goals and systems…
One step leads to another.
Where is he going with this?
I’ve spent a lot of time working on this comic. It stopped being an occupation a very long time ago. Initially, I started the strip to possibly get a syndication deal and make a living. I The goal was to become a syndicated cartoonist. The ONLY thing I’d do is the strip… that would be my job.
That was the plan.
That was the goal.
That was almost 15 years ago.
I recently finished reading How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams. I wouldn’t say that the text changed my life per se- despite the fact that Astronaut/Artist Capt. Alan Bean sent me his personal copy (!). Capt. Bean said that he got some ideas from it and maybe it could help me. When a Apollo astronaut tells you it could help, you tend to give that “help” some greater scrutiny.
So, yeah. As I said before… the goal was to become a syndicated cartoonist. But Adams contends that by setting a goal for myself, I most likely set myself up for guaranteed failure… because anything achieved short of the goal is technically a failure. Goal setting is for suckers.
Adams believes that people who create SYSTEMS for success are more successful. I cried bullsh-t on that when I read it. But, Alan Bean says it could help… I put the bullsh-t aside and read on. The more I read, the more it kind of made sense. Creating a system of work that builds on work is more realistic. It allows for greater leeway and creates situations that may take you on different, unintended, yet positive paths. The goal I set for myself way back in 2002 was not a way to ensure success. Going by that, I failed out of the gate. Failed for a decade and a half. I’m failing while writing this.
That’s not to say it’s been a waste. It has not by any means. It just means that my goal held me back and focused me so much that I may have missed a ton in the periphery. I don’t know what that periphery was/is. But believe me when I say this: From this point on, I’m looking all around.
It’s not an occupation, it’s my life. It’s not a goal. It’s a system.
Now I just have to figure out how to create a system… other than “looking all around”.
question…
at about the midpoint…
So, what’s up with 2016? Way back in January, I posed the question of putting out multiple Bob books during the year. Instead of an end of the year book barrage, I would put out collections every three or four months.
Well, March came and went. April came and went. We’re at the almost midpoint of the year and no Bob collections on the horizon. I hate to use the standard: “life got away from me and I just couldn’t get it together” b-llsh-t excuse, but it’s the only one I have. I apologize.
On the plus side, the Bob plushies are coming along great. Deb and Barb at Hummingbird Kreations are working away on them… ensuring that each one is just as good as the one on my shoulder (look left). There will be a limited quantity available initially, and judging by the demand we have, a pre-order situation may be necessary. Trust me guys… these Bobs are worth the wait. I will be announcing specific details in the coming weeks.
Even though the books never materialized, 2016 has been productive. In addition to the Bob plushie, I had the Finding Bob show up at Artistree in April. That was a ton of work but it was pretty successful. I didn’t expect to do an art show in 2016, but I got it done.
I also had tentative plans to build a Bob the Squirrel float for the summer Honor America Days parade in Rome. I began planning, but the logistics of the situation were unmanageable. I mean, sure I can build a nine foot squirrel, but apparently not out of snow. My garage is not big enough to keep it. I’d have to build Bob in parts and put it together on-site. Then there’s the flatbed, getting volunteers to walk with me… I just couldn’t manage it. Maybe in 2017?
That’s what this half has been. Lots of plans, lots of shelving of plans, lots of unexpected plans, lots of surprises, a few disappointments and whatever else. Just have to keep moving forward…