Football Fast >>> Fast Forward
Let's toss around some pigskin and progress
Hello! Odd to see you! :)
This week’s edition has a few of my favorite things: football, comics, and motivation. Maybe not in that order, but you get the idea.
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Time to Make Time
Have you ever wanted to achieve a big goal but felt that you lacked the time to achieve it? If so, then grab your shoulder pads and get ready to tackle one big dummy… me! And possibly you.
Motivational speakers will recite this platitude: “Everyone has the same 24 hours in the day.” While it’s true, it’s like saying that everyone has two arms so everyone can be an artist like Van Gogh - there’s a glaring hole in the how part of the equation. Well, I’m here to tell you that it can be done and if I can do it, so can you! (How’s that for a trite motivational speaker phrase?)
How it started…
In November 2008, I gave up watching football (i.e., the NFL) with the notion that I could use those couch potato hours to pump out Perk@Work comics in the hopes of publishing a book. I aimed to have enough comics to fill a 100-page book within a year.
At first, I had the TV on in the other room and listened to the game while I tried to crank out comics. That didn’t work. I tend to rewrite and refine comics in the rendering phase and having commentators yapping in the background was a distraction. So I turned off the TV and created in earnest. [Spikes ball and does a goofy dance.]
From Consumer to Producer
Growing up, I always wanted to be a newspaper comic strip artist. I would read each one printed in the local paper regardless of appeal (Garfield = yes!, Cathy = no!). However, I could never seem to cross the chasm of doodling to produce a viable strip.
I realized that I was the one keeping myself back. I could choose to put in the time and work to develop the strip; to grind. I started wobbly but then hit a stride. A year flew by, comics piled up, and I embarked on the seemingly monumental task of publishing my first book.
Go and Grow Towards Your Goal
Since 2008, I’ve produced hundreds of comics and multiple books. I say that not to brag, but to share the sentiment that a big accomplishment can be achieved with the following:
Time management
A sacrifice of comfort and the status quo
Hard (and enjoyable!) work
Openness to learning new things (i.e., humility in admitting I lack knowledge)
Belief in the process and one’s self
Do you have a big goal? What’s holding you back from pursuing it?
How it’s going…
After not watching football for about 16 years, I started watching a few games again. Both the NFL and I have changed and evolved. The funny thing is, when I sit down to watch a game, I have my iPad on my lap desk and I’m drawing comics on Procreate.
Football will always be a part of my life. It’s in my blood, as is everyone who played the sport. Yet, watching football is not at the forefront of any given Sunday. It was a sacrifice I made to gain something else. Athletes know all about such sacrifice. I may not have won my own Super Bowl yet, but at least I’m a player in my field. And, as long as the players are on the field, there’s a chance to score.
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Until next time, stay oddly beautiful!
Jason