Make Your Business a Blockbuster
There are many reasons to admire Stephen Spielberg.
My favorite?
His ability to spin problems & limitations into gold:
*Problem:
The mechanical shark in Jaws kept breaking down, so he shot more shark's-eye-view and fin-only scenes (with that iconic theme music!), building the tension to a boiling-point.
By the time audiences finally glimpsed the shark, they lost their ever-living minds with terror. –And the first summer-"blockbuster" was born.
*Problem:
As I've written about earlier: in the '70s, Spielberg was turned down to direct the next James Bond film. His confidence was shaken, but his creativity was stirred:
He & buddy George Lucas invented their own dashing hero, Indiana Jones (who's still melting faces off on the big screen).
Speaking of Indiana Jones:
*While Raiders of the Lost Ark was filming in Tunisia, Harrison Ford developed severe digestive issues. He could barely leave his room.
He told Spielberg he could only muster about one hour on set before he'd turn from ruggedly-suave Indy into Mr. Poopy-Pants.
Big problem. Every day of filming cost thousands of dollars, and they were on a tight budget.
As they say, “Genius is born in limitations”:
Spielberg took an elaborate, acrobatic fight-scene that Ford had practiced for weeks, and speedily reworked it to be as quick and effortless as possible for his ailing star.
An iconic moment was born:
“And…scene. Now where's the nearest bathroom?”
How did Spielberg get so dang good?!
Well, there's an even bigger lesson here than “embrace limitations” (though I'm thrilled if you take that from this email and call it a day).
If you've seen The Fabelmans, you know how his origin-story influenced his path (such a great film!).
But there's more:
During film school, he made a great group of friends.
You know, just a scrappy lil' gang of amateur filmmakers with names like Martin Scorcese, Francis Ford Coppola, Brian DePalma, and yes, George Lucas.
Throughout the 70s and 80s, this cohort of youngsters met regularly to encourage one another, and to critique, edit, and improve one another's films.
The industry labeled them the “movie brats”; but they transformed cinema for generations.
Behold, the power of the Group.
–You might even call them a “Mastermind,”
What's a Mastermind?
It's a group based on the concept that when you bring many minds together, something bigger (a “master-mind”) emerges. Ideas and motivation start to show up on a more powerful level. There’s a higher level of vision and commitment that happens in a group; it's a multiplierfor results.
Or as one of my previous Mighty Mastermind members put it:
“Instead of being a ‘lone wolf’, it's so much more effective to build with other people, figure out their strengths, and work together to share those strengths. And it's been so much fun to learn and grow with everybody!”
I'm going to be opening applications for this year's Mighty Mastermind soon, First name / my friend.
It starts in October, and we'll spend 9 months putting extra eyeballs on your business, giving you insight, support, accountability, empathy, and camaraderie.
It's limited to 10 solopreneurs, for that intimate “Spielberg/Coppola/Lucas/Scorcese” type of experience.
It's a game-changer.
I can't wait to tell you more about it. Keep your eyes peeled for more deets soon.
(And in the meantime, enjoy some great summer blockbusters before that “back to school" vibe starts again in the fall).
To your success,
-Jane
p.s. speaking of the power of colleagues:
My friend Ernesto and I entered the coaching world around the same time ~8 years ago. We recently had one of my favorite conversations in a long time on his podcast, where we reminisced about our scrappy days, swapped insights, and shared vulnerable, honest stories from our coaching journeys. It starts a little slow, but by the end we were both sparkling with inspiration. Give it a listen: