursery industry considering the itty bitty profit margins and the tremendous amount of love and work that goes into growing, cultivating and caring for container plants. My intention and focus has been on growing and selling edible, and ornamental, plant materials. Monrovia in essence started me down this road.
We did some creative works together and I was compensated with their beautiful abundant nursery stock.

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These guys have been great to me. Buy all the plants you can from them. They are top notch!

It’s been a fun, busy and scrambling-to-try-and-keep-up, kinda year. Thanks to all who read and share my blog post. If you know me, you know that it’s a big deal for me to consistently, and weekly, deliver on this literary commitment. A huge thanks to my entire creative and editing team that sticks with me and assists the weekly blogging process. My author and writer Jason Britt, contributing writer Marie Blackstock, proofing/editor Karen Cook, proofer and editor Tiffanie Hassan. It takes a village to do just about anything.

creative_team_collage

Jason, Marie, Tiffanie, and Karen make my weekly posts come to life!

My weekly blog, which ranges on sustainability, philosophy, gardening and whatever else I choose to share, has become some what of a weekly therapy for me. Writing was something I dreamed about for years. I was confused at just what it was that I wanted to write about so I simply decided to keep it open to whatever I was inspired to share. When Aimee Steckowski of Anchored Design created this site, we talked about also creating a blog site since this is another one of her specialties. If you, or anyone else that you know, is interested in writing, blogging and sharing their own thoughts, information and interests with the rest of the world, I suggest you consult with Aimee and Melody of Anchored Design. They’re professional, reasonably priced and extremely comprehensive with the online and creative services they offer.

So that’s how it goes when we start off talking about dogs urinating on lawns and then transition to a kudos for my web team. You can’t get this kind of stuff anywhere else people. Read the article I mentioned earlier for insight into how dog urine damages your lawn. Click the links of my team, mentioned above, and see how they can add value to your life. They are all phenomenal at what they do… and they won’t urinate on your lawn. Well they might on mine now because of that last dig, I better go! Tuesday called and she has several things for me to do today. Thanks for sharing and caring!

Follow celebrity landscaper Ahmed Hassan on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram for updates and a whole lot more!

#GoGreenWithAhmed #TeamAhmedTV #ItTakesAVillage

Filed Under: Philosophical Rants & Analogies Tagged With: Ahmed Hassan, Ahmed Hassan TV, Celebrity Landscaper, Landscaping, life, personal growth, teamwork

What Just Happened

April 17, 2015 By Ahmed Hassan 43 Comments

It’s Tuesday April 14th and I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge the surreal feelings I still have.
I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you all that what just transpired and took place in the little city of Miami Springs, Florida was likely the most ostentatious event I’ve ever had the pleasure of being a part of, and also, responsible for making happen.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan often calls himself the big mouth landscaper

When I’m crashing a yard, I can be a bit vocal!

Hi, My name is Ahmad Hassan. Most people know me as “Ahmed Hassan” the original host and inspiration for DIY Network and HGTV’s Yard Crashers. I am a professional landscaper, fundraising guru, fast talking, smack talking, motivational speaker, and professional flirt. I love babies and children. I love men and women; black, white, Latin, Asian and every other ethnicity. I love Christians and Muslims; Jews, Buddhists, and Atheists. I love the under dog.

I grew up watching TV shows, believing in superheroes. Those larger than life characters that come from humble beginnings and develop amazing talents. Those that learn to utilize their powers for the good of humankind. As a kid, I saw my dad as a superhero. He was absolutely a character that inspired and amazed me with what he knew, what he could do, and what he’d been through.

I lost him to a modern days form of kryptonite (heroine). I was changed forever. My eyes we’re opened and my awareness shifted from being a kid. I began to see, understand, and live my life as an adult.
It took years to process my pain and my sadness. I believed then, and continue to believe, that life is merely a journey where we get to “show up and show off”, as the awesome super heroes of our own choosing. Please understand that because we are all merely natural human beings, we can only develop our natural human powers.

Silvia_Vanni

Silvia and Daniella sharing a moment

This is to say that our powers must always be kept in the realm of human possibility. Humans don’t fly, so the cape isn’t necessary. On a day like any other, I received a tweet from Mrs Silvia Vanni of Mystic Force Foundation. The tweet included a picture of Silvia and a young, bald, and beautiful Daniella Collazo. Mrs. Vanni is easy on the eyes and Daniella, well… now this little angel is as precious and beautiful as they come.

