Success is not found in Solitude.
This will probably be the one of the more important blogs that I write. What can I say . . .this project is REAL. It’s a combination of things, and a few mixed emotions at the moment. I’m excited, I’m pissed off, I’m tired, I’m nervous about the next steps. Over the past weeks, the team fought hard and just barely made a significant deadline. It was a mad struggling dash to complete the 2018 Telus Storyhive Documentary series application. Don’t get me wrong, it was a true performance of excellence, we put every drop of sweat and tears we had into it.
I need to give awareness to those outside the project crew that really helped drive the vision home during this application phase. Mikael with Lightscope for his behind the scenes wizardry, and Ms. Erin Thorburn-Watt for some late night and early morning editing magic. Sparks were flying to say the least with these two. We couldn’t have done it without you.
We were up against a hard deadline. Sacrificing quality was not an option. Failing was also not an option. We’ve been through this before and we came out unsuccessful (i.e. not winning the grant). However, from this we came out with much more experience, lessons learned, and more ideas on the go to move forward. Suffice it to say, quitting was not an option either. Look...here we are, still going through the motions of creating something bigger than us. With the drive that I see in the team, it’s inevitable that we will succeed in this project.
‘Working hard’, ‘getting it done’, ‘hustling’, ‘grit’, it’s easy to say these buzz words but what does it all really come down to? We are realizing that a major step in succeeding in a project like this is the recognition of your strengths and weaknesses, being straight up with yourself, and straight up with others. Being true, being honest, recognizing ego and throwing it away, and settling with and capitalizing on what you are good at. It's also incredibly important to understand that you won’t be good at everything. This understanding was an eye-opening lesson learned as we approached the application submission. When time isn't on your side and a crucial deadline is looming...when others are depending on you and your skill and talent, bet on what you're GOOD at, and do that. Find others that fill any gaps. There are a lot of people that want to help; a lot of talented and gifted people.
This has to be one of the most amazing thing I’ve learned in this journey so far. People want to help when your cause is not selfish. When you are falling, people will help. Let them help. When you see other’s falling, step in and help. This is what ‘working hard’ and ‘getting it done’ and all those other words are about. Success is not found in solitude; it’s involving the community and encouraging others to do what they are best at.
-- Cliff
