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 Channel:www.youtube.com/user/liascottprice Tips from Lia Scott Price: Everything is a transitional period for me. I'm focusing more on my career in terms of learning and improving on my skills and on promoting my works, and in cleaning out all the negative elements in my life so I can focus more on what's important to me. I've learned a lot of things this year: Never stop what you love doing, ignore the naysayers, negative gossip and talk and cut out the negative influences out of my life, stand up for what I believe in, improve myself in all aspects of my life, trust my own instincts and do my own thing, get support and advice from good mentors and teachers, know and value who my true friends are, thank those close friends who have stuck by me, keep my own social and professional circle small and reliable and own my own success and achievements, no matter how small. I've also learned that it's OK to make mistakes and to not dwell and move on. Everything is a learning experience. There is a reason for everything that happens. And I will never stop being myself and applying my own experiences to my works. I never fail---I just found one way that doesn't work, so always try and try again. I'm not in this to be liked. I'm in this to express my own creativity and accomplish something for myself and share it with the world. This is my life--my biggest mind-engulfing, all encompassing passion in life: Filming and Writing. I either inspire people or drive everyone around me nuts. I've learned that my job as producer can be difficult. I have to work within a timeline and make sure the job gets done. That's why I will stick to hiring only professionals who know how to work within a schedule and who understand not only the creative but the business aspect of filmmaking. It is also important to balance both the creative and business aspect of a project, whether it's writing a novel or producing a film. And in that sense, I will always be a student, and I will always find a way to think outside the box to achieve what I put my mind to. I am driven, and that is always the way I will be. Take control of your own projects and destiny. Don’t be desperate. Stay as professional as you possibly can, stay innovative and think outside the box. Believe in something and believe in yourself. Keep up with innovative and current technology to get your works out. Accept your past and mistakes and don't have a victim mentality. Create a goal-oriented structure in your life to help you maintain a sense of control. Make a list of positive affirmations about yourself and your accomplishments, no matter how small. It helps inspire you. Create your own image Create your own 'Hollywood'. Create your own reality. Be who you want to be. If you want to be an author, act on it, take action, but do it with purpose and professionalism because you still have to create and work to earn the respect, accomplishment, and the title itself. Try to keep things basic, efficient, streamlined, simple, and uncomplicated. The easier it is to manage your business and creativity, the better. At least I accomplish something that's my own and that I can be proud of. Plan and control your own destiny. That's my motto. These are just some general habits and characteristics I live by: (also known as “Characteristics of Achievers” that I've read about from various books and sources and learned from.) Have Vision: know exactly what you want to achieve. Envision what you want to accomplish, no matter how small. I wanted to be an author, so I found a way to become one. Have Desire: All achievement is driven by a burning desire to achieve results. Be driven. But also be smart about it. Don’t be reckless. Having drive also means planning and writing down you goals and ideas on how you can accomplish them. I researched every option I had, what it would take, what it would cost, and evaluated each option. Yes, sometimes my drive is so overwhelming that it drives me crazy and everyone around me, but at least I have a passion for something. It makes life worth it. Have Faith: The overwhelming belief in yourself and what you are doing. If you think you can, then you can. If you think you can’t, then nothing happens. If you think you are someone (an author, a musician, an artist), then you are one. But be it. Make yourself some business cards, set up your home office, and start thinking of yourself as a business because besides being creative, it IS still a business. Be Committed: You must be committed enough to do the things necessary, regardless of how difficult they may appear to be, to achieve your goal. This is where a lot of people give up, procrastinate, or fail. Filmmaking was perhaps the hardest for me. But if you are resourceful enough and patient enough to plan, then you’ll find a way to do it. Start and Keep Planning: Work on effective planning. Identity short, medium and long-term goals to get you where you want to go. Learn to balance your life and manage your time. Planning helps you focus. Plan your tasks in order to get things done. Keep a notebook and log down what you’ve accomplished for the day so you can keep track of where you are. (I like to send myself email notes about what tasks I’ve accomplished and need to accomplish each day, a little at a time). Keep up with innovations and what’s out there, read and do research, and improve on what you do. Have Persistence: It helps in the face of rejection, which you will no doubt encounter. Remember that you never fail: you only found several ways that something didn’t work. Remember to keep going until you find the right way or solution. Learn From Mistakes: It happens. Damn, I’ve made a lot of them. But it’s normal. For every success no matter how small, there were several mistakes made along the way. Don’t kick yourself and say you could have done better. Just the fact that you did something is a start, so learn, improve and move on. Mistakes are simply lessons on what didn’t quite work and helps keep you innovative and finding a way that does. If you learn from it and improve on it, than that is an accomplishment and a step forward. Success is the result of experience. But be sure that for every bad judgment you make, you learn from it and learn to make good judgments from then on. Know about your Subject or Project: This doesn’t mean you