XEROX NATION

XEROX, a word that is familiar to anyone that has been a College or University student , or has worked in some form of office setting.It become synonymous with the invention of photocopying. And although other companies produce the machine, the brand name has stuck. This duplication miracle was both a gift and a curse to the world. A gift to those with arthritis and could not keep up with all the duplications,(the very reason it was invented) a curse to those that made a living copying documents for others. Two sides of the same coin, the xerox was here to stay , and continued to change and evolve.

Before all the photocopied posterior and other bits became a favorite pastime, something else was discovered. People realized that a copy of a photocopy, never came out the same as the original. When you photocopy Document A, the copy will never be of the same image of visual quality. In fact, you begin to see the lines and shadows, that are evidence of copy. By the time that copy is duplicated, another inferior duplicate is made and as it goes further down the line,as the process continues in a vicious cycle, the fact that it’s a copy becomes so obvious and distorted, that it can not be used for anything beneficial.

Unfortunately in real life a lot of people do this. Teenagers that try to be a copy of a celebrity, who already is trying to copy another celebrity or someone they admire. It’s seen in reality TV shows, when a singer imitates the vocal style of another performer. The endless remakes of classic movies, fall on their face, because they can never be like the original. They may have higher technology and better visual effects, but a copy can never be superior to the original . Hip Hop vinyl spinner Dj Clue is known to say “often imitated never duplicated”. Nate Dogg and Warren G in their song “Nobody Does it Better” to other rappers “they can be closer than close, originals they never would be, nobody does it better” .

Another example, is the Gus Van Saint remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic PSYCHO. It was a shot for shot remake, with much better technology, but it could not hold a candle to the original and is held in high disregard.

We should determine in life, to never be a shadow to anyone, a shadow falls behind, but the light is so easy to find.We should stop trying to be like everybody else and get to know ourselves. Reach deep within and discover who we are and who we are destined to be , and like the Chesney Hawkes song, we must believe with confidence “I am the one and only , nobody i’d rather be.

DISTRICT 9. SHOULD WE BE LIVID??..HOW CAN WE TURN THE TIDE ON THE -VE

The movie District 9 has gotten a lot of attention in the past few months. First the anticipation of a riveting Sci Fi movie. Then the people that were blown away by how well executed it was, then recently the concern and uprise of the portrayal of Nigerians in the movie.

I must admit, sitting in the cinema, every time “the Nigerians” was hammered in description to the negative characters, it stung a little but i carried on regardless. I wont say i hated the movie, because it was indeed, very well done.

BUT in retrospect i can see why peeps would be enraged. It’s bad enough that Cop shows and Sitcom make us a punch line. But this was something else on a whole new level.

My consolation was that , they were not Nigerian actors, nor did they speak in any Nigerian language, nor did they have Nigerian accents. BUT , most non Nigerians would not detect that fact

Many people would say

“We have more important things to be worried about”

but we have to remember how powerful a medium film is. Both to the intelligent, and those that just absorb and believe EVERYTHING that they see on TV and in the movie, Film leaves a powerful impression on the mind for a very long time.

We all know how Germans have been associated with Nazi ,Neo Nazi History in the movies. The same goes for middle easterners as terrorists. Indians as convenience store clerks and Asians as martial arts masters. These portrayals find their way into the subconscious,and even if it is for a microsecond,affect our perceptions , and with a movie as popular as District 9, it looks like it is going to become a part of popular culture.

The fact is, the consistent reference and Hammering on “The Nigerians” was unnecessary, and “the gangsters” would have been sufficient enough,without specifying a nationality.

I found this quote on a blog , which i find very insightful

“Whatever any film maker may portray, the most important thing really is that Africans need to start telling their own stories more than they have done so far. Africans need to make their own compelling films – both fiction and non-fiction. As an an African proverb says “Until lions are able to tell their own stories, the story of the hunt will always glorify the hunter”
-Supo Orimogunje

The Nigerian entertainment scene is growing in large proportions, TV ,and especially music which is now global.

