Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
You have plenty of ideas. They keep coming to you – ideas for books, your job, your business. People are jealous of your imagination and all that it produces, in awe of your imagination, or just wonder "where it all comes from."
What these people don't get is that there's a darkside to a powerful imagination. You have too many ideas, and it can be distracting. You can't apply them all. You worry you're going to miss the "right one"
Welcome to Idea Burnout.
So there I was, taking a break from being, well, busy, and giant robots helped me get my working mojo back.
I know, you may need to reread that line again.
Essentially I was watching Gurren Lagann, an unusual anime that is hard to describe. It's a giant robot show, a space show, a drama, parts of a comedy, strangely sincere yet with winking nods and references. A big part of the show is the power of fighting spirit and people's emotions to drive them on and empower them. This is an anime that people who don't watch anime won't get.
It was actually quite inspiring, and it struck me that's something we geeks and fans need to keep in mind – we can find inspiration in seemingly mundane things, and that can push us on.
How do you stay motivated in this lousy economy, with your lousy job, your failing webcomic, your dashed dreams? How do you keep going on?
Well at times the answer may be "Caffeine" but one thing I encourage people to do in their troubled careers is to remember a simple truth:
If you survive and prosper, you can share it with others.