Imagine you are alone in the middle of a valley, surrounded by mountains. The game is this: get struck by lighting and you get to leave. The only materials you have is an unlimited supply of metal rods.
What would you do? Here's what I would do....
First, I would look around myself to spot the highest mountain top possible. Then, I would grab a metal rod and start climbing. The climb would be brutal, it would be taxing, but in the end I would make my way to the top and plant my lighting rod.
After summiting, I am ecstatic to see some storm clouds headed my way. As they near, I think to myself, "See, this is what hard work does. When you put your back into something it pays off!" Arrogantly, I gaze across the beautiful skyline and await my glorious finish. But then... I feel it.
The wind starts to blow from the south and move the storm towards the other half of the mountain range. I shout and scream and curse the gods, but it is all in vain. The storm has come and gone, and I am left alone with my single metal rod.
In this moment I realize I have two options. I can quit and surrender to my fate, or I can climb back down, grab another rod, find another mountain top, and increase my chances.
Climbing it is.
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Filmmaking is not a game you are supposed to win. Like becoming a professional athlete or a famous celebrity, the odds are just simply stacked against you. This doesn't mean hope is lost, but it is important that you accept this reality.
So what is a hopeful, independent filmmaker to do? In short, start placing lighting rods.
Improve your craft, make new relationships, make a 3 minute film, take feedback, make a 10 minute film, make a 30 minute film, make a feature film, etc...
Your filmmaker dreams are going to happen slowly, painfully and with a lot of calluses earned. The secret is this... stop setting your goal at getting the lighting to strike and instead focus on increasing the probability that it will happen.
Whether or not someone gives you money, opens that perfect door or discovers your talent is simply outside of your control. What is within your control, however, is the daily work you can do to increase your odds.
So get climbing and start placing those lighting rods, you're gonna need a lot of them.
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This is great Jacob Matthew. You have to work on your craft. You only get better by working at it.
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Great story, Jacob! Failure is OK and expected. The key takeaway is to remain active, how can audiences see your work if you're not creating? Keep up the great work!
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I adore this reflection! "Focus on increasing the probability that it will happen" is EVERYTHING! I think I'll put that up somewhere for daily meditation, actually, thank you! I feel like the next thing that needs to be unpacked is - how do you get other people on board this mentality? I have lots of family members that understand an hourly wage, a salary, even investing, but they don't understand this. I'm not above showing them your post, btw LOL!
But, just to open it up to you Jacob Matthew and the community - how do you keep the people in your immediate surroundings on the same page?
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Karen "Kay" Ross, most jobs in the common market place are not by nature entrepreneurial. Working in STEM, Accounting, Manual Labor, etc... these jobs have been birthed by the modern education system which teaches you how to do a job, but not why to do a job.
When your occupation is focused around performing one specific task, you do not engage with perceived risk on a day to day level. However, entrepreneurial jobs like filmmaking or business ownership are constantly dealing with risk and how to mitigate loss.
The only way to train this thinking into habit is to regularly engage with discernment and risk based thinking. Once you start doing this, and loose a few times, you learn to focus on what you can control and you stop romanticizing the improbable outcomes.
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Persistance, tenacity and love of the game.
Great job Jacob.
Keep up the good work !!
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Jacob Matthew I came across your reflection on Kay's 2021 roundup and this is why Stage 32 is such a great place for 'increasing the probability' that it will happen. This is a slow, but not painful process, because it seems to me it's about developing relationships over time and not just quick-fix solutions, or pressing the flesh in the expectation that the hand has a cheque in it.
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Amazing story on self reflection & what it takes to be in this business
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This is a fun, reflective and encouraging read - thank you!
Hmmm, I was under the impression that getting struck by lightning wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Then again, last comment to this post was 1 year ago!? A little AI regurgi-fact or just really light lounge traffic.