Persistence and Determination

A year ahead of me in my high school was a guy named Sam Raimi, who later went on to direct the Spiderman trilogy. I never knew Sam Raimi personally, but I did know that in high school, he used to make movies all the time and show them to everyone in the auditorium.

Then when I was in college, I remember seeing his first major movie at the theaters called “The Evil Dead.” Sam Raimi simply wanted to make movies so he didn\’t wait for permission from any studio. He went out and did it.

Another friend of mine has been trying to get a cartoon series produced for the past twelve years. He lives in Phoenix and for the past twelve years has been driving from Phoenix to Los Angeles (a six hour, one-way trip) at least once a month. Often times he’ll drive from Phoenix to Los Angeles, have a meeting with a studio executive, and then turn around and drive straight back to Phoenix again.

He managed to sell one cartoon series to a studio, but that cartoon series never aired and remains in limbo. Undeterred, he simply created a second cartoon series and that show may be airing soon. He recently gave a pitch to a network and is waiting to hear back from them.

The point about Sam Raimi and my friend is that they had a dream and kept pursuing it regardless of any obstacles in their way. If you want to write screenplays, just keep writing and don’t let anyone stop you. Ultimately in any endeavor, the only person who can stop you is you.

That’s why it’s crucial to pursue a goal that you absolutely love because your passion will carry you past any obstacles you will face. When every obstacle and setback just becomes part of the game, then you’ll find that any such obstacles will just be temporary. Eventually you’ll overcome so many obstacles that you’ll arrive much further than you might have dreamed possible, and that will give you greater reward than anything else in the world.