have to be the ultimate expert at everything. Do your research and if you don’t know how to do something, find someone who does. Find out what it takes to bring a project to life. But do not expect people to ‘carry’ you through projects. You have to monitor it and take charge, pull your own weight and do your work. Don’t expect people to rescue you if something falls apart. Take responsibility, find the proper help, and motivate yourself because no one else can do, start, or finish something for you. They can only help and support you, but you have to take the initiative. Have Imagination: Utilize your imagination and as the saying goes: ‘Think outside of the box’. Think of what you want to be, and BE. Have a Positive Attitude: God, I can’t stress this one enough. This is a challenge and you’ll encounter a lot of setbacks that can be downers, but having a ‘There’s a silver lining in this somewhere’ attitude and seeing the good results even from the bad or the little accomplishments each day can activate your own resourcefulness and motivation. For every setback or for every negative experience, take a pen and paper and write down what at least was good about it and what you’ve learned. You’ll find something. You’ll also encounter a lot of cynics, critics, naysayers, envy, people who say it can’t be done, and people who won’t respect you for what you do or have something negative to say about you and what you do. Ignore the negativity. Just think of what you are doing with your life and what they are doing with theirs. Would you rather listen to them and have them run your life and goals? Why on earth would you want someone’s opinion to have that much power over you? Intuition: Trust your instincts. If something does not feel quite right, it may not be. Don’t be desperate and think before you spend time, money, and effort into your projects. There will be many people who will offer advice, or tell you what you should or should not do, but the bottom line is, you have to make the judgment call. It’s your project. Take control of it and monitor every aspect of it from start to finish. Be responsible and be conscientious. Always be true to yourself. Don’t work on your project just to please others and don’t try to please everyone. You’ll lose yourself and your own vision. My intuition is especially strong when I deal with people I work with on a project. If I feel or hear or see something negative about them, then I move on to find more positive people to work with. Surround yourself with positive energy and avoid gossip. Never badmouth anyone. You never know who they know or who they work with. Remember six degrees of separation. Always be professional. Facing fears/courage: You will have to do things you are reluctant or fearful to do or face. There will be barriers and hurdles to overcome. Fear of failure is one thing. But remember that you haven’t failed if you are doing something about your goals. If there is something that is stopping you from taking action, examine it and evaluate it and you may find that it may not be such a big hurdle to overcome. Approach a problem or challenge and if you try something to solve it and it doesn’t work, try something else. Take a leap of faith, but make sure you also use good judgment and do your research before you do. When I couldn’t find a distributor for my own films and feared they would never be seen, I took a leap of faith and published, marketed, and distributed my own DVDs. Now I’ve accomplished something. Find resources, mentors, or help from other professionals. Fear of criticism is another thing. But work on getting those ‘voices’ out of your head. Don’t let negative criticism or opinions discourage you. I would say that it’s impossible for everyone to like you, so don’t worry about who does and who doesn’t, and never try to fit your projects to try to please everyone. The true fans and supporters will be there and you will find out who they are. Try to stay away from negative talkers. It’s a toxic, immature environment that will make you lose faith in yourself and in your projects. Either they like it or they don’t. So what—you are doing something for yourself, and bravo to you! Keep going. If people have nothing better to do than talk bad, than why put yourself in that environment? Surround yourself with positive, goal-minded people who provide encouragement, inspiration, positive support, and advice who also share a vision and learn, network, and work together. Creativity/flexibility: Creativity is a process. Take the time to work on your ideas into actual projects (and be sure to copyright them!). But also be flexible enough to learn the business side—creation also requires paperwork, development and production, marketing, publicity, and business legwork. If you can’t do it all, find a partner or hire someone to do it for you. Love of the task: You need to love what you do and have a passion for it, and be enthusiastic about it. You will enjoy it more and you will be better at what you do. It’s your choice to love what you do. Energy: Negative people, influences, and environments and activities sap creative energy and motivation. Remove them from your life or at least keep a professional distance if the situation is unavoidable. Keep an inner circle of a close and positive support network that will help you “recharge”. Find what energizes you (exercise, going for long walks, whatever) and do it to refresh your mind. Keep thinking of ideas to keep your mind fresh and from stagnating. Make this a habit and you’re on your way to taking steps to achieving your goals. And here are some quotes I've read and that i find very inspirational: There is no shortcut to achievement--only gates that are opened by persistence. A true optimist sees new opportunities for accomplishment with each new day. To reach the top you must first believe that you can. Think of a challenge not as an adversity, but as an opportunity to show what you are made of. Strength comes from an indomitable will Focus is the ability to believe in your goal even as your path twists and turns. Step around your fears--be proud to capture the best view by standing in front and facing it. Change is inevitable, so let your guiding principles stand like a rock. You are the captain of your own vessel.  4733 Torrance Blvd. #866, Torrance, CA 90503 310-940-1282 liascottprice@yahoo.com |