Danny Fingeroth, long time Marvel Comics editor and writer was on hand to address happy graduates, parents and friends at Ai New York City's graduation ceremony held on June 18 at Borough of Manhattan Community College. His keynote address appears below:
Commencement address
June 18, 2012
Art Institute of New York City
Danny Fingeroth
[Copyright 2012 Danny Fingeroth]
President Handley, Dean Moughalian, Faculty and Graduates:
Thank you for inviting me to address you today. Congratulations to all of today’s graduates.
Let me give you a roadmap of my talk. It’s going to consist of some observations, some advice…
…and a driving lesson. I’ll explain as we go along.
At the risk of being redundant with the complimentary introduction I was given, I’ll tell you that I spent twenty years writing and editing superhero comics, mostly for Marvel. That was the company that nearly went out of business until Stan Lee [who, even if you’re not a comics fan, you may know him from things like the “Who Wants to Be a Superhero?” series]. Lee and his creative collaborators, especially a couple of guys named Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, used the commercial writing and drawing skills they’d been cultivating for years, and, pretty much off the tops of their heads, came up with The X-Men, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Spider-Man, The Avengers—you’ve heard of that?—and countless other characters. Maybe you’ve heard of them. Stan, Jack, Steve and the rest were professionals doing a job, hitting a deadline, earning a paycheck. In the course of doing that, they ended up inventing characters and concepts that changed the worlds of entertainment and storytelling—and even fashion, as the super-popular Superheroes and Fashion exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum a few years ago demonstrated.
In the comics business, I learned about telling stories, which is something that many of you will be engaged in, in one way or another--taking a message from a client and helping them tell their story. I ran the Spider-Man line of Comics. (Spider-Man was such a popular character that he, in effect, had a sub-company of his own within Marvel.) I learned, as Spider-Man did, that with great power there must also come great responsibility. Great responsibility also comes with not so great power, actually. I learned that doing the right thing is the most important thing no matter how many people may try to get you to compromise. I also learned that “Hulk is strongest one there is,” although I’m not sure how much good that knowledge has done me.
You could really say, since I was a comics fanatic as a kid, that “Everything I need to know, I learned from superheroes.” Hmm. If nobody’s written that book—I should get moving on it. Don’t leak the idea to anybody, okay? But today I’d like to pass down some of that radioactive spider-bite-based wisdom down…
But here’s the thing: The problem with advice or wisdom or insight, or whatever you want to call it, is that it’s only appreciated in hindsight. A professor of mine—filmmaker Larry Gottheim—used to say that, “When you hear the words that will change your life, they’ll be words you’ve heard a thousand times before.” We all learn the lessons of life. They’re mostly things we know by the time we’re ten, really. We differ in when we’re ready to understand them. No doubt there are a bunch I’m still waiting to be ready for. But if we’re lucky, perhaps I can help speed the process up a little bit for you.
People, like countries, always seem to be fighting the last war, responding to the last challenge, treating the new lover as if they were the old one. We’re on a time delay regarding our lives. Perhaps in twenty years you’ll look back on this address and say, “Boy, what a genius that Danny Fingeroth was!” Today, well, we’ll see…
Since I’ve never given a commencement address before, I thought back to the various commencement speeches I’ve attended in my life, at graduations of my own or those of friends and relatives. And I realized I couldn’t remember a single one. I couldn’t even tell you who gave them. In a way, that lets me off the hook today. The odds are you won’t remember this one, either.
I then started doing research online on memorable commencement addresses. And every one I saw or read have some things in common: A school takes a person who has some level of accomplishment in their career, put them in a funny hat, and that person stands in front of you and tells you something along the lines of:
- You’re great.
- You survived.
- You’re a hero.
- They’ll tell you they’ve had bad breaks and were able to use them to their advantage—
- —but if you set a goal and stay dedicated to it then eventually you will succeed.
Well, one look at the world around you will tell you that those things are not always true. Not everybody has a goal. And not everybody who has a goal has the ability or drive to achieve that goal. Not everybody can transform bad luck into good luck. And some people are more suited to go with the flow and not have a specific goal. On the other hand, people do set goals and do achieve them, people do create success from adversity. Why NOT you?
