wasteland...

Yes, we were up early again today. I told Niki yesterday (our first day of 6:00am wake-ups--a tactic we're employing to hopefully help us increase our work-ethic and impact) that today would be the day that told the tale.  Could we pull off an early wake up two days straight?

You might be thinking we're crazy thinking 6:00am is early.  6:00am might be your jam, day in and day out.

Nik and I live somewhat 'outside' the 9-5 so we've never had to have an early start. We've also been having/raising babies for the past decade so we've taken sleep where we can get it.

Anyway, we did it again today. It was 6:30am due to getting hooked by 'Elizabeth' on my new flatscreen last night which resulted in an 11:30pm bedtime.  Loved the movie.  Realized we can't watch movies except on Friday or Sunday nights. So, make that tweak, and on with it.

Winter is a tough time in my business.  

I know it's not just me.  Many of my guys in L.A are dealing with the same thing.  Job insecurity, hustling deals, hoping one or two will close, wondering if you're going to make any money in 2010.

It was exactly this same way last year and the year before and the year before. 

It's a rush leading up to Christmas, trying to get as many pitches in as possible so that, come January/February you can be 'in play' and hopefully get some decisions made that will have you working (and getting paid for it) by April/May.

Funny thing, given the fact that I've dealt with this for years now, is that I still find this limbo so uncomfortable.

I don't like not knowing what's going on.  I struggle with faith. It's hard for me to believe in something I can't see. It takes work for me to hope in the midst of uncertainty.

It's also hard to keep my level of 'joy' and 'diligence' on 'high' while writing proposal after proposal that end up going nowhere.  Sure, once in a while a proposal breaks through and we end up working on it but, I've said it before, if you kept track of all those roads that led to nowhere you'd get very depressed and quit.

The trick is to remember (and believe) that no good work is ever wasted. Even if it's just building you as a person/worker, that's going to enhance your ability later when you're actually 'doing' the work you were pitching.

But it sure feels like a wasteland sometimes.

I guess the hope here--if you're less experienced than I am as a producer--is that you take encouragement from this, knowing you're not the only one dealing with the winter wasteland and that someone a little bit further up the food chain from you deals with this too.  

If you're further up the food chain from me, maybe you could call me...

'Cause I've got pitches coming out my ears!

T