The Work Doesn’t Count Unless You Ship It

The work doesn’t count unless you ship it.

If you don’t press upload, share or play - the work doesn’t exist.

A few years back, I had just wrapped up a short film. Like many creatives towards the end of a process, I was wrought with self-doubt. I thought it was terrible. I thought I was terrible. So I wanted to hide myself and my work from the world.

With a little help from a mentor, I decided that uploading the work and sharing it with the world was going to somehow be worth it. It wasn’t that someone was going to tell me it was good. It’s that I was sending a message to myself that the process of making and sharing was going to keep me going.

I would no longer be stuck waiting for perfect. Regardless of results, praise or humiliation -  I would keep creating.

Did I become reckless and sloppy? No.

Empowered to forge past fear? Yes!

That work could have died as a .mov on my hard drive. Instead it shipped. It exists. And so does the rest of my work from that point forward.

Creativity is a choice. Passion is a choice. Be the boss of your process, and the rest will come.

Real People Shouldn’t Be In Front Of The Camera

Real people shouldn't be in front of the camera.

But, the most compelling stories & content comes from real people. Especially those willing to reveal even a modicum of vulnerability.

Have you been watching Netflix's Murdaugh Murders? Be honest...

I love actors (truly) but when a story is being told to me by a real person - a person who actually experienced a thing - it feels more authentic and just hits deeper. It's easy to see why; there's something about the truth that's revealed in a face sharing from experience rather than imagination.

But asking a real person to get in front of our camera's and reveal a part of themselves - sometimes that's just asking too much.

Unless it's not. Unless sharing that part of their story, that part of themselves, bring meaning to them. Delivers catharsis. Releases something that's been needing to be expressed.

And when that happens, that's when we get the good stuff. The stuff that's a co-creation between storyteller, subject and audience. The stuff that resounds with all of us, and makes us feel connected... to ourselves and our world.

What do you think?

The Start of Something New

Hello and welcome.

This has been on my to-do list forever. Build out a site to connect with people. Start a blog to share thoughts and add value. But I’ve got to be honest - I’ve been scared.

I’m scared to make something shitty. I’m scared to look bad. I’m scared of typos and bad grammar. I’m scared of what people might think. I’m scared of being judged. I’m scared of running gout of ideas and giving up. I’m sacred of failing. I’m scared of someone find this on the internet in 3 years and wondering what ever happened to that guy.

But more than anything, I’m scared of not doing. I’m scared of letting more time pass and not having created enough, not produced enough, not engaged enough with the world.

And that’s the course I’m on here. By sitting still, staying on the sidelines, we slowly wither away.

Instead, I’m choosing to get in the game and start playing.

I don’t know where this will go, or exactly what I’m going. But I know I’m ready to do it.

And I’d love for you to come along for the ride.