The Glass is Half.


I’m known as a pretty happy guy. I’ve been called chipper, overly optimistic, and occasionally, delusional. When my ideas or belief in something works out in the positive I’m hailed as having a great attitude, there are high fives all around and, occasionally, I’m called a genius. If things, even the smallest of them, go awry then I’m shunned and chastised for being unrealistic and foolish. It is a very strange dichotomy that has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I don’t really know what that says about me or the people around me. I have only ever been this way and don’t know what it is like to be any other way. For my part I can say that while, yes, I prefer to be optimistic and, yes, I prefer to be happy, I am also a fan of being realistic. Of course my version of realism is apparently different from most other people’s. In general I find that those who call themselves “realists” are actually just pessimists in disguise. It is not realistic to say that you will fail just because no one else has succeeded in something, it is realistic to say that you will probably fail at something unless you find a better way to do it. Example: I want to fly under my own power. Realistically this will not happen. Why by “other people’s” definition: people just cannot fly! Why by my definition: Thus far we as a people have not mastered any way over physics, without the means of machines or constructs, to allow us to fly under our own power. There’s an important phrase in there that I get lambasted on for using as “optimistic” when it is really just the truth, “thus far.”

I don’t think that the average Joe, hell, even many people that I know personally, really take the time to think about what could really be possible. Every day, every week, every year humans develop and learn things that would have been considered magic as recently as 50 years ago. I think it’s very important to be reminded of that every once in a while. I like to remind myself of it every day. I kind of have to. I have picked a career that is the farthest you can get from being called “secure.” I am essentially an entrepreneur selling myself, and have been for over twenty years. My lively hood lives and breathes on what is possible. It’s a neat gig, but not for the faint of heart.

The movie that I’m working on right now is a perfect example of this. When the idea germinated it was really just going to be a small, summer gig. Nothing special, straight to DVD release, just dust off the old producer hat and jump back into a level that was comfortable. But then possibility stepped in. It started with just one thing just one, “Hey this is pretty good. Who you gonna’ get for this?” Then the ball started rolling.

It would be unrealistic, even by my definition, to say that all is wonderful and I’m making the next blockbuster. That would be silly. But the possibility that this is going to be a GREAT movie keeps getting reinforced every day and the other possibilities that it has created are even better.

For me personally even when I’m seeing the glass half full, in the end I still know that it’s only half and it doesn’t make any difference whether that be full or empty – but it does keep me hungry for what’s going to fill that other half the rest of the way to over flowing.

3 Comments

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3 Responses to The Glass is Half.

  1. Well, any time something’s fallen short couldn’t have been too bad, otherwise you’d not be the peppy fellow you be today, right? *^_^*

  2. great blog. it lifted my “realistic” spirits today. 🙂

  3. Oh no, some things have fallen FAR short. I like to think that I’m resilient.

    And, to Mr. Arbuckle, I’m glad I could help.

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