Maybe It's Time to Try Something Else?
Slow the Train Down
These are just some thoughts and ideas ahead of tonight's Creator’s Lounge call.
I stumbled upon a great conversation about success that Trevor Noah was having with Derek Fordjour(artist/educator). I highly recommend listening in. Oh, and I definitely think you should check out Derek Fordjour’s artwork! Here’s his Instagram @fordjourstudio
The famous quote, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results," is often attributed to Albert Einstein, but it's actually a misattributed quote. It appears to have originated around 1980 in literature published by Narcotics Anonymous. While not Einstein's own words, the idea behind the quote is a powerful one, highlighting the futility of repeating actions with the same outcome.
I bring this up because, as creatives, as entrepreneurs, as people trying to catch that “break” towards whatever we consider success, we do the same things over and over again. We post relentlessly on social media. We send hundreds of blind emails. We connect with dozens of people on LinkedIn. We do all this hoping that one day someone will notice our acting talent, our artistic skills, our intelligence, our humor, etc.
So, according to that quote, we’re all insane.
You’re probably asking,” What’s the solution then?”.
Have you ever heard something like this before…
“Dude, I was at SXSW promoting my new film. I’ve been running around like crazy, sending my trailer, emailing people, going to all these events, trying to connect with industry people. It’s exhausting! Anyway, I had had enough for the day so I called for an Uber to head back to my hotel. I ended up in a ride share with this really cool brother. He was there for the Film segment of SXSW. We chopped it up all the way to his stop. Told him I was a filmmaker here to network. He asked to see my trailer, so I showed him. Before he got out of the car, he shook my hand, told me to call him, and set up some time to talk more. He handed me his business card. As the car pulls off, I realized I didn’t ask who he was. I looked at his card. It said he was the Head of Global Distribution at Netflix. I called him once I got back home, he remembered me, and now my film has a distribution deal once it finishes its festival run!”
That’s the moment we all want. The “Break”. We see it in the movies. We hear of it from other successful people. We want that moment too!
The reason why I suggested listening to the Trevor Noah episode is, he came up with a great analogy for life. He describes the world as a train that never stops. And we’re all just standing on the platform hoping that the train will slow down long enough for us to get onboard. I thought that was brilliant. I can already see myself standing there waving my arms, jumping up and down trying to wave it down as it zooms by. Every so often, the conductor will slow it down and grab an outreached hand. Once in a blue moon, someone will run just fast enough to jump on the back as it speeds by. The rest of us keep doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result.
People who are on the train (industry experts, influencers, celebrities,etc.) who’ve made it will yell tips/advice out of the window as they pass by, but the train is going so fast that no one can really understand. Also, those people who made it don’t REALLY know how it is they made it, so the advice they give is useless or convoluted.
Again, You’re probably asking,” What’s the solution then?”.
The solution (as I think it is. Remember, I'm closer to the train but I’m still on the platform too!) is to be different. To try things you wouldn’t ever think of or to step outside your comfort zone. Try to break the cycle you’ve been in. I know. It’s hard. Harder than you think. You’ve been doing things your way for a long time. It feels good. It seems right. You’re smart, and you've got to be right. Right?
But remember, you’re trying to get the train (or the conductor) to notice you and slow the train down long enough (think 15 minutes of fame) to jump on.
If you listen to some of the most famous people (I mean really listen!), they all tell a different version of the same story.
They fell ass backwards into connections, money, opportunities…most when they least expected it. Wasn’t that they didn’t have talent, knowledge or skills (many people have that and are still on the platform!) They did something that caused the train to slow down long enough for the world to notice them.
So…try doing something new to slow the train down.
ps…Ferris Bueller basically laid it out in his iconic quote:
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
Enjoy the Day. Hope to see you in tonight’s Creator’s Lounge
Daron Jenkins
Creators Lounge Founder | Podcaster