Isn’t it about time, we loose all the Jazz ,Asawo, 419 stories in our movies? There are sooo many other aspects of Naija life we can write and make films about.

Chimamanda “Purple Hibiscus” Adichie, has become the pioneer of a new generation of Nigerian voices. .A voice that the world has taken seriously because of the QUALITY of the compelling and captivating stories she writes .

Isn’t it about time we do the same in our film making? Compelling stories, that are well made and excellently performed, that would sweep the floor and blow minds all across the world.

The literary world in Nigeria is NOWHERE as large as the movie industry,which has been touted as the second largest producer (quantity wise) in the world. But our literary figures are global brands that stand side by side with anyone from the west. Their books are stacked together in the same library and sold in the same book stores. In the case of Adichie promoted and distributed by the same publisher. The same can’t be said about our movie industry……yet. So for the love of all that’s good WHY??!!!

Why don’t we have film makers globally revered the same way Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka are held in high regard.

How come the Nigerian film world does not have ANY voice as respected as Chris Abani is globally? (If there’s one please correct me)

When are we gonna to have a 100%Naija made film(cast&crew) take the world by storm the same way Adichie’s books have done? Gathering critical acclaim and accolades from colleauges all around the world? Giving Keynote speeches at TED Talks Universities and seminars all over the World?

With all the movies made annually where is that movie that would garner a legion of awestruck fans with NO connection to Nigeria like Adichie’s book found?

Maybe the real question is “Why haven’t we done one or such yet?”

This is a challenge for all screenwriters,directors producers,creatives and all those involved in Tv and Film of Naija origin both inside and outside Naija.

We have the potential to tell fascinating Naija stories, those grounded in reality, fairy tale or fantasy, which we have many.

What stops us from adapting stories by Soyinka, Cyprian Ekwensi and others into screenplays. What stops “The return of Ikenga” ,”Things fall Apart” from being a Naija epic. or “Without a Silver spoon” becoming Naija’s answer to “Pursuit of Happyness” We have sooooo much potential, which can stop the recycling of stories.

We don’t even have to adapt books, but can come up with original stories that go beyond what is currrently available.

We’ve all had childhood experiences that would make great “Coming of age” films.

We’ve all heard tales in boarding school.Old wives tales or that story your friend heard, from his neighbor’s cousin’s sister’s daughters boyfriend, that sounds outlandish but you don’t mind because it’s throughly entertaining.

How about fictional stories with a historical backdrop?

How about stories set in a complete world of fantasy?

Biopics on heros. Satire ,Lord knows we have loads of ripe events that need to be told through the magic of Satire.

How about a gritty film that shows the social divide of Nigeria. The Haves vs The Have Nots. The Aje Butter vs The Aje Paki? Their resentment of each other and how they come to a mutual understanding.

The brutal reality of the “Area Boy” virus in society and how it could spiral into a much bigger monster that rampages the city like Godzilla.

I’ve said it a million times “City of God” is a prime example showing the potential a well made film can have to an industry.Shoot on a minimal budget and no big names ,It’s was brazilian film made outside Hollywood, and it took the world by storm. We have that potential too. How are we Naija young generation going to turn the tide, and start stunning the world with amazing globally appealing WELL MADE movies about naija life?

THE STALLONE STORY

Tony Robbins tells Rocky story

Many people make fun of Stallone, he has been mocked and spoofed countless number of times on Late Night Shows and Comedy Sketch shows and every place possible, but very few people know his story.

The tenacity and perseverance that he went through hanging on to his dream. No doubt, many of us have watched the movie Rocky, but do we know what he went through before this movie was made. We don’t realize the number of dream killers, and naysayers that he had to overcome, all the circumstances,hurdles and negativity he had to shut out when hanging on to his dream.

The experts don’t always have the answers, dream on , dream big, and take the steps necessary to achieve that dream. ACTION not only dreams.

F. W Wolworth was told he was too stupid to work in retail

A bank manager once told an investor that the product of the start up company and he wanted to invest in were just a novelty and it would pass away, he went ahead and invested anyway, that company, was Ford.

