Conversations in Management
Not
many successful cartoonists decide to simply end their strips as
a matter of principle and even fewer decide to forgo the
licensing arrangements that could produce gushers of cash, but
Bill Watterson, creator of the Calvin and Hobbes comic
strip, did just that. An early fan of the comic pages, he began
his career drawing political cartoons for both his high school
and college newspapers. After a brief (and unhappy) stint with
the Cincinnati Post, he spent five years writing grocery
ads while patiently and persistently trying to get a strip
syndicated. Getting a comic strip syndicated isn’t easy under
any circumstances, but Watterson made it even harder by setting
unusually high and standards for himself that he wasn’t willing
to compromise. He believed passionately in both the craft and
artistry of cartooning. And he drew his inspiration from
some of the best strips ever drawn—Peanuts, Krazy Kat and
Pogo. In Peanuts he saw the interplay of pathos
and humor with an honest simplicity. In Krazy Kat he
noted the creative variations of a simple theme and rich word
play. Pogo provided a lush contrast to the others in both
drawing and language. All these elements were evident in the
ten-year run Calvin and Hobbes. But also evident was
Watterson’s tremendous satisfaction and enjoyment in the strip.
Syndicated cartooning, however, is a business burdened with
deadlines and constraints. When the burdens outweighed the
satisfaction, Watterson folded the strip and gracefully moved
on.
A lot of
us can relate to the grim, treadmill existence many syndicated
cartoonists experience. Particularly for folks raising children,
the logistics of daily living can seem nearly insurmountable.
From the moment the alarm sounds, we begin a fast march through
the day with the kind of precision more customarily found on
West Point’s parade ground. In rapid succession we get ourselves
ready, get the kids ready, maneuver through traffic, rush
through the work day—with one eye on the clock—so that we
can leave on the dot in order to coordinate the evening’s
activities before collapsing into bed for a fitful night’s
sleep. Then, moments after our eyelids close, the alarm sounds
and we start all over again! Even without the benefit of
children, there are 30 hours of must do events to fill
every 24 hour period.
The
tragedy is that in our zeal to get things done, we lose out on
the intrinsic pleasures that made them worthwhile activities to
begin with. Emblematic of this is the parent at a school play
who is fixated, not on their child, but on their Blackberry.
Or the couple out for dinner, whose Duck á la Orange slowly
congeals in its fat while they each take several cell phone
calls. Life in this fast lane is definitely about
arriving and not about the journey. Unfortunately,
it’s the rare bird, indeed, who doesn’t realize at some point
that there’s a lot of truth in the adage, “getting there is
half the fun.” It’s too bad that the recognition
usually comes too late. What doesn’t come too late is the
opportunity to start taking pleasure in the life that is yours.
One of the best ways to start is to be fully present in
whatever it is you are doing. Savor what’s going on in
the here and now. Resist the urge to multi-task when you’re with
your kids or family or friends. You’ll discover that when you
enjoy your todays, your tomorrows are infinitely
more fulfilling. So take some time, sit back and enjoy a big
bowl of blackberries and cream!
—Ebert
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