Ever go on vacation and think you’re headed to one place, but ACCIDENTALLY end up somewhere else only to discover that the place you stumbled across was the most amazing place you’d ever been? That’s the beauty of accidental discovery!
While technology is quickly snuffing this out, accidental discovery is essential when pursing a successful career in Hollywood. But like any accident, you can’t plan for it!
Before I began my career I didn’t have the foresight to know I’d start off working in PR and marketing; then I’d work in the art department on commercials and music videos; then switch to creating and selling TV shows; help launch a cable channel; become a sales agent for documentary films; work for Howard Stern; write a book and become a speaker.
My point in sharing this is not to tout my own career, but to use my very unorthodox path as an example of how non-traditional a career trajectory in Hollywood can be.
The lack of definitive steps most follow in a more corporate structure is one of the most enticing aspects of the industry to me, it is an unbridled adventure. But to others, that wild west-ness can be very disconcerting, at times frustrating and even scary, sending people running for the hills, and not the ones with the Hollywood sign perched on top.
I often speak to TV and film students who are on the cusp of graduating and a lot of them are desperate to chart their career path. They want to target an end point and zero in on it. I tell them to relax … in order to see the finish line they have to start the race and many of them haven’t even stretched yet!
The reality is the biggest and best opportunities in a person’s career might just stem from chance encounters, unplanned opportunities and even mistakes. Getting theoretically lost and veering off a perceived career path is kinda the point!
I’m not intending to sound like I just stepped off a VW bus in a cloud of smoke, people don’t succeed in this business on "good vibes." My advice is grounded in the understanding that while a person may need to loosen the reins on a precision course, they also must be uber dedicated, fearless, passionate and talented. They have to use these attributes to keep forward momentum and stay driven … I’m just saying as they drive, if they miss their exit, not to sweat it!
So let the ink dry on the diploma, realize there’s not an app for success in Hollywood and focus more on the work and the path will cobble itself together.