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From my Tumblr posts about New Year's Resolution checkups (or, life lessons to be had from supervillains):
#1 was Megamind. The difference between a mere villain and a super villain is PRESENTATION. Used this as a reminder to pull my look and attitude together as much as possible for a lobbying day at the Massachusetts state house, part of an effort to get the state legislature to pass an automatic voter registration bill. Granted, I couldn’t exactly bring a light display, holograms, or a flood of robotic minions, but if you can focus all of your charisma and confidence allotments for a week into a period of about fifteen minutes it’s almost as good. I mean, it worked for both Ian McKellen’s and Michael Fassbender’s Magnetos, I figured it’d work for me.
(So I guess that’s also #2 and 2.5 since it’s two iterations of the same villain; if you can’t be MASSIVELY SPECTACULAR in order to get your point across, be focused and present and absolutely certain of what you are doing and it will do just as well.)
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Saw Deadpool 2 on Friday. Had fun, but the original was better.
More importantly, watching Domino’s power in action got me to thinking of the number of hero characters who have excessive luck, whether unspoken or acknowledged in narrative. hero characters get luck, or get karmic mojo; villains don’t, not generally (there may be some but by and large I do not recall very many villains who just happen to have stuff go their way). Which led me to decide I was looking at another Life Lesson From Supervillains:
You cannot count on luck. You cannot count on destiny. Other people may have luck, but it is best to assume you do not. You are going to have to achieve your goals by working your ass off.
Also, some idiot with luck and Being What Society Wants Right Now is going to see what you do as wrong and unfair, and will attempt to thwart you. Be prepared for this. Just because they have the current power structure on their side does not mean they deserve to win. Do not let them stop you without a fight.
And understand this: dedicating all your energy, time, and resources to a single goal may seem like the best way to reach it, but it also means you and your life have a single point of failure. Any kind of genuinely competent supervillain has multiple plans and contingencies in place so that if What Society Wants manages to thwart them, What Society Wants has only thwarted one aspect of what they are trying to achieve. Have backup plans. Have side goals. Understand that you will probably fail at something because someone else has interfered, and be prepared to switch gears when that happens to something else that advances your ultimate goal.
Work hard, but work smart, or someone else’s luck will come between you and what you are trying to do with your life. And be aware that society will probably screw you and all your hard work over; you may have to rewrite society from the ground up to make your dreams come true. You are going to need a lot of organization and backup to do that. One supervillain cannot do it alone. Heroes may act alone, but they have Luck and Social Approval on their side. You need an organization.
And for pity’s sake PLAN FOR THE LONG TERM. Your actions have consequences at every level. Bear in mind that succeeding at something now may wind up bringing the wrath of heroes down on you next week, or five years down the line, and prepare. Fix your flaws. Make your backup plans. Take comfort in the fact that you are laying out the means to deal with failure so that even if your plans go wrong, at least they are going wrong in a way you anticipated, and possibly in a way that ultimately makes things better for you regardless.
You cannot assume that you will win. You are not a Skywalker; destiny is not on your side. You cannot assume that you will lose; that would mean THOSE FOOLS were right all along.
It’s hard. But remember: supervillains who plan, work hard, persist, organize, and have backup plans are the ones the heroes bash their heads against in futility for issue after issue after issue. People remember their names.
--
I think I have to do a bit more villain-by-villain analysis and then set to applying these things this year.
#1 was Megamind. The difference between a mere villain and a super villain is PRESENTATION. Used this as a reminder to pull my look and attitude together as much as possible for a lobbying day at the Massachusetts state house, part of an effort to get the state legislature to pass an automatic voter registration bill. Granted, I couldn’t exactly bring a light display, holograms, or a flood of robotic minions, but if you can focus all of your charisma and confidence allotments for a week into a period of about fifteen minutes it’s almost as good. I mean, it worked for both Ian McKellen’s and Michael Fassbender’s Magnetos, I figured it’d work for me.
(So I guess that’s also #2 and 2.5 since it’s two iterations of the same villain; if you can’t be MASSIVELY SPECTACULAR in order to get your point across, be focused and present and absolutely certain of what you are doing and it will do just as well.)
---
Saw Deadpool 2 on Friday. Had fun, but the original was better.
More importantly, watching Domino’s power in action got me to thinking of the number of hero characters who have excessive luck, whether unspoken or acknowledged in narrative. hero characters get luck, or get karmic mojo; villains don’t, not generally (there may be some but by and large I do not recall very many villains who just happen to have stuff go their way). Which led me to decide I was looking at another Life Lesson From Supervillains:
You cannot count on luck. You cannot count on destiny. Other people may have luck, but it is best to assume you do not. You are going to have to achieve your goals by working your ass off.
Also, some idiot with luck and Being What Society Wants Right Now is going to see what you do as wrong and unfair, and will attempt to thwart you. Be prepared for this. Just because they have the current power structure on their side does not mean they deserve to win. Do not let them stop you without a fight.
And understand this: dedicating all your energy, time, and resources to a single goal may seem like the best way to reach it, but it also means you and your life have a single point of failure. Any kind of genuinely competent supervillain has multiple plans and contingencies in place so that if What Society Wants manages to thwart them, What Society Wants has only thwarted one aspect of what they are trying to achieve. Have backup plans. Have side goals. Understand that you will probably fail at something because someone else has interfered, and be prepared to switch gears when that happens to something else that advances your ultimate goal.
Work hard, but work smart, or someone else’s luck will come between you and what you are trying to do with your life. And be aware that society will probably screw you and all your hard work over; you may have to rewrite society from the ground up to make your dreams come true. You are going to need a lot of organization and backup to do that. One supervillain cannot do it alone. Heroes may act alone, but they have Luck and Social Approval on their side. You need an organization.
And for pity’s sake PLAN FOR THE LONG TERM. Your actions have consequences at every level. Bear in mind that succeeding at something now may wind up bringing the wrath of heroes down on you next week, or five years down the line, and prepare. Fix your flaws. Make your backup plans. Take comfort in the fact that you are laying out the means to deal with failure so that even if your plans go wrong, at least they are going wrong in a way you anticipated, and possibly in a way that ultimately makes things better for you regardless.
You cannot assume that you will win. You are not a Skywalker; destiny is not on your side. You cannot assume that you will lose; that would mean THOSE FOOLS were right all along.
It’s hard. But remember: supervillains who plan, work hard, persist, organize, and have backup plans are the ones the heroes bash their heads against in futility for issue after issue after issue. People remember their names.
--
I think I have to do a bit more villain-by-villain analysis and then set to applying these things this year.