In 1962 ,the President of Dekker Records, passed on a band of four friends, because they felt , “groups with guitars are a thing of the past”. That group was ,The Beatles… Read more

The “experts”, are not always right.

This is an amazing story and i hope that we are all inspired by it.

Enemy of the ordinary

“One machine can do the work of fifty men . No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man”.

Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)
A Thousand and One Epigrams

The Longman Active Study Dictionary defines the word Ordinary as:
Not special, unusual or different from other things.
It can also be understood to be unremarkable: not remarkable or special in any way, and therefore uninteresting and unimpressive.

I despise the ordinary, the ordinary never gets anything done. The ordinary is bland and is satisfied with just getting things done but not done properly.
Many of us had parents that insisted that if we are going to do the chores they must be done to the best of our ability and not nonchalantly. Nothing in this world that has ever been worthy of recognition was done by an ordinary person. Persistence, tenacity and perseverance channeled by vision have been what has made impact in the world.

The seven wonders of ancient world, North America’s Mount Rushmore , Italy’s Sistine chapel , the great wall of China, The Sears and Petronas towers, the Sydney Opera house are all works of extra-ordinary men.Beethoven,Mozart ,Handel were men whose music still influences performing artists today over 200 years later. Literary works by Alexander Dumas, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming ,Shakespeare and Charles Dickens are still relevant and several have been turned into motion pictures centuries after the fact.
Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Hannibal of Carthage remain some of the greatest military leaders in the history of the world. Their battle strategies are still studied in many military schools all over the world.

Muhammad “The greatest” Ali , didn’t get to be the living legend he is today by being an ordinary boxer, he turned the “brutish” sport of boxing into an art form , displaying his unique talents in and out of the ring, fascinating both his fans and critics. Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Mohandas Gandhi were extraordinary leaders that went to astonishing lengths to make an impact on their nations. They saw a need for change and became they vessel for it, one can only wonder what the world would be like if not for such great men

Stand out from the crowd, think out of the box is my motto. So many people are miserable, stuck doing jobs they hate because they did the conventional like they were told, go to school, get a good job, save for retirement. There are so many people out there that could have been the next , Stevie Wonder, Michael Jordan Richard Branson or John Grisham but are stuck in the rat race, grinding away at that wheel, going no where slowly . How many people have within them that book they’ve been wanting to write or the business idea that they have been to afraid to carry out because of all the nay-sayers around them .

Yahoo, Google, Face book and You Tube are some of the biggest companies in the world today, with billion dollar net worth, three of them were started in college dorm rooms . Now their founders could have waited till they graduated college and settled for nice paying jobs and built a 401k, but because they took the road less traveled and now never have to worry about finances for the rest of their life, and guess what! they were all under the age of 30 when they hit their first million.

Many people have greatness within them but yet they are frustrated by their 9 to 5 jobs that give them no satisfaction but choose this life for the “job security” it offers them. As a creative person It is beyond me staying in a job that has me going over the motions day in day out. Such a life is the reason many people either commit suicide or loose their sanity. They hate their monotonous jobs and this starts a chain reaction that affects the rest of their life affecting their relationships, health and general well state of being.

Dare to be different, when the history books are open, only those that were extra-ordinary are remembered, even the exceptionally silly or stupid are remembered, nobody ever remembers the ordinary.

“Without the mediocrity of the ordinary, the excellence of the extraordinary can not be acknowledged”. It is now up to the individual to choose where to belong

FINDING YOUR PATH IN LIFE

The Encarta dictionary defines educating as the imparting and acquiring of knowledge through teaching and learning, especially at a school or similar institution.
Formal education is looked upon as the key to having a successful life by many people all over the world. Young people across the globe have it drummed into their ears by their parents, uncles and aunts “work hard, get good grades so you can go to university get a degree and get a good secure job”. Thus being the reason that many students enter the university and go for medicine ,engineering , law or accountancy , because these are seen as the prestigious courses that can get you a high income job in strong companies and the like. But is that really the only means to success?

