2015 is here! Everybody be on the lookout for the DeLorean.
Somebody go buy the 1950-2000 Sports Almanac so Marty can’t.
Scientists, you have 1 year to perfect cold fusion engines to the point where cars can run on trash.
This morning I was listening to the Nerdist Podcast, and Kevin Smith was the guest for this particular episode. In the show, he was talking about the unbelievable joy that comes from producing & making what you love, despite what others may think. That’s how he made Clerks, Red Statw, and many more of his fantastic films. It’s great advice, especially with all the tech available to the public today.
But as agreeable as that idea is, it’s not as easy as it might seem. I like to consider myself a creative person with great ideas & instincts. I think up awesome story premises & sketch ideas that I know would be funny, at least to me. These ideas, however, seem constantly tempered by the self-loathing mentality of, “What if people don’t think it’s funny?”, or, “What if it’s not as good as I think it is?”. These thoughts enter my head & I end up indefinitely putting off a potentially great idea because it *might* not be good, or not as good as I thought it was going to be. Laziness also has something to do with it, but it’s this mentality that reinforces said laziness. Too often I find myself being more of a dreamer and less of a doer. Hell, there have been several potential entries FOR THIS VERY BLOG that I ended up scrapping because I thought they weren’t good enough, or profound enough, or I thought people would hate it. That’s why there are these long stretches of time where I don’t post anything. In 2015, I am going to strive to change that.
In this Kevin Smith Nerdist podcast, he said quite possibly the best motivational advice I’ve ever heard. It’s advice that’s as old as time, but I’ve never heard it worded this way. He said that if you’re ever not doing something because you think people won’t like it, realize this: You’re gonna die some day. That’s it. You are going to die. Eventually, not soon. At least not likely soon. The point is that there comes a time for everyone when it’s over, and there’s nothing that can be done about it. So when you see yourself on your deathbed, and you’re remembering your life, are you happy with it? Or do you see yourself saying, “I wish I had done ___”, or, “I regret not ____”? What do you see yourself saying right before you draw your terminal gasp? If it’s the latter above, it’s not too late. Take that great idea you have and do it! Make that film; write that book; start that podcast; ask that girl or that guy out!! Because you’re gonna die one day, and then it’s over. You’re done. The race is complete. Bowser’s dead. The boss is beaten. It’s what you do NOW that ultimately makes a life, your life, worth living.
I just realized how Tony Robbins-y this post is getting, so I’m going to make a poop joke so that this isn’t so uncomfortably positive.
This morning, I drank a cup of coffee that said “French Vanilla” on the bag, but what I think it meant to say was, “laxative modified to convert every ounce of waste in your body from a solid into a liquid.” I’m just glad I was at work, because if I’m going to be evacuating my bowels at 8:30 AM, I’d like to be getting paid for it.
We’re all gonna die, that’s an undeniable fact. What happens from now ’till the grave is entirely up to us.
Toodles, y’all.
rosstherambler 