Have you ever noticed how many of the truly great actors are so incredibly humble, kind, and giving?
I remember the first time I ever saw Robert De Niro interviewd on TV. He was miserable. Same goes for Robert Duvall. When you hear them speak and see this undeniably awkward contradiction of perception, you learn it’s not because they are scared of cameras or the press but rather they hate the spotlight!
Weird huh?
Many experts suffer from this. In some cases, it’s actually another case of just not understanding the value they bring.
None of us want to be perceived as “glory hogs” or arrogant “wanna be” stars.
The ironic part is that when we run from the spotlight, we end up looking unsocial and elitist.
Seems to be a law of nature that what we run from is what we run into.
Kinda like the first time I went snow skiing. The more they said don’t look at the trees, the more I stared at them until I navigated myself directly into them.
As a man thinks, so he is…
Have you been asked to speak, but didn’t?
Have you ever been referred to as an expert, but felt the need to “clarify”?
Have you received awards, accolades, and even press, but sat on them and didn’t share with your market?
If so, I can relate.
Here I am on the set of one of my films
As much as it pains me to admit this, I have done it more than most.
In my early days as a Director, I was involved with a pretty special film.
We shot it and knew we had something great.
All the excitement and buzz began to build. We were accepted into film festivals just based on the trailer and a few select scenes.
This is what every young Director dreams of…
Now while I surely didn’t realize this while I was doing it, I later came to recognize that I sabotaged this film.
I dragged out the editing process and always had an excuse for not being able to finish. While most of these excuses were real, there were viable solutions available that I didn’t want to recognize.
Not only was this silly, but it was immensely selfish on my part. So many people had given their time, talent and energy to make that film. Most said they did so because they believed in me! And yet I was paralyzed.
Years later as the film was finally released direct to video, with no premiere and many missed opportunities. I realized my core issue was that so many people had rallied to help me, and so much buzz and press had started to come in, I was scared to death someone would think I thought I was the next Martin Scorsese.
Scorsese Spoofs Himself
This stemmed from a serious lack of confidence, and, in many ways, even an overblown sense of self-importance. (As if that many people actually spend time thinking about me at all! Hahaha)
So what can you do about this?
For starters, face your fear and identify it.
Second, get busy publishing your past successes. This helped me a great deal.
Third, realize and meditate on the fact that if you do not choose to step into the spotlight, someone else will.
You have worked hard to know what you know and do what you do.
It’s not about being famous but about seeing a revenue return on your effort and diligence. And if you happen to achieve some level of notoriety… you will be much better suited for it because you are humble and reluctant and hey, who doesn’t like seeing that for a change?
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