Friday, May 27, 2005

How does one make oneself change the world?

I don’t mean to ask how one would take over the world, or push the world in a given direction. I mean: Most people I know have at least one idea, one dream that would change the world. A service to provide, a product to sell, a helping hand to hold out. How does one go about making this actually happen?

Because it has start within the self. Nobody else is going to do it, obviously. So how does one make oneself into the person who would do this Great Thing?

David Allen suggests that one of the best ways is to identify two things: (1) Exactly what you want to accomplish, and (2) the next physical, real-world action that you need to take to accomplish it. That “next action” might be cruising the web for similar services. It might be a phone call. It might be half an hour of concentrated brainstorming. Whatever, as long as it’s something that will move you one step forward towards the goal. And when you’re done with that, you can move on to the next action.

I tend to agree, and I notice how true it’s been with Otherspace. I wanted to make beautiful, life-affirming animation. So, after joking around with a friend about an animation idea, I wrote it down. Then I wrote a detailed script. Then I drew out each shot on paper. Then I called local colleges to see if they could recommend art students who would help me. Then I met with art students and gave them work to do. And suddenly, I was making animation.