Goals: Changing Your Perspective
Over the past 18 years of working with writers, meandering through the wild and ever-changing maze that is the entertainment industry, I’ve slowly (and more often than not, painfully) learned a very simple lesson. The lesson isn’t anything revelatory or new or even unique, but it is a lesson that deserves attention, time, and practice to fully understand how it can help create personal and professional success.
For one thing, it is needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway) that we all yearn for success. Whether that success is monumental in scope like seeing your 200 million dollar movie idea hit 4,000 screens in the summer tentpole season, or if it’s landing a top manager to represent you, or something even simpler like finishing your first screenplay, the level of “how much success" doesn’t matter. Success is completely relative to each individual person and no one’s intent or hopeful success is more important than another’s. What I’m hoping to help you understand, however, is that there may be a need for a shift in your pursuit of your individual success.
The lesson that I’d like to share with you is simple in nature, but it isn’t so simple in practice. It isn’t so simple because we have all been unconsciously trained to focus our attention on the end result. We’ve been trained since children to see what other people have, consider how important that success is, and then want that success for ourselves. Whether it’s a car that someone else drives, a house someone else lives in, a career that your favorite celebrity has, we see it and wish we had it too. Is there anything wrong with seeing and focusing on the end result? Of course not! It’s necessary to have that visual and example, otherwise how do we even consider the possibility of such success? So…I get it. The end result is important, but the lesson I’m talking about in this post today is that the end result is not as important as we make it out to be.
Here’s the lesson in its most basic form: In order to create an intended end result, we must establish a daily approach that isn’t ONLY about creating the end result. That sounds contradictory, doesn’t it? In a literal sense, yeah it is contradictory, but through a more esoteric and energetic perspective, it makes perfect sense. It makes perfect sense because while the end result is intended, the only way to achieve that result is to do the necessary things on a daily basis that will help you create it…and then making those things simply a part of your every-day, your routine, just very simply…what you do, always.
Think of it this way. Let’s say you see someone on social media who has a body that you wish to have as well. Some beautiful person with perfect everything. So you set a schedule to work out every day, eat right, lift weights, run, yoga, whatever. All the while you have your focus on that body, on that perfect person, and on how others will look at you once you look that amazing. Sounds great to me! But then again…does it? What’s missing here? What’s missing is the understanding that you’ve created a new you well before you’ve achieved that perfect body (and let’s be honest, it really doesn’t matter what others think of your body). You’ve created that new you because you’ve created a new daily routine that is just very simply what you do now. So instead of practicing that routine in order to achieve that hopeful result, why not accept that this routine is now just what you do every day and throw out the intended result? I guarantee you that the person with that amazing perfect everything does exactly that. He or she wants the end result, but it’s not as if they will stop the daily routine once they look that good and feel good. They just continue with the daily routine because that’s who they are and who they have always been (and they like to feel good).
So if you intend to sell a screenplay – this being your intended end result – what are you going to do once you do sell the screenplay? Stop writing? I would certainly hope not! So why focus on selling the screenplay? Why not focus on the fact that you are just, very simply, a writer and it’s what you do every day. It’s part of your routine and you know, on a deeper level, that because you write and work at your craft every day, you will achieve that end result regardless. Once you do this and shift that perspective, the end result doesn’t matter as much anymore. Yes, it’s important and still a goal, but you lose the “when” and “how” portion of the pursuit. The “when” and “how” doesn’t matter and we don’t actually have control over the “when” and “how” (especially in Hollywood unless you’re filthy rich…and even then you still need to plan the production). It’s the practice of just being who you are and doing what you do that becomes much more important. A lot of this practice is about owning your personal identity and practicing who you are every single damn day.
Loosen your grip on your hopeful end result. Keep it in your mind as something that would be wonderful to achieve or have, but then let it live there while you do what you do. Don’t make the pursuit of a goal something new or separate or adjunct. Just make it a part of your daily routine like eating lunch, petting your dog, drinking your morning coffee, or being the only person who laughs at Lord of the Rings memes on Instagram (I may or may not be referencing myself). Success is achieved through the establishing of a daily routine. So establish the routine!
I hope this message helps you see yourself and your writing in a new and inspiring light. If you ever have any questions for me, or wish to inquire about working with The Story Farm on a weekly basis, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re looking for more writers to support, and to help them create this daily and weekly routine I’ve been talking about. Receiving feedback, notes, brainstorms, and support during that routine can be beneficial, so feel free to contact me at max@TheStoryFarm.org or you can join The Story Circle Community for free. I will be hosting live workshops and events starting in October 2024 as part of a paid membership ($27.50/month). Feel free to ask me questions if you have any, or just go here to register your profile with The Story Farm Circle.
Keep moving forward, and all the best in the pursuit of your goals.
This is awesome! I am guilty of thinking about the end result too much. The funny thing is most of the time your end result is so different from someone else's that there is no comparison.
I like the idea of just focusing on the process. The result will come in time and it will be amazing.