Film Courage: Every creative person should consider themselves primarily responsible
for the success of their career?
Is this true?
Gary W. Goldstein: Is it an absolutely true statement that every creative person needs
to be that primarily responsible person who stewards their own career, who is the architect.
It’s great if you have others with their oars in the water helping you.
It’s great if you have an agent.
It’s great if you have a manager, if you have an attorney, if you have other people
who are mentors or wear different hats in your life who contribute strategy, time, effort,
money, whatever all those things are.
All contributions (smart and well-intended contributions) are welcomed, of course.
But the statement we hear so often from a creative “If only I had an agent” is an
unfortunate statement in my view.
Because even when you have one, you are still 100% responsible.
When I was a personal manager representing primarily writers and directors (some actors),
but when I was a literary manager my attitude was first I had to deal with my writer.
You work as hard at being a writer as I work at being your representative and we’re going
to get along great.
But, (by the way) you’re still 100 percent responsible for your career.
And (by the way), so am I. I am 100 percent responsible for your career.
And when we get you an agent, the agent is 100 percent responsible for your career.
Now we’ve got 300 percent.
Sounds like THE PRODUCERS, but it’s true.
I could never allow anyone to be even 1 percent responsible or I wasn’t giving my all.
So when they get an agent, when they get a manager, when they get people who want to
jump on board, that’s great.
But it’s frosting, it’s not the cake.
They have to be the one.
Because at the end of the day it’s their personality, it’s their talent, it’s their
signature in the world that is going to win the day.
An agent can only open a door, make an introduction, set the table.
But the writer or the actor or whomever, has to walk into the room (literally and metaphorically)
and win the day.
It has to be their vision, their voice, it has to be their style, it has to be their
personality and energy that seduces the Universe into “Yeah!
I want to play with you.”
We’re going to make your dream come true because what you bring with you, not because
your agent said X or your manager did Y, that’s not the truth.
The truth is they just opened a door, which by the way, you could have opened on your
own had you understood that you could have opened it on your own.
But the talent can’t just be the talent.
The talent has to understand (even if it’s not about how many hours a day they invest
on the business side of their life.
It’s deeper than that.
It’s an understanding that I am going to will this into being.
I am going to will people into my life who want to help me.
I am going to will new relationships into my life.
I am going to take action that pays dividends.
Film Courage: So if you had a performer, writer (what have you) in your [office] chair and
they are sort of slumped down and saying to you “You know, this just isn’t working.
I have this agent and manager and they’re not sending me out.
Or they’re not whatever…It’s “THEY” We’re putting the blame on THEY, the other
person.
What would you say to them?
Gary W. Goldstein: Make them wrong!
Show them how it gets done.
You want to complain about your agent and your manager not getting you auditions or
whatever else it happens to be, great.
Show them how to kick up some dust.
Get yourself the audition.
It’s not okay to sit home and complain.
You know, the glass isn’t half empty, ever, ever, ever, ever.
We’re all allowed our moment.
We’re allowed to have that one day or (preferably) that one hour [to complain], right?
Then you have to dust yourself off and say success is about moving on with it.
And if other people aren’t getting it done for you, then you’ve got to motivate them.
And the best way to motivate someone is to show them what they’re not doing by doing
it yourself.
Question for the Viewers: What’s one thing you did for your career today?