Reading Variety today, I was fortunate enough to spot a piece of serendipity in a news article that more or less spells immediate doom to a project one of my friends was close to getting greenlit.
Naturally, he or she reacted with frustration. At the same time, I'm seeing this as an opportunity for him or her to fast-track another project very close to this person's heart. In short, I think a lot of the infrastructure my friend was building with more conservative projects just got laid by someone else. While that means a rapid change in gears for him or her, it also means life may have just gotten a lot easier.
Immediately, I mentioned the opportunity to another friend in a position to help get this more ambitious project off the ground. Listening to my breakdown of the situation, this other friend reacted with open excitement. Suddenly, a doom and gloom situation yields an opportunity for everyone involved to do the kind of work that excites them the most!
Am I thinking about how I might be able to jump on this project as a writer? Am I thinking about what kind of money I might make if a deal gets struck? Absolutely. Not being aware of those opportunities would be a mistake. At the same time, the main point here is that two people I know can benefit profoundly from a new set of circumstances. Until these two people are able and willing to work together towards a common goal, seeing those circumstances puts me in a leadership position.
What makes me fit to lead a pair of well established film professionals?
To whatever extent "friend one" and "friend two" respect and trust me, it's because I'm using every available resource, in some astonishingly creative ways, to make great movies and share them with the world. In the end, that's all that anyone cares about.
Is this luck? You bet. At the same time, the luck is mine to exercise because I've never waited for opportunities to find me. Instead, I've been finding and exploiting good fortune in places where nobody else is looking. After years and years of practice, I've finally become competent at it. Folks can trust me as an expert.
That's how it works, guys. Nobody just gets lucky.
While I'm on the subject, one of the other things that makes me useful in this situation is that while I'm not blind to the opportunities available to me, my mind is on what's happening right now. There's no need to worry about how I'm going to fit into this project, because I'm needed right now. Keeping my focus on the moment ensures that the needs of the project determine how, and if, we all wind up working together. n other words, you've got ot check your ego at the door.
Regardless of whether this situation pans out, it's already taught me a great deal. Not bad for a Monday morning!
0 comments:
Post a Comment