Today I wish to type about setting a clear goal.
It’s not as easy as it might sound.
“I want to be a comicbook artist.” This was my goal for many, many years. It’s a fine goal but it lacks clarity. Why? Well, what type of comicbook artist do I want to be? Want sort of fame level and size of fan base do I want? Do I want to paint comics or just draw them?
“I want to be a penciler for Marvel, DC or Dark Horse, with at least a one year contract”
or
“I want to help self publish a 120 page comicbook, for which I’m the penciler.”
These are specific goals. They have a more defined end to them and therefore are easier to define a path to get to them. The first goal is so vague that it’s hard to tell if I have reached my goal or not.
The second thing about a goal is it needs a timeline. This is very hard to do and will take much practice to get right. Take some time to really think about your plan and what sort of timeline will work for you. If your first date doesn’t work out for you, don’t give up! Reset your date with your new knowledge and try again.
The third thing is make it attainable. You want a goal that is challenging enough that it will keep you interested and engaged. Also it should be challenging enough that when you complete it, you feel better and stronger for having done so. But pick a goal that is attainable for you. Don’t fret though if you don’t think you can attain the goals you dream of. Set smaller goals that are of the same vein! As you complete these “lesser” goals you WILL become stronger and one day that goal of painting that Avengers graphic novel will seem more then in reach!
So be specific, set a date and make it just out of your reach (so that your forced to grow to reach it) but not so far out of reach that you leave yourself floundering for years on end. (Boy, do I know about that! lol)
Take care and don’t give up!
Bri
Happy Harbor Comics said
October 8 2007 @ 1:40 pm
If I ever had any real problems, it’s that I’ve never had any clear goals, especially one that were “attainable”. Take it from me, improving your life path is a bad idea. It makes for a lot of unnecessarily long and painful moments.
Brian Guay said
October 8 2007 @ 2:00 pm
Well, that may be. But doing nothing with my life and allowing my life to be set by whims and the wind have gotten me nothing that I want and brought many nights of sadness and pain. I think that if your a person who even gives thought about who he is and what he is,(he or she), then your in for many long and painful moments, if you do nothing or if you take action. The difference is the moments in between your struggle. Do you have a happier life in between, or are things just getting a little worst each time.
Take it from me, doing nothing about improving your life only leads to a lot of unnecessarily long and painful moments.
Bri