This is written by Andrew, one of the master mentors in the mentorship program. He is writing to one of our new members, who finds himself getting discouraged for where he is, and generally feeling like maybe it’s not gonna happen. Read this, if you feel this way, because there is no difference between someone who succeeds and someone who doesn’t, the difference is in what we tell ourselves is possible.
I’ve been there. Trust me. I still get there some times. And I know I’m going to get there when I open up my first restaurant that’s getting a huge investment (more money than I’ve ever dealt with and I’ve dealt with large budget movies as a producer).
When I first started off in FIF, I would do exactly what Janet told me to do with little to no response. I would go introduce myself to the people and no one seemed to care.
Then, all of a sudden, I got that first job which brought me onto my next 20 jobs for a year in New Orleans.
But when I moved out to Los Angeles, I didn’t have that safety net of consistent jobs anymore.
I had to start from ground zero. It’s a scary place but I knew that since I didn’t have as many connections, I’d have to work 100 times harder than anyone else.
I’d do my magic list at night & get on shoots method during the day.
I would also make my plan for the next day.
I thought of success in this industry as my duty. I couldn’t go to sleep unless I talked to ___ # of people or sent out ___ # of emails.
I remember getting absolutely no response for 2 full weeks. I was devastated. Of course, I gave up for a few days.
Suddenly, after I made the decision that this probably wasn’t for me in LA, the phone started ringing. Emails came pouring in. Jobs were getting booked left and right.
It was the waterfall effect.
This reminds me of a story called 3 Feet From Gold which was in a Napoleon Hill book.
This miner moved out west during the gold rush. He purchased this plot of land and went to the river where he saw some gold sitting in it.
So he ran to the bank, got a loan, & he invested all of his money into this massive drill.
He started the drill and immediately gold started coming up. He celebrated, went into town, bought the whole bar a round of drinks, and partied the night away.
The next day, he turned the drill back on again. Nothing came out.
He was drilling right through this mountain so he thought for sure there would be more gold.
So he dug, and dug, and dug but he gave up. He saw a shepherd walking by and just gave it to him.
He had blown through all of his money he got from gold and gave up. He moved away.
The shepherd knew nothing about gold so he went into town and hired someone that knew about gold. The gold expert laughed and said if you want to have gold, all you have to do is tilt the drill 45 degrees because gold mines grow vertical and the drill was pointed horizontally.
As soon as the shepherd did this, he started getting tons of gold coming out.
More than you’d ever need.
Turns out that this was the largest gold mine on the west coast and the guy that gave this land and drill away was literally 3 feet from gold.
The shepherd made so much money he lived like a king for the rest of his life and didn’t need to be a shepherd anymore.
Why did I tell you this long & lengthy story? Because there are going to be times when things don’t make sense.
You’re doing a ton of work with very little to no result. The unknown is scary and you don’t know when the next job will pop up. But that’s what you have to learn to embrace.
FIF is your shepherds council he hired.
Embrace the unknown. Do we know if we’ll even be alive tomorrow? No.
I’m sure you don’t think about it but what’s something that you can never get a return on? Time.
Focus on what’s important now and create that sense of urgency.
You don’t feel like you’re going anywhere? Great, how can we increase your activity for a bigger return on your investment?
Trust me, I’ve been in your shoes. If you asked me during that time if it would be worth it… I wouldn’t be able to tell you. But now? Trust me, it’s all worth it.
Every time I broke down crying, every time I had a penny in my bank account, every time I doubted myself all became worth it in the end.
When you embrace these times, you’ll be far ahead of everyone else in this business. Sure, it can get you down but don’t let it keep you down.
My favorite quote is a Steve Jobs quote that still reminds me to never give up.
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones that do.”
So when you feel as if you are doubting yourself, if this path is even worth it… trust me, it truly is worth every single second.
Your time will come. Just push on harder than you currently are. It will happen like a snowball. Eventually, the snowball will start to fall and get bigger, bigger, & bigger as it rolls down the mountain. You’ll be on that path.
Trust me. It will seem like it happens overnight. It’s a crazy thing to witness.
If you have any questions about the training, let Janet or I know. We’re here for you. Let’s get you moving in the right direction!
To reply to Janet:
YES! Mindset is everything. Trust me. I’ve studied the subconscious mind and how your mindset is scientifically proven to be the reason you succeed or fail.
When I was in New Orleans, I knew I was supposed to be on sets. It was expected that I would be on those shoots and I just was. Somehow. Someway. I was.
In Los Angeles at first, I didn’t think this. I thought I’m just a small fish in an incredibly large pond. I can’t do this.
But when I switched to how my mindset was back in New Orleans… BOOM. It changed. I was back on shoots.
Janet is spot on and why I learned so much from her about the human mind. If you think you won’t get anywhere, you won’t.
If you think you will get somewhere but don’t feel like you will, you won’t get anywhere.
But if you think and feel like you are supposed to be in the industry and nothing else can stop you from achieving that… that’s where the magic happens.
I’m from MN. I started there. Chicago. Minneapolis. WI! It’s all around you. Embrace your surroundings.
Embrace your situation. Understand it. Shift your mindset. Watch it all come together.
