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Episode 331 — Crushing Success
The more we see the result of the success people are having, the more we can get inspired and model our goals after that success. Which is why I think it’s important to follow other successful people: to see what their habits are and if you can apply those habits to get similar results. I also believe you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with. I want to be surrounded by better people because it inspires me. I want to learn from them.
But the problem is that a lot of us want to blame external forces, rather than put in the work that it takes to get better. You’ve got to be in it to win it! You’ve got to be willing to try. But you can’t do any of this if you’re just blaming everyone else.
Nothing is instant! You’ve got to work on it. You’ve got to put in the hard yards! If you run away from your fears, then you’re held captive by them. How will you grow then? But what if you turn the fear into excitement, and it becomes non-negotiable and you lean into it. And that is everything!
In this Podcast, Allan tackles the topic of negativity, resistance and fear — the things that get in the way of your growth — and how to use them as fuel for your success!
HIGHLIGHTS:
[04:57] The 4-Minute Mile
[06:54] Examine Your Own Excuses
[11:12] Get Inspired by Other People
[15:32] A Pattern Interrupt and How It Works
[20:35] Now 8-Mile That Shit!
EPISODE 331 — CRUSHING SUCCESS
Hello, everyone! This is Allan McKay.
Welcome to Episode 331! I’m doing a solo Episode about overcoming those things that get in the way of your growth such as negativity, resistance and fear — and how to use them to fuel your success. I think this is really critical as we set ourselves up for next year.
This is the last Episode of 2021. I’m really excited for this one. We should go out with a bang! It’s good to set goals and figure out what changes you can make for next year. This Episode is about examining your own negative thinking, as well getting inspired by the success of other people.
Please share this Episode with others. It would mean the world to me and my team.
Let’s dive in!
FIRST THINGS FIRST:
[01:12] Have you ever sent in your reel and wondered why you didn’t get the callback or what the reason was that you didn’t get the job? Over the past 20 years of working for studios like ILM, Blur Studio, Ubisoft, I’ve built hundreds of teams and hired hundreds of artists — and reviewed thousands of reels! That’s why I decided to write The Ultimate Demo Reel Guide from the perspective of someone who actually does the hiring. You can get this book for free right now at www.allanmckay.com/myreel!
[26:41] One of the biggest problems we face as artists is figuring out how much we’re worth. I’ve put together a website. Check it out: www.VFXRates.com! This is a chance for you to put in your level of experience, your discipline, your location — and it will give you an accurate idea what you and everyone else in your discipline should be charging. Check it out: www.VFXRates.com!
CRUSHING SUCCESS
[04:57] So I’ve talked about the 4-Minute Mile (www.allanmckay.com/218). It is such a fascinating concept: All athletes believed it was not possible to complete the 4-minute mile. Nobody could do it. It was just a cannon at that point. I believe it was in 1954 that Roger Bannister was the first person to break the 4-minute mile. After he completed it, several other people did as well within that same year. Now there’ve been thousands of people who’ve been able to complete the 4-minute mile, including high school athletes. I find that interesting that people saw that as an impossible feat. It took one person to show that it was possible and other people could do it as well.
[06:06] A lot of the time, that’s what we are looking for in our lives. We think that we can’t have success, but when we see someone else accomplish it, we see it as possible. Suddenly we realize that we just have to work hard and get that success as well. I love that! The more we see the result of the success people are having, the more we can model that success but also get inspired by it. Which is why I think it’s important to follow other successful people: to see what their habits are and if you can apply those habits to get similar results.
EXAMINE YOUR OWN EXCUSES
[06:54] But it really comes down to what kind of person you are. Are you the type of person when you see someone have success, it inspires you as long as you work hard. Or, are you one of the people who when hearing about other people’s success, you get the keys to the castle; but instead of using that knowledge, some of you jump on YouTube and say, “That wouldn’t apply to me,” in the comments. You become negative and obliterate that advice. It’s easier to dismiss something rather than put in the work. Because you don’t want to put in the work. You just want everything to be handed over to you.
[08:30] That’s the big problem with a lot of us. When you find someone who is better or more successful than you, or richer than you, do you get inspired or do you see that as a threat? Do you instantly think, “That person is lying.” Instead of being inspired, you hate on them. It’s not about hate. Maybe you don’t want those things they have. But a lot of the time they have the things you want and you use them as a target.
[09:53] That’s where the problem lies: A lot of us want to blame external forces rather than looking at ourselves and putting in the work. When I see people that are more successful, I’m attracted to them! I want to be surrounded by better people because it inspires me. I want to know how they did it. I want to learn from them. What if I shut the hell up and listen to them? And what if I found more of those people? So then are you someone who looks for miserable people? Or are you someone who looks for inspiring people? (And it doesn’t have to be about their being rich.)
GET INSPIRED BY OTHER PEOPLE
[11:12] I had a film crew come out and shoot a documentary about me not that long ago. I could tell none of these guys had a ton of money — but they lived rich lives! I was really fascinated by the traveling they do and the live experiences they were having. I was really inspired by the lives they were living. They were just in Fiji with Tony Robbins the week before. They would go to South America, or Burning Man, or concerts. To me, that was inspiring. Sometimes, I am in a room with such people who make me want to shut up and listen and learn. That’s not using them. Instead, I see what I can learn from them.