I believe that everyone is born with something within them , which is essentially “the goose that lays the golden egg”. There are several groups into which these can be classified. One group of people “the intellectuals” are natural readers, they love to absorb and disperse information. This group consists of the doctors, lawyers professors and research scientists etc.Another group read less and do more, they are good with their hands give them a television that is inoperative and they would dismantle it examine it to find the problem and fix it, these are the “the technical” .Another group are those that come up with things from within themselves, I would call them “the creatives”, they are the actors, recording artists, sculptors, poets, playwrights etc. A completely different group is “the athletes” , they are blessed with physical prowess and excel well above their peers in sports. An individual from the athletes group, can never find fulfillment if he is studying medicine in the university, he may excel but deep down he’s know there is something missing in his life.

There is a belief that without a university degree one can not be successful financially and otherwise in life, but is that really true ? What about those that have learning disabilities, are they doomed to be failures? Dyslexia, a condition that causes the inability to read or write it is known as a special reading disorder, it occurs in 10 to 20 percent of the world’s population and it has different levels of intensity. One of the characteristics is having problem distinguishing the various sounds or phenoms that make up speech. Fluently, is rarely diagnosed and sufferers usually suffer the stigma of being labeled dumb or stupid and relegated to the background. Is there any fate for such people? If they can’t learn, read or write won’t they have difficulty making a living? Apparently, the saying “when God takes something away , he gives something else” rings true in their case. For the first time, new research shows that entrepreneurs are five times more likely to suffer from dyslexia than your average citizen, some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs such as Sir Richard Branson, and Anita Roddick of The Body Shop allegedly suffer from dyslexia. Branson whose Virgin empire includes Telecoms, Soft drinks, Air and Rail transport, Radio and a record company has a personal net worth of over £3 billion, he never walked the halls of a university. World renowned Public and motivational speaker Les Brown was labeled educable mentally retarded when he was in high school, today he earns millions every year from speaking engagements for executives of Fortune 500 companies It is said that Dyslexia forces people to hunt for creative ways to steer through life,ain’t that the truth.

As mentioned earlier there are different groups that individuals belong to, and parents need to discover what group their child belongs to and guide them toward that path. The blinders need to come off our eyes, the blinders that have given us tunnel vision, and brainwashed us into thinking that university education, is the only light at the end of the tunnel. Those in the intellectual group will acquires the degrees at the Universities . “The technical” would hone their skills by attending vocational colleges where they can learn to become world class craftsmen, electricians, blacksmiths, masons,H20 transportation engineers(plumbers), etc. Vocations which are certainly not in short demand. Those in the creative group need to hone their ingrown talent by attending a school for music and performing arts like Julliard where they can major in courses like dance, vocals, a specific instrument or music production. For the athletes they need a sports academy, much like Aspire, a school in Qatar that trains it’s students to be professional athletes, at the same time giving them an education to fall back after their professional careers end or they choose not to go that way. A similar school was portrayed in the Australian teen drama SWEAT.

The essential in life, is a basic secondary school education, which should be standard for every child , after they’ve crossed that bridge each should discover their path , which only they can tread. They question we should ask ourselves is, what would the world be like if people legendary producer Quincy Jones ,who have brought us some of our most loved songs .Football sensation Cristiano Ronaldo who has lead his Manchester United team to victory several times, and is carving his name in the football hall of fame. Crooner Frank Sinatra, a kid from humble beginnings went to seal his name forever in the history of music and has spawned a string of imitators in Harry Connick Jnr, Michael Buble ,movie visionaries Francis Ford Coppola, Ridley Scott ,Alfred Hitchcock,Orson Wells are some of the greatest directors of all time.Quentin Tarantino , whose movie Pulp Fiction is listed as number 7 in imdb top 250 movies of all time, once worked as a video store clerk. What if they had decided to work blue collar jobs, because they felt they had no future without a university degree.

