Meet Stephen Spence | Story Writer & Animation Cartoon Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephen Spence and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephen, what role has risk played in your life or career?

Taking risks is the most important part of any success. Sometimes it goes our way and sometimes it doesn’t. When we take a risk and it goes our way we feel Victorious. When we take a risk and it doesn’t go our way we sometimes feel defeated. What I’ve learned over the years is that every failed risk is a lesson. It teaches me what not to do, when or when not to do, or how to do it better next time. Some risks we think about and some risks we don’t. Every-time we get in our vehicles and drive on the open roads we’re taking a risk on if we’re going to come back alive or not, but that is not something we think about before putting the key into the ignition. When it comes to taking financial risks we think very hard before making a decision. Some of the questions we ask ourselves are, Am I being scammed? Could this actually work? And do I know anyone I can talk to that actually has done this before? The reason why I think of risks before taking action is to ensure that I’m making the smartest decision to the best of my abilities towards whatever I’m pursuing.

In my career the biggest risk that I take is entering the unknown. The unknown of when will it work out? Where will it take me? Will it all be worth it? I’m a story creator and an animator. I take the stories I create and make cartoons out of them. Every story I create I’m risking if the story will connect with my audience. Is there anything in this story that could be offensive to anyone’s race, sexual orientation, or religious backgrounds?

The biggest risk I face in life when creating animated stories is that people may or may not take me seriously. Some people will like it, some people won’t, and some people will think as a grown man I’m too old to be pursuing this as a career. We live in a dog-eat-dog world while having so many social media platforms at our fingertips. Everytime I upload a cartoon there’s a risk that maybe my dreams will come true, maybe my nightmares will unfold, or maybe the dream and the nightmare will happen at the same time. As the flowers grow, so do the weeds. As my content becomes more popular I now have to deal with hackers and scammers. I’ve had attempts of people trying to hack into my account to lock me out. I’ve also had people copy my work reposted with my logo and say that they’re the creators. The worst feeling is when you get a message from a social media platform and you have to prove to them that you are the creator of your own content. In my profession there are many other risks. For example, a computer hard drive can crash with or without warning, paying for advertisements can be a hit or a miss, and saying too much can result in someone stealing your idea and running with it. Leaders take risks and followers play it safe. I would rather be a leader than a follower any day because the follower who plays it safe follows the leader who took the risks.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
There are many other (Story Writers/Animators) besides myself. I’ve seen some that are very impressive and I’ve seen some that still have a long way to go. What separates me from the others is my mindset. I do it to create not to compete. Starting off I came across so many creators that were more established than I was. If I asked some of them for advice on how to do something or come to them with an idea of a joint venture collaboration I never got one reply back. So I make it a strong point to always reply to up-and-coming creators when they contact me for help. It can be very frustrating spending hours of writing, editing, and uploading, just to end up getting no views. When that happens the biggest challenge is to remain consistent and not give up. The two proudest moments I ever had during this experience was getting that very first fan who looks forward to every video that’s released and getting that very first customer. Those were the two moments that made me realize that I was on the right path and I can do this. Years ago I started off as a (Songwriter/Performer) but unfortunately as things were looking up I ended up getting injured real bad losing the ability to walk and use my arms. I spent several years from a power chair, to a wheelchair, to a walker, before being able to walk again. But when you’re unable to be mobile you’re forced to find something to do with your time. Before being wheelchair bound I knew almost nothing about computers but with all that time on my hands let’s just say I became an expert in almost no time. After several years I figured I might as well take my stories and figure out a way to show the world what I can do. So animation became a way where I can use my skills of songwriting, storytelling, and voice acting, and put it all together by using animation. I know the time will come where I write my last story, create my last animation, and breathe my last breath, but when that time comes I want to be remembered for creating generational wealth. My goal is to create generational wealth not just for my family but for other families especially the people that contribute to my success. When I become an ancestor I want to be remembered for leaving ladders for the next generations to climb and bridges of collaboration with other countries to build together.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had a choice to spend time with certain friends to show them around I would choose my friends that live in different countries who’ve never seen the United States. It wouldn’t be one state that I show them we’re going all over. In Maryland we would eat crab cakes on the Baltimore Harbor. In Washington D.C. they would experience the taste of Mumbo Sauce as they enjoy the view of Anacostia and all the landmarks. We would head to Philadelphia for the best cheesesteaks ever before heading to Atlantic City and walking the boardwalk. Our next stop would be New York City as we enjoy the nightlife along with some New York style pizza. Then after that the windy city Chicago where they can compare the deep dish pizza to the New York style pizza. Then next we’ll head four 1/2 hours Southwest to St. Louis where they can get a taste of St. Louis’s mostaccioli along with Imo’s Pizza and Sweetie Pies before visiting the Arch by the Mississippi River. Will party in Kansas City, eat sky chili in Cincinnati, and head on down to Louisville Kentucky especially if the Derby is in town. We’ll head to the best gumbo spot in New Orleans, then sightsee the beautiful mountains of Southern California before heading to our last stops in Dallas, Atlanta, and Orlando.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

I’m grateful to everyone who participated in any story I created or hired me for my services.

Thank You to every musician/artist/producers who allowed me to use their music or hired me to create music videos for them:

Elpea: (Singer/Songwriter)

City Girl: (Music Artist/Songwriter)

Jason Mask Da Booth (Music Artist/Songwriter)

Yo Joe: Nigerian (Music Artist/Songwriter)

Protj On The Beat: (Music Producer)

Jwritezz The Poet: (Writer/Poet/songwriter)

Thank you to every character voice over who participated in my stories, past present & future:

House Of Joi

Mz Lady Bug 314

Queen Lady D

Stephen Tete

Smoke Dizz

Big Rizzo

Tone (Big Wall) Capone

Javarrah Hodge

T-Quest

T-Wealth

Jaiden Spence

Nina Spence

Stephen Spence jr.

Ruby From: Heyb2 Blinks&Blaq

K-Lust

Thank you to every company who used my services for commercials past present & future:

King Of The Cajun WWW.kingofthecajun.com

EPCS ENVIRONMENTAL LLC WWW.epcstx.com

The A. Jones Show

WWW.thehotline.org

Higher Consciousness Reiki Meditation

Website: https://www.fiverr.com/dganimation9172

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dganimations9172/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Stephen17686942

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watch/dganimations9172/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtS65-mpwe4HYEcNmq9M5Bg