To make 2014 your best ever year, to reach goals that may
look impossible, you must be bold—possibly even to the point of seeming
foolish.
Let me tell you how one such fool pursued his dream…
This guy was no scholastic achiever. He looked a bit “dorky,” and some of his classmates teased him harshly. Rather than read his assignments for school, the kid spent his time shooting 8 mm movies of wrecks of his Lionel train set. For a small fee that would be donated to charity, he would show the film to friends; concession sales financed future projects.
He dropped out of high school his sophomore year. And when his parents persuaded him to return to school, he says administrators assigned him to a learning-disabled class. He quit again after a month. Only when the family moved to another town did he graduate from high school.
He applied to attend film school but was refused admission, so he enrolled at California State College at Long Beach. His story took a dramatic turn in 1965, when on a visit to Universal Studios he met Chuck Silvers, an executive in the editorial department. Silvers liked the kid who made the oddball 8 mm films. So he invited the teenager to come back and visit sometime.
The kid appeared the next day. Without a job or security clearance (dressed in a dark suit and tie, carrying his father’s briefcase with nothing inside but “a sandwich and candy bars”) he confidently walked up to the guard at Universal’s gate and waved at him casually. The guard waved back. He was in.
All summer he wore that suit and hung out with the directors and writers, including Silvers, who knew the kid wasn’t a studio employee but winked and looked the other way. The wannabe filmmaker found an unused office and became a squatter. He loves to tell how he bought plastic tiles and put this entry in the building directory: “Steven Spielberg, Room 23C.”
Well, his foolish audacity paid off.
Ten years later, at age 28, Spielberg directed Jaws, which took in $470 million, setting a record as the highest-grossing film at that point in Hollywood history. Of course, dozens of films and awards have followed, all because Spielberg continually acts foolish and attempts the impossible—and then does it. (Think E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan and War Horse, among his dozens of directing credits.)
So here’s your takeaway: Be bold, be a bit foolish and just go for it!
Go for friends who are willing to help you to go for your big goals, your big desires and your big dreams.
This guy was no scholastic achiever. He looked a bit “dorky,” and some of his classmates teased him harshly. Rather than read his assignments for school, the kid spent his time shooting 8 mm movies of wrecks of his Lionel train set. For a small fee that would be donated to charity, he would show the film to friends; concession sales financed future projects.
He dropped out of high school his sophomore year. And when his parents persuaded him to return to school, he says administrators assigned him to a learning-disabled class. He quit again after a month. Only when the family moved to another town did he graduate from high school.
He applied to attend film school but was refused admission, so he enrolled at California State College at Long Beach. His story took a dramatic turn in 1965, when on a visit to Universal Studios he met Chuck Silvers, an executive in the editorial department. Silvers liked the kid who made the oddball 8 mm films. So he invited the teenager to come back and visit sometime.
The kid appeared the next day. Without a job or security clearance (dressed in a dark suit and tie, carrying his father’s briefcase with nothing inside but “a sandwich and candy bars”) he confidently walked up to the guard at Universal’s gate and waved at him casually. The guard waved back. He was in.
All summer he wore that suit and hung out with the directors and writers, including Silvers, who knew the kid wasn’t a studio employee but winked and looked the other way. The wannabe filmmaker found an unused office and became a squatter. He loves to tell how he bought plastic tiles and put this entry in the building directory: “Steven Spielberg, Room 23C.”
Well, his foolish audacity paid off.
Ten years later, at age 28, Spielberg directed Jaws, which took in $470 million, setting a record as the highest-grossing film at that point in Hollywood history. Of course, dozens of films and awards have followed, all because Spielberg continually acts foolish and attempts the impossible—and then does it. (Think E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan and War Horse, among his dozens of directing credits.)
So here’s your takeaway: Be bold, be a bit foolish and just go for it!
Go for friends who are willing to help you to go for your big goals, your big desires and your big dreams.
What bold or foolish goal to you have in mind for 2014? Proclaim one or two in
the comments below.
Let no one discourage your ambitious attitude. you don't need a fan club to achieve your goals. Be your own motivation.
Encourage your team, friends and colleagues to be more foolish by forwarding this blog to them.
Encourage your team, friends and colleagues to be more foolish by forwarding this blog to them.
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