After the readings this month, I think my personal leadership style does and will continue to grow into one that resembles Maxwell’s leadership perspective. Maxwell spoke to me when he said, “Developing yourself to become the leader you have the potential to be will change everything for you; It will add to your effectiveness, subtract from your weaknesses, divide your workload, and multiply your impact” (Maxwell, 2018, p. 12). I want to be a leader who leads by example as I want my reputation to precede me. As I start to analyze Greene’s 48 Laws of Power I do not feel like that leadership still is ineffective but when you view the laws as a guide, you tend to see them as keys to almost winning the game. To me the 48 Laws of Power are to overcome or position yourself for success in instants where the odds are against you. Like the story of Ivan the Terrible or Joseph Fouche, these leaders grew into their roles out what can almost be viewed as a need for self-preservation versus growing into the roles authentically. As an aspiring film producer, relationships and roles are essential to everyone’s success. Being able to establish myself as a leader will not only help me in the industry, but help the projects be successful as every part of the production must work together in order to achieve the vision of the writers and directors. While we all know big name writers, producers and directors, they reach the pinnacle of their craft by leading and developing teams that can see their vision and bring it to life.

I recently was selected for my first role as a production assistant for a feature film, and do not take for the granted that this role will be integral in helping me establish a footing in the industry. Maxwell references Zig Ziglar who says, “If you help people get what they want, they will help you get what you want” (Maxwell, 2018, p. 196). Success on this project will be me leaving the project with references from the team I am working with and this will be achieved by not only being a team player but being a leader when the situation calls for it. Stepping up with there are opportunities to work with other departments and production teams when an extra hand is needed. This will set the example for the other production assistants as well as show I have the potential to hold larger titles and bigger roles in the future as Maxwell says, “You can have a title and seniority and be incapable of leading. And you can have no title or seniority and be a good leader.” (Maxwell, 2018, p. 14). All in all, I believe I mesh more with Maxwell’s leadership style more because he shows a leader’s work is never done. There are always opportunities to make an impact you just have to be willing to notice it and take advantage. From the conversations I have had with industry professionals the biggest takeaway has been that success in the industry is synonymous with being a chameleon willing to match the challenge presented by each individual production. I feel Maxwell’s style is the epitome of this idea as he focuses on team mindset and what I feel is understanding when to be the student and when to be the teacher.

REFERENCES

– Greene, R. The 48 Laws of Power. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781101042458/

– Maxwell, John C. Developing the Leader within You 2.0. HarperCollins, 2018.

After wearing Nike brand all my life, today was probably the time their slogan meant the most to me. The very last day of the first course in my graduate program and my laptop decides to go out on me. Now there is no worst feeling than you computer crashing as you as working on an assignment. However, add to that its as you are working on your final presentation for a class you are retaking and the fact that the only way to get a laptop is to go venture out into the stores the Sunday before Christmas. All I could tell myself was to “Just Do It”. I wanted to give up, I didn’t want to spend the money. I didn’t want to get up and wait in line. Initially I wanted to just give up and accept whatever grade I would ultimately earn but I set a goal for myself and I wanted to see it through. So I sucked it up and got up to purchase new laptop. The drive that would normally take 8 minutes, took 20 and I waited in line 45 minutes to pay for it, just come home and re-do these assignments as fast as I could. I am typing this now signifying the fact that I was able to meet my goal of successfully completing my first course here at Full Sail University!

Feedly.

LinkedIn.

Like Most, I began to fall victim to the “New Year, New Me” narrative. This is the idea that the New Year is an opportunity to set a goals for creating new, transformative, more productive behaviors. For many a fresh calendar is the perfect time for change. But as I begin to reflect on the past year, I realize how many times I would stop and look at an opportunity I missed out on yesterday and just decide I would do it tomorrow. It dawned in me as I begin to prepare for the new year that Instead of cherishing the fresh calendar year, I can focus on the fresh 24 hours I get everyday. Not to sound morbid, but nobody knows how many of the 366 days, leap year, we will get next year. But what we do know is we can enjoy and take advantage of the 24 hours we get each day. There are some things that require goal setting, you may be anticipating a new job, or starting a new training program at the gym, or even have buying a house on your list. However there are things you can do today to help you towards that goal and instead of simply focusing on the end goal, it is important to pay attention to the journey towards your destination.

Good luck to everyone in 2020, but let’s take advantage of the rest of 2019 to make sure we reach those goals we have in mind!

“I was so heartbroken cause I had a dream.”

— Tyler Perry.

You’d be surprised by the things I am familair with at 27 years old. Probably the most surprising are “old” cars. It’s hard to call a 1992 Geo Metro old because it was created the same year I was born. But seeing one sitting in front of The Dream Building at Tyler Perry studios was a sight to see earlier this year.

If you are also familiar with the car you are familiar with the size. I know how small this car is because I remember being 7 years old riding in one because I would always talk to my uncle about how me and his car were the same age. and at 7 years old this car left me longing for more room. However, imagine being 6 foot 5 inches tall, homeless and living out of this car. This was a reality for Tyler Perry, from sleeping in a Geo Metro to now owning the largest movie studio lot in the country.

Through some networking, I had the surreal opportunity to attend the Grand Opening of Tyler Perry studios in Atlanta this October. This was a star studded event, from Tyler Perry to Oprah to President Bill Clinton and his wife Hilary to Jay-Z and Beyonce, almost any celebrity you can think of was in attendance. And while seeing people you’d only ever saw on television or movie screens is one thing, driving onto the studio lot was another. He has a model White House on this lot. Growing up in Baltimore, driving to DC and seeing the White House was not a big feat, but the idea that I could stand feet away from a model White House owned by a black man on the nation’s largest move studio was a giant feat. Tyler Perry spoke about sleeping in that Geo Metro and looking over at the former confederate military base, Fort McPherson and thinking he would own it one day. I was speechless, to attain such goal that will go down in history and live forever is something out of a screen play. The foresight to see your dreams while living in essentially a nightmare is a level of vision I can hope to attain.

As I continue to grow as a creative and in the media industry I will carry that experience and use it as a fire to continue to light my dreams when I face the darkness of reality. This is evident as that same night as the event ended I was researching ways to get into the media industry and leverage some of the skills I have taught myself while also learning in a truly transferable way. Tyler Perry is the reason I learned about the Entertainment Business Master’s program here at Full Sail and is the reason I am in this course, writing this blog post now. Thank you Tyler Perry, I look forward to continuing to follow your story and continuing on the path to inspiring others like you have done for me.

Reference:
-Aldridge, D. (2019, January 2). Tyler Perry parks blue car outside his studio as reminder of how he overcame homelessness. Retrieved from https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/tyler-perry-parks-blue-car-outside-his-studio-as-reminder-of-how-he-overcame-homelessness/ar-BBRJYnx.