…and counting

In the constant struggle of trying to make a career and being satisfied by the work alone, I try to remember that doing the work is what leads to the rewards around it.

I work hard. That I know.

I have friends who work hard and some who don't work as hard. And while it's easy to say that those who work hard will be rewarded more, that's not always the case. Luck factors into so much of all of this.

My challenge today was to get the pilot done. I had come home last night and wrote about eight pages. Then I woke up this morning hoping to finish. So at around 9:30, I started writing. Around 10, I got a text and checked my phone. Then I saw that I had a call from my friend Cory that I missed because my ringer was off. I had hit a stride, but I felt like I wanted to talk to him today, so I called him. We had that conversation that all artists - in this case, writers - have with each other. We talk shop and about opportunities that we want and ones that we feel we're missing.

Cory's a friend who works hard. He has written three new plays this year. What the fuck, bro? You're making the rest of us look bad. But people say that about me, so I know I'm in good company. Cory keeps me on my game. He's also someone I care deeply about and I want him to have everything he wants. He's a friend who pushes me because I know he's always working. If I'm not working, I know that Cory is and that motivates me. I'm not jealous of Cory - even though I think he's a brilliant writer and he's got the goods. I know he respects me as a writer, too.

So we have these conversations about wanting things. And I tell him the thing I never could take in when someone would say it to me after I'd be frustrated at the state of my career -

It'll happen.

How unhelpful is that? It's something you don't believe until something happens. But the difference with Cory is that he puts in the work. I have other people in my life who don't put in the work and they want all the stuff that others have. It's okay for Cory to want all the stuff because he works his ass off. And he will get the opportunities. I believe that.

My friend Susan works hard as well and deserves everything she has. She stands firmly in who she is because she knows herself. She ran our show with aplomb. She was the boss and took that role very seriously. And she held that set together when I watched her.

Those of us who work hard are hard on ourselves because we know what we're capable of when things are firing on all cylinders. And we expect that things will be firing that hot all of that time because in general we are highly productive. It's an unreal expectation, but one that overachievers have. I love being surrounded by such highly motivated people because, again, it motivates me.

We got off the phone after an hour. The conversation was good and I felt like we both left the conversation feeling better and less isolated. Then I went back to the script - hoping that I hadn't blown it by stopping earlier. But the flow was still there because the conversation didn't disrupt the flow. The conversation was still about productivity and ideas. So when I got back to the pilot, I finished.

Stats:

Location: Home
Hours: 1.5
Pages: 4

Total Page This Year to Date: 1148

And I still have another rewrite or two of the play, the rewrite of this pilot, and the rewrites of another pilot. Last year, I wrote 2000 pages. That would be nice. But the amount of experience and growth that has happened is satisfactory enough.

I have no plans after this pilot and the next one. That should take me to about the end of the year. I have no idea what exists beyond that. Is that scary? Maybe. But it also feels like there's a new adventure ahead of me.

My intention is to take a leap.
My intention is to take a leap.
My intention is to take a leap.
My intention is to take a leap.
My intention is to take a leap.

I am grateful for heart to hearts with friends.
I am grateful for inspiration.
I am grateful for getting all three scripts I set out to finish done.