Striving For #2

Yesterday I completed my seven-week freelance job.

The first real job I’ve had in over a year.

What’s nice is it brought in a couple of bucks.

It gave me a chance to make TV again.

But most of all, it reminded me that I STILL GOT IT.

The shows I produced are the best I’ve produced in the last 20 months.

Ok, they are the only shows I’ve produced in the last 20 months.

But all jokes aside, I’m really proud of what I just did.

While the subject matter didn’t really interest me, I rolled up my boots (if that is possible) and put together some very entertaining TV.

Self-confidence has never been an issue with me.


And neither has over-confidence.

I know what I can do, I know what I do well, but you won’t ever see me struttin around like Vinnie Barbarino.

Confidence is such a weird thing.

If you don’t have enough, that’s a problem.

If you have too much, that’s a real problem.

The challenge is finding that perfect bowl of porridge.

When I was working, at the peak of my day, there was nothing that was going to get in my way of putting out the best product possible.

I knew it.

I believed it.

And I had no doubt that anything with my name attached to it was going to be great.

I wouldn’t ever settle for anything less.

There was no other option.

I’m not allergic to working long hours.

I love the opportunity to be creative.

And there is nothing more satisfying than taking something from here to here.

(For those of you without the video version of this blog, I just raised my right hand from chin level to just above the top of my hairline.)

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe I am God’s gift to the entertainment business.

That would be Lindsay Lohan.

But I do believe I am damn good at what I do and I just can’t wait to do it again.

And soon, I hope.

This whole unemployment thing has sliced my confidence to shreds.

Not my confidence in me, but my confidence in pretty much everything else.

My confidence in the world.

My confidence in the business.

My confidence in good things happening to good people.

Even my confidence in my friends.   

(Don’t worry Phil & David, we are still boyz.)

Striving to be the best has always been my goal.

Becoming the best is another story.

As the great philosopher Miley Cyrus once said, “It’s the Climb.”

The climb to greatness is where most of the fun happens, but I was told a long time ago that getting to the top just isn’t possible.

(Flashback animation, insert harp music.) 

About 34 years ago, give or take, one of my pseudo-uncles was asked if his wife’s apple pie was the best in the world.

He said it was the second best. 

“How rude!,” we all thought, as we licked the crumbs off the tin.

He explained that no matter how good something is, somewhere in the world there is always something better.

As a nine-year old it sounded very profound (and negative), but 34 years later, I think I understand what he meant.

Striving to be the best is the best you can ever do.

And that’s ok.

That’s the challenge or The Climb, if you will.

Enjoy the ride.

If you feel like you’ve reached the top, enjoy the view, for a moment, and then keep climbing.

Michael Jordan wasn't satisfied with one championship.  Neither was Kobe.

This unemployment thing has taught me more than any college class I ever enrolled in.

Even more than the ones I attended.

Now more than ever I realize that my life is up to... me.

If it was only that easy.