Quote Of The Day By Kevin Smith: 'there Is Little Sense In Not At Least Trying To Accomplish All Of Your Wildest Dreams...'

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This is not the quote of the day, but there is a quote that is often attributed to legendary music producer Brian Eno that reads, "The first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band." That applies to the person who today's quote of the day hails from. Namely, "Clerks" director Kevin Smith.

Born in Red Bank, New Jersey, Smith forever became an indie film icon when in "Clerks" proved to be the little movie that could in 1994. Made for mere thousands of dollars on maxed out credit cards, it became a Sundance darling and gave Smith a career as a director in Hollywood. More than that, not unlike The Velvet Underground, it became a calling card for other aspiring filmmakers, letting them know they could do it as well. Indeed, a lot of people who watched "Clerks" and Smith's career were inspired to make their dreams a reality.

Smith has since had a long, varied career, making movies such as "Chasing Amy" and "Dogma," as well as his bizarre A24 horror movie "Tusk." He's also a podcaster, host, storyteller, and movie theater owner, among many other things. Truly, he's made the most of the opportunities given to him, and, more than that, he's loudly championed other voices along the way, doing his best to let other people know that he's not special. You, too, can chase your wildest dreams.

That's why Kevin Smith is today's quote of the day.

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"In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least trying to accomplish all of your wildest dreams in life." – Kevin Smith

Aside from Dante saying, "I'm not even supposed to be here today!" in "Clerks," there may be no better quote to sum up Kevin Smith's MO than this quote. It comes from his 2012 book "Tough Sh*t: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good," part memoir and part advice/musings from his life up to that point. This was shortly after he released "Red State" via a controversial distribution stunt at Sundance where he auctioned off the rights to his movie to himself. A lot has changed since then.

In 2018, Smith suffered a massive heart attack that nearly killed him. Ever since then, he's toned down some of the more prickly sides of himself that used to be there, such as his vocal disdain for critics or his own criticism of other movies. Now, more than anything, Smith is a loud champion of work he loves and, as he often jokes, "a Kevin Smith fan." He's a love what you do and love yourself kind of guy. In the here and now, he's an intensely positive voice in the business of show.

The above quote really gets at the heart of why people love Smith so much and why, way beyond his movies, he's maintained a fiercely loyal fanbase. He's the opposite of a gatekeeper. He is always one to vocally tell people to live their dreams and, whenever possible, do what he can to help other folks along the way. It's one thing to talk the talk, but he walks the walk.

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Certain filmmakers can seem almost ethereal or otherworldly. Someone like David Lynch was such a delightfully strange individual that it might seem downright impossible to do what he did. Kevin Smith, meanwhile, has always just been Kevin Smith. He made "Clerks" because it was A) a movie he could afford to make and B) it spoke to his life's experience. It was simple yet effective. And he has pretty much always, ever since, tried to let people know that what he did was nothing special. The difference? He decided to do it.

Many people don't chase their dreams. A lot of people reading this probably have dreams of working on movies because they love movies. That's precisely what Smith did. For aspiring filmmakers out there, Smith's words really get at the idea that life is short and there's no reason to not try and live it to the fullest. There is something to be said for taking charge and just doing the damn thing.

For those who don't want a career in Hollywood, Smith's words still ring true. Death is coming for all of us. No one gets out alive. In light of that, why not at least try to do the things one dreams of? I say this as someone who was tired of living an ordinary life and quit my job to write full-time 13 years ago. Now? I am a writer.

I have achieved wild dreams, like getting to write an oral history about "Sinister," one of my favorite horror movies, or getting to go to Star Wars Celebration because of my job. Whatever one's dreams are, Smith's words ring true. It's a universal message and an important one at that.

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• "I try never to worry in general. Worry is interest paid in advance on a debt that never comes due."
• "Storytelling is my currency. It's my only worth. The only thing of value I have in this life is my ability to tell a story, whether in print, orating, writing it down, or having people acting it out. That's why I'm always hoping society never collapses because the first ones to go will be entertainers."
• "Everybody's got one killer story. It doesn't take talent to tell that story, it just takes experience."
• "Haven't two hundred years of failed missionary work overseas taught anybody anything? You can't convert people to anything — whether religion or something as inane as our flicks."
• "In anything I've ever written, all the characters sound like me, which I don't think is a bad thing. It makes sense. But I had always admired filmmakers who made movies that didn't sound like them at all."
• "When you're a filmmaker, you're part of a very expensive art form."
• "Remember: It costs nothing to encourage an artist, and the potential benefits are staggering. A pat on the back to an artist now could one day result in your favorite film, or the cartoon you love to get stoned watching, or the song that saves your life. Discourage an artist, you get absolutely nothing in return, ever."