[12:38] You are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with. I would rather hang out with people who are better than me. Because that would make my average better! There is that joke: Bill Gates walks into the room and the average net worth in the room goes up by a million percent. In other words, being around people like that averages out on you as well.
[13:16] So when you think of the 4-minute mile and the thing that wasn’t possible before but someone came along and showed that it was, are you going to be the negative Nancy? “This doesn’t work!” “This is not true for my industry!” I always think about these people. If I ever write a negative comment on YouTube, it has to be a factual thing and I’ve done my work on the subject. For example, it’s a fact that “Maya wasn’t used in Jurassic Park.” It fascinates me a lot when I put out a post on How to Negotiate Money and I break it down so that you can have similar success to me. I explain the difference between how I used to do things and how I grew. I care that when I go into a conversation with someone who writes a negative comment under my post, I realize that that is just how they’re wired. They want success and rather than being vulnerable, they get angry. They aren’t even aware of the poison they’re swimming in, that poison they’ve created for themselves.
DO A PATTERN INTERRUPT
[15:32] So when you make negative comments, it’s hard to catch yourself. It doesn’t work that way. How can you do a pattern interrupt? The more you practice being present, the more you start to capture yourself. But a lot of the time you won’t. But the more you catch yourself before you write a comment, you can think, “Wow! What am I about to write?!” If you start to set up these pattern interrupts, that’s a chance for you to stop and think about why you want to say these things. Otherwise, you won’t notice that you’re about to be negative. Why do you feel this way? Do you have a reason to leave a negative comment? If your go-to reaction is to be negative and dismissive, what’s behind it?
[17:39] I do this a lot with fear. I’m not a negative person but to cover this for a second: When you’re about to be negative or to dismiss someone, or to blame everyone — what if that person is right? What if you applied what that person did and what would that result look like? How would that change your life? Is it worth switching off the BS detective, what if they’re right — could you try and explore it, and maybe change your life? Everytime I do a course, or pick up a book, that’s me saying, “I’m hoping to get something from this.” That’s why books are so powerful. You entertain the idea that you may get something from it. And the thing is even if you take away just one little thing from this book — and it changes your life — it’s worth the $10 you’ve spent on it. If I spent $5K on a course and I learned one thing that made me $50K richer, I just 10X-ed my investment — and it was worth it! But if you’re just shooting everything down and saying, “Everything sucks”, then you aren’t going to open up to that little idea.
[19:09] You’ve got to be in it to win it! You’ve got to be willing to try. And if nothing works out, you can come back and then say, “This sucks!” And if it does suck, then why? But you can’t do any of this if you’re just blaming everyone else. And nothing is instant! You’ve got to work on it. You’ve got to put in the hard yards! That’s why none of us don’t want to do it. So when you go to write something negative, ask yourself, “Why am I shooting this down in the first place? What’s going on there?”
NOW 8-MILE THAT SHIT!
[20:35] That’s how I am able to catch myself operating from fear. I’m not a negative person. I try everything. But that’s why I get such great results. I’m trying things out, I’m willing to give anything a shot. But with fear, I will catch myself feeling this flight reflex and that’s when I know: Now, I have to do this! Someone said they would do standup comedy and I feel it’s terrifying, now I have to go try it. If you run away from your fears, then you’re held captive by this stuff. How will you grow then? But what if you turn the fear into excitement, and it becomes non-negotiable and you lean into it. That is everything! That’s how I am able to catch myself.
[22:25] I remember before I launched my Podcast, a couple of years before then, I was talking with a friend of mine and telling him that. I could see that fear in his eyes when I asked him to do it with me. He was taking a step by and shaking, just from the concept of being on camera. It fascinated me. I’d like to think that when those feelings come up for me, I get excited. That is how you feel free. That’s how you’re no longer a victim of your fears.
[23:45] I remember in the film 8 Mile, in the final sequence, he is battling this kid. And someone asks him, “What are you going to do?” He looks at all his weaknesses and addresses all his problems in the battle, he wins the battle. Because he is able to lean into his pain and vulnerability, and by doing that, he takes the ammunition away from the other guy. That is exactly what fear is: People using things against you. Or worse yet, it’s your own mind holding you back. If we let the fears take over us, we’re just cavemen. But what if every time that fear — or negative emotions — come up, you realize they’re trying to hold you back from being the better you:
- “Retain your energy — by doing nothing!”
- “Don’t go out there because you’re going to embarrass yourself.”
[25:45] The world has changed, but we haven’t. We still have our reptile brain telling us to operate on a basic level. That’s when the 4-minute mile seems impossible. And what is scary right now, with COVID-19, is that there are people who still think it’s a hoax. It’s easier to disbelieve it. If you haven’t seen the 4-minute mile accomplished, it mustn’t be real. But the more we lean into our fear, the more we remove it. That’s why I joke, “8 Mile that shit!” and don’t let your fear hold you back from the success that you deserve!
Thanks for listening! I hope you got a lot from this Episode. I’m excited to see what the next year brings.
Please take a moment to share this Episode with others. I will be back next year. I’ll be sitting down with Jen Goldfinch, Director of Global Industry Marketing at Foundry. We talk about Foundry’s tools and investment in diversity. No matter what you’re interested in, you’ll get a lot from this Episode.
I’ll see you in 2022!
Rock on!
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