“Seize the day. Because, believe it or not, each and every one of us in this room is going to stop breathing, turn cold and die” -Robin Williams, Dead Poets Society
People die every second. If Robin Williams worked produce at Costco we wouldn’t know. If Jim Morrison worked at Jiffy Lube we wouldn’t know. If Janis Joplin stacked t -shirts at the Fayetteville Walmart we wouldn’t know or care.
I always told my kids to lead and never follow, that’s probably the only thing that ever stuck and resonated with them. They need to make their own mistakes. Be different. Boring blows.
Bottom line, 99.7% of the world are followers. Most need to be lead and entertained. Very few break from the box, create, innovate, take a chance, and decide to lead. It could be acting, business, politics…whatever. No one ever tweets about the guy at McDonalds. The great ones lead without ever knowing it or really caring that much about it.
Jackie Gleason was a brilliant mess. He was funny, he also did drama so well. See The Hustler. He was also a major drunk and turned ugly when he got there. Hunter Thomson did an eight ball a day and spilled a fifth of scotch a day. Suicide. Christopher Hitchens, a brilliant tortured drunk. Sean O’Casey and Brendan Behan were drunken messes, but master poets and writers. The list never ends.
Robin Williams was a tortured genius. He made us laugh and cry. He was probably my favorite comedian, but the move to movies was insane when you look at his body of his work.
He was “on” from the moment he fell of of the womb. Before he became sober he partied like he was going to the electric chair in the morning. He once said that cocaine is God’s way of telling you you’re making too much money. He also said when in doubt go for the dick joke.
Depression can be lethal….boring people are worse.
Anyway, try and be the person that people will write about when you croak. Be different. And always go for the dick joke.