As I continue to work toward my goals as a screenwriter, humorist and novelist, I occasionally run across creative stumbling blocks that an make it difficult to push forward. In these frustrating times, I sometimes find it best to draw inspiration from the success of multi-talented individuals. John Francis Daley is a well accomplished creative with the following successful accolades: actor, writer, director, and musician. He is a testament to what is possible if you work hard and focus on achieving individual goals.
John Francis Daley started as a young actor first on stage and then on the short but beloved TV series Freaks and Geeks (which also featured Linda Cardellini, Seth Rogen, James Franco, Lizzy Caplan, and Jason Segal) then went on to film 183 episodes of the hit TV series Bones as a young adult. Along the way he made guest appearances in a slew of TV shows and started directing short films and music videos. Soon, he and his creative partner Jonathan Goldstein would write the hit movies Horrible Bosses and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, which would lead him to the opportunity to write the next phase of the National Lampoons Vacation series, which will be his major motion picture directorial debut when it comes out later this summer.
If you are interested in checking more of his professional credits out, hit up his IMDB page. Also, he finds time inbetween all of the acting, writing and directing to be in a rock band as well. In Dayplayer, he plays the keyboard, performs vocals and contributes to the composition of the recorded songs. Even better, the music is really good! They have only recorded a handful of songs, but they are fun, melodic, catchy and well produced. As an example, I would wager the following track is as good a rock song as you are ever likely to hear:
If nothing else, he gave us this wonderful GIF from the film Waiting…
…and that alone is worth a daily chuckle. Just remember, that little GIFey squirrel has accomplished all of this creative success by the tender age of 29. Imagine what he will accomplish 29 years from now (I’m guessing an astronaught pig farmer somewhere on the one of the moons of Jupiter)… That’s the kind of energy and passion that I use as motivation to keep pushing forward. I too shall achieve my goals, and when I do, it will be glorious. After I find success, I’ll find a way to shake John Francis Daley’s hand and thank him for helping to keep me on the path, it likely won’t mean much to him (lacking context and all), but it’ll mean the world to me.
