Michael Uslan
-Movie Producer
You must believe in yourself and in your work. When our first “Batman” movie broke all those box-office records, I received a phone call from that United Artists exec who, years before, had told me about “Robin and Marian” and let me know I was out of my mind. Now he said, “Michael, I’m just calling to congratulate you on the success of “Batman.” I always said you were a visionary.” You see the point here--- don’t believe them when they tell you how bad you are or how terrible your ideas are, but also, don’t believe them when they tell you how wonderful you are and how great your ideas are. Just believe in yourself and you’ll do just fine. And, oh yes, don’t then forget to market yourself and your ideas. Use both sides of your brain.
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You must have a high threshold for frustration. Take it from the guy who was turned down by every studio in Hollywood. You must knock on doors until your knuckles bleed. Doors will slam in your face. You must pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and knock again. It’s the only way to achieve your goals in life.
Follow whatever your passion may be in life and do something you love. My father was a mason starting at age 16 when he left school to help his family survive the Depression, until he was 80. His whole life, he worked six days a week no matter how hot or how cold out it was. He was an old world artist… a craftsman who created magnificent fireplaces and homes out of bricks and stones. Every morning of my childhood, I saw my Dad hop out of bed before dawn, eager to get to work and do what he loved. Even then, I knew that was what I wanted in life… to be able to wake up on a rainy Monday morning and say, “I can’t wait to get to work!” I had to find my own bricks and stones. For me, that’s movies and comics. Today, I challenge you to find yours.
If there’s one quotation that sums up my journey through life and the choices I’ve made, it’s the closing lines of a poem by Robert Frost, which I now pass along to you:
“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I---
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Read the full commencement address »
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN
May 06, 2006
Sent in by: admin
Posted on: 08.11.2006