Career Quote by William Jackson

Jackson’s advice is blunt in a way that feels almost disarming: the path into children’s TV isn’t a staircase, it’s a wildlife documentary. Success is a “rare animal,” elusive and hunted, which immediately reframes the industry as an ecosystem where access is scarce and everyone’s tracking the same prey. The metaphor does two things at once: it admits chaos (no neat blueprint exists anymore) and implies strategy (you can still learn the creature’s habits).

The core intent is pragmatic, even a little fatalistic. He’s not selling passion or “finding your voice.” He’s saying: proximity beats purity. “Insert yourself into its environment” is a polite way of describing infiltration - get close enough that opportunity can’t ignore you. In an era where children’s programming is fragmented across streamers, YouTube, licensing empires, and algorithm-driven “content,” the gate isn’t a single network executive; it’s a shifting habitat of studios, production companies, writers’ rooms, animation pipelines, toy partners, and post houses. Jackson’s answer to that sprawl is old-school: show up.

The subtext is also a quiet critique of meritocracy myths. Talent matters, but the decisive factor is often being inside the building when decisions happen. “Get in the door in any position” elevates humility and endurance over status: PA, assistant, coordinator, intern. “Work from within” implies that children’s TV is as much relationships, trust, and institutional memory as it is creativity - and that the real education is observing how the sausage is made, then making yourself useful until you’re unavoidable.