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A Winning Philosophy on How to Chase and Achieve Your Dreams
I was that kid. The one that everyone said was super talented, had a gift, and would someday be famous. "Please, don't forget us little people", they would say. They were so certain I would be rich and famous one day because I could draw things on paper to some degree of convincing accuracy.
I was a big kid. Stocky, they called it. Or "corn fed", if they were trying to be playful by comparing me to cattle raised specifically for slaughter. I played football, and grew up in a small rural community where I was not exactly a "popular kid", but I wasn't ostracized either. I excelled in academics, I loved art, and I was a decent athlete. I came from a hard-working lower middle class family. We didn't have much, and what we did have we worked hard to have. My dad held 2-3 jobs most of my youth, and was always putting in extra hours to make ends meet. I also had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a somewhat cherub-like boyish face. I didn't even have to shave regularly until I was well into my 20s. lol. All that combined meant people didn't see the low self-esteem, the severe lack of confidence, and the crippling social anxiety that I became very good at hiding. Their assumptions were my greatest fears. The pressure. The expectations. The fear of the unknown and the dreaded "what if?". I lacked focus. I lacked confidence. I lacked a healthy sense of self-esteem and self-worth. I compensated with anger, pride, and bravado as a teenager, but that soon turned to fear, depression, and reclusive behavior in my 20s.
I'll be 44 in August. What I've learned over the years is that you cannot go through life afraid of consequences. I've created over 700 characters set in a variety of worlds. Each with their own stories and adventures. I've dabbled in super heroes, fantasy, sci-fi, tons of mash-up genre stuff, and even children's books. I've worked on hundreds of products over the years, and brought hundreds of other people's dreams and imaginings to life in print, but this is the first year I will be publishing anything of my own. Why? It took me a long time to figure that out, but it comes down to this: I listened to the fears of others, and I began to buy into them. What if you fail? What if no one likes it? What if you put yourself out there and people make fun of it, or worse, ignore it? What if? What if? What if?
Enough.
You won't know until you do it. So, I'm doing it. It's not easy, but I'm doing it because I can't bear to live with myself if I can't be brave enough to at least try.
Failing, I thought, was the best thing that ever happened to me. Suddenly, the expectations and the pressures were gone. Suddenly, I was a normal guy with normal expectations. If I could only get through university and find a job, I would have achieved my highest potential - just like every other normal person out there.
I learned a lot from my failures, but ultimately, I let myself off the hook of reaching my potential and climbing to heights of greatness, which was what I had always wanted. I didn't admire Jim Lee or George Lucas because they were simply great at what they did. I admired them because they were the best at what they did! I wanted that. I wanted some notoriety. I wanted to stand out, but I was not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to get there. I didn't know that's what it took.
Some might call it compromise, or selling out, or accepting defeat, but as I age, I find I don't NEED that level of success any longer. What I do desire is to be respected as a creative, and to put out content people love. I want people to react to my works naturally and honestly. If that nets me some notice, then great, but if not, then also great. My joy is in creating and finishing works these days. I found comfort in that at long last only by failing and refusing to give up. I continue to fail, and I continue to stand up one more time.
This is the part that I grew up unaware of. I was told repeatedly that certain things were impossible and out of reach for me. Yet at the same time, I watched Jim Lee and the Image Comics guys completely change how comic books were made and received. I also watched George Lucas completely revolutionize film as an independent creator that made films that continue to resonate in popular culture 40 years later.
Change or new ideas are almost always considered impossible until they happen. They good news is that we now live in an era where technology is making the impossible probable. Any of us can download an app to our iPhones right now, and film and edit a feature length film on it. What? That's insane! But it's a reality we live with right now!
Impossible is just an excuse not to try.
Walt had it figured out way back in the 1930s. He knew being a dreamer and pushing your imagination was the way to go. Nothing happens if you cannot imagine it first, and then try to make it real. Even Nikola Tesla utilized this theory imagination before committing his ideas to any physical form.
If the greatest minds of the Modern Age agree upon a point, it is very likely true. Imagination - the ability to conceive an idea within your mind's eye - is the key to unlocking your true potential. What can you imagine for yourself? For your project? For your career? Life? How far can you take it?
Then figure out how to make actionable steps for practical application that will take you there. How did Steve Jobs eventually get to the iPhone? It was not an easy or quick process, but he got there!
And THAT is the key to unlocking your success. You have to be able to imagine things - to fully express your dreams - in order to find the courage to lift yourself up and truly soar to success. If you can visualize yourself being successful, for instance, then you can see the path to getting there in real life.
Ah, yes. The "what if?" monster. It nibbles at your heels and fills you with doubt.
Kick it away, and tell yourself, "what if you don't try?" or "what if you succeed beyond your wildest imaginings?" instead!
Doubt will kill you - or at the very least wither you until you are but a shell of who you could be. Don't let it win.
Visualize that wonderful future, and figure out how to get there!
