Monday, June 4, 2012

Who's Got Your Back?


Malcolm Gladwell talks about the importance of opportunity in the success of the successful in "Outliers". I totally buy into this idea. Example: you grew up on a farm - you have more opportunity of becoming a farmer than someone who grew up in the city. A tall kid growing up in a "basketball family" - probably has more chance of making the NBA than most and so on...

So I had to take a look at my own life to figure out what opportunities I had. The list is too long to mention here but at the top would be my parents. My mom and dad were always very encouraging when it came to my art. You might be thinking, "yeah, what's the big deal?" but I've realized that many kids don't have this kind of support when they want to tackle a non-mainstream career.

But my mom went way beyond support. She was truly excited whenever I showed her what I was working on. She NEVER gave me a critique. She was much smarter than I ever gave her credit - she knew I just wanted acceptance and she was more than willing to pour that all over me. We lost her last year but I can still hear her words of encouragement and see her smile as her genuine enthusiasm shined through. I owe her more than I ever told her - I wish I could now.

My wife Lori also get's a huge piece of the credit pie. What a wife. She's put up with the ups and downs of my non traditional career and learned to ride it with me. Without her support I wouldn't be an illustrator. My kids also give me a lot of love and words of encouragement even though they usually revert back to being boys.

I also have many wonderful friends who also provide me with the support and encouragement I need to feel confident about trying new ventures. Like the I HATE READING! app project. It's a scary thing venturing down a road you've never been on before. The voices of doubt are constantly throwing negative questions in your path to trip you and turn you away from the very thing you set out to do.

So - in order to be successful you need to surround yourself with "can do" types that give you encouragement without tearing you down. The world will do it's best to do that for you. What you need is a posse of people who unconditionally love you and get the fact that you're in it to win it. Self doubt is relentless and needs no sleep but you'll be fine if you have a group that has your back.

Progress: here are some sketches and finished work on the I HATE READING! app.




7 comments:

  1. I totally agree. I wouldn't have had the success I've had had it not been for the people in my life. You're one of them. Keep up the great work!

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  2. Whenever I'm feeling down about my work, my (practically) husband tells me how much he believes in me. It never fails to make me feel better.

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    1. That's great - I hope you let him know how much you appreciate him :)

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  3. Hi Will creepy Canadian stalker her again, Like you I chose an unconventional career (interior design)which I obtained a diploma in, but fell a bit short in progression of a attaining a career in, since having children. Since the kids, I have had the opportunity to explore the wonderful world of kids lit, and fall in love with books again. When they are asleep I have turned my adobe elements program into a make shift illustration program to illustrate my own kids books and parent friendly works. My dad is a huge supporter of my art despite the fact that several publishing co's have rejected my work (I know I should give up while I'm ahead but I can't) that's why this whole app progression thing is quite an amazing turn of events for artists, it's about time that you can take things into your own hands and let the global community be your audience. Be it they can utimately make or break you, But given the skill of your work, I think they will adore anything you pipe out because it is truly amazing! Good luck!

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    1. It's an exciting time indeed Sabrina - it's just an amount of how bad you want it and how hard you're willing to work for it - I know that sounds cliche but it really is true. If you want it really bad you'll do what it takes to learn from mistakes and put out irresistible story products!

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  4. I mean fallen...man baby brain has gotten to the best of me!

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