http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/two-50-year-careers-two-different.html
Great write up at TAG Blog about 2 different career in the animation industry.
excerpts
"The animation business -- like most of the entertainment biz -- is cold, uncaring, and often brutal. One year it showers you with money and tells you what a fabulous talent you are; the next year it doesn't return phone calls. And you're on unemployment wondering what the hell happened.
I know it's not like this for everybody. Sometimes God smiles down while you're still in the womb and gifts you with monster talent. And sometimes the career ball bounces just right and you are standing in the proper doorway in front of the key supervisor at the correct time. And sometimes you work your tail off 24/7 and expand your career universe that way.
If you've got huge amounts of talent or luck, maybe you don't need a frenetic work ethic. Conversely, a big passion for work could mean you don't need as much of the other two things.
But face it. Most human beings don't end up precisely where they expected. Or wanted. Excrement, as the wise man says, occurs. Which is why it's crucial to save and participate in pension plans, mandatory to push your learning curve upward at every point of your career, and crucial to run your professional life like you're in the regional finals of a popularity contest."
"Not everybody gets the breaks, not everyone has a skill set that's continually marketable (with a personality to match), not everyone makes the right choice when there's a crucial fork in life's road. Yet I kind of believe the champion golfer Sam Snead, who once remarked after a major tournament win: "Yeah, I had some luck out there today. But I've found out that the harder I work, the luckier I get."
I think that last quote really nails it on the head.
hilscreate.blogspot.com
