Entitlement has become a big discussion in western society. Some people think that we should get what we work hard for. Others believe that there are a plethora of things that should be owed to us for any one reason.
Regardless of your political and sociological alignment, the reality is that it may not matter how you feel about this issue. The reason I say this is because it doesn’t actually matter what you “think” you deserve. What matters is what is most probably going to happen to you. Let me explain.
To believe you “deserve” something, is to believe that some outside force “owes” you something.
Just because I personally work hard at growing my film company (Booklight), put hours of time into developing myself as a great leader, and put tons of care into providing unbelievable value to my clients doesn’t mean anything “should” happen to me. Regardless of my effort, I don’t “deserve” for anything to happen. In working hard, all I am actually doing is increasing the probability that good things might continue to happen to me in my future, but I am not guaranteed or owed that it will. It either will, or will not.
To run a business and not lose your mind in the process, it is important to practice this more stoic perspective on what the future holds. All you can do is stack probability in your favor, but neither the universe, your clients or even people actually “owe” you anything. Hell, I’ve seen contracts fly out the door when things go sour and that is as secure as it gets!
Build great relationships, be wise in how you run your business and work hard to load your hand with as many good cards as possible, but always leave room for the unexpectedly bad to happen, and every once in a while, the unexpectedly good too. However, you need to immediately stop living your life believing that you are owed anything if you wish to become successful.
Amen! It's a hard thing to say, and even harder to hear, but when we say, "the industry doesn't owe you anything" or "we in the industry don't own you anything", part of what we're saying is, "you're asking for too much". It feels like a simple ask when you don't realize the risks others take, and to ask it without acknowledging others' risks is beyond upsetting - people will just ignore you and move on.
This coupled with a "we don't have time to explain things to you" can feel like a brush off, but the truth is, sometimes you just have to keep moving forward, and the act of doing something, ANYTHING, in the direction of your goal can help attract people to you. Thus, the more you can GIVE, the better your chances that you'll get.
I wish more people knew that the industry was like entrepreneurship on crack. If the goal for any business owner is to eventually sell the business, and that can be done in 10 years minimum, then a filmmaker can do it in 2 years (and sometimes has to). If you think of it like that, it's easier to see what you may be asking of people and be more conscientious.
You're preaching to the choir here. What you say is true, true, true.