Stop Waiting for Permission

Nobody’s coming to rescue you.

I don’t mean that harshly.

I actually think it might be one of the most freeing things you can hear.

I learned it years ago at three in the morning, standing in an empty studio in Los Angeles.

I was directing a corporate video. I’d stayed late preparing for the next day when one of the executive producers suddenly appeared.

Apparently, this was something he liked to do.

He’d show up unannounced, find problems with a director’s work, then swoop in and “save” the project.

He went through my preparation.

Tore it apart.

Then told me he would stay and fix everything himself.

I could go home.

I said:

“Not a chance.”

If the work wasn’t good enough, we’d fix it together.

But I wasn’t leaving.

We stayed there for hours.

Around three in the morning, he finally got up and left.

I went back to my original plan.

Shot it exactly as I’d intended.

And it worked.

What Are You Waiting For?

For years, I thought that story was about standing up to someone.

I don’t anymore.

I think it was about permission.

Because there was another version of that night where I went home.

He had more authority than I did.

More power.

He was an executive producer.

I could easily have decided that meant he knew better.

And I think we do versions of that all the time.

We wait for someone with more authority to tell us:

Yes. You’re ready.

Yes. You’re talented.

Yes. You can call yourself a filmmaker.

Sometimes we call it waiting for an opportunity.

Sometimes we call it being realistic.

Sometimes we tell ourselves we need a little more preparation.

But underneath it, we may simply be waiting for permission.

The Rescue Fantasy

There’s a comforting fantasy that eventually someone is going to arrive who sees exactly what we’re capable of.

The mentor.

The producer.

The agent.

The investor.

The person who opens the door and finally changes everything.

And yes, those people can matter.

We all need help.

We need collaborators.

We need teachers.

We need people who see things in us that we sometimes can't see ourselves.

But there's a difference between accepting help and waiting to be rescued.

Help gives you something you can use.

Rescue hands responsibility for your life to someone else.

And that's dangerous.

Because if somebody else has the power to make you...

they also have the power to unmake you.

You Already Have the Job

Here's the uncomfortable part.

You're already directing your life.

Nobody hired you.

Nobody checked your qualifications.

You have no prior experience.

And some days you have absolutely no idea what you're doing.

Congratulations. You got the job anyway.

You choose where the camera points.

You choose what gets your attention.

You choose who gets cast.

You choose which scenes you keep shooting long after you know they aren't working.

Of course you don't control everything that happens.

No director does.

The weather changes.

The actor gets sick.

The location disappears.

The shark doesn't work.

Directing was never about controlling reality.

It's about responding to reality with intention.

Life isn't much different.

Maybe You're Not Stuck

This is the question I keep coming back to:

If nobody was ever coming to rescue me, what would I do?

It's an uncomfortable question.

Because very often, the answer isn't:

I don't know.

It's:

I know exactly what I would do. I'm just afraid to do it.

Make the movie.

Leave the job.

Write the thing.

Make the phone call.

Say no.

Say yes.

Start over.

Call cut on something that stopped working years ago.

Sometimes what we call being stuck is simply the distance between knowing what we need to do and being willing to take responsibility for doing it.

And no mentor can close that distance for you.

Nobody Else Gets to Call “Cut”

That night in the studio, I refused to let someone else take the frame away from me.

I think that's ultimately what The Director Within is about.

Not believing you can control everything.

Not pretending you don't need anybody.

But recognizing the difference between what belongs to you and what doesn't.

Maybe you've been waiting for someone to give you permission to become the person you already know you need to be.

Stop waiting.

Call action.

And when necessary...

call cut.

Don't just direct your movies.

Direct your life.