Day 30: Being Camera Ready...

...Is a state of mind.

In the film business, being Camera Ready is when an actor is ready to make it happen. To turn it on. To make some magic. When the set is locked in and all systems are a go. 

The green light. 

It's all in the preparation. 

There are people I know who are always camera ready. Sure, this might have to do with looking good, but it's more about being prepared to deliver. To make a first impression. To kill the interview. To close the deal. To help someone who needs it.

Being camera ready is about being open and receptive to the world and proactive around opportunity. It's one very powerful approach to getting out of bed every morning. 

LOG-IN ENTRY:

Streak Count of writing ONE HOUR A DAY: 30 days.
#FindtheHour

Soundtrack to write by: Social Network. 

Most Frequented Writing Haunt: My bed. 

Stay frosty. 

#POV. 

Day 25: Hitting the Export Button

Hit the button. Photo courtesy of @RightonBrotherFilms

Yesterday we delivered a short film to the Banff Ski Festival. And the director, Sam Giffin of @RightonBrotherFilms, lit a candle before we hit the export button. This was a tradition, he said, his mentor taught him. 

So we lit the candle and watched the file export. We knew we could have made more changes. We know there's more changes to be made. Bolts can always, always, be tightened. 

Many years ago, I told myself all my ducks would have to be in a row before I got married. 

Then I told myself the same thing before I had kids. 

I tell myself that before each project: once things are in order I can start. 

But we all know the truth: there is no order. Ducks are never in a row. It's about Progress, not Perfection. It's about delivery of something really really good, not stuck in the maw of over-analysis and the search for something that doesn't exist. 

Hit the button. 

LOG-IN ENTRY:

Streak Count of writing ONE HOUR A DAY: 25 days.
#FindtheHour

Soundtrack to write by: Midnight Express (classic use if Midi)

Most Frequented Writing Haunt: Woods, Boulevard Park. 

Stay frosty. 

#POV. 

Day 22: This Calendar Will Jumpstart Your Creativity

Want to create some cool stuff? Of course you do. Watch the video to learn how:

Here are the steps that will jumpstart your creativity - guaranteed:

• Download this cool calendar, where you can mark off your daily progress. This was inspired by Jerry Seinfeld, who forced himself to #FindtheHour and write comedy everyday. Thanks Jerry. 
• Have some fun. This isn't a chore. This is you. If you break the streak, so what? Just start again. 

So do you want to commit to do this with me?  The first person who comments below - and who is in - will get some #FindtheHour swag and some other coolness down the line. I'll also be posting at least 3-4 times a week letting you know how to make it easier - and will look to you for ideas as well. Let's make it happen. 

LOG-IN ENTRY:

Streak Count of writing ONE HOUR A DAY: 22 days.
#FindtheHour

Soundtrack to write by: Chocolat. 

Most Frequented Writing Haunt: Starbucks. 

Stay frosty. 

#POV. 

Day 20: It's Easy to Critique. It's Hard to Create.

Lost for a moment in the ripped from the headline news, you'd believe we're all screwed. That people everywhere are stepping on the third rail. 

And maybe it's true and maybe it isn't, but I'm reminded how much easier it is to create dust around an issue than actually work on the issue itself. How some of us, when it comes right down to it, sidestep the deep thinking it will take to actually make something. Why make that hard choice when there's a 24 hour mainline media fix, just the click of a button away?

Which reminds me in an odd way of Selena Gomez. Who at first blush we might all be tempted to relegate to tabloid fodder, but truth be told is creating some really interesting work. You may not love - or even understand - it, but it's different. It's risky. It's taking chances. It took a strong vision and a deep seated commitment. The heavy work was lifted. 

So maybe next time we're so fast to comment on something, we should just put our head down and do our own work instead. Critics aren't remembered. We might be.  

LOG-IN ENTRY:

Streak Count of writing ONE HOUR A DAY: 20 days.
#FindtheHour

Soundtrack to write by: Chocolat. 

Most Frequented Writing Haunt: Camber.

Stay frosty. 

#POV. 

Day 16: AMRAP the Fuck out of It

Sarcophagus found in the middle of France. Summer 2017. 

AMRAP is one of those crazy acronyms I have fun blurting out in the middle of meetings. It confuses the hell out of people, and then I can just nod, say 'That's right' and back out of the room gracefully and get back to work. Like, you're either on the inside or on the outside. 

In the CrossFit world, this means As Many Reps As Possible. Which in a nutshell should be what each day is about. 

Just one more. 

A minute longer. 

Just a little more weight. 

Lift that bitch. 

Write another word. Make another call. One more meeting. Another kiss. This is it, no use waiting for tomorrow (which is a myth anyway). 

One of my favorite sayings: the days are long but the years are short. AMRAP the fuck out of it, and you won't live in regret. Time will be as long as it's supposed to be. 

AMRAP. Say it with me. 

