Optimism and determination are contagious. Don’t discount them.
The amount of support from gaming industry friends at E3 this week has been exhilarating. The amount of passion some of them have for the projects they are working on — exhilarating all the more so.
Perhaps that’s what I’ve been seeking all along. A creative arena where I, too, get to be creative. One where my ideas are as valuable as anyone else’s to be implemented. Creative people – the best, smartest ones – can be the community you always wanted. Or, you can keep your mouth shut and stay in a community that’s more prone to shoot down ideas than implement them. I prefer the creative community option.
Wait, what?
David Pollay wrote a book called “The Law of the Garbage Truck” that explains my point better than I can. You should read it. I’m going to pull 2 random pieces from the whole to make a point. Not Pollay’s point; mine.
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Each chapter has an action guide (a personal self-help pet peeve, but I digress). In this case, I wrote something while reading this a couple years back that resonates more loudly than ever. The question? “What do you value enough that you won’t let Garbage Trucks get in the way of achieving your dreams?” My answer?
“I value creativity, imagination, technology and entertainment – in my professional and personal life. At work, I won’t let negative people stop me from doing a good job. Personally, I won’t let Garbage Trucks deter me from pursuing a career in arenas that are interesting and important to me.”
It’s due time to put my plan in action. Does anyone else hear a little LEGO language in my answer? Hey if imagination is the key to success, I’m on board with that.
The point, in relation to gaming versus books, or E3 versus BEA, is this: E3 hasn’t changed since I started going 5 years ago. I have. Furthermore…
If the book industry is half as collaborative and positive as some of the creative communities in the gaming industry, we’re going to get along just fine. Next year I’m ditching E3 and hitting BEA. By that time, I expect fully to be semi-pro. Is that a thing?