Lemme explain.
This weekend I'm car-sitting for one of my bosses. I won't go into all the details (if you want them, ask me personally), but what I will say is that I ended up driving them home. It was a one hour drive from where we were to their place, and during that time, we had a great talk about our careers and what we did to get to where we are, what we are doing to stay sharp, and why we love what we do.
Now, I've talked to a lot of people here in Los Angeles about career paths. I've talked to enough people about specifically hosting and producing game shows. But, up until tonight, I had never been challenged in those talks. Never was I so stimulated in what we were conversing about. For the first time, I truly felt like I knew why I was trying to be a host/producer and how I could get there.
I learned a lot about my boss: about their scholastic career, about their constant quest for excellence, about their never-ending struggle to stay sharp and on the ball. The things they told me resonated with me in a way that words had not done in a while. All this time, I thought I was doing everything possible to become a great host, when all the while, I was not even close to doing enough. It's one thing to say "I'm going to be the next great host"; it's quite another to take the steps to makes those words true.
What was supposed to be a simple 45 minute ride and drop off became a near two hour conversation that really made me rethink my approach to my career. All of the things I was told I will not soon forget (so let me write as many of them them down here before I forget):
- Immerse yourself with someone/something you admire: The Price Is Right is a game show that I grew up with and love. But ultimately, Price probably will not be where I end up staying. If I truly want to grow as a host/producer, I need to work for those people that I admire. That's not to say I don't admire the people at Price. However, I do need to sit down and think about the other people who are producing shows that I like and get involved in working for them. Therefore, I am coming up with a short list of people that I would like to work for and the reasons for me wanting to work with them. Then I need to make an effort to find the ways to get to them. And don't work for the assholes if you are truly looking for a healthy experience and a place to learn. Work for someone you respect who will respect you and treat you with dignity.
- Continue to flex your muscles: No, I'm not talking about going to the gym (although I need to do that also, note to self). What I mean is doing the things that will exercise your skills and hone them in. In my case, I need to find avenues where I can host. Currently, the only hosting I ever do is for the game nights I run, and I only do those about once a month. Ideally, I should be hosting something at minimum three times a week. If that means doing a webcast, hosting stand-up at a club, doing warm-up for a show, or just keeping the crowd entertained, then that means doing those things and making a habit of doing those things. I like to pretend to hosts things when I am alone, but I need to start making the habit of doing it in front of others and just doing it any chance I get to. I also need to invest some time in taking improv, as that is a skill that will truly help. But most importantly, if I am serious about being the best host I can be, I cannot stop tightening my skills; I must always be working towards improving myself.
- "Steal" opportunities: I'm lucky enough to be in a work environment where I interact with major TV players on a daily basis. I'm also blessed to have a mentality where I like to help people whenever I can. To "exploit" this personality trait is too harsh of a word, but I need to extrapolate it. Whenever an opportunity arrises to go the extra step, I need to take it. My boss has told me that I have done that and I should continue to do that wherever I go. You never know who might be paying attention.
- If you are expecting for things to be handed to you, then you are an wasting your time: To be fair, that is my wording, not my boss's. But the underlying message is the same. In this day and age, you need to put in the effort to be notice and to get what you deserve. There are many things that I need to do before I can get what I want: create a reel, get an agent, get headshots done, etc. I'll admit that I have been slacking in that department. But no one is going to come to me and say "hey, Stad, here's everything you need." For me to expect that to happen would be an idiotic move, especially in this city and for certain in this industry. Hard work will pay off, but only if you put you all into it.
- Personality will take you far: My personality has gotten me through a lot in my life, and because of that, I have experienced things millions of people will never witness in their lives. Therefore, I should not squander this "gift;" rather, I should nurture it and let it grow to its full potential. That said, however, I need to be cautious that I do not let myself be taken advantage of by people. In this day and age, there are many people who will do just that if given the chance,
After nearly two hours of conversation, the last thing my boss did was issue me a challenge. If you have ever been to a Price taping, you would know that there is a small period between the second "Showcase Showdown" and the actual "Showcases." During that time, the crew is setting up the showcases and music is being played for the audience. This is usually the time when the audience energy level drops considerably: they've realized that they are not going to be called down, and so the mentality is "why should I bother being excited if I'm not going to win anything?" My challenge is to come up with a small quick game to play with the audience during that time period. I'm to pitch it to my boss, and if my boss likes it, not only will it be played during those breaks, but I will be allowed to host the game.
This is the biggest opportunity I have been given so far in my career. If I work hard, and come up with a great idea, I will finally have a venue to work on my hosting skills. We tape two shows a day, three days a week, to an audience of about 320 people. That means I would be hosting my own game to an audience six times a week. Just the thought of that make me burst with happiness.
I agreed, and we shook on it. For the rest of the car ride home, I thought about all we had talked about, and had already begun to come up with ideas.
I would be a total fool to not take this opportunity. This is a great chance for me to show what I've got.
In the end, I learned a lot more about my boss, and much more about myself. He and I are very alike in a lot ways, and I mean it when I say that I truly do admire him and how he has worked constantly to get to where he his, while at the same time, acknowledging that he is still growing to become better. Through that, and self-reflection, I'm beginning to see my path towards my ultimate goal, and it is reachable. So thank you, Mike Richards, for challenging me. No one in L.A. has made me really ponder my intentions on being here until I talked to you. I feel like I have a much clearer sense of what I want and need to do to achieve my hosting/producing potential. Your words really made an impact on me tonight.
Peace Out.
1 comment:
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