If you’re reading this past midnight, once the normal folks have rolled down the shutters, chances are a hefty potato sack of a question hangs over your creative destiny. We all experience that crushing doubt, “Am I cut out for this Filmmaking lark?”, but what you should really be asking is “what made me crazy enough to begin in the first place?”. So when you hit that fork in the road, remind yourself what drew you to this crazy life and take the psychopath.
The sweet golden years; operating your first camera, stroking the canvas with a fresh paint brush or taking those first steps inside a vocal booth, you were ready to take on the world. Nothing else mattered but art and deep in your heart you knew nothing ever would, until it did. Job security began to creep in, time pressures, financial woes, rejection after rejection, this is called life, and man does it screw with your chi. There’s simply no such thing as a bulletproof Filmmaker, they’ve all been stung by this rollercoaster of emotions, but the ones who survive and thrive know the importance of their past and the potential of their future, key to perseverance.
Imagine your career was an Olympic Relay Race. The gun explodes and you thrust into a forward momentum hurtling towards your goal, the baton is passed and you sprint off ready for the next switch. The waiting teammate is looking directly ahead, anticipating his next move, unaware the baton holder is closing in. The pass is fumbled and suddenly that goal, that win, that next move is compromised. We’re all so committed to painting the ultimate dream, that when reality peels away the layers, we find ourselves unprepared for the work. That’s the moment it’s imperative to remember why you are here, as the purest version of you had a vision just crazy enough to push you into this journey. How stupid would you feel for quitting just because this life doesn’t quite look how your fantasy was painted? Slow down, look back, love yourself and wait for the perfect moment to launch back into the race.