Staying Focused & Inspired in this Crazy Industry – Part 2
Dear Friends:
A few years ago I had the privilege to be at events where Lisa Nichols and Dame Helen Mirren spoke. These women have raised the bar for all of us. To me Lisa Nichols is the Queen of Inspiration. I don’t think I took a breath during the entire hour. She has the ability to enroll you into truly believing that you can be, do and have anything and everything. During her speech at the Women’s International Network (WIN) event, Lisa said that she was there to remind us of our brilliance… to remind us of our magnificence… to remind us of our innate power and ability to fulfill our dreams.
At Brit Week hearing Dame Helen Mirren interviewed was like being in the presence of a living breathing depiction of the words elegance and grace. Both women were beyond inspiring. In keeping with this article’s theme of “focus” I feel that both women’s lives and careers are perfect examples of the importance of staying focused and inspired. <--read more-->
Staying Focused & Inspired in this Crazy Industry – Part 1
Dear Friends:
Staying focused and inspired in our crazy industry is not easy. When my film partner and I were wanting to produce our first film, we couldn’t figure out why we keep feeling like we were spinning our wheels. We had developed 16 screenplays, created tons of relationships in the industry, sent out literally hundreds of scripts and had more meetings than I am sure anyone else in the film industry! Also, we had actually set up deals with major companies in Hollywood on some of the projects. Yet, nothing was happening! Nothing! We finally met with our coach and she said only a few words, but extremely important words…. FOCUS! PICK ONE, AND FOCUS! It may sound crazy but that had not even occurred to us.
The minute we picked one, our favorite romantic comedy called “Undertaking Betty,” all of a sudden, things started happening. Within a year we were on location in Wales producing the film! An indie film with A-list talent. The other amazing part of this story is that the moment we focused on what we really wanted to do, we became inspired. We got very excited about getting started and moving forward on the film. And the actions we took toward that end were fun and effortless.<--read more-->
10 Tips to Closing the Deal
Dear Friends:
I am very excited about this week’s article. How to close the deal is the topic and I think for all of us in this industry, and probably every industry, it’s one of the most difficult and uncomfortable things to do. It certainly takes us out of our comfort zone! In fact, just writing this article made me anxious since it got me thinking about my upcoming projects and the business details that need to be handled to actually close the deals.
At the same time writing it was valuable for me as a wake-up call because I clearly saw where and why I wasn’t closing the deal on certain projects. Many of us are great at creating some heat around ourselves and our projects from time to time, but how do we close the deal… how do we push it to that next stage? How do we get them to read our screenplay? Sign that option agreement? Watch our acting reel? Hire us as the director on that film or TV show? Commit to investing in our film?
In this “10 Tips” article, I’ll share with you some ideas that will support you with this extremely important issue.<--read more-->
HOW TO GET A MEETING
Dear Friends:
How do we get face time? I realize that online social media is a big part of our lives. I was watching CBS Sunday Morning a while back and the reporter talked to a husband and wife who said they actually text each other while in the same house. They said they seldom have face to face discussions anymore. Is that crazy or am I just old fashioned?
Our iPhone and iPad are our new best friend and the social network is here to stay. When I was checking out David Sayce’s website a while back I read his article about Twitter. He gave fascinating information on just how many times a day we’re online. He said that just one year ago “every second, on average, around 6,000 tweets are tweeted on Twitter, which corresponds to over 350,000 tweets sent per minute, 500 million tweets per day and around 200 billion tweets per year. I’m sure those number are even higher now. <--read more-->
HOW TO CREATE A MISSION STATEMENT
Dear Friends:
The time is always perfect for this week’s topic… “10 Tips to Creating Your Mission Statement”. For some reason we tend to avoid this aspect of our business. As I’ve mentioned in more than a few of my previous articles, you are a business. You are the president and CEO of your company even if you are a writer, an actor, a DP, a director, etc.
When I started doing the research for this article I asked an actress friend of mine about her mission statement and she said, “I never thought of myself as a business, so I didn’t think I needed one.” EVERYONE should have a mission statement. Business, personal, it doesn’t matter… it’s important. So that’s your job this week! And trust me, you’ll thank me when it’s over. <--read more-->
HOW TO GET A MENTOR
Dear Friends:
I don’t think you’re going to be to happy with what I’m about to suggest in this article. I’m going to address the topic of getting a mentor. I have a feeling I’ve lost you already, so come on back… it’s not going to be as painful as you think.
However, when I was speaking at a Scriptwriters Network event a few years ago I suggested that each person there get a mentor. You could have heard a pin drop and then one of the participants stood up and said, “Are you crazy? Who would I get? Why would they ever say yes? How would I get one?” Everyone in the room seemed to have the same reaction. <--read more-->
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