Theprofessional

@Letho Thanks man I didn’t reply to your previous one because honestly it was really long and I didn’t know what to respond to But I appreciate the support. I’m not Spielberg 2.0 but I’m more like the next Christopher Nolan, just in a different way. And yes you’re right about people replicating what I do, I have studied marketing as well, and honestly the competition copying my methods is the only thing that can save the quality of films being made, because right now the industry is in a death spiral I myself am basically replicating Nolan, so if this keeps spreading then everybody wins, including the public.

@Leo Gura of course man, you think I haven’t rehearsed it in my mind many times already

@Leo Gura I had a feeling about that, that maybe my long term performance could be stunted from not having as much passion for literature. Thank you as always Leo you’re absolutely the GOAT human.

@Basman Every movie is based on a story. It is just a creation to take away a lot of the thinking when engaging with the story, to make it a passive experience. What you said about that is correct The qualities that contribute to this - performance with actors, music, effects, camera technology and style - are all provided by the zeitgeist it the film is created in. Zeitgeists fade and are very quickly replaced by each other. Literature on the other hand ages incredibly slowly, with only the words themselves becoming outdated over the course of a few hundred or thousand years, which can be easily fixed with updated words or a total translation into a different language. That’s just a few reasons why literature provides a lot more value to society

@Basman I appreciate the feedback and I hope I don’t sound condescending but this is advanced stuff man you have to actually think about it Books are the same as a verbal story, it’s just recorded on paper. “Popular” is only because movies are a heavily diluted, immediately-comprehensible translation of a piece of literature that DOES THE THINKING FOR YOU in experiencing a story. That’s what movies and stage plays do. It also allows multiple people to experience it at once, while literature is individual

I’m mid 20’s, becoming highly educated. I watched Leo’s video on this a few years ago and have watched it repeatedly, taken notes on it, really committed myself to implementing these lessons in my life. Leo suggests to “become a massive value provider” in society. My whole life I have been hugely passionate about filmmaking. And now that I have a decent level of education, I have gained major insights into how filmmaking works, things that really impress my professors and so on. I was dead set on providing massive value to society through films. But also through my education, I came to realize that literature actually provides far more value than films do, because literature is the raw component of what a film is made from. So for the last couple years I’ve been relentlessly studying all kinds of literature, breaking it down, trying to understand the essential elements so I can create it myself. I have been trying to convince myself to shift to this, because - following Leo’s advice - I want to create as much value as I can. But the problem is - I don’t enjoy the process of creating literature. I love the process of making a film, no matter what. Even if it’s literally just me in a room filming running water or something, I get this electric charge from it. It feels like I’m connecting with my actual authentic self, I get this rush that gives me a fearlessness. I’ve been guilt tripping myself about this, working to suppress it, because this passion is the “lesser” of these two things. And I’ve been trying to force making literature to become my passion for the last couple years instead of films, but it isn’t working. What should I do? Thanks.

@mmKay thanks so much for the response. Lmao did you seriously remember that post from back then, or did you just pull it through my history? Because yes that was also me. I think I might just be a huge idiot.

Does emotional labor always have to be a factor? I’m scared to just follow my passions because it would be too fun and easy, and I’m worried about the consequences. I play piano for fun right now. I was given lessons when I was a kid but stopped lessons by high school, and in high school I played piano in a few of the big bands, even went to competitive levels. It was never music I really was into, but it was fun After high school I completely stopped for about 5 years and then abruptly started up again 2 years ago just on my own due to my own passion for classical music. I’ve been playing almost every day and I’m now playing pieces that are considered highly skilled and difficult. I keep it to myself as a secret but when I play for people they are blown away. I enjoy it so much, and lately I’ve been wondering what negative consequences are going to come from this. I always learned from Actualized.org that you can’t have any results without serious emotional labor. Every day I’ve been playing over the past few years, it’s been solely because I love it. Even on the toughest, slowest days with no progress, it’s still been exhilerating. I haven’t had to do any “emotional labor” at all. I’ve been wondering how life is going to “balance it out”. The great arbitrary ironies of life. I’ve been thinking that maybe I’ll get in a car accident and permanently lose motor function in my hands, or I’ll get some of my fingers chewed off in a machine somewhere, or cut off while I’m cooking, etc. Similarly, I love movies and I’m a low-level writer/filmmaker as a hobby. I’m so passionate and so connected to it, even more than piano, so I stay away from it nowadays for this same reason. I have this belief that if I made more films and got really good, this would also make life “balance it out” and horrible things would be inflicted on me for indulging in this passion. Like I would get blinded in an accident, or a brain tumor would take away my vision, etc. Is this wrong, or do you see truth in this? Thanks.

