Our muses are sometimes unexpected choices. On a surface level, they seem to contract with our tastes and personality. I don’t come off as the type who would be inspired by stoner comedy humor. And on the surface level, that’s what it looks like to be a fan of filmmaker Kevin Smith.

But Smith has evolved from the independent films that put him on the map. He has created a brand from being himself, his overly candid, long-winded storytelling, and experimenting with different mediums, often pioneering new forms of entertainment that have now become commonplace, particularly through podcasting and Q&A’s.

The massive amount of content he puts out, both fictional and autobiographical, and the manner in which he does it has inspired my own creative projects and the way in which I pursue them. Below are the ways in which I’m inspired by Kevin Smith.

He’s not afraid to share his interests

In the early 90’s, it wasn’t cool to like nerdy things, to maintain the nostalgic interests of your childhood, or to share your enthusiasm for anything. The socially acceptable thing to do was to act indifferent to your passions and to maintain a pessimistic viewpoint at all times.

Smith has always preached a more positive message, even from the pessimistic characters he’s written. His films are riddled with pop culture references about his favorite things and long monologues about deep diving into the philosophies behind those interests the way he did with his friends behind closed doors.

I’ve always been afraid to share my interests with the world because of the blowback that comes with it. My interests are sacred to me and to have them torn to shreds from outside critics is a devastating thing.

But Smith takes that risk by putting himself out there supported by his team of friends, family, and collaborators. And he shrugs off the critics because of his hardcore unashamed love for those interests. He has built a fanbase on that enthusiasm who want to hear what else he loves and what forms of entertainment to check out from comics to music to movies and TV shows.

Smith created a TV show, Comic Book Men, about those pop culture interests, spotlighting the friends and fellow fans who share his interests. And he welcomes his audience into that safe space to do the same. It’s inspired many blog posts about my own particular interests, and in turn, I’ve been surprised by the positive response from readers who share those interests.

His positivity

The reason why I only post positive reviews on my blog is because of Smith. On his many podcasts, Smith has mentioned numerous times that if he doesn’t like something, he won’t talk about it, and he’ll save his breath for the things he does. He knows how hard it is to make a movie, write a book, or produce a TV show. So, it would be hypocritical to take down others who tried to make a piece of art and didn’t deliver in his one singular opinion.

Smith knows that his soapbox reaches a large audience, both fans and critics alike (for examples of this, pull up any news article about a topic that Smith has mentioned on stage or on a podcast, then watch or listen to the original speech and see how his words are twisted into something newsworthy or read the comments section of any post to see how even “former fans” will berate him for trying something outside of the box that they try to wall him into).

He himself knows that his career was built on a gamble with himself to max out his credit cards, sell a bunch of his possessions, and make a $27,000 movie to see what happens. Because of this, his unending advice is to just create something and see what comes of it, good or bad.

This doesn’t mean you have to like everything just because someone managed to make it to the finish line of the creative process. But if you don’t like it, you don’t have to express it publicly and draw away a potential true audience for that art. Always encourage people to create, and steer people in the direction of the good stuff.

His introductions

Whenever I start a new blog post, I question how Kevin would introduce this topic, author, or story. When he interviews guests on a podcast, he always creates a long, thoughtful intro for that guest. Sometimes he relates it to some philosophical issue. Other times, he’ll tell a personal story and how it relates to that guest. It’s rarely straightforward but always interesting, grabbing the audience’s attention and creating a base for what’s to come.

So, I try not to skimp on the intros. Every word of a piece of writing should be meaningful, not just dead air or a stepping stone to the good stuff. Hit the ground running, and your audience will listen to you for as long as you want them to.

His loyalty

A lot of the people who Smith works with have been his friends for years, sometimes since childhood. Kevin utilizes each person’s strengths, highlights the things that he finds interesting about those people, and casts them in his movies, starts a podcast, or collaborates with them on a TV show, comic book, or whatever his next phase of entertainment may be.

Kevin’s muses are his friends and family. The movies that he writes and the stories that he tells on stage or on the air are overwhelmingly about his daily interactions with them.

When you feel that you have nothing to write about, think about the stories that you have about the people in your life, and find an interesting way to tell it the way he does. He sometimes has a long build up to a satisfying punchline, tells three mini stories in between his main story, assumes the identity of each person he’s portraying, and throws in plenty of inside jokes and pop culture references to beef up the tale. He can do this because he knows his characters so well, and he knows how to keep his audience engaged.

His multitasking

Smith is known as a filmmaker, but the list of other hats that he wears, as mentioned before, is very long. He tries a little of everything and gambles whenever he wants, whether he has something to fall back on or not. Because he has to just prove to himself that he’ll try anything.

Though I was introduced to Smith through his movies, I became a fan through his stage shows. And that led to checking out his podcasts. With this endless flow of Smith-related content, I’ve checked out nearly everything he’s been a part of and been amazed by how much he can do at one time and how willing he is to branch out across different platforms to bring his own style to the medium.

His wide catalog of content encourages me to try new things creatively. And to do it on my own terms, at my own level, and on my own time.

Smith measures his success by his own metric, not the metric of others. If he wants to make a movie, he doesn’t wait for a studio to hand him the money. He raises the money and then takes it on tour where he will show the film to a large audience and participate in a Q&A afterward.

He started one podcast just to give him an excuse to hang out with one of his best friends. And that grew into a dynasty of dozens of podcasts which are still going strong and each contain a different format and topic.

Because he became famous on a whim, he didn’t forget where he came from and brought along his trusted team with him. Smith excelled, and he’s the first to say that his life is great because of it.

He never chases perfection, a particular dollar amount, or a trophy. He only chases the finish line of the current project, and that gives him the energy, creativity, and motivation to try not only one new thing at a time but several. It’s what people are now starting to see is the life to strive for, not the most popular or monetarily successful, but the most satisfied and independent of anyone else’s view.

What is your favorite content by Kevin Smith? Leave your answers in the comments below!

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