No matter how many times I watch the awareness test in the video below it still amazes me. See what I mean:
That video teaches you an important lesson – in the fast paced and ever changing entertainment industry, not knowing where to place your focus will mean missing something important. Follow me on this one…
The Paradox of Choice
Today I spent time coaching a producer who works in the television industry. Though she does great work at her day job, she was frustrated by the lack of movement in a personal project that will advance her career.
Though she’s a go-getter at work, she didn’t know what to focus on next in her project and it froze her. Why? Because of too many choices.
According to Barry Schwartz’s popular book, “The Paradox of Choice” a lack of choice helps us make better decisions while complexity stops us in our tracks. It sounds backwards but it’s true.
This is why if you’re stuck in the entertainment industry black hole you’ll find yourself unable to be productive. Faced with a world of choice while in between jobs, you’ll feel overwhelmed while in the black hole. The uneasy feeling that comes with not knowing where to spend your attention eventually makes you choose a less ambiguous (and boring) industry to work in.
But you won’t let all of this drive your career towards nursing or clerical work, will you? Good. All it takes to make a turnaround is practicing the power of focus.
Avatar, Eminem, and The Power of Focus
Learning how to spot the “moonwalking bear” and manage your focus isn’t just a good trick, it’s the critical skill of the most successful people in our industry.
Take director James Cameron. He could have spent the last 10 years adding to his portfolio of films with a mix of blockbusters and flops like everyone else. Instead, he focused on his moonwalking bear and produced Avatar, the biggest hit movie of all time.
Or look at Dr. Dre’s moonwalking bear, Eminem. Dre had the choice to work with any superstar rapper in the world. Instead, he focused on finding new talent and discovered Eminem, the best selling musical artist of the last decade.
The Focus Goblin: Myths
Other than “too many choices”, the biggest distraction for your focus are the dangerous half-truths we call “myths”. Constant change in entertainment gives you more options than you can handle, but myths make you think there is one option, only one way to do something.
A myth is like the voice over in the attention video, telling you to count the basketball passes. Sure, you counted correctly, but that voice made you miss your moonwalking bear!
James Cameron had to guard his attention against the myth of the movie blockbuster being dead, and the myth that 3D is not worth the trouble. Dr. Dre had to ignore the myth that hip-hop would not accept a popular white rapper. Dre and Eminem later teamed up, ignoring the “gangsta rap is dead” myth they helped create and signed hardcore rapper 50 Cent.
How’s that for myth busting?
Now I ask, what myths are holding you back from seeing your moonwalking bear? Which popular lies are stopping you from discovering the hidden opportunities that will boost your career?
7 Myths of the Entertainment Industry
If you’re not getting all the job opportunities you want, it’s probably not because of the font of your resume or the color of your portfolio website. You may be believing something about the entertainment industry that’s not true, and it could be stopping you from seeing your next big break.
I collected a few myths about the our business that I always hear. Count how many you think are true:
- There’s no job security
- It’s hard to break into
- Who you know is most important
- You’ll be rich/poor
- It’s exciting work
- The most creative people win
- Everyone is shallow and backstabbing
Trust me – believing one or more or those myths will stop you from taking advantage of things that could leap you forward in your career.
To combat these lies I wrote a free 7-part email course that will teach you what the myths are and why they do not have to be true for you. In the email course, I share ideas on how to write your own career story so you can take control of your path in this industry.
And to make the course extra helpful, I’m tossing in some cool resources that will give you the solutions to problems that dog many people in our business.
Sign up for the email course now and I’ll send you the lessons in weekly chunks right away.