The request was for Ahmed, the Original host of Yard Crashers to come and “crash” aka create, remodel, accentuate, spruce up and horticulturally enhance, Daniella Collazo’s backyard. This request was nothing new for Ahmed but it came from someone different than the folks that typically reach out and ask for assistance with their oudoor living space. The first reply from Hassan was to please provide more information. Vanni did just that. She shared the pain of losing her own son, Salvatore, to Neuroblastoma. This was the same type of cancer that Daniella was diagnosed with, only Salvatore was diagnosed at stage 4 while Daniella was diagnosed at stage 3.

Ahmed_Daniellas_Wish

This is what saying Yes looks like!

My saying yes to Silvia Vanni and the Mystic Force Foundation was my opportunity to be big. It was my opportunity to be heroic; my opportunity to step out in faith. It was my chance to prove to myself, Mrs Vanni, Daniella, and anyone else who gave a damn; about the power of intention, love, and being a BADASS as I call it, for good.

Good intentions, good measure, a partnership and movement with other good people that are inclined to join in and “represent” for the cause; this is the kind of stuff my heroes are made of. The kind of stuff that Ghandi, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and others were known for. These men and another master teacher named Jesus Christ were also known for it. It’s all about helping those that cannot, or do not know how to, help themselves.
Because I’m just one person, I’m just one piece of the puzzle. I only have particular human powers. I happen to be a pretty damn good landscaper  (And yes, I know it!). I began to reach out to others like myself that are awesome at what they do. I look for gifted and talented individuals that really know their craft. Their confidence level is something that needs to already be in place so that my job is merely one of buttering them up and convincing them to partner with me. Yes it’s manipulative, but in no way malicious.

I understand enough human psychology to understand that people need to feel big, they need to feel proud, and they need to feel loved, in order to rise up and be their best self. My job, my task, and my mission, was to solicit all of who I felt was needed in order to create the space and make Daniella’s Wish a reality. I did this in a modern grass roots way, utilizing social media and personal conversations. I also asked others to reach out in order to exploit and further network for this worthy and heartfelt cause. I played no games, I told no lies. I did what was necessary, and because I love The Green Industry, fans and friends; I kept everyone informed to the best of my ability, posting and sharing regularly as we built momentum and moved towards our goal.

daniellas_wish_yard

A total outdoor play space transformation

The most unique thing about this whole experience was that it was completely non-profit. As a result, we needed to raise funds for what I thought would be a $50-$70K yard. In actuality, it evolved into a project totaling more than $100K. So in that regard, the learning curve on this project was something that I also said yes to. I’ve done so many things in my life where I hadn’t a clue as to what I was doing, or how I was suppose to get it done.

And yet I set a date anyway, having a conviction in my mind, heart, and the rest of me. Then I worked tirelessly with all of my human powers of communication, visualization, anticipation, discipline, collaboration and finally, fortified the entire thing with LOVE. Love for Silvia Vanni who loved her son Sal, love for little Daniella, who has a real life threatening disease. Love for all of my comrades; the ones that I know and truly respect as well as those that I’ve not met yet. Things magically tend to come together when you maintain your intention to love.

The seed was planted, I said yes, and because of so many others, Daniella’s Wish and Silvia Vanni’s request have been fulfilled. If I had Super Human Powers to take away Childhood and all other forms of cancer I would. But because I don’t I’ll simply and humanly continue to utilize my natural human powers and prove to my family, friends, fans, and absolute strangers; just how beautiful we women and men can be.

Ahmed_Mayor_Zavier

Thank you to the Mayor and all of the sponsors who helped make this wish come true!

Thank you to everyone that helped and assisted in making Daniella’s Wish come true. I appreciate each and every dollar that was donated, spent, and shared to make it all happen. I appreciate the men, women, and children that showed up and exhausted all of who they were to help with the heavy burden. I appreciate the list of National and local sponsors, businesses and the wonderfully loving city Of Miami Springs, Florida.” You all really made a difference this past weekend. Here is a fantastic video of what we accomplished courtesy of Seda Custom Design!

