What do I want to do today?
Good morning. This is Todd from toddYoungONLINE with another sketch book flipthrough. Another Canson from the mid-nineties full of ideas. I’m going to sidetrack for more than a moment, because this is kind of the same sketchbook that I’ve posted several times now. I was watching Kevin Smith on Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast, Inside of You the other day, and that, “What do I want to do today?” is a quote from Kevin Smith.
He was recounting his his career and how he has taken so many twists and turns. I’ve really enjoyed Kevin Smith. I enjoy his work and his specials with Jay, the live events, he is a great storyteller, a great orator, and, just funny as heck.
I identify with him. We’re essentially the same age. Our careers have, taken similar paths. I’m not comparing myself to what he’s accomplished, but he said he wakes up and enjoys being able to say, “What do I want to do today?”
Not what do I have to do? What do I need to do? But what do I want to do? And that’s really kind of informed his career as a whole. which, I can identify with. I’m very fortunate to have a job that pays me, well enough that I can play with my art right and I can figure out what I want to do, what I enjoy doing.
I can look back and gather, consolidate all of this work that I’ve done for 30+ years. There would be more of it, but I distinctly remember, destroying a bunch of it when I was younger. Drawings I had done with the thought that it will spur me on to do even better work.
I enjoy getting these sketchbooks back out and flipping through them, sharing them, showing people the kind of the ugly side unfinished side of the process. I love being on Instagram and Facebook and seeing what people do and the absolutely gorgeous finished products. But, sometimes it’s also nice to see the work it took to get there.
Not everything that everybody does at all times is going to be picture perfect. It’s fun and relatable to see the ugly rough side of what we do sometimes or a lot of time because there’s more of this stuff than there is. the actual pretty stuff.
My career started ss a temp, way back when, and evolved into executive assistant work, then I fell into graphic design. I was the person that always had a sketchbook with me and a wide range of interests. I went to to a job interview, to interview for an assistant position and, after talking to them, they wanted to hire me to do their graphic design.
So I did that for two years and then fell into a better graphic design job later. Then started pursuing my education in graphic design after having been a designer, doing multimedia and print work, for many, many, many years. Another twist and I was doing IT work more than design work.
But, I have always taken the lessons I’ve learned just as a designer, and applied them forward to the next thing I’ve done. To the IT work and now as a project manager/product owner/business analyst. The lines have blurred depending on on the project and need.
Now, I’m able to take a step back. I’ve always found myself coming back to art, drawing, creating, animating. Always with a fascination with movement and how to bring things to life and entertain, inform, and hopefully delight people.
There’s nothing better to me than being able to have somebody really happy with your end product. I’ve always enjoyed that. Now I’m able to take a collective step back and consolidate everything I’ve doner to figure out what is next. Doing these flipthrough’s and posting them on social media lets me share with people and see what happens next..
I’m trying to renegotiate my future and take more control over what I want to do, trying to roadmap my way to…something. To being able to monetize my skills in some way. We’re all taught from a very early on how that we need to get a job, we need to make money, and we need to do whatever. But, we aren’t taught how to start a business or or take what we know and then use that to rely on ourselves and not somebody else for a paycheck.
So I think now, especially at this moment in time, with the internet it’s a perfect time for people, for me, to start looking what I know I can do. I can teach it on the internet or figure out some way to, to do what I want to do, and even as we come to a point where we might want to retire or develop a passive income that we can derive from the skills that we’ve learned and make that happen.
That’s kind of what I’m doing now.
So we’ve reached the end of another sketchbook. Thank you for listening to me as I work through these things and as I look back and share my thoughts.
I really appreciate your time.
Take care.
Talk to you soon.