So telling people to have a goal and be true to it IS good advice. Ditto for being true to yourself, following your dreams, never giving up, ignoring the naysayers. So, therefore, I say onto you: Follow your dream. Never give up. Ignore the naysayers. Buy low sell high.
Of course, there’s a certain level of abstraction, of non-specificity, to all that. Still, abstract concepts aside, you AiNYC graduates have done a really smart thing. You’ve set yourself a goal of acquiring actual marketable skills in Fashion, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Digital Filmmaking and Web Design. And today, you’re being recognized for achieving your goal. Now, of course, you have to figure out what your next goal will be, and the one after that, and after that. Now you go into the strange new world of media that’s being redefined by the internet. But you achieved that first goal, so as far as the next ones: Why NOT you?
Thanks to your studies here, you have in-demand skills that are as up to date as they can be. You learned how to do something you like, possibly even love, something that there are people willing to pay you to do.
Now the goal for most of you is to get into the so-called real world and have someone PAY you to use your skills. Or to start your own business using those skills. And your skills may turn out to be applicable in areas other than the ones you think they are. For instance, as I said, I’ve never given a commencement speech—as if I had to tell you—but I was offered the gig. Something about my background and my achievements convinced the powers that be here that I was the guy to speak to you. I guess President Obama and Lady Gaga had previous commitments.
Similar things will happen to you. You will pursue work, you will network your tail off, you will spend much time on LinkedIn and Twitter and Facebook being social—or even out in that real world I mentioned—pursuing specific people or companies or gigs—and then, out of the blue, someone you never heard of will offer you work. But it won’t really be out of the blue. Something you did that you didn’t think was important, someone you met that you didn’t think even noticed you—or who you barely noticed—that business card on your refrigerator with the question mark scrawled across it—all that will add up to you being offered a job. Many jobs. If luck is, as the saying goes, being prepared when opportunities arise, then, again, the good news, is: you’re prepared.
Now, before the driving lesson—you didn’t forget the driving lesson, did you?—here are some other random nuggets of wisdom—or something like it—that I’ve come up with. This all applies whether you intend to work as a freelancer/entrepreneur or as a staff person somewhere. It turns out, we’re all entrepreneurs, even if we don’t realize it. A steady job is an illusion, one that can last a reasonably long time, but ultimately, you’re in the business of you, not matter what it may say on an organizational chart.
First piece of advice: marry somebody wealthy. Recently, your options for that have doubled.
If you can’t do that—or even if you can—here are some more pointers:
- Treat everyone well and take people (and the advice they offer) seriously. Your grandparents for instance. They may not have a clue what html is, but they’ve seen and done stuff. They can offer insights on things you may have thought they knew nothing about.
- But I’m also talking about interns, assistants, the mailroom staff—everybody. Aside from it being the right thing to do, that intern may be in a position to offer you work one day. He or she will remember who treated then well—and who didn’t. Maybe you’ve even been that intern or assistant.
- Next: always take on more than you can do. You’d be surprised how much you can do.
- Also: don’t assume that successful people have no time or interest in talking to you. Many of them, especially those who aren’t celebrities, are eager to meet enthusiastic people who are interested in them and what they do. Short of George Lucas or Steve Spielberg, you can probably meet anyone you want to, so long as you don’t seem insane or dangerous. Which brings me to my next point:
- Don’t seem insane or dangerous. The exception is when it may be to your benefit to seem insane or dangerous. But you have to be very sane to pull that off.
- Next point: Never stop learning, whether it’s formally in school or through your own reading and research.
- Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. That’s not to say you shouldn’t give everything your full effort. But at a certain point, especially if you have a deadline, you have to declare something finished and move on to the next thing. That’s how you get better. As with invention of Spider-Man and The X-Men, it’s not unlikely that something you do casually for a deadline without overthinking it may end up being regarded as your finest work.
So that’s some wisdom, or something like it. Now, the driving lesson, even if you’re a lifelong New Yorker and never plan to learn to drive. As you may have guessed, I’m hoping it turns out to be more than just a driving lesson.
