As I write this post, I’m watching the documentary “Waiting for Superman”. The movie looks at the how the public education in the country is severly lacking–and in some places very destructive. But the fundamental hidden message in the film is really about leaders needing to do their job–lead.

Wanted: Comic Book Leaders

I’ve been wrestling with the idea of how to convey the switch from freelancer to entrepreneur. We have to have more leaders in our industry. Like anything else, it is very hard to create a jolt of fundamental shift in the way creators see themselves. Much like all the indoctrination we have from the way we grow up, we believe the ideas we are taught. And until we can understand that the beliefs from our experiences has made us where we are, we will never be able to break out of past held beliefs.

What we have to realize is that EVERY DAY, we continue to grow and develop and redefine the beliefs as new information presents itself. But there are some things are so intrinsically ingrained in our brain, they will never be refuted. This is almost never good. Unless those beliefs have refined themselves through the trial of fire, and you are sure you can trust them, those ideas we believe can either be the biggest tuth..or the biggest lie.

As we switch our beliefs from seeing ourselves from freelancers to entrepreneurs, let’s look at all the reality on our beliefs. I am going to show you some comparisons betweens a typical comic book creator and a typical entrepreneur.

Comic Book Creator Entrepreneur
highly developed imagination     highly developed imagination
creative problem solving              creative problem solving
networking                                      networking
hard working                                   hard working
produce products                            produce results
self-motivated                                 self-motivated
needs money                                    gets money

Pretty close, right? 🙂

Is it really that much of transition? No, it isn’t. The only thing that separates us from this reality is our past perceptions. You are now at a crossroads. You can stick your head back down at the drawing table blindly, which I imagine 95% of creators will do. But 5% of you can pull your head up and see a big picture. These are the people I want to appeal to.

One day you realize there is a whole world out there instead of the tiny box most creators have been living in. I encourage you to open your eyes, open your heart, and open your mind to possibilities that some say only exist in fantasy funny books. Stare through the looking glass, Alice. You may just find you really are not that far from the reality you’ve always wanted. Make the shift. Live your dream.

If you are the 95%, get back to work at the drawing board. If you are the 5%, please retweet.