Three Guys Walk Into A Bar

Three guys walk into a bar. . . One of them is going to work less, do better, and be happier.
Which one are you?

Trailer:

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Excerpt from the book

So, These Three Guys Walk Into A Bar

“From cot to grave the land’s no slave it craves attention, the day of rest is man’s invention”
~ The Hired Man

A long time ago, I actually had a job in a local authority (in the US you’d call it working for the “City”). The City Environmental Health Department wanted to commission a video. It was about some public health issue and warranted a short, simple public awareness video. BUT the guy that came to take a brief was like nobody I had met before. We were expecting someone super enthusiastic, creative, and somehow “hungry.” We were the prospective customers, and we were expecting him to be deferential at least, if not subservient.

What arrived was a complete surprise. A calm, confident, respectful gentleman. A really safe pair of hands. He oozed charm, he had a self-confidence I could only dream of. He smiled a lot. In my experience at that point in my life, I had only met creatives that were somehow acting like insurgents in an oppressive regime. One day we would rise up, but not anytime soon. We were nervous. Perhaps we’d get found out? Maybe someone might spotlight the fact that what we wanted to do wasn’t a real job. Certainly not a profession. But this guy was different.

He asked a few questions, but very soon we became aware that we, the customer, were out of our depth. Big time.

This man had created films. Not videos – he’d chosen his language carefully. Videos were what industrialists made. Films were art. In our conversations, he was always slow to respond, giving each question a diligent amount of thought before he spoke. He didn’t patronise us, but he made it clear from his demeanour that he really did not need us. And that we were not ready for his kind of work in any case. Not in a rude way – but in a way that suggested he’d had to make this speech many times before.

It was like we’d asked Rembrandt to quote for painting our bathroom ceiling.

This was an epiphany for me. It meant that there were professional creatives that could dictate terms. They could demand respect without shouting it from the mountain-tops. They had the self-confidence you normally associated with doctors or lawyers.

On the way out of the meeting, which was cut short when he mentioned his fee structure (yup – that’ll do it), I ran to escort him out of the building. In the elevator, I asked him about how he started his career. I mentioned that I wanted to be a filmmaker and he perked up somewhat, and we made time for a coffee.

In that conversation, I learned more about the creative industries than three years of college had taught me. He was suggesting that there was a way to connect value to the ART part of what he did for a living. That you needed to chase the creative, and NOT the money, to be able to properly leverage this force. He talked of getting the basics right; learning the skills to better serve his creative vision. He kept referring to all sorts of unknown, obscure designers, filmmakers and photographers. He seemed REALLY well connected. Over a milky coffee (these were the days before lattes in the UK), he became a lodestar for my career.

Having a fixed point on the horizon helps you in all sorts of ways. When you know where you are headed you can:

• Make better choices about resources and time.
• You can unfreeze situations, especially involving people.
• You can plan better.
• It will keep your pecker up.
• It will allow you to make better decisions more quickly.
• It will help you to protect your talent.
• It will encourage you to think about each project in terms of adding value.

So – three guys.

A Guy. You’re just a warm body to fill a space. A commodity.

That Guy. Somebody recommended you. More desirable and valuable.

The Guy. The only person in the world who can do this. A rare and beautiful thing.

Which one do you want to be…?