Follow Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest! You can also JOIN ME THIS MAY in PALM SPRINGS at the Alive Again Positive Living Conference! #GoGreenWithAhmed #TeamAhmed #DoitforDaniella #DiditforDaniella #DaniellasWish

Filed Under: Landscape Construction & Property Improvements, New Trends & Ideas, Philosophical Rants & Analogies Tagged With: Ahmed Hassan, Ahmed Hassan on Television, Ahmed Hassan Personal Appearance, Ahmed Hassan TV, cancer, Celebrity Landscaper, charity, environmentally friendly, florida, Landscape, Landscaping, life, love, miami springs, superhero, team, teamwork, unity

It All Started a Few Months Ago…

December 12, 2014 By TeamAhmed 3 Comments

Hi folks my name is Jason Britt and I serve as the blog editor/manager for AhmedHassan.tv. That’s me in the pic there.  Ahmed asked me to log in and share a few thoughts this week concerning our relationship; specifically, how we met, and how we work together. I think you guys will get a little insight into the world of Ahmed, and my hope is that you can use this post to inspire some resolve and focus in your own life.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan - Jason B freelance

When I’m not writing, I’m outside!

So with that where should I begin. It all started a few months ago when I reached out to Ahmed about his blog. I was a fan of Yard Crashers and kept up with him on Facebook. Every now and then, I would send him a message with a little tidbit about life or leadership, and he would respond. Over time, we developed a friendship that spans the coast. He lives in Sacramento, California, and I myself hail from Savannah, Georgia.

One day I’m online and notice that he has launched his website, AhmedHassan.tv. I messaged him to let him know that if he ever needed help with his blog, that’s what I do. I freelance for people who are literally scattered all over the world and as such, write/manage a lot of content throughout the week. What happened next was a flurry of events! We exchanged phone numbers, and set up a conference call where I was introduced to several other key players on #teamAhmed such as Tiffanie, his wife and business partner; Marie, his friend and author, and Aimee and Lynne, web design and content gurus extraordinaire. I was thoroughly vetted.

They said things like “Do you like his writing?”, “Is he good enough?”, “Be honest guys”, etc. It was a very direct interview. Lesson One… anything you want to do in life deserves to be examined and scrutinized before you make decisions. That is just sound business. Anyway, after that first call, I knew I would fit in well with the gang. I appreciate honesty and am a “get it done” type of guy. So after another conference call, the blog took shape and we launched the ship. What has happened since then is nothing short of amazing. Each week Ahmed comes up with advice on life and landscaping. He is funny, engaging, practical, and authentic. Yet pulling off what is necessary to get a post up in a week’s time is more challenging than you might think. I mean come on let’s be honest, this is not me or you getting up and going to work in our home office. This is a guy who makes a celebrity appearance at a Home Show one weekend, the Today Show two weeks later, Gardening Shows four days after that; the list goes on and on. In a word, Ahmed is busy.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassaan - Savannah GA

Life on the Georgia Coast is great!

As such, that means I have received mid flight texts, pictures on the fly from the set of the Today Show, and topics at 5 pm for posting the next morning. He is dedicated to the task and gets it done. If you are a guy, you know how much you appreciate working with a guy like that. No hiding behind emails and no voice mail screens. For all his busy-ness, Ahmed is accessible. I know my job is done when I get a“Thanks brotha Jay”, or “Awesomesauce!” text from him. So now that you see a little bit of the flurry and scramble that is involved with a weekly posting, I will leave you with this…

You can do it!

No matter how busy, how depressed, how ADHD, how happy, or how unprepared you think you are, you can do it. Each week #teamahmed proves this time and time again. No is simply not in our vocabulary and is not how we live our lives. We are all upbeat, positive people who really want to achieve some great things and have a definite course set for our lives.

Speaking of, stay tuned in 2015 because Ahmed has some pretty neat things planned and it is exciting to see them take shape. That is one of the privileges you get when you work with the Wizard of Oz. You get to be the “man behind the curtain” and see ideas take shape as they go from seed to fruit. However, don’t think for a minute that the Hassan’s need a brain, a heart, or lack courage. I have deep admiration for who they are and how they do life. I’m just a guy who is grateful to follow them down the yellow brick road!

With Much Love and Admiration,

Brotha Jay 🙂

P.S. For all the latest updates, be sure to follow Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Filed Under: Aesthetics & Gardening Tagged With: Ahmed Hassan, Ahmed Hassan TV, blogging, Celebrity Landscaper, life, teamwork

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