#70: Achievement Demotivational Poster

The Story

I print all taleas posters in-house (very literally) on high quality, matte photo paper. This paper is much thicker than regular, and takes color much better than regular poster paper.

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The Story Behind #70: Achievement Demotivational Poster

Everyone wants to be a millionaire. Everyone wants to climb the highest mountain or make the biggest sale or ride the largest wave. Our culture is full of people who are reaching for the stars and, consequently, over-reaching. Why not take pride in climbing the second-highest mountain? Why not boast about having a big — but not the biggest — sale? Why do we have to be the best at everything instead of one of the best?

Not everyone is going to be the next Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk. There is a chance that the tech start-up you’re creating won’t take off like Facebook or Space X. And that is okay! That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. It just means you should keep your expectations in check and be proud of any accomplishment, even if it doesn’t change the world. Our history is packed full of countless people who have made great progress without being the biggest and best. Do what you can and do you best and don’t judge your success based on others’ accomplishments.

The Story Behind taleas Demotivational Posters

Early in my career, when I was employed by a very large telecom company, I worked in a cavernous 80,000 square foot office with purple cubicle walls, purple pillars and rows and rows of fluorescent lights. Dozens of stereotypical office motivational posters were tacked to the office walls encouraging us to "achieve our goals", "strive for success" and "persevere at all costs". These inspired me to write a few demotivational posters of my own and add them to the taleas comic collection. Several of these posters can even be found decorating the office walls in a few startups around the Austin area.

Traditional motivational posters use a white frames, black background with a centered inspirational image and, mockingly, demotivational posters use the same light on black format with either an ironic image and sarcastic caption or an inspirational image with a sarcastic caption. In keeping with my whimsical and cartoony style I have decided to draw my demotivational posters in my own style. While it's a very stark departure from the expected format I feel like it presents the dark and sarcastic tones in a more lighthearted manner.

A large chunk of taleas’ products are hand made, hand printed, hand stitched, hand sewn, hand glued or some combination of the above in Austin, Texas. I have a strong passion for solid business ethics, scalability, sustainability, and repeatability, and all of these drive the quality of products that I offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does shipping cost?

Free for U.S. domestic orders over $50. Typically $2 - $7 for smaller domestic orders. You can check out our shipping policies here.

Is there a return policy?

Yup! 30 days for undamaged paper goods and unworn/unwashed clothing. If the product arrives busted please email us at hello@taleas.com or give us a call at 1-833-580-0600 so we can get the issue fixed up.

Where will my order ship from?

All orders are made in and shipped from Austin, Texas - yee haw!

What if I have more questions?

Hit me up at hello@taleas.com. I design every piece of merch that I sell and am delighted to answer any questions that you have.