Personal faith. This has been on my mind recently. I'm
not talking about religion. Not quite. Certainly not
organized religion. But perhaps the need for a faith in
something abstract that makes it possible to chase near
impossible goals and remain confident that you will be
the one in a million that will succeed in reaching
those goals.
I've been thinking about it lately, because I recently
indulged a niggle of doubt. I fight doubt with
reasoning. I usually win. But it can be a struggle to
hold on to the sureness, the knowing without solid
proof.
Sure you can examine the past and find things that will
validate talent and ability. That talent and ability,
having been applied enough over the years, also gives
you experience. That experience builds on the power of
the talent and abilities. But there is really no way to
truly have an unbiased opinion about one's self and
one's work. An opinion that can give you that surety.
Even if you could, it would still be an unbiased
opinion tinged with personal interest.
And there in lies the problem. The entertainment
business is based on subjective opinions. For instance,
I have scripts being read at the moment. One script was
read by a producer who said he thought it was very well
written and wanted to see the budget. Another producer
thought it was less interesting than another script,
which he liked but felt fell "short" in the end. The
script that fell "short" was read by an agent at
William Morris, who loved it and thought it had a
spiritual quality. Another script was declared exciting
by one producer and generic by the next. Another
thought that script didn't delve deeply enough into a
social issue that acts as a backdrop to the action.
Follow me? All these people reading the same words,
having entirely different reactions. A person could go
bonkers if there weren't a reason to believe that in
the end the payoff and the proof will be there.
So what is the solution? I suppose it is a little like
believing in God (or whatever entity sustains you.)
Hold on to signs that verify who you are and that what
you have to offer is worthy of success and let that
proof act as the foundation for the faith you put in
the outcome.
Then work your ass off and leave nothing to chance.