… where the bullsh*t is.
Cow dung makes for great fertilizer, y’all!
People across work industries always tend to think the industry they are NOT in is somehow better, easier, funner or less complicated, less crazy, less ridiculous people.
However, a lot seem to agree, that the entertainment industry is super tough with a ton of crazy people and all that jazz.
Here’s the reality: EVERY industry is tough. And every industry has crazy people. Every industry has their own set of politics.
As long as you want to be successful, it’s never going to come easy, doesn’t matter what sort of industry you’re in. Each and every one of them have their own set of battles. And you simply cannot justify that one is more difficult than the other. Or one has worser people that the other.
Being thrown into several different types of industries before due to my work and life experiences; competitive sports… banking… service industry… and now the entertainment industry; I can safely surmise that every industry I’ve ever dabbled in had their set of challenges. What was a common denomination (aside from the fact that no matter what, success within your industry comes with hard work on your part and a little luck here and there) were the politics & the bad people. You simply can’t run away from bad people.
Everyone seems to have this misconception that there are so many bad people in the entertainment industry. What they need to realize is that there bad people everywhere.
Here’s my take on WHY people have this misconception. It is simply because the entertainment industry is the only industry where everything is out there like an open book spreading across all media. All other industries keep their politics well hidden and only people within their circle will ever know or have any interest to know.
I cannot stress this enough, you don’t need to be in the entertainment industry to encounter bad people. And I don’t think it’s fair to make the assumption that there are more bad people in the entertainment industry than in any other industry. As far as I know, more people in the entertainment industry make a good difference and can touch many people’s lives in amazing ways! So how are they bad people??
Having said that, yes, they are pretty crappy people that even I have encountered. But as I’ve said, in my entire walk of life so far, I have encountered a bunch of terrible human beings. So… your argument is invalid.
And here’s another interesting observation.
A couple of my peers who have been in the entertainment industry for over 8-10 years (pretty much their entire career life) are “tired” of the industry. They would complain how they are so many messed up people and how everything is so political and how they can’t be bothered to do any networking because their work should reflect who they are (true) so they shouldn’t need to build upon relationships (because they are already so awesome). And they go on to say that they want to get out of this industry and explore another one because it’s probably filled with less of these requirements.
Without trying to sound like a know-it-all (but I think I have enough experience to back myself up here), hate to say this but, it don’t matter what industry you’re in (for the billionth time), there is no chance you won’t have to go through all that I’ve mentioned above. Even as diligent of a banker that you are, without proper social skills or good relationships with your peers, superiors etc for recommendations and what not, there is slim chance for you to move up quickly in your career. I’m not saying you can’t… just saying it’ll be SLOW. Yes, it’s good to actually BE a good worker and perform well, but if you want to climb the ladder of success with ease and with swiftness, you kind of need the whole package.
So I hate to make my peers sound like they are deluded, but perhaps they really are… just a little. It’s from lack of experience outside their comfort zone. They may be well-equipped with knowledge within their industry but if they truly think there’s another industry easier than the one they’re in, that’s delusion right there.
Nonetheless (there’s always a but.. because I’m very political that way), it is possible to have it easier in whatsoever industry you choose to be in. How? One thing and one thing only: PASSION.
That’s right. What makes it easier for any individual in any industry they are in, is passion. Which is why I keep advocating this.
Because I have dabbled in so many potential careers for my life, I have came to the conclusion that the only thing that has kept me going is passion. I didn’t understand this when my dad was training me to be a professional golfer when I was younger.
He kept talking to me about how “passion drives the soul”. And as I grew older, he started giving up on me and I felt sad and didn’t understand why. Later on, I realized it was because he didn’t see “the fire”… the “passion”… that HE had for golf in ME. He knew I could never and would never want to be a professional golfer because I simply had no passion for the game. And he was right. Passion brings you that extra mile. I was good at golf… but I wasn’t great.
So after some soul searching, I finally found my passion. It has been 2 years since and I’m still going strong. I finally found what I was looking for to give my everything. I can spend hours upon days upon weeks upon months upon years (you get the picture) doing what I do now.
Yes, this industry is tough. But for me, every challenge is a breath of fresh air. It is what keeps me alive. And I will always be grateful for it.
That being said, I may not be able to vouch for the difficulty of every other industry out there. But I still stick to my opinion that truly, “The grass is greener where the bullsh*t is.”
In essence, people like to flower up what they do and make it seem like everything’s all nice and dandy. That the industry and the work they do is so amazing. These people are professional bullsh*tters. Nothing is perfect and amazing all the time. Everyone has their own battles.
So think twice before feeling envious of other people’s amazing lives… If you have to feel something, feel motivated to achieve great things instead of being bitter about people having or experiencing nicer, better things. FOCUS on yourself and truly discovering WHO you are, WHAT you want, WHERE you want to go, and HOW you want to get there.
I may not know a lot, but what I know is that if you don’t find the right fuel to keep you going, you’ll never find happiness in your working life. And since in general, we technically spend most of our lives in our working life, it would certainly be a worth while time and monetary (if you need to) investment to go through a self-discovery experience.
I’m still going through my battles and I’m not where I want to be and I still have a long way to go. But every single day, I have no regrets and every challenge thrown my way is taken on with vigour (and frustration, of course, I’m not a robot) and determination. And not once (yet), after all the crap I’ve gone through, have I ever thought of quitting. That says a lot because I constantly thought of quitting throughout my other careers!
So once YOU’VE found what I’ve found, given enough time and enough effort on your part, I believe you will succeed. Let’s hope when I finally reach where I want to be, these words will hold more weight 🙂
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