Some of the biggest companies in the world today, were founded by those who just had a dream. Some of them were dubbed stupid ,dumb or retarded by teachers. Some of them were doing great in school, but found no satisfaction from learning theories that were not applicable in the real world. Many of the founders of our most beloved brands started those companies out of a desire within them that could not be satisfied working for a pay check.

Now , don’t get this twisted, i am not knocking or discouraging formal education , i believe and encourage that every one has the minimum of a secondary school education, (high school education to the Americans, and O Levels to the Europeans) But from that point , each has to discover what they have the potential for, whether it be in the Art(music,acting, painting ,sculpting), a university education, business or sports.
However ,even amongst the professionals, many of them have come out of those in the much awed “prestigious” professions to enormous success using their gifts. Best selling author John Grisham was trained as a Lawyer, same thing goes for Michael Crichton , who was trained as a Doctor, he has gone on to become a best selling author and producer of the Emmy Award winning television show ER and many of his noels have been made into blockbuster movies including; Congo,Coma Sphere,Rising Sun ,Jurassic Park and the upcoming West World . Have you heard of the shows ;Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Public, Boston Legal, the man behind them is David E Kelley , who was working in a law firm when a t.v executive came across a script he had written, the rest is history.
Oscar nominated and Grammy Winner Will Smith had a full scholarship to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),but had no intention of going to College because of a dream he ahd to pursue. Friends cast member Lisa Kudrow , graduated with a BSc in Biology with an intention to pursue a career in research. We all know the success they have gone on to achieve , in the careers that their parents fought tooth and nail against.
There are several success stories of those that never got a formal education, one of them is hip hop icon Jay Z , one of the most recognized names in music. Born into a poor home in Brooklyn ,New York, he is a classic rags to riches story. Starting as a young hustling rapper on the streets from scratch he slowly began to build an empire that includes a chain of night clubs, a clothing line and alcoholic beverages, he is part-owner of the NBA team the New Jersey Nets is former head honcho of Def Jam Records and a long line up of endorsements, a club franchise, and real estate .He has a personal net worth of over $300 million and growing, not bad for a kid that never finished high school.

You may go on to say that, i have no talent to speak of . Paris Hilton happens to be one of the most recognized faces on television. The young socialite is a tabloid favorite parties with A list celebrities, she has no talent to speak of, has failed at both a music and acting career, but she gets paid more than some professional speakers to make appearance at social events. She has discovered and harnessed her exhibitionist talent and gets paid up to $100,000 to smile and wave for less than an hour.Even a blogger the self titled Perez Hilton( no relation) has turned his love for gossip into a money spinning venture. I’m not encouraging you to be the next Paris or Perez Hilton, my point is that every one has some form of talent, deep within them all you have to do is look hard enough. I mean look at the Spice Girls.
Today anyone that uses the internet is bound to have come across Yahoo, Google, and Facebook , these global companies were all founded , in college dorm rooms, and made their young creators billionaires before the age of thirty, so their is yet hope for the so called “nerds”(book worms) without musical or athletic talent
In conclusion I will continue to emphasize the need for a basic secondary school education, and then the discovery of one’s own path . I recommend two books, Start Small Finish Big by Fred Deluca co founder of Subways who started the franchise as a teenager looking for a way to fund his college education and Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki a man who is an expert in knowing how to make your money work for you. In his book he mentions his two dads, his biological father and his mentor. His biological father(poor dad) had a PhD, was a working man all his life and died with a burden of debt on his shoulders. His rich dad (mentor) was a high school dropout , who when he died left a million dollar fortune that included real estate and several businesses ,You do the math .

