SUCCESS: YOU DON'T NEED AS MUCH AS YOU THINK

Reader,

Most people (creatives especially) think that in order to have big impact you need:

• Tons of resources at your disposal
• A large audience
• Fancy tools and systems or teams of people

This is why most stay stuck or look at others’ success from afar, but never make any forward progress

You can do a lot with relatively little.

Don’t take my word for it. Let me give you a real-word example:

I shot a short documentary film, “The Ride of Your Life”, for Director, friend and long-time collaborator, Jacob Krupnick, that released earlier this month. It’s a profile piece about Serotta Cycles who, at their peek, was making bikes for the US Tour de France Team in the 1980’s.

Before we go any further, give it a watch:

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Now sure, I’m sharing this film as a little bit of self-promotion…and because I want people to watch it. But it’s actually a great example of what I’m talking about.

The final product is pretty high-end, so one would think we had resources and budget comparable to the end result.

The reality was actually this:

• Jacob and I worked for free (this was a passion project)
• We made this entirely with equipment we already owned
• The largest crew we had was maybe 6 people for one day (the rest was the two of us overloading a Subaru Outback and doing all the jobs)
• Neither of us have a huge following but were able to make the NYC screening a success by leveraging Serotta’s industry clout

So again: NO vault of resources. NO large team. NO big audience. Just an over-abundance of scrappiness and willingness to figure things out.

THIS is how I came up in filmmaking: Small and nimble crews making work that can hold its own against more resource-heavy productions. Of course, I’m not advocating that you work for free. Your time and your talent are valuable assets, indeed…but you get the point.

So, all this begs the question: Why do creatives feel that they need MORE than they actually do to achieve the desired end result?

I think it all comes down to MINDSET and, while I’m confident there are many more points to be made, there are three that stick out to me, that I’ve dealt with myself:

1. Lack of Trying

Let’s be honest - people can be pretty lazy, especially nowadays. There is a big part of modern culture that has convinced many that success should be handed to them on a silver platter. That things should come to them with minimal effort. I call bullsh*t.

If you don’t have any skin in the game, you’re going to fail at some point.

2. Outside Influences

For better or worse, we live an increasingly connected and visible world. A world where we are regularly confronted with the curated successes of our peers and those we admire.

In my industry, social media is rife with people showing off their $100K camera rigs, huge sets they work on and seemingly endless supply of lighting and new tech they get to employ on the regular.

It skews one’s perception of what “normal” is. That is NOT normal.

Social Media is flooded with people showing off because they want to be noticed.

The bi-product here is that those who are just learning or trying to find their way through the mud, are shown that the only way to make work of merit is to spend a ton of money and be surrounded by unlimited assets

As we know by now, this is not the case.

3. Underlying Fear

Have you ever been afraid of failing at something and find that it’s easier to not try in the first place?

That’s your subconscious messing with you, but it feel so real. Sticking to the status quo is a far easier path…but is there any reward at the end?

Challenging the status quo is the only way to move yourself forward.

Putting yourself out there is scary. The possibility of judgement is scary. Knowing that you might fail is scary.

You know what’s worse? Never even TRYING to realize your untapped potential.

All of this can be summarized pretty succinctly in a quote from one of the better business mindset books I’ve read entitled, “10x is Easier Than 2x” by Dan Sullivan:

I know this might be a little bit of stretch to go deep down a mindset rabbit hole off the back of talking about making a short film project with just what’s at your disposal. But, then again, is it?

How you do anything is how you do everything, as they say.

If you can’t bet on yourself to be resourceful in only the ways you know how, or be scrappy and fight the good fight to make the idea in your head a reality on the screen or the page, then what are you actually doing?

If you want to make a film, grab your phone and make one. If you want to write a book, just start and figure out the story as you go. Lean on people you know and trust to be collaborators or, at least, a sounding board when you need it.

Life is too short to NOT roll the dice on yourself.

Go make your thing.

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How we can do more together

When you’re ready, here’s how I can help:

🎙️ My Podcast: My free podcast, No Set Path, unpacks life as a creative entrepreneur through unfiltered conversations and personal stories.

☎️ Discovery Call: I help creatives and entrepreneurs build their authority and expertise online by looking and sounding their best. It’s all in how you show up. If that sounds like you, let’s talk and see if we might be a good fit to work together.

Have a great week.

✌🏻Drew

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