We all know a well intentioned but pesky doubting Thomas that lurks somewhere in our lives.
That naysayer might be a friend, co-worker, audience member or even family. They give you encouragement about your latest project, but with a stick in it. The ‘wow, sounds great. But can you really make any money from that?’ type of conversation that leaves you with a bad feeling.
Yes, most of us are dreamers. We are well aware that our financial lives might have been better if we’d gotten an MBA. But would we be happy? We are all know of the pitfalls of filmmaking. The maxed out credit cards, an editor that doesn’t return phone calls, or even the location with a neighbor who pesters about a permit.
Filmmaking, screenwriting, just about anything creative takes a tremendous leap of faith. It is usually done without a huge entourage of support. That’s why indie filmmakers, venture capitalists, day traders and like, who succeed are heroes, because it’s usually one against the world when it comes to achieving your goals. Yes, the odds will be stacked against you, but people out there do make it.
At the same time, we are all still human. We toss and turn at night over a bad comment someone’s made about our work. Or we secretly doubt ourselves and wonder if we can pull this off.
The words of Calvin Coolidge, the 30th American president captures this thought:
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”