HAMSTER THEORY OF LIFE

OPPORTUNITY SEEKS OUT THE PREPARED MIND AND FINDS IT. Imagine a hamster, that lives in a cage, and has an exercise wheel, a water trough and a constant supply of food . Like the hamster trapped in a cage with the exercise wheel .It burns a lot of energy, gains a lot of momentum but never goes anywhere. Constantly spinning in that wheel, no matter the energy or speed it gain it’s effort are in vain However if that hamster sees the cage door open, what should it do? What would you think of that hamster if he didn’t take the chance to escape while the door has been left open for him to leave. He starts to give the excuse that , he doesn’t know where his next meal is coming from at least here in the cage he is secure. What if there is a cat out there to eat me up. What if there is a rat that has it in for me out there? He analyzes and decides that he likes where he is and is not going to out to the big bad world. Sadly that is how many of us are. We work harder and harder and we just don’t seem to be cutting it .Even with the ever increased salary it seems that our bills just get more and more, and we need another raise to meet those. Like the hamster in that wheel, we gain momentum, we strive harder, but we are going nowhere fast and soon burn out from sheer exhaustion.We then sit back and fantasize about the day we would be financially free and live without the worry of money. It has been found that the wealth of the world lies with less than 20% of the population.

It’s an entrepreneur’s world and the world does not give way to those who just sit back and fantasize, it gives way to those that have a vision and run after it with everything the have got within them. They give up all sense of security and safety, they escape their comfort zones and leave themselves vulnerable to whatever comes their way during the pursuit of their goals and dreams. They give up their jobs and they plunge in after those dreams that tug at their heart strings. The stories of them that have succeeded are all around us . KFC, Google, Virgin, Ford,Kinkos, Subways etc. These are men and women who were sick and tired of just getting by .Broke busted and disgusted with having more month at the end of the money. Being in a JOB Just Over Broke. James Allen said “The vision that you glorify in your mind the ideal that you enthrone in your heart this you will build your life by this you will become”. This is exactly how these men and women reached where they are today. Many of them came from impoverished backgrounds , but they filled their hearts and minds with goals and despite all the opposition, Despite all those around them that said they could not do it ,we all know where they are today. It does not take a genius to realize that paid employment is never going to give you financial freedom. But like the hamster we are scared of what is out there, we are scared to launch into the deep and take our chances. One thing has to be emphasized though , a second thing that makes many of us different from these men and women who have achieved greatness is our mindset and way of thinking. Intelligence and academic achievement in life does not guarantee financial success. Think about it how many Professors or Doctorate holders d you know that are millionaires. How many of your friends who graduated as Valedictorian are financially wealthy? So that settles it that Diplomas and Degrees are not a determinant factor to success. Motivational speaker and business trainer Jim Rohn says “A formal education will make you a living, but self education will make you a fortune” He also advices Work harder on yourself, than you do on your job.

Robert Kiyosaki,Donald Trump,Bill Gates are some of the most successful men in the world . They are all advocates of personal development and what keeps them at the top of their game is that they are always reading. The constantly feed their minds by reading books, attending seminars , consulting with experts. While the rest of us would rather spend money on expanding our wardrobe or splashing out on that new car we passed by on the dealership. Yet we complain that our big chance hasn’t come by and those guys got a lucky break. Yes they did , if you define it as Labour Under Correct Knowledge. They learned the principles of success and the applied them. Too many of us want the money but are not ready to learn the steps to get it for ourselves. You have got to build the mind before you build the money. If we can learn from the experts we can do what they did and achieve what they achieved. Theodore Roosevelt said “Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat”. DO TODAY WHAT OTHERS WON’T , TO HAVE TOMORROW WHAT OTHERS DON’T

It’s an everyday concious effort to free our minds from the years of  prisoner programming for  “job security”,We wont master in one day,but  let’s move forward together and go out on a limb, after all, that is where the fruit is.

Life lessons from classic cartoon characters

Most of us grew up watching cartoons as children. Tom and Jerry, beyond a doubt, has to be one of the most popular and generation bridging cartoons ever. The rivalry between the two has spanned over 50 years.

Most episodes would begin with Tom scheming about how he could eat Jerry. But no matter how hard he tried, Jerry always found some way to escape, even after Tom had succeeded in swallowing him. In the Looney Toons cartoons, there have also been many similar rivalries.