Question. If you have something you’re on the mastery process for, and you’re finally getting good at it and becoming passionate about it, should you then do the emotionally most challenging thing, which is to force yourself to hate it? And then continue anyway? I always try to implement Leo’s “do what is emotionally most difficult” advice. For something you’re passionate about though, I’m confused because emotionally you love it. It’s emotionally easy, and not just that, it’s rewarding and fulfilling on a deep level. But to “ace life” you have to do everything that is emotionally most difficult. If you’re doing a lot of grueling emotional labor, that means you’re on the right path, right? So isn’t it cheating and short-cutting if you love the process of something?

“Gone. Reduced to atoms.” Hello, I’m sure you’ve seen Leo’s video “how to ace life.” I watched it many years ago and have tried to follow its message routinely: in any situation, if you do what is emotionally most challenging, then that is the right choice. I’m a filmmaker in my 20’s, and I went through some creative blocks as a teenager when I got into self-actualizing and spirituality. I stopped being able to make films, I lost all my passion for it. I still thought about it every day though. The few times I was able to “do the emotionally most difficult thing” and rally a cast and crew together to shoot something anyway, and brute-force my way through it with zero vision, this only resulted in films that were total shit and humiliating experiences for me. I feared my passion would never return. But in the past few years, it’s slowly been building back up again from traveling and college and reading lots of books. Now I’m reaching this place again where I’m passionate and telling stories I actually want to tell with my films again. I’m feeling the magic in the process, the deep sense of connection, inspiration. I didn’t know if I’d ever get here again. But also, I know that to do what’s right, I have to do what is most emotionally challenging in every situation. Even with making films, this thing that so close to my heart. So, what now? The thing that is emotionally most difficult is to now crush my passion into dust. This thing I worked so hard to build up again, I have to stomp it out over and over. Stomp it into nothing. This makes me feel really bad. I started writing a short story to make into a film two nights ago and was so inspired by everyhing about it. I went to sleep with a rush, a high from thinking about making it. But I knew what I had to do then. The most emotionally challenging thing. I convinced myself that this story was actually horrible and embarassing, and that I hate this creative process I’m in, and I hate all the ideas in this potential film. Stripped of inspiration and vision, now I go back to it and it’s like losing part of your spirit. It’s like removing your own eyes and having to hike a trail. The stories are turning out worse and I’m doubting my passion of making films again. But I know this is the right thing to do. Am I doing this right? I’ve never had to push myself emotionally with my other passions, such as playing instruments or hiking. Even at their most challenging points, it was thrilling, not grueling. Does anyone know what I’m talking about?

@Bando R.I.P Pop Smoke. Gone too soon.

@hyruga I think you're right

@Leo Gura Thank you Leo!!! Be practical about my passions. That's very difficult. But mark my words, I'm going to do it. One day, you'll watch one of my movies in the theater Leo. I guarantee it. You'll just be seeing this movie, and you won't even know it was made by someone who watched Actualized their whole life.

@Sabth you know, majoring in film studies vs majoring in marketing. Which one looks better to an employer?

I'm 24, undergrad, two years left in college. You've seen this a million times. Everyone is telling me it's time to pick my major. Up to this point, I've taken many business classes in preparation of studying marketing. After college I want to become a film director, but I know I need to learn finance, sales and marketing and other entrepreneurial things to do this, so that's why I chose this major. I hit a wall last quarter studying economics and accounting, and I feel like I've been just psychologically recovering since then. I know I could survive going through a marketing major, and my job prospects would be good if I did, but I think it might seriously psychologically damage me to study any more of this. Today I found out my school also has a film studies major, and a literature major. I would love to study these, but I can already see the mockery I'd get from potential employers, friends, and my family if I did so. But I also feel like studying film and literature is the only way I'll make it with my sanity intact. What should a student go with? Their passions, or the thing that is most logical and practical?