The Key To Success Is NOT What You Think

“I’ve tried several different things but I can’t seem to make anything work.”

This seems to be a common theme among many people these days.

Everyone wants a taste of “success” but few are willing to think and commit to something long term.

And I want to blame it on our content consuming/same-day shipping addicted society, but I think that’s only a part of the problem.

While immediate gratification and those dopamine hits are something we can point our fingers at, I think the elephant in the room is a lack of commitment.

And no I’m not going to dive into your relationship history lol.

I’m talking about your commitment to everything that you’re doing.

I see too many people who start something new and have a timeframe in their mind for when they think they should be living their dream life.

And I’ll tell you right now, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

There’s nothing wrong with setting a goal and working towards that goal, but if you’re going to “try” something new and expect to be in the top 1% of your industry in 6 months then you need to reevaluate your commitment.

There’s no such thing as “trying” something and in return, dominating 99% of the other people who are committed to winning and mastering their craft.

This reminds me of a quote I heard the other day:

“You’re all in or you’re in the way.”

Here’s the thing, if you’re putting in the work without a resignation date in the back of your mind and you’re committed to making things happen for yourself, it’s inevitable–It’s going to happen for you.

And it’s sad that more people don’t think about it this way.

If you’ve ever met someone super successful, there’s a good chance they’ve landed flat on their face more times than they can count.

But when you’re in it for the long haul, it doesn’t matter how many times you fail or feel embarrassed by your lack of skill or knowledge.

The only thing that matters is how committed you are!

In the early days, your only selling point to others might just be your willingness to hustle and put in the work.

And as time goes on and your skills are more refined, others will pair your ability, know-how and hustle as a massive value add that they want to be associated with.

But that’s not going to happen unless you choose to be all in.

Make that decision to commit and never quit and 5, 10, 20 years from now you’ll look back and be glad you did.

You got this👊🏻

-Landon

PS - Tim Ferriss’s interview on the Huberman Lab Podcast was the inspiration for this week’s newsletter. You can check out the full YouTube video HERE.

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CREATOR SPOTLIGHT

From Never Touching A Camera To Making Over $50k On His Filmmaking Side Hustle

The story of J. Amill Santiago

My journey as a filmmaker was sparked by curiosity. At first, I started out in 2016 as a hobbyist because I was fascinated by popular YT genres such as Video Essays and Explainer Videos, so I started learning how to edit for fun. For the next four years, I accumulated hundreds of hours of editing experience before I ever touched a camera. One thing led to another, and in 2020, my wife and I bought a camera to document our travels…We all know what happened that year. However, it was during that timeframe that I realized I wanted to become an actual filmmaker, so I just kept shooting and showing my work to everyone in my network. 

Eventually, I landed my first paid gig for $300...and it felt awesome! All of a sudden, some people within my network started hiring me for small video projects here and there. At that moment, I got pretty serious about learning everything about the industry and how I could get better, so I followed Mark Cuban’s famous advice about working somewhere where you get paid to learn. I did exactly that, so I eventually landed a full-time videography job where I was able to exponentially grow as a professional. And guess what? My employer paid for my FTF membership. 

Being able to be part of the FTF community accelerated my career in ways that are difficult to begin to describe. The courses are truly great, helpful, and practical, but beyond that, the secret sauce was being able to become part of their Facebook community. Getting access to so many talented filmmakers, being able to show my work and get feedback, asking business and gear-related questions, getting to know about industry trends and events—and even being able to land jobs and expand my network has been incredibly profitable for my career. If you haven’t joined FTF yet and you’re serious about filmmaking, you should do it, because it will be a great investment in your career development. Last year alone, I was able to make over $50K (without quitting my day job), gotten to travel to Africa, North America, and Puerto Rico for highly profitable gigs, and this year, I’ve landed multiple $10K deals with bigger clients. Needless to say, I’m on track to beat my previous year doing corporate work. 

What advice would you give to someone getting started?

If you want to succeed in this business, you have to have face-to-face interactions with potential clients. Period. Ditch the DMs, ditch the emails, and get yourself in front of people with something of value to offer. It doesn’t matter if you’re an introvert or an extrovert, you have to have face-to-face interactions because that builds trust…and if you’re a pleasure to work with, and you’re constantly getting face-to-face interactions and expanding your network, you will eventually land clients. If you’re into wedding filmmaking, go to bridal shows and stores. If you’re into RE, go to RE conferences, events, and offices. Do you get my drift? You’ve got to insert yourself where your clients walk and interact with them. 

You can check out my Website HERE and my Instagram HERE.