Seth MacFarlane's Secret

Seth MacFarlane is a walking success story. Born in Connecticut and raised in Newburyport, Massachusetts he is the creator of “Family Guy”, “American Dad” and “The Cleveland Show.” The Seth MacFarlane secret is he is more talented than anyone realizes or gives him credit for. He can write, he can cartoon with the best of them; he can produce, sing and direct. And he is funny. Oh, yes, he is also a speaker. Not a bad repertoire of talent. He has created several shows with the same template yet they are all unique and funny in their own right. Maybe that is the Seth MacFarlane secret. He found a winning formula and he stuck with it. He found a way to intertwine all his talents and uses them to the max. He lives by the old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Maybe the Seth MacFarlane secret is luck. How many people get to strike it rich in this world doing the very thing they love? Usually folks strike it rich with something and that becomes the thing they love. A successful television show is usually copied by others, and usually not successfully. But MacFarlane beat everyone to the punch. He took his own highly successful show and copied it not just once but twice. He gave us “Family Guy”, “American Dad” and “The Cleveland Show”. Three separate shows with one tried and true formula. So, what is the Seth MacFarlane secret? Recognizing when something works and not trying to fix it.

Maybe the Seth MacFarlane secret is he doesn’t know when to give up. Or perhaps the Seth MacFarlane secret is he doesn’t know how to give up. His talent knows no boundary and he gives his fans everything he’s got. He gives them life lessons through entertainment. He shows them the way of the world through his eyes and lets everyone decide for themselves if it works for them. He makes political statements to support his agenda and he becomes an activist to support his point. He is an all around guy with an all around thought process and it works for him. All this begs the Seth MacFarlane secret questions, when does this guy sleep and does he have a life beyond his work?

Perhaps the Seth MacFarlane secret is his commitment to his craft. He is serious about his humor and his ability to make people laugh.  He can be offensive at times and knows how to push the hot buttons of the day. He is not afraid to speak his mind and his work demonstrates that. He does not give himself boundaries and has no use for those that try to throw speed bumps in his way. He is on the fast track to cartoon domination and he leaves most others in the dust.  His mind is always spinning up new and improved ideas and creating an element beyond a dimension most people can comprehend.

Maybe the real Seth MacFarlane secret is he is just ahead of his time.