Let me back up a little—hey, good driving metaphor— and tell you why you’re getting a driving lesson…
Despite going to college in a cold, damp, rainy, part of New York State—Binghamton University —I always got around by the very limited public transportation system—the D Train does not go there—hitchhiking, or cribbing rides from friends. [By the way—don’t hitchhike! It’s crazy!] I didn’t get my driver’s license until the summer after I graduated, staying in Binghamton to avoid New York in the summer, and maybe to avoid reality for a little longer, too.
Anyway, as part of learning to drive, I took a class in which we were shown a movie that seemed to me to be about more than just driving. I think they may still use it. It’s called “The Smith Five-Point System of Air Cushion Driving.” While Harold L. Smith is gone, his company has an elaborate website and sells courses, books and everything else you can imagine, all elaborations on his five points. Come to thing of it, the company is a classic example of extending an idea into a brand. Anyway, Smith’s five points are:
- Aim high in steering.
- Get the Big Picture.
- Keep your eyes moving.
- Leave yourself an out.
- Make sure others see you.
Now, let’s examine those points and the life-lessons they impart…
POINT #1: AIM HIGH IN STEERING. Don’t just look at what’s directly in front of you. See what hazards may be down the road or coming from an unexpected direction. You can take that two ways as far as advice. Don’t navel gaze. Be aware of what’s going on around you. And if you’re one of those goal people, shoot for a goal that’s just a little higher than what you think is “realistic.”
POINT #2: GET THE BIG PICTURE: Maximize your awareness of everything within your field of vision. Sort of a corollary to “Aim High in Steering.” While you’re focused on your goal—short or long term—don’t forget everything else that’s going on around you. The career takeaway here is that your boss is rarely the last word, especially in the corporate world. Of course you want to please your boss, supervisor, manager, whatever. But that person has people they answer to and those people do, too. Someone with the words “vice-president” or “chief” in their job title still has levels of supervision above them. Pay attention to those other levels, so you have a chance of being prepared when—not if, when—sudden dramatic changes are afoot. That may mean you have to keep up with business news. Do it. You may even get to like it.
POINT #3: KEEP YOUR EYES MOVING: Don’t concentrate too long on any one part of the big picture. Keep scanning the scene in front of you as well as well as your rear-view mirrors. In life, that doesn’t mean develop ADHD. But it does mean be alert. Be aware of the people below, above, and next to you. Be aware of what’s going on in the world. A little paranoia couldn’t hurt. But only a little…
POINT #4: LEAVE YOURSELF AN OUT: Awareness won’t avoid all trouble. Keep asking yourself “What If?” as you drive along…and devise options to deal with various scenarios. That’s where Smith’s phrase “air cushion” comes in. For driving, he means that you should try to keep a reasonable distance between your car and other cars so you can literally have a way out. Lots of luck with that in New York. For our metaphorical purposes, it means that you can’t predict everything—and you certainly don’t want to become so concerned with possibilities that it freezes you up—but make sure that you don’t become so attached to one client or one way of doing things that you can’t improvise if and when things go nuts. And they will go nuts.
POINT #5: MAKE SURE OTHERS SEE YOU: Smith means this as a way to avoid accidents, use your lights, horn, and so on so that people literally see you. For our purposes: Make sure the world is aware of you. You are your own press agent and public relations firm. Make sure people know who you are and what you can do. Of course, also make sure you can follow through on what you promise. Yes, I know the quality of your work should speak for itself. But a little—or a lot—of self-promotion never hurt.
By the way, did I mention you can find out about my books and classes at www.dannyfingeroth.com?
So that’s it for the driving lesson. Maybe at dinner tonight, you will—I actually kind of hope you will—joke about the ridiculous advice you just got. But, who knows? In the weeks, months and years to come, you just might go back to Smith’s five points. Maybe you’ll even look them up online and buy some of his companies products and services. (I don’t get a dime for that plug, by the way.) Maybe in twenty years, you’ll look back on this day and say, boy, what a genius that Danny Fingeroth was, giving us those driving lessons. Well, if you do, feel free to have the chip in your brain send a message to the chip in mine to let me know.
But today the credit goes to you. Congratulations on sticking with it and getting your degrees! Congratulations to your families and friends who are sharing this momentous day with you! And of course: AIM HIGH IN STEERING!
Thank you very much.
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