So what do we do when projects fall through?

When you spend all that time and energy on something, and it kind of goes up in smoke right in front of you. What do we do?

Do we just roll over and play dead?

I was working on a short film called Stay Pretty. You guys know about it. I posted on Instagram and talked about it on the channel.

I started this project in September of last year. Yes, this was just another short film, but I was pushing myself into new areas and pushing myself out of my comfort zone with this one. This is the first short film where I was working with an editor and a legit composer.

Anyways fast forward and the Coronavirus pumped the brakes on all of that.

And now the whole thing is kind of a mess. Everybody took a hit. I mean look at the studios, they took a major blow.

I’m sure some of you are in the same position with your projects.

It sucks.

It’s not just that you don’t get to do this cool thing that you wanted to share with the world, but it’s the:

• The time
• The energy
• The effort
• The money
• The opportunity cost.

You could have done other things with all that time you spent working on this project that ultimately might not be happening.

That said here we are now what? What do you do from here, where do we go?

Pocket Projects

The first thing is pocket projects. I’m a firm believer in always having a project in your back pocket, maybe even a few.

Back pocket projects are those ideas that don’t require as many resources to pull off as your ambitious projects.

If your main project has a budget of $1,000, then your back pocket idea might cost $200, and use fewer actors… you get the idea. This way, if your main project tanks, you just move on to one of those ideas in your back pocket and keep the momentum going.

You see the same thing in the professional film space. Why do you think producers have so many projects and development? There are so many times when you think a project is a go, and it’s going to take off, and then it just fizzles. The only way to insulate yourself from that risk is to spread out the risk to have more things going more irons in the fire.

If five of those projects never go anywhere, but one makes it through, then boom that’s progress.

Focus On Progress

There are no guarantees in this game we play, boys and girls: Success, failure, fame, projects getting projects greenlit, securing financing.  We don’t always have as much control over these things as we would like.

But here’s the good news. You will always learn more from your failures than you will your successes.

Knowledge stacks. It’s like interest in a bank account. The more you learn, the more you’re able to learn. Eventually, you reach a tipping point where success is inevitable. You know too much not to be successful.

Rather than dwell on what didn’t work and what didn’t happen,

Shift your focus on what you learned from the experience, what you can take with you into the next project.

You did not come out of this experience empty-handed, You actually learned something. You probably learned a lot of things.

Take a moment and list out what you learned. If you do this I think you’ll find you’ll feel more empowered by the experience rather than defeated.

Success is nothing but a series of small wins.

Some of those wins come from failure. Most people fail their way into success.

As they say, the master has failed more times than the beginner even tried. I take heart in that.

Walk While You Think

Last but not least, keep your head up. Sometimes it’s hard to do, but here’s a trick. It’s called walking while you think.

You have more perseverance than you realize.

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you’re exhausted from the hard work you’ve already done.

Nobody feels like they have what it takes 100 % of the time. You show me someone that confident, and I’ll show you a narcissist or a liar. Doubt is apart of the game. It’s a natural part of this journey we call filmmaking. It’s hard. It’s challenging.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought of quitting both YouTube and filmmaking. Those thoughts will always cross your mind at some point, but then you just keep going. You press on, and you push past it. You figure it out.

Honestly, Fam. Sometimes you just don’t fucking know. You second guess yourself. You overthink things, and the only way to combat that is to follow your feet. Walk while you think. Take all the time you need to doubt yourself. Just make sure you’re walking while you do it.

For example, say your last project fell through. You don’t think you have what it takes? That’s fine. While you’re doubting yourself, just work on the next film. Walk while you think. Just keep moving.

You’re not alone in this. This will not be the most disappointing thing to happen to you, I promise.

There are lots of peaks and valleys on your journey. There will be lots of disappointments. It’s all a part of failing your way to success.

As for me, I don’t know what will happen with Stay Pretty. Hopefully, I can finish it. We’ll see. I’ve got a few back-pocket ideas under my belt, if not.

Meanwhile, I’ve already started writing my list of what I’ve learned.

Get in the comments and tell me how this pandemic has affected your projects I’ll be reading them. I can’t answer all of them, but I do read all of them.

Make every day count, rack up the 10K, and keep hustling.

-D Britt out