Soy Andina: The Blog

The 8 Keys to Success

A succinct and wise essay by David Lyman, Founder & Director of The Maine Phototgraphic Workshops. You can order an audio CD of the lecture by calling 800.227.1541 (with a DVD coming this summer, according to David himself).

The 8 Keys to Success: An Essay And Thoughts on What It Takes To Reach Your True Potential

© 2001 by David H. Lyman

For years, I have been lecturing to CEOs, artists, photographers, filmmakers and other creative people on what it takes to be successful - successful at least at being who they can be, not necessarily who others think they should be. I've interviewed hundreds of successful artists, counseled hundreds of students and working professionals on their way up and a few on their way down. I've also looked at my own career, talents and motivations along the way, and come to the conclusion that there were eight keys to being successful. When I started there were five keys; in a few years, when I am wiser, then maybe I'll have 10 keys, but for now eight keys seem enough. Here they are in their order of importance.

Last days in NY...

I'm scrambling to get things done before returning to Lima. Just for fun and posterity, my "to-do" list I've been carrying around last couple of days on index card in my wallet (a "hipster" PDA, can you believe some of the bloggers call it?)

- Pick up laundry
- Mail Richard's donation to F/VA
- Mail rent check
- Buy favorite Pilot G-2 pens (couldn't find them in Lima)
- Freeze health club membership
- Cancel T-Mobile wi-fi (my lifeline to Internet)
- Cancel Boingo (my second lifeline)
- Go to Zabars, buy insulating bag, for....
- Buy pizza, bagels, lox to show Doris what NY food is
- Buy contact lens fluid, the brand I can't get there
- Call mom, Dalia
- Mail receipts for final insurance purchase
- do this blog

If you had any illusions about the "glamorous life" of a filmmaker, entries like this will help you get over it!

Musings on the future

I am grateful to know people like Richard Pena, my old colleague and friend from the Film Society and New York Film Festival.

We caught up again with drinks after work. Great talking movies (which is kind of like shooting hoops with Michael Jordon - Richard is the tops in his field)

My family dances too

My niece Jessica came to New York with about 125 other teenage girls from the Ann Carroll School of Dance in Franklin, TN to visit the city and put on a show at Broadway Dance Center. Rarely if ever have I seen such a concentration of blondes in New York. Her mom/my sister Julie started asking me six months ago if I could videotape the show. I could never commit. I had just arrived in Lima and didn't know when i'd be returning to New York. Then a couple of months ago I told her I'd be back after all - but didn't have a camera (the one stolen in Lima). What to do, what to do... last week I called former intern Gabriela, who told me she couldn't find film work - but had just bought this $3,000 video camera she wasn't using, if I ever wanted to borrow it.... So thanks to Gabriela, I taped the performance and thus helping preserve evidence that white suburban American girls can dance too. It was also the first time I'd used a video camera since my beloved Sony TRV-900 was stolen. I miss that camera, and I missed shooting.

Back in the USA...but for how long?

Been back USA for three weeks. Yikes, this is my first blog entry since returning. Bud, my blog/web guru, must be seething but hopefully I'll placate him with this and more frequent posts. So what's going on? Being back has been unsettling, to say the least. I sublet my place through August so I'm staying at friends, which is wierd when it's your own city. And not just any city but New York, which isn't exactly the most laid back place to find your bearings. The plan coming back was to stay about 6 weeks and find at least $15,000 to continue the editing work in Peru. Plus show work-in-progress to trusted folks. But everything's kind of been derailed. My mother got very sick. So I spent last week outside of Nashville, TN (she moved there last year to live with my sister). She's stabilized for now but I'm wrestling about when to return.

Procrastination Breakthrough

Within an hour of writing the last entry about procrastination, I wrote what I was procrastinating about - a script for the first part of Cynthia's story. Took about 3 very focused hours. Later that night I met the editing team, and they were delighted. Which in turn gave me a big burst of confidence. Now I have to continue - finishing her script, then shifting to Nelida's. But today my mind is weighted down with thoughts again about money - emails to sponsor prospects, the NYSCA (New York State Council of the Arts) proposal, paying my bills, negotiating a deal with Perfo the sound studio. I feel like I never can properly immerse or finish one job or the other, right brain left brain right brain left brain...it leaves both sides very weary. OK, I can fundraise and do it well. Yes I can conceive, shoot and write a story. But geez, both at same time...I always read about all these people who do it all and I really don't know how.

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Fear and procrastination

Last couple of nights I didn't sleep much, my mind obsessed with all things I need to do to get this film done, and realization of how much I avoid or procrastinate, usually in the name of "there's a million other things to get off my plate first" or "I'm too tired I'll wait for a better block of time" or something like that. Take this blog itself, I find myself resisting doing it mightily, have never gotten into the rhythm, the habit of just doing it. When I started this blog a few months ago I had some vague idea that I would intimately share the inner workings of the creative process, and be a fun thing to do besides. And that's not the case, yet. But I keep going in fits and starts. My friend and Blog consultant Bud (www.sonicmedia.com) is on my case now more to just keep blogging and it's helped. You know, I need people and deadlines to please and be accountable to. Otherwise stuff doesn't get done.

It's funny how this blog spell checker keeps flagging "Blog" and "blogging."

But enough self-referential blog stuff. There are more important things I am procrastinating about today, namely:

1. I must get a proposal to TIM, the cell-phone company that I met with weeks ago to pitch for sponsorship.
2. Review the editing script and delve into the transcripts
3. Asking someone for money to save my ass for this month

When really I would just prefer to crawl under the covers you know?