PRODUCE YOURSELF: Apply Hollywood's Proven
Formula To Become The Hero of Your Own Life
1. What moved you to write a book, Produce
Yourself, after producing 20 movies and dozens of TV shows?
On set,
there’s a lot of waiting for lights, props, and everything technical to get
into place before we’re actually shooting. For that reason, I often found
myself talking to various crew members about everything from buying homes, what
to invest in, and (unfortunately) more often than not… how to make ends meet in
between shows. As freelancers (95% of Hollywood), almost everyone has a
side-hustle and other entrepreneurial pursuits. But rarely is anyone as
effectual as they can be. Having gone to business school, I saw what my
colleagues were doing right, but also wrong. And this book became a growth from
those problems. What seemed obvious to me was completely foreign to them. And
although this book is not a business book, a lot of the principles and applications
work for finances and growing wealth.
2. How does one become the hero of their own life?
In a
nutshell… she connects with her inner-hero and listens to her. She sets
aside noise, ego, distraction, labels, titles, and finds who her authentic self
is. She separates passion from purpose. She seeks creation rather than just
consumption. We all get that “call to adventure” but often reside in the
following stage, The Refusal. The hero needs to overcome this, whether via
mentors, allies, or experimenting — failing. Failure is one of the keys to
becoming a hero. Remaining in a safe place, one’s comfort zone, is what keeps
many in supporting roles rather than the hero. Every film or TV show you’ve
ever enjoyed has a hero who stumbles, fails, but then eventually succeeds by
sheer determination. A hero learns the value in planting seeds, compounding
their efforts, but also listening to who she really is and what she really
wants. Not what others want or expect from her.
3. What life lessons did you uncover while producing hit television reality show, Duck Dynasty?
The
first lesson was don’t judge a book by its cover. The adage is ridiculously
obvious, but let me say this: Almost my entire staff and crew on that show is
left-wing leaning liberal. We’re mostly all from California. But spending
immersed months engaged with this family, year after year, there’s not a single
crew or staff member who wouldn’t tell you how amazing the family is. They are
the real deal. They are so inspiring as human beings that it’s almost
unbelievable. That’s the first lesson. The media doesn’t always get it right. I
get it. But it’s too bad there’s a stigma with them that quite honestly isn’t
accurate. It really isn’t, at least on the family as a whole. Second… and
this is what I write a lot about in the book, authenticity will always win the
day. The Robertsons have never been afraid be who they are. And because of
that, they have one of the most successful TV brands out there. They didn’t try
to look like everyone else does or be the Kardashians. On also, I guess
there’s a third lesson. The duck call whistle is upside down. You blow in the
opposite end you’d think!
4. How well does advice from
Hollywood translate into other industries and life pursuits?
Extremely
accurate. We spend so much time thinking about human behavior, psychology,
motivation, and story arc, that we’re really thinking about peak performance
and personal growth. At least for me, as a showrunner and executive producer, I
have to think about how to shape a believable and likable character, but
someone who has pursuits and goals. So I have to get them from point A to point
B, showing struggle, but also triumph. I think the steps and lessons translate
to any industry. The universal blockers we have in any job, relationship, or
endeavor are the same ones we use in Hollywood — fear, insecurity, finances,
family, etc., etc.
5. Hollywood has come under fire over sexual harassment charges levied hourly, involving some of the biggest names around. Is it a witch hunt or is there a real problem that needs to be addressed?
Both.
I think the sexual harassment charges (very real in Hollywood, but I’m not so
sure any more than any other industry) are a way to bring down people who have
taken advantage of their positions. It’s like when the feds eventually caught
Al Capone. As evil as he was, they never got him for murder, extortion, or
racketeering. They got him for not paying his taxes. Not that sexual
harassment is as benign as avoiding your taxes by any means. But that flaw
becomes the gateway to bring down someone where other methods may have been
useless. You can’t run around Hollywood and say Harvey Weinstein is evil do
don’t work with him. But this is basically what everyone is saying. And the
sexual harassment charges allow them to say that… without saying that.
6. Which is more challenging: producing a book or a movie? Why?
A
book is more personally challenging. You certainly know this. But I had to
learn this this. I write so much in Hollywood I figured a book would be easy.
But unlike story, a book — this book anyhow as it’s a focus on the inner-hero —
really made me look into my own life, challenges, missed-opportunities,
what-ifs, etc. It was very therapeutic. With my film or TV projects,
there’s always a disconnect, as I’m shaping other characters. With
this book, it was focusing on my own character, my own journey, and sharing
those lessons.
7. What challenges did you have to becoming your own hero?
Aside
from residing in The Refusal stage for 5 years, I wore masks, concerned myself
with labels, how others viewed me, and was living a life for the expectation of
others rather than for my own purpose. I was also focused on the output rather
than the input. I had to overcome these misconceptions and think about the
daily function of what I did every day. I had to enjoy that. I had to perform
and produce for me. Since tomorrow never comes and we only have today, I
learned that I had to love today. I had to love the process, the input, the
function. Those were my challenges.
8. What advice do you have
for those looking to break into a competitive industry such as Hollywood?
Write!
It’s the one skill that translates almost everywhere in Hollywood. I was given
this advice early on from a mentor in college. But I avoided it. My hubris and
ignorance wouldn’t allow me to put in the work. But writers rule Hollywood.
Every great director, writer, even actor, you admire… they write, a lot, and
often daily. Content rules Hollywood, especially now as platforms are changing
so quickly. But story is story and the machine that is Hollywood will always be
hungry for good story.
9. Who were some of your
favorite actresses and actors to work with?
I’m
always in awe of actors with improv skills. And for that reason, Ben Stiller
continues to be one of my favorite experiences, seeing him just riff, take
after take after take, making up complete scenarios and lines in front of a
50-person crew just going down tangent after tangent far out into the weeds.
The camera would cut and the entire crew would just look at each other with
their jaw-dropped… “did you all just see that too?” Pretty talented that guy! I
would throw Jeffrey Tambor, Tea Leoni, and Sarah Jessica Parker in this category
too.
10. How does one apply your
hero formula to developing better habits and to live a more productive life?
They
take the 12-stages of the hero and align them with where they are today. They
might be in stage 3 or stage 6. But once you figure out what stage you’re
in, you can then see what the next step is. You can see that you might
need to increase your average of 5, for example, and change the people you are
surrounding yourself with. You might realize you need to change your morning
routine, your sleep schedule, find time to meditate or even play. I get
granular when it comes to productivity with my own systems like “D.A.D” -
Delete - Automate - Delegate and leveraging your daily time like “C.A.P.” -
Create - Administer - Play. Many of these concepts are similar to what
other business motivators write about (like Cal Newport). But I’ve aligned them
with the hero formula to make it easy to apply.
For
more info, please see: http://terencemichael.com,
http://facebook.com/ProduceYourHero
or http://tinyurl.com/produceyourself
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