Samuel Leighton-Dore
Interview by Madeleine Dore
There’s a quote going around on from Glennon Melton’s book, Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed and it reads: “You have been offered the gift of crisis. As Kathleen Norris reminds us, the Greek root of the word crisis is "to sift", as in, to shake out the excesses and leave only what's important. That's what crises do. They shake things up until we are forced to hold on to only what matters most. The rest falls away.”
What’s left, as this week’s guest points out, can actually be joy in the slowness. Gold coast based artist Samuel Leighton-Dore is a satirical cartoonist, a painter, ceramic artist, filmmaker, a regular contributor for SBS Sexuality and author of the graphic novel ''How to be a big strong man'.
Samuel has rare ability to be both light-hearted and joyful, and deep and reflective – proving that laughter can be balm for uncertain times.
In this conversation, Samuel share his three-tiered approach to balancing various projects, the little things you can do to feel more disciplined working from home, toxic masculinity, the connection between ambition and depression, failure, untangling your identity from creative success.
Samuel Leighton-Dore: satirical cartoonist, painter, ceramic artist, filmmaker, and writer
““Even if you’ve got an Oscar on your desk, you still sit down with your own thoughts. The most important indicator of success is your relationship with your thoughts and your relationship with the people you love.””
Shownotes
01:24
Navigating a crisis – A crisis shows us what’s really important in our lives. We have so much going on but, when it’s all taken away, we cling onto what’s most important. Do whatever helps you to cope with this situation and, if you’re not sure what that is, experiment until you do know.
03:00
This weeks’ guest – Samuel Leighton-Dore is a satirical cartoonist, a painter, a ceramic artist, a filmmaker, a regular contributor to SPS Sexuality, and author of the graphic novel How to Be a Big Strong Man. Samuel is a light-hearted, joyful person who is also deep and reflective.
04:29
Three-tiered approach – Think about life as having three tiers, and the first tier, on the bottom, is your foundation. It’s what gets you by and helps you to survive. The next tier is your longer-term goals, while the third and final tier is your passion projects. Ideally, as time goes on, your foundation tier will become one of your passion projects.
09:08
Working from home – Working from home can be a lot of fun, although at times it can be isolating. Make sure that you socialise with others throughout the day and have some sort of routine to motivate you. Reward yourself with small things like a cup of coffee or a workout, which will help to break your day up.
12:02
The joy in the slowness – When times are tough, it’s important to focus on the things that you can control. Find the enjoyment in the small things in your life, and have a creative outlet where you can put your time and energy into it just for the fun of it, rather than stressing if it’s going to make money or not.
15:55
Depression – Samuel discusses his battle with depression and how he uses it to fuel his creative work, which often emphasises his vulnerabilities. He feels that the higher he climbs, the further he has to fall, but constantly reminds himself that it’s an illusion and that it’s all in his head.
19:05
Celebrate success – It’s easy to dwell on your failures, yet skim over your successes. Acknowledge what you have accomplished and allow yourself to celebrate, especially if you achieve something that you’ve been striving towards for a long time. It’s easy to be swept up in the moment, so make sure you take the time to soak it up and enjoy.
22:21
Enjoy the ride – Enjoy the process and enjoy the ride, and make sure that what you’re doing brings you joy, supports your values, and is something that a younger version of yourself would be happy with. Regardless of all the successes and all the failures, make sure that you’re happy and content with what you’re doing.
25:23
Toxic masculinity – Boys and men often don’t feel like they’re able to express their difficult feelings or their emotions, which ends up in these feelings being bottled up and pushed down, and then eventually being released as anger and violence. We need to create a positive atmosphere where boys and men do feel comfortable expressing their feelings, so it comes out as sensitivity instead.
28:29
Typical routine – Samuel starts the day at 6am in Queensland in order to work on a Sydney time zone. He heads to the gym to help with his mental health before starting his day at work, which consists of a regular 9-4 routine even though he freelances. He builds little rewards into his day so he doesn’t struggle with procrastination.
32:50
Consistent work – If you want to produce things quickly and in the moment, then you don’t really have time to process and plan what you’re going to share. Don’t be afraid to be spontaneous and just go with what feels right and with what makes you feel happy.
36:24
Identity – It’s easy to identify yourself with your creative work, which will ultimately put a lot of pressure on that work. If it fails, that means your identity will fail. If you don’t get the opportunities that you hoped you would, again, your identity will fail. Free yourself from these expectations and this pressure, and just create what gives you enjoyment. Separate your work from your identity.
40:21
Self-worth – Comparing yourself to others is a slippery slope that never ends well. Instead, turn those efforts onto yourself. Concentrate on self-love and self-worth. At the end of the day, you’re left with your own thoughts, your own relationships, and your own happiness, and not what other people are experiencing.
45:24
Evening routine – In the evenings, Samuel likes to turn his attention to his second and third-tier projects, which are the things that he enjoys more and can often do on autopilot while relaxing with a glass of wine. Ideally, he would be asleep by 11pm, but often struggles with a restless sleep so uses podcasts to help him fall back asleep.
50:00
The unknown – With so many big questions going unanswered with how the world is right now, concentrate instead on your own enjoyment. Find out what makes you happy and what makes you you, and focus your attention on these things. Start with the basics and build yourself back up.
Findings
Instagram and website - Samuel Leighton-Dore
How to Be a Big Strong Man by Samuel Leighton-Dore
Carry on Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed by Glennon Melton
““Changing my cats’ litter box, giving my husband a massage, listening to a podcast, meditating, writing my dad a letter – these are things are important because they’re about reconnecting with the one thing that will always be there for as long as I am – which is my mind.””