Some wise guy wrote that my generation is the video game generation - people who were taught from a very young age not to be afraid of failure. You just get up and have a go at it again. And again. And again. Until you get it right. Like in a video game.
Failing once is not the end of the world, if you save at the right places.
The flip side to this is not giving it your all at one go, which is easily remedied with anime influence.
I would also like to add that my generation also caught the tail end of the MTV popularity.
One significant movie in my youth was Joe's Apartment. It's about Joe, who lives with like, a million cockroaches.
Now, I remember one thing that the roaches said - "Good stuff can grow out of shit."
This has been a philosophy I take to heart. Something that appears on the outside as rotten and, well, shitty, can have some amazing potential.
In my years writing, I have met people who do not believe in how great a story is simply by the premise.
Actually, you never know.
It's like this. You look at a religious person, and the first thing that pops in your mind is, "RETARD!"
But, maybe not. Maybe the religious guy is not an asshole.
This is the lesson from Joe's apartment - don't judge a book by its cover. Simple, right?
And Jesus said, "Judge ye not, lest ye be judged." Which means, in this case, if you judge a book only by its cover, it shows that you are shallow. And perhaps self-centered.
Me? I am shallow and self-centered. What's your excuse?