A Panda's Journey
“How will you serve the world? What do they need that your talent can provide? That’s all you have to figure out.”
– Jim Carrey
You have something the world not only wants, but needs.
If you haven’t found it yet, keep going, knowing that it is near.
It’s sometimes just around the corner.
First, what’s your industry?
I know, you’d think I wouldn’t have to ask that, but a lot of people don’t know what kind of work they’re in, or they hate what they do.
This post is geared toward you who are pursuing your dream work, but it’s a recipe that will work in any industry.
I have used this technique to meet famous people on movie and tv sets as an extra, and I now teach acting classes.
Another “coincidence” happened a couple years ago when I was deep into writing – I had been blogging for years before that, but I was definitely feeling more confident in my writing around this time(although looking back at it, it wasn’t that great). But I was confident in it! And it was pretty good.
Anyway! Ryan Holiday was and still is a writer I look up to. I was scrolling through his book recommendations in early April of 2018 I believe it was. I came across the book Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, it piqued my interest so I got it and read it in like a day or two, it was so good, one of my favorite books of all time. But then a few days later an intuitive thought led me to checking out Tattered Cover book store’s website, to see if any authors I knew were coming to Denver for a book signing. I hadn’t checked that site in months, literally, and guess who was coming to a book signing two days from that day? Ryan Holiday. I felt a strange sensation go through my whole body.
So, point two — After you know your industry, who do you look up to in it? Who are the leaders you’d love to work with?
A lot of people never think it can happen to them, but it can! Part of this technique is just thinking about who you’d like to work with, because the mind is an extremely powerful thing. So think about it.
Next — I saw an opportunity in this book signing. Opportunities surround us more than we know — they are like objects in the background, we don’t pay attention to them because well, there’s more convenient things to focus on. But they are there.
So I took time to hand write a letter for Ryan, giving my appreciation to him, the work he’s done, and the influence it has had in my life. I included my email toward the end of it and mentioned that I had been writing for some years now and would love to work with him if there were any openings. A few weeks later I get an email from him with a trial assignment if I was interested in the position. If that’s not magic then I don’t know what is. Who knows, but I was really fucking excited. I did the assignment, got the position, did the work, and learned so much. I’m still learning from him, and am grateful for that opportunity. Him being a best selling author and world speaker definitely didn’t need me, and although I wrote a good amount of content, he did so much more for me by giving me that opportunity.
So that’s another thing — if you do get an opportunity with a leader in your industry, stay humble. They’re doing you a favor, not the other way around.
Then from there, do the work.
Put in the time.
Never stop learning.
But remember that it all begins with an idea.
I had the pleasure of interviewing YouTube star Denise Vlogs via Skype! Denise loves creating short horror films which you can check out HERE.
She also vlogs her travels in which she has been all over the world; so if you love a good horror story and an adventure you need to check her channel out! She has almost 100,000 YouTube subscribers and videos with over a million views. She recently bought a one way ticket to Europe and was in the Capital of Portugal, Lisbon when I interviewed her. For now, enjoy the q and a interview with Denise Vlogs:
DV: “I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York; moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Brooklyn College majoring in film production.”
2. Where are you currently and would you like to live somewhere specific?
DV: “Lisbon, Porutgal. If I had to settle it would be in Los Angeles.” She knows a lot of people in Los Angeles, but is not too fond of living in the states because at the moment it is hard to be a freelancer here.
3. What is your dream job?
DV: “Film production; writing scripts, film maker, and that being the only source of income.”
4. Do you have a role model? Who is it and why?
DV: “Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. I met him when I worked as a receptionist at Anonymous Content.” She watched his movies in film school where he was used as an example of a great foreign director and admired for his work.
5. Since she had lived in Los Angeles for awhile I asked her if she met any celebrities and she did: DV: “I met Snoop Dogg, Ashton Kutcher..lots of famous people and famous YouTubers. I was more excited to meet other YouTubers because I wanted to collaborate with them.”
6. Tell me about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career.
DV: “DV Presents-Denise Vlogs presents; a series of short films-10-20 of them. I love these films that focus on a story. These are what I love to make.” Check out these videos HERE
7. If you had a superpower what would it be?
DV: “Time travel—I’d warn my mom about her cancer so she would have survived; also a friend who died of the same cancer. I’d tell myself to break up with several people.”
8. What does your perfect day look like?
DV: “New experiences; a brand new country in a beautiful place. When I just released a DV presents video, get a lot of money, and eat good food.”
9. How would you spend a billion dollars?
DV: “Travel, film making, donate to charities. I would save for 10 years and adopt a child. Buy several properties all over the world. Buy a citizenship in another country. Never bring a suitcase with me everywhere I went; I’d shop wherever I went and then donate my old clothes.”
10. What did you want to be when you grew up?
DV: “Starting at 11 I wanted to be a screen writer. I wrote a script when was 11. Before that I wanted to be an actress and singer, maybe I just wanted attention…I also wanted to be a meteorologist when I was really young; I was fascinated by natural disasters as a little kid. My dad bought tons of movies, and my mom loved to watch scary movies so I would watch them with her and I really like them. At sleepovers and with friends I would make up ghost stories with friends. My uncle also told me he wrote a screen play when I was a young age, so that made me realize that anyone could do it!” Her friends liked her scary stories the best!
11. What is the hardest part about maintaining the lifestyle you live?
DV: “I want to make more money; I just make enough to get by at the moment. Being a digital nomad can be sad having to leave people after I connect with someone. It can get lonely being by myself, so it might be nice to settle.”
12. What do you enjoy most about your lifestyle?
DV: “New experiences and new people I get to meet all the time. It’s a burst of energy when you connect to a new place. I enjoy not having to sit in a desk every day, learning new things, creating content, and hopes I’ll have more time to create more content to focus on.”
13. What kind of computer do you have? You probably have to edit a lot for those awesome videos!!
DV: “I recommend the MacBook Pro to edit videos and stuff. I have the MacBook Pro 2014. I use adobe premier to edit but for beginners recommend iMovie. I use photoshop sometimes and would use a desktop but I move around a lot.”
Currently Denise is working now as a freelancer. She edits videos, consults people and companies for social media– YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, etc. She has looked into teaching online and possibly substitute teach. She also like to volunteer to teach English. She has two YouTube channels DeniseVlogs and DeniseActuallyVlogs. She uses both channels but deniseactuallyvlogs is more casual.
Follow her on Twitter @DeniseVlogs, Instagram @DeniseVlogs. Follow her travels on snapchat at DeniseVlogs too!
If you missed it at the top here is her youtube main page!
These are all so good. I read this a few times! Credit to Regina Brett. Which is your favorite??
With Ken Thompson 