Getting Out of Your Own Way

“2024, it’s our year!”

These words may come out of my team and I’s mouth half jokingly with a sprinkle of sarcasm (I can’t help myself) but internally, we mean it.

And I honestly think that’s a big reason why my company STUDIIO, continues to grow–We truly believe it’s going to happen.

And with that belief, we take crazy amounts of action that align with the vision for where we are going.

As many of you know, we recently had the first FTF Live Workshop and it was amazing to see a bunch of you in-person, sharing your personal stories with me, and your dreams and goals for 2024.

The collaborative and creative energy at the workshop was contagious and I love to see our Full Time Filmmaker students come together and cheer each other on.

As I was talking with many of you, there seemed to be a theme as to why you aren’t where you want to be.

And that theme revolves around you getting out of your own way.

Maybe you’re afraid to suck at something new, so you continue to stay in a “safe space” that you know is limiting your potential and not giving you any real fulfillment.

Or maybe a lack of focus and time management has prevented you from becoming the content creator you know you can be.

One thing I see all the time in the online course space, are those who buy a new course thinking it will solve all their problems but never truly applying what they are taught.

If I’ve learned one thing over the last couple years, it’s that success likes speed.

You should be stacking as many wins on top of each other as you possibly can.

Stop spending 3 months thinking about how you’re going to take action, and go get something done today.

Before you know it, you’re going to be at the end of this year and will either wonder why all those goals you set for yourself didn’t come to reality or you’ll look back and thank yourself for not waiting around to make something happen.

The more you consistently live intentionally, the more likely you’ll compound your way to a successful year.

Excited to hear about all your wins this year!

You got this👊🏻

-Landon

PS - The Futur’s latest podcast episode is a great listen/watch and was a huge inspiration for this week’s topic of getting out of your own way. You can watch the full episode HERE.

CREATOR SPOTLIGHT

How a Childhood Hobby Turned Into a Six-Figure Filmmaking Career

The story of Jordyn Dunseath

It’s hard for me to remember a time in my life when I didn’t want a camera in my hands. I have “old home video” evidence of a disposable camera being my favorite Christmas gift as a 3-year-old. Pretty crazy! Though, it wasn’t until high school that I saved up enough money to buy my first DSLR - the Canon T3i. Any free time I had, I picked up that camera, took photos, and made truly the most embarrassing YouTube videos out there. I couldn’t be more thankful that I did though. That time of my life was sweet - pure joy, creativity, and passion with no pressure.

Fast forward to college, I actually pursued a degree in graphic design. But I missed my camera so I ended up working three different video jobs on campus as a student. I was the university’s sole videographer for every sport highlight video, I helped create general marketing videos for the university, and I acted as the creative director for what they called “Student Activities” there. That experience landed me a job right out of college for a startup physical therapy clinic as their creative director. By creative director, I mean it was only me doing everything creative (videos, photos, design work, etc). It wasn’t just any physical therapy place though, they worked with pro athletes and that really piqued my interest considering my experience with filming sports all throughout college.

Though I enjoyed the work I did there, even before I was hired, I knew I wanted to start my own business. So after a year, I quit, and took the leap of faith. Some of you may know me from winning Peter Mckinnon’s 72 Hour Film Challenge. I had made a video about starting my own business right before the pandemic hit, more so as a way to get my creative momentum flowing, never expecting Peter to choose my video and help launch my YouTube channel. I’m so thankful for all of the opportunities that I have been blessed with. In my first four years of owning my own business, I have filmed everything from weddings, commercials, to corporate gigs, and even got to film a mini-documentary on a pro baseball player (such a cool project for me). I have hit six figures twice, landed bigger sponsorships than I thought possible, and have met so many amazing people along the way. Most of my efforts have been geared towards freelance work, but this year I’m working on shifting more of my effort to the online space. I’m so excited!

It’s been so great to be a part of Full Time Filmmaker. Having a space to connect with other creators, ask questions, and learn about so many different facets of this business has been invaluable. I know if I land a job in a “niche” (like real estate) that I don’t have experience in, I can probably just hop over to FTF and gain the knowledge I need to walk in with more confidence.

What advice would you give to someone getting started?

My best advice to anyone getting started in this industry…oh, I have so much to say. Here is a rapid fire of advice. Confidence is so helpful. Confidence is built with repetition but I also want to encourage you…even if you feel like you barely know anything yet, I can almost guarantee that you know more about filmmaking than your client. Even if it’s small, have confidence in that. Discipline and creative reps are so important. The more you create, the better you will get. The more disciplined you are to do the “work” you don’t want to do, like being diligent in answering emails on time and having those tough budget conversations, the further you’ll go. Avoid the temptation to feel inadequate or dissatisfied with your current level. Remember that a year ago, you admired people at your current stage. Even if there are many more skilled individuals, there are also many who aspire to be where you are - that's valuable. And finally, don’t forget that you probably want to be a filmmaker because you love it. Don’t lose that - always find a way to enjoy what you do, especially if you find yourself forgetting why you started.

You can check out Jordyn’s work HERE.

We hope you got some value out of this email! If learning how to become a full time filmmaker interests you, check out fulltimefilmmaker.com to learn more and see what’s inside our course.