What Can You “Not Imagine Not Doing”?

Did you ever get into trouble as a kid because you just kept doing something you weren’t supposed to, but you couldn’t stop yourself? Did your teachers, parents, and advisors keep punishing you until you stopped doing it? It’s quite possible that they did you a huge disservice…

I as watching The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, BONE, and the Changing Face of Comics on one of the local Public Access stations this weekend. It’s a fascinating movie that tells the story about how Jeff Smith got started, what he did in his early days, and how he managed to create, self-publish, and then grow BONE into one of the most successful (and critically acclaimed) comics ever.

If you don’t know (and frankly, unless you’re a bit of a comics nerd like me, why would you?), BONE is this amazing epic story that combines old school classic comics style (like Pogo) and crosses it with high fantasy. In Jeff Smith’s own words, it’s a cross between, “Lord of the Rings and Bugs Bunny”. It is truly on of the best things, comics or otherwise, that I have read.

(If you are interested, you can get the entire 55 issue run in one giant book: Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume (Vol 1))

I love watching movies and documentaries that tell the story of how people who stuck to their dreams and succeeded actually did it. Inspirational and educational. (Pixar has a similar movie, and I have written about that before in my What You Can Learn from Woody, Boo, and Mr. Incredible post)

There is a lot of great stuff in the movie, but I’d like to share with you one quote from Lucy Caswell, who was Jeff Smith’s mentor at Ohio State University:

“Pretty much every cartoonist I’ve ever talked to tells stories about being reprimanded in school by teachers who didn’t like the fact that they draw all day, every day, in their books, on the math problems, whatever. I think Jeff was that kind of little boy. The difference, the thing that sets successful cartoonists apart is the fact that they can’t stop drawing. This is something they can’t imagine not doing.”
Lucy Caswell
Cartoon & Library Museum
Ohio State University

Awesome…

This is a common theme amongst people who have successfully pursued their dreams. They had something inside of them that they just couldn’t imagine not doing.

Who would have thought crossing classic comics with high fantasy would be this awesome? Jeff Smith, that's who...

So the logical next question becomes: What can you not imagine not doing?

What is that passion, that fire the belly, that you have?

Sadly, just because people “can’t imagine not doing” something, doesn’t mean that they actually end up doing it. Life has a way of throwing little obstacles at us along the way, things that take us off of our path and make us forget about that passion, about that fire in the belly. It is vital that we remember it, hold on to it, and keep stoking that fire. Otherwise you can wake up 20 years later and say, “oh man, I regret not doing that…”

This doesn’t mean that you have to quit your job and screw up your life to follow your dreams. But you should follow that passion, even if only on the side or as a hobby. Maybe it will turn into a career, maybe not. But passion is why we live, and it’s worth following.

Do you have an answer to the question, What can you not imagine not doing? If not, think back to years ago, maybe to school, or college, or when you first started working. What was your passion then? What could you not imagine not doing? Does that stoke your fire now? Can you add some of that back into your life now?

Some people will know the answer immediately, while others may have to think on it for a while. In either case, it’s well worth thinking about. If you can rediscover that fire in the belly, that passion, that thing you can not imagine not doing, you can be swept up in a creative motivational current that will affect and improve every area of your life. And who wouldn’t want that?

Speaking of fire in the belly, I’d like to leave you with one final thought from Lucy Caswell about passion, success, and what sets people apart:

“There are a lot of people who think ‘oh, it’s fun to draw, and wouldn’t it be nice to have a comic book, or comic strip,’ but they do not have the passion, the fire in the belly, to make the sacrifices that it takes in order to be successful, and that’s what sets people like Jeff Smith apart.”
Lucy Caswell
Cartoon & Library Museum
Ohio State University

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By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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