Elmer Fudd has hunted Bugs for many years without much success, but he keeps coming back to get that “scwewy” wabbit. The constant hunt for the road runner by Wild E Coyote also has to be one of the most determined series of plots in cartoon history. He usually has a perfect plan, which should work by all logical means, but someway or somehow, the road runner always manages to get away. Sylvester is another popular character that has a similarly determined mindset for turning Tweety into his lunch, or sometimes he’s just minding his own business, but he somehow always manages to get into trouble.

What is the point of all this cartoon referencing? What do all these rivalries have to do with anything in life? Is there something that Elmer, Sylvester, Tom and Wild E Coyote all have in common? The answer is tenacity, and they all have it. Each one has a goal that they want to achieve, usually lunch. No matter how many times they get outsmarted, bashed, slammed into the side of mountains or squashed by falling anvils they keep striving after their goal, simply because they can see it in their mind’s eye. They always know what they want, and they are not going to let a few obstacles – whether it be the IQ of their opponent, the height of what they are striving for or the fact that what they are after is moving at a faster speed than what they can keep up with. They just find a way to do it

Consider The Road Runner, Jerry, Tweety, and Bugs Bunny to be the ultimate survivors. No matter what their hunters use to come against them, they always find a way to survive. No matter how many times they get trapped, they constantly find a relevant means of escape. Think about it, have you ever watched a Looney Toons cartoon, in which Wild E Coyote succeeded in completely capturing the road runner or that Bugs didn’t escape Elmer’s capture? No matter what the situation, they both exhibit their true nature. Bugs Bunny has the nature to survive at all costs and Elmer Fudd has relentless tenacity, no matter how many times he has previously failed.

Another group of cartoon characters I greatly admire are Top Cat (TC) and Yogi Bear. These guys are what I’d like to call, “The Original Kings of Hustle”. Top Cat is an entrepreneur, someone who brims with confidence and never allows anything to get him down. When he faces an obstacle he simply finds a way to overcome it. Whether it be a lack of money, assets or staff or occasional human obstacles in the form of officer Dibble, his brain always begins to work and he succeeds in overcoming the interference in some manner. Despite the fact that all of his ventures end up collapsing, he always keeps on trying, and the spirit within him never die.

The same goes for one famous Jellystone Park resident who is “smarter than the average bear”. He is the mammal that had exquisite taste long before Remy rat. Unlike the other bears that are satisfied with fruits nuts and berries, he longs for more, picnic baskets in particular. Despite all of the obstacles facing him, usually in the form of Ranger Smith who represents authority figures, or by his fellow bears who are satisfied with what they can rummage around, he wants something better. Usually there are things that people will tell him are not meant for bears, saying that they are out of his league and convincing him that he should stick to what he knows. Yogi never lets any of that veer his determination, and due to his extreme perseverance, more often than not he succeeds.

Life is not very much different. Like the little kids playing or the cartoon character that falls down or is losing, we do not want to just give up and quit. There are always going to obstacles in our way. Even as babies when we gradually learned to walk, gravity was constantly an obstacle. We plainly fell down several (hundred) times, but that didn’t stop us from trying. Today we walk without even giving it a second thought, or remembering how difficult it was for us to learn.

Children usually fall down many times and get back up without even a second thought when playing “cops and robbers” or “tag”. Many of us have also played some form of sports and loved it. There is no doubt at some point in time that we lost a game or missed a shot, but we learned not to quit because of that.

Like those cartoon characters that kept going despite several knock downs or defeats, if we have a strong enough vision, we should not allow any failure to make us quit. Most of the successful people in history and in the world today have had so many failures that it’s a wonder that they kept on going at all. Col Sanders the founder of KFC had about 1009 rejections for his recipe, Abraham Lincoln failed in getting elected for many different offices, JK Rowling received many rejection slips, Steven King threw away the manuscript for “Carrie”, because of so many rejections. Bing Crosby was written off by a casting director. Are you seeing a pattern here?

It’s not going to be easy, but no matter how many falling cartoon anvils get dropped on us, and no matter how many mountain sides we smash into – if our dreams are truly worth it, we should learn from our favorite cartoon characters, and never give up.

TC the King of hustlers