LOG-IN ENTRY:

Streak Count of writing ONE HOUR A DAY: 16 days.
#FindtheHour

Favorite New Writing Haunt: Camber.

Stay frosty. 

#POV. 

One Way to Get Unstuck

One way to get unstuck is to imitate your favorite artists. It was Elvis Costello who said 'All artists are magpies and thieves.'

So steal from your favorites. 

If you'e stuck writing movies, read.

Here's a great resource. 

http://nofilmschool.com/2016/08/read-screenplays-online

LOG-IN ENTRY:

Streak Count: 13 days.
#FindtheHour

Stay frosty. 

#POV. 

Lighting the Blowtorch

Self doubt is a bitch. 

We've all been there. The engine's are humming and creativity is flowing like cheap wine. You're drunk on the power of creating. You. Are. A. God.

Then someone you don't even know looks at you sideways Or maybe that one part of the story, the one edit, the blank page, comes to a screeching halt because... what?

Because we let the monster in. The wondering of 'Am I good enough?'. And its talons, small and almost cute at first, grow into life threatening thrashers. 

You have to Sigourney Weaver that shit. Put on the kevlar, light the blowtorch, and blow it up. Remind yourself of who you are. Affirm your place. 

Scott Adams says to write down your Big Hairy Audacious Goal 15 times each morning. Bake it into your DNA. Self-affirmation again and again and again. Be ruthless about the monsters you kill. 

Blow it up. 

Log-in entry:
Listening To: Dunkirk soundtrack. Amaze-balls. 
I wrote in some cool spots: The Woods, Boulevard Park in Bellingham, gets the nod.  
Streak Count: 9 days. 

Stay frosty. 

#POV. 

The Fine Art of Making Excuses

Life is always going to throw you a curve at the plate. Wednesday night, for example, is when our house got robbed.  Actually, our house got burglarized, which has the fine and very important distinction of meaning we weren't home at the time. But when we got home, everything was in disarray: drawers emptied out onto floors, papers everywhere, things scattered across the false narrative of having security. 

Then the police came and we stayed up late counting what was missing, which fortunately could have been a lot worse than it was. Passports, my drone, some cash, a little jewelry, a hell of a lot of pride. 

And what did I do? I used this as an excuse to break my routine and wake up a little late the next day. Yeah, I did get my writing done finally, but it was much later than usual and had the odd affect of slipping into the next day as well. Which reminds me of this:

Momentum is too easily lost. Streaks too easily broken. Just like that. 

I managed to hit the curve allright, it dropped in for a single and all runner's are safe. But boy, you let your guard down for an instant, and the excuses start to pile up. The resistance, it finds just the toehold it needs to get under your skin. And then you got to fight back all that much harder the next time, just to get back on track. Lesson learned? Maybe. 

Log-in entry:

7/21: 1 hour   4:30pm - 5:30pm

Location: The back of a speeding van. 
Listening To: Before the Flood soundtrack

Streak Count: 4 days. 

Stay frosty. 

#POV. 

What I'm Working On

I'm one of those guys who can not stand half-finished projects. But that's where I am right now - at least a half dozen half-finished projects that are in various stages of disarray. Some are in the outline stage, some have wrapped a first draft, others are 99% there.

So what I'm doing is going through and focusing solely on each one until they are wrapped. So as of this exact moment, I'm editing the novel I'm working on called Devil's Candy. Devil's Candy is about a screenwriter in Hollywood who gets framed for the murder of a famous producer.

What we could all use is a little more focus, I bet. It's a simple trick, but setting the alarm on my phone for one hour, then diving in with little distraction, has been the ticket so far. I'll keep you posted on my progress. 

Log-in entry:

7/18: 1 hour   7:30am - 8:30am
7/19: 1 hour   6:45am - 7:45am

Primer Coffeehouse: Double Machiatto ****
Listening To: Before the Flood soundtrack

#POV. 

New Writing Experiment: Finding the Hour

I've talked a bit about 'finding the hour' to pursue your passion. But lately, I've been seeing that hour slip away and my projects get further and further behind. 

So, starting this week, I'm back in the saddle. My new plan is to write from 7:00 - 8:00 AM each day, and then log my success here. If you want to follow and see how I'm doing, this is the place. I'll discuss strategies about finding time, inspiration, and happiness - and hopefully you can apply some of this to your own day to day to make your own stuff happen. 

Either way, your life isn't going to happen without you. Or maybe it will, and you'll just be along for the ride. 

Here's my first log-in entry:

7/17: 1 hour
Writing Soundtrack: The Martian (so good)

Onward. 

You are Worth what the Market Pays You

A Basquiat painting just sold for $110 million. 

The house down the street just sold for $100,000 more than your's did (and they looked just about the same). 

You pay .99 cents for a new song that someone spent months writing. 

A book that costs ten bucks changes your life. 

