“Hashim, I want to pitch you a great idea.”
I was his mentor and he was a young photographer, new to the entertainment industry. We sat down for lunch in the gray cafeteria of the CBS Broadcast Studios, in between tapings of the variety show I worked for.
What the young man said next involved traveling the world, working with a legend in music, and getting paid to live out his childhood dream. All he needed from me was a simple meeting with the senior president of my television network so he could pitch his “great idea” upstream.
I clearly explained that his plan couldn’t work, and I wouldn’t help him.
It wasn’t that his aspirations were too lofty. No. Nothing is worse than a creative professional who works in a magical field like music, television, or film yet boxes up his dreams to fit a false standard of reality. We work here to defy reality, both in our work, and in our careers.
So, the size of the dream isn’t the problem.
The real issue is that the young man I mentored had only one dream in mind – his own. His plan was to ask me, and at least two other people to risk our own reputations to build his career. He wanted us to sacrifice for his dream, with no regard to what we may receive, or more importantly, what we may lose.
Nobody Cares About Your Dreams, And That’s A Good Thing
Rule #1 of having a career in showbiz is to not expect anyone else to be concerned about your goals, unless that person is your mother.
Scratch that. Even your mom just wants you to succeed so she has something to brag about. And she’d be just as happy if you quit this risky business and switched to nursing.
So, that leaves you as the only person with a true concern for how your entertainment career goes.
Here’s the thing – in this business we don’t do favors, we trade favors.
And that’s good news for you. It means that whatever you want for your career can be achieved by being an enabler of the hopes of other people. You don’t have to rely on personal relationships and the kindness of strangers to get ahead. Instead, your ability to make others famous, wealthy, and fulfilled is directed tied to the frequency and size of the opportunities you will have to do achieve the same.
Far too often, both aspiring professionals and industry veterans approach the business as if they are owed a spotlight for their unique talents and amazing ideas. If that spotlight never comes, they blame tasteless executives, a stupid audience, and the unfair universe.
It would be better for you to dump the needy mindset, and adopt a giving outlook. Like DJ Beverly Bond did.
The Generosity Paradox
Beverly Bond started as a model, switched to being a DJ, and became the hottest name in the club scene.
She took her status as a celebrity DJ as far as it would go, doing parties for icons such as Prince and Sean “Diddy” Combs. For a period of time, DJ Beverly Bond lost a fair amount of buzz, as famous female musicians like Erykah Badu and Solange also took up DJing.
When club promoters overlooked Bond and did deals with the lastest celebrity DJs, do you think they cared about her life dreams, her car note, her cool new ideas, or past accomplishments? No! They wanted a packed club, and they were willing to go with anyone who could make that dream come true.
However, today Bond is even more famous, and much more powerful, and it has little to do with being a DJ. She is the producer of the most unique award show on television, Black Girls Rock, and the founder of a charity by the same name.
Bond started Black Girls rock to help young women learn about personal leadership through the arts. The innovative, New York based empowerment program is the smart way Bond has chosen to give back to her community and the music industry at large.
Because of her generosity, Bond is achieving new heights of fame and success. And I bet that she once again has offers to DJ around the world.
Give To The Industry, And The Industry Will Give To You
Bond’s story is not rare. Choose anyone who has consistently done great things for themselves in music, television, or film. You’ll find that as they walked their own path of success, they’ve helped many others walk with them.
They’ve shared their knowledge at conferences and trade shows. They’ve participated in “the union” and mentored college students. They’ve written books, given quotes to reporters, and started their own blogs. They’ve started charities, volunteered at charities, and given money to charities.
Here’s the paradox – they are the most generous with others who are generous. So, it’s not the needy, with big dreams that get a hand from givers. It’s others who set their mind on giving who get the most help from others!
To paraphrase a president, don’t ask what the entertainment industry can do for you. Ask what you can do for the entertainment industry.
If you commit yourself to service, I promise our business will commit itself to you.
