The Value of Your Name.

Years ago I was directing a show and someone I was in a meeting with said something that resonated with me. We were stuck on a design choice and the creator whose name was under the title chose to make a stand. The details don’t matter, but his choice of words stuck with me. With great passion, he said, “My NAME is on this thing, and that means something to me!”

Believe it or not, your name means something. In your work. In your life. It’s important to not think of your employment as a a ‘job’ but rather just a chapter in your overall ‘career’. The choices you make every day not only affect whatever you’re helping to create, but also how your employers see you; your current employers and also ones in the future who will no doubt talk to your past ones. Did your decisions make someone upset with you? Did it cost you your job? If so, it may feel terrible in the moment, but, in the long run, you’re better off. The arc of your career is an investment beyond one single job. Over a stretch of time, your name will be associated with your greatest (or your weakest) attributes. Will you be associated with your steadfast creative skills, or will you be known as someone who does what they’re told without question? There’s probably merits to both, I suppose, but these are things to consider.

In the current climate in the animation industry, I can totally understand the pressures of what is needed for you to keep your job (if you’re lucky enough to have one), but please remember that your name means something.

…and hopefully this doesn’t read like I’m up on a soap-box,

Paul Brown