Values are all over the place. Maybe you think your job doesn't pay you enough (you might be right) or that you deserved more from your last effort. Or maybe you're one of those people who say "God, I can't believe I get paid this much doing what I love."

The market can be a harsh mistress. It tends to equalize things, and has a habit of racing to the bottom. And if you're in the creative space especially (like a writer, an artist, or a filmmaker), you feel that pressure pushing on you everyday. I can find someone cheaper is often our greatest fear.

Then there's Basquiat. To remind us that no one wants to hear our excuses. Our complaints. 

So it's hard, so what? 

The sooner we embrace that, the sooner we stop devaluing ourselves. To paraphrase Eleanor Roosevelt, nobody can make us feel inferior without our consent - and this extends to the market as well. If we think we're worth more, fight back. Prove it. Play the long game and grind and grind and grind some more. Go out there and make it happen. 

That's about the only thing that markets, and other people, respond to. 

The Three Sides of the Quality Triangle Are Dead

There used to be a really cool model for producing great work, three sides of a triangle that dictated how things would happen. 

Side 1 of the Triangle = Quality

Side 2 of the Triangle = Speed

Side 3 of the Triangle = Cost

It was reasonable that you could ask your clients (or yourself) to pick two. Only two of the sides could be achieved at once. 

If someone wanted Quality and Speed, it would Cost MORE.

If someone wanted Quality and low Cost, it would take LONGER.

If someone wanted Speed and low Cost, the Quality would SUFFER. 

People lived by the Quality Triangle for a long time. But that time has passed. 

I love Amazon, but it's model is to provide ALL three sides of the triangle. It has embraced that on a significant scale. And this approach to business (the expectation of customers) has permeated every industry, from creative to manufacturing (though we may all  be loathe to admit it). 

If you're a creative especially, this can be a hard thing to accept. We need our time. We always need MORE time. 

What's the solution? We can rebel against the collapsing of the triangle. But we do this at our own peril. Going slow has come to imply that someone is passing you. Being expensive implies someone can do it for less. And though the qualities others provide may only be 90% as good as what you provide, there are some people who can't appreciate that last 10% anyway. 

I'm not advocating for less quality or less time or that we cheapen ourselves. I am advocating that we be aware of the market, and figure out how we are going to respond accordingly. Providing deeper value is part of the solution. Audience/customer experience is key. So maybe we start there. 

Thoughts?

2017 Progress Report: My 3 Words

My three super words for 2017 are Deepen, Sharpen, Share. These are the three words that are supposed to guide my approach and intention through the year. 

• Deepen: Working on deepening relationships is not easy. Especially when you would prefer to not to talk to anyone - which is my usual resting state. So one thing that works for bringing a little juice to my game is focusing on another word entirely: Gratitude. Every morning I spend time meditating around this one word, what it means, and what I can be more grateful for. I usually think about the ONE THING that is frustrating me the most, then I try to come at it from a place of gratitude and questions like 'Why the hell am I facing this challenge?. This often forces me to accept responsibility for where I am, and by extension allows me to go deeper. Mostly, but not always. 
• Sharpen: This is about upping one's game. When asked how he would approach cutting down a tree in six hours with just an axe, Abraham Lincoln replied "I would spend the first four hours sharpening the axe." You can't do great work if you are dull, and I've been working pretty hard at eating well, getting exercise (T25, yo) and being awake to opportunity. This isn't a 24/7 proposition, but my game is getting better - especially creatively. Improving habits. 
• Share: This is perhaps the thing I need the most work on - and is directly related to the deepening mantra above. Because I'm a hermit who would prefer just sitting in front of his keyboard (sharing online counts very little - sharing with the people in front of you is the goal), I need to force myself to share. To have conversations. To engage.Even at work, I can disappear for hours and not talk to anyone. So I'm trying to pick one thing to share with the people closest to me, each and every day (you have to start somewhere).

Overall, I'm doing all right. There's still lots of room to grow and shake things up. To make bigger impressions. To connect more. To love more. That's the goal, isn't it?

Try the 95% Rule

Einstein's 'Theory of Relativity' is, at the end of the day, all about perspective. How you see things is a direct result of your position in space. 

So what if we made the choice to put our headspace in a positive place? So that what we saw was through a filter pf gratitude and joy?

This doesn't always work. The glass half-full conundrum fails miserably when the glass is shattered by illness, depression, death, poverty, war or a myriad of other things life likes to throw at us.  People out there are suffering well beyond anything considered humane. That's indisputable.. 

But I bet 95% of the time, for most of us, happiness is a choice. Those of us who are lucky enough to live in the middle, in relative comfort, should exercise that when we can. 

Thoughts?

What do We Want to Create Today?

When was the last time you asked yourself that question?

Was it this morning? If not, why not?

What's holding us back?

Who are we trying to please, other than this goal?

Are we all afraid it might not be good enough?

Or would we prefer to watch other people make stuff, every time we turn on the TV?

Just some questions.