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If You Want Extraordinary Success, You Need To Overcome Extraordinary Failure First
“The amateur has not mastered the technique of his art. Nor does he expose himself to judgement in the real world.” -Steven Pressfield
In his book The War of Art, best-selling author and screenwriter Steven Pressfield described the first truly big movie he produced: King Kong Lives (1986).
On opening weekend, he went to a small-town movie theater, and got in line for a ticket. “A youth manned the popcorn booth,” Pressfield wrote. “‘How’s King Kong Lives?’ I asked. He flashed a thumbs-down. ‘Miss it man. It sucks.’”
“I was crushed. Here I was, 42 years old, divorced, childless, having given up all normal pursuits to chase the dream of being a writer; now I’ve finally got my name on a big-time Hollywood production, and what happens? I’m a loser, a phony; my life is worthless, and so am I.”
He could have quit right then and there.
He wanted to. The pain and embarrassment was so bad, he almost did.
But after a short while, Pressfield thought about the magnitude of what he had just done. He had produced a legitimate big-screen Hollywood movie! Even if it was a box office failure, it was still a huge accomplishment.
