I recently had a conversation with a filmmaker friend who was questioning his path in life and whether filmmaking was the right thing for him.

I approached my response to him in an unusual way. It’s an approach I don’t use very often…if at all.

This post will discuss the conversation and both sides of the argument as to whether filmmaking is a career pursuit for everyone (or even anyone ;))

A Question To Consider

The first thing I did was question whether this is really the right path for him – whether filmmaking’s really for him.

I mean, if he’s feeling as bad as he was about his chosen career path and breaking into the movie industry, is this really the path for him?

I didn’t want to feed more fear into my friend. I just wanted him to ask the question about whether this is the right path for him. I think I gave a lot of motivational advice in my chat with him, but I wanted the question to be asked as well.

I feel it’s an important point of discussion that gets overlooked in a lot of places.

A Definition Of The Journey

When I refer to a journey, I mean a “journey of self-improvement” not a “journey to more money” or a “journey to get famous.”

So I’m not looking at it just from a get money/big houses/fast cars angle. The questions about the journey and whether it’s for everyone are much wider than that and we should all ask these questions.

I know this is deeply philosophical stuff, and maybe it’s down to the huge amount of mindset and inner game work I’ve been doing lately.

And maybe we’d all be better served going out and shooting something rather than discussing this. But I think it’s important to ask these questions rather than encourage people to follow a path that may not be right for them at the point they’re at in their lives.

So ask yourself this question: Are you on the right path?

Finding Your Own Path

The point I was trying to make in the conversation with my friend might not be true for everyone, just like the filmmaking journey (or whatever you want to call it) isn’t right for everyone.

Some people may have massive career commitments, partners that are holding them back right now or other goals that may prevent them from following through. Or it may just come down to not having the right motivation strategies to really follow through and become good at this stuff.

   

For all I know, anyone reading this may have huge career obstacles right now that are preventing them from committing fully to the journey. Whatever that ‘journey’ is to you.

Being Creative Doesn’t Mean You’re A Filmmaker

My point is wider, I suppose, and comments on the nature of moviemaking being subscribed to any person who has that twinkle of creativity in their eye when sometimes it’s just not right for them. There’s a lot of money in movies, so folks out there will try and push seminar sales, book numbers, DVD sales, etc.

When talking to the friend I mentioned above, he mentioned his fears about turning into somebody that he’s not. He was worried that really getting into the industry may be more detrimental to him than he had previously thought.

The thing is if all other areas of your life are in balance, and you believe that this is the path for you, then there’s nothing wrong with going as far as you want with this!

It’s all balance. If one area’s out of touch with the others, then it’s time for some changes to be made!

If anything, you’ll find that mastering the skills of filmmaking will improve the other areas as well! That’s when things really start getting cool.