"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -- Henry Ford
One month down, eleven to go. I promised myself 2009 would be the year I firmly establish myself in the entertainment industry, which I lovingly and loathingly term Hollywood. Thirty-one days into the year, I have finally narrowed the ambiguity of the goal. And here it is.
* To achieve a level of success in 2009 that allows my wife to quit her job and become the full-time mother God has groomed her to be.
It's an impossible goal. Not only is she the sole member of our household with an income right now (essentially all my earnings are being re-invested in my company), but her work is our source for health insurance. In order to replace her income and cover the [ridiculous, insane, stupid, inhumane and downright evil] costs of health insurance, I would need to a) make an insane amount of money in a short amount of time... or b) make a sane amount of money and join the Screen Actors Guild or Writer's Guild.
Since entry fees for either guild are unaffordable right now, and I haven't even met the prerequisites to join the latter, I guess I just need to rake in a couple hundred thousand dollars. Screenplays are sold all the time for six or seven figures, and upper echelon actors pull in 6, 7, or 9 figures yearly, so the money's there, right?
Not for me. It just doesn't happen that way. For obvious reasons. Throw out the Will Smiths and Matt Damons. Throw out every Oscar winning writer. Throw out the cousins, neighbors, friends, and dentists to the stars. Throw out the already wealthy crowd with means to buy their way into Hollywood. Throw out the ridiculously good-looking. Throw out everybody with a .1% chance of making it in Hollywood and there I am. The guy who is still going to fight to make it in spite of the immeasurable odds against him.
Call me crazy. Call me naive. Call me ignorant. You'll get no argument from me. I simply can't see myself doing anything other than making movies. It's too expensive to do as a hobby so I have to make a career out of it somehow. And before I can assess myself as successful, I need to reach a point where I am providing abundantly for my family. Step one is bringing my wife home. And I want to do it this year.
It won't happen. It can't happen. Too many obstacles block the path. Then again, if I can just look past those obstacles, maybe, just maybe...
2 comments:
Justen, you made remarkable progress the past couple of years. Never lose sight of the goal. You're doing great things, stay with it. (this from another starry-eyed wanna-be)
- GDK
If talent were the only ingredient needed for the Hollywood recipe of success, you would certainly be accepting reward after reward already, Gary. Here's to us overcoming the odds and reflecting back on the narrow road!
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