Monday, June 18, 2012

It Takes Work

By Dan Haring
 


Look at that picture again.

Good.

Why are you still here?

Well, since you are, I'll elaborate a little on what Batman is telling you.

In the last five years I've been able to accomplish some of my bigger personal goals. I worked on a comic book movie. I worked on a Disney animated film. I wrote a book that got published.

I'm not trying to brag, I'm trying to illustrate a point.

A few people have told me they wish they could do some of those things.

Guess what? They can. There's no secret to it, just like there's no secret to any success in life. You work hard, you hustle, and you try to be in the right place at the right time.

Sometimes you win.

Sometimes you lose.

It's hard.

It's supposed to be.

I'm not telling you I never procrastinate. I do. I've probably wasted hours looking at baby English bulldogs.

I mean seriously, how adorable are these little guys?
 But I've also been able to buckle down and get things done.

Because I had dreams and goals and didn't just sit there wishing they'd come true.

Because I wanted them, and I worked for them.

Comic book artist/writer Faith Erin Hicks tweeted something a while back that really stuck with me.

She said, "What did you do this weekend to get closer to your goal of working in comics?"

Substitute "working in comics" with "writing a book" or whatever your goal is, and then think about it.

What did you do?

And more importantly, what are you going to do now?

It's not going to fall in your lap.

You have to work for it.

But you can do it.

I believe in you.

And so does Batman.


5 comments:

Jordan Dane said...

Searching for online photos of baby English Bulldogs is NEVER a waste of time.

I want one.

Writing can definitely be work. The business side of writing, for sure. But I often find that after I got hooked on writing & finishing a book, the passion I have for creating something from nothing is like a euphoric drug. It doesn't feel like work if you love what you do.

The hardest part (besides the business stuff) can be STOPPING to have a life. It's not an 8-5 job. My writer brain doesn't know when to punch out & I'm not sure I ever want it to quit. I'm an addict. There, I said it.

Nice post, Dan.

Dan Haring said...

Thanks Jordan! Haha. I agree about the English Bulldogs. If we ever get a dog, that's what we'll get.

I totally agree that writing can become that euphoric drug. I love the feeling when the words are flowing and everything seems to be going well. Can't be beat. What I meant by this post is it takes effort to get there. So many people want to write or draw or whatever, and spend more time wishing than actually doing. Hopefully the doing will become easier once they start, but they have to actually start.

Jordan Dane said...

Totally true. Your post is spot on.

Jamie Manning said...

LOVE this post, Dan. I was just saying to someone that the hardest part of writing is will power and dedication. If you can master those two skills, the rest is just gravy!

Dan Haring said...

Thanks Jamie! The gravy is still pretty hard to make, but it'll never get done if you don't work on it :)