LESSON #26:
"IT'S TOO HARD!"

Frequently Heard on the comp.games.development.* newsgroups, on the IGDA boards, and on my own Game Design bulletin board:

• "I hear it's hard to get a job in the game industry. Should I just forget about even trying?"

• "I got my degree 6 months ago, and I've been sending applications everywhere, and haven't gotten any offers. Nobody told me it would be this hard to get a job!"

• "hey wussup. i suck at programing, i don't have any aristic ablity, but i finaly figured out that i'd be a good game desinger, so how bout it, tell me were 2 go 2 apply 4 the job an can u put in a good word 4 me"

• "I'm just about to graduate from graphic design school, and I just read something that really scares me. I read about some guys who had jobs as artists in game companies but got laid off when younger cheaper candidates showed up. Is it really that hard to keep a job once you get one?"

• "I keep reading that people in the game biz work really long hours. And I hear that game workers in Japan have even died from working too hard! Is that true?? I don't want a life of slave labor, I gotta have a life! Maybe I should get into some other career?"

• "I've been all over all the game sites, and nobody has an easy-to-use listing of game companies by area. I gotta go through the lists company by company to find out what area they're in?? Sheesh!"

• "I tried making a game myself, and let me tell you, it was HARD. Why's it gotta be so HARD?!"

Okay, well, you get the idea. A lot of people are talking about the difficulties of the game biz - getting a degree, getting a job, working at the job, keeping the job.... Or just looking for an easy way in. IF IT WAS EASY, EVERYBODY WOULD BE DOING IT! Sorry, didn't mean to shout. Just good to let it all out once in a while.

The problem isn't that the game industry is difficult. The problem is the attitude of the people who are moaning about how hard it all is.

ANYTHING WORTH DOING IS DIFFICULT.

Do this. Make a list of things that are easy.

Go ahead, I'll wait.

Done? Good. On that list...

How many of those easy things PAY WELL?
How many of those easy things will MAKE YOU FAMOUS?
How many of those easy things will make the CHICKS WANT YOU?
How many of those easy things will give you PRIDE of ACCOMPLISHMENT?

Look at it from the other side of the mirror as well:

Things that are desirable tend to be harder to get than things that are not desirable.

Jobs that pay well tend to be more challenging than low-paying jobs.

Women tend to admire guys in difficult or challenging careers more than guys who just skate through life.

Accomplishments that give you pride are never easy.

Or look at it from the side. Make a list of things that are worthwhile.

How many of those worthwhile things are CHEAP?
How many of those worthwhile things happen at the SNAP OF A FINGER?
How many of those worthwhile things happen WITHOUT ANY HARD WORK?

'Nuff said?

Nothing in life is without a price.

The better the thing, the higher the price.

The price for a career that you desire is that you have to work hard to attain it.

Remember the three P's that I mentioned in a previous Lesson: passion, perspiration, and perseverance. All three are part and parcel of the process (darn, is that another three P's?) of getting a career that you desire.

If you're looking for an easy thing to be when you grow up, there is one - on the dole, with food stamps. It's an easily attainable thing to become. Just keep looking for the easy way, and you may well wind up there.

Some other quotes, overheard elsewhere:

• Jeopardy, Feb. 4, 2003. Contestant (a student) is being quizzed by the show's emcee, Alex Trebek, about her career aspirations. She says her mom wants her to go to medical school but she'd rather make people laugh, so she wants to go to clown school. Trebek asks her where this clown school is that she's going to go to - her answer: "I'll build my own, sir." NOW THAT IS FOLLOWING YOUR PASSIONS! YOU GO, GIRL!

• In an interview on ABC's UpClose recently, Dean Kamen (inventor of the Segway) said: "We always hear 'Life is short, play hard.' But what about 'Life is short, work hard'?"

• "The harder you work, the luckier you get!"

• "The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary."

And in closing (this is going to show my age but what the hell), this topic reminds me of this song...

"It Don't Come Easy"
By Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr), 1971

Got to pay your dues if you want to sing the blues
And you know it don't come easy
You don't have to shout or leap about
You can even play them easy
Forget about the past and all your sorrow
The future won't last
It will soon be your tomorrow

I don't ask for much, I only want your trust
And you know it don't come easy
And this love of mine keeps growing all the time
And you know it don't come easy
Open up your heart, let's come together
Use a little luck, and we will make it work out better

Got to pay your dues if you want to sing the blues
And you know it don't come easy
You don't have to shout or leap about
You can even play them easy
Please remember peace is how we make it
Here within your reach, is your freedom to take it

I don't ask for much, I only want your trust
And you know it don't come easy
And this love of mine keeps growing all the time
And you know it don't come easy

Want more on this topic? If you haven't read Lesson 3 yet, check out the section on Winners Vs. Whiners.

Got a question about this lesson? No need to raise your hand -- just click here to go to the bulletin board. You'll get answers!

Click here to go to the previous lesson.

Click here to go to the next lesson.

Click here to return to the School-A-Rama main page.

© 2003 Tom Sloper. All rights reserved. May not be re-published without written permission of the author.