WARNING: This may be your last chance

At just 15 years old, the filmmaker Richard Williams had the opportunity to tour the Disney animation studio and learn from some of the best storytellers of all time.

During his visit, Williams remembers the simple yet potent advice he got from Dick Kelsey, one of the veteran animators at Disney.

“Learn to draw!” Kelsey explained.

When Williams showed Kelsey his sketches of Disney characters in response, Kelsey nodded but was unimpressed: “Yes, but I mean really learn to draw,” Kelsey continued.

“Learn to draw” became a mantra for Williams, and over the decades he learned everything he could about painting, live drawings, perspective, and all the technical skills he needed to become a world-class artist.

This evolution allowed him to create some of the most genre-bending animated films, such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and A Christmas Carol.

Naturally, he felt a great debt of gratitude to Dick Kelsey and hoped one day to thank the man who put him on the path that led to his dream of working in animation.

When he was directing Who Framed Roger Rabbit nearly 40 years after receiving the advice,Williams was at the Disney studio once again when he suddenly saw Dick Kelsey out of the corner of his eye.

Williams wanted desperately to walk over and talk to Kelsey, but he was busy with “production politics”, so he hesitated and never found a good time to break away from the conversation to personally thank the man whose advice helped shape his career.

“I never had another chance,” Williams recalled, citing it as one of the greatest regrets of his life.

While Dick Kelsey likely gave the young artist that advice out of pure kindness and stewardship, a “thank you” no doubt would’ve been appreciated.

After all, who knows what was going on in Dick Kelsey’s life at the time?

The film was in production during the final year of Kelsey’s life, so who knows what kind of thoughts or regrets he took with him to the grave. At the end of their lives, people tend to question their purpose and the way they led their lives.

I hope he was at peace, but a simple thank you from another season animator who his advice and made a career out of them surely wouldn’t have hurt.

And what does gratitude cost?

Slightly inconveniencing your colleagues?

A minute of your time?

A bit of your ego?

Are any of these things a high price to pay to make someone’s day? Or to ease their conscience?

And more importantly, can you be absolutely certain that you’ll have another chance to thank them?

No. This may be your last chance.