A Mad Hustle Not a Mad Rush
Imagine a 17 year-old kid living in Michigan who loved to draw. That was me, but my dream was to attend art school in California. I had loads of challenges on the way to my dream, like how to get myself halfway across the country, where I was going to live or how I was going to pay for it. Taking one step at a time, I decided to get my portfolio ready to submit for admission.
Looking at my portfolio, I knew I needed to include more animal life sketches than I currently had. But the animal selection in my neighborhood was limited to dogs and cats, and I was thinking I needed something a bit more exotic. Suddenly it occurred to me that the Detroit Zoo had tons of animals to choose from. I would just take my sketchpad to the zoo and draw them. There was just one problem: my portfolio had to be submitted in the middle of winter in order to make the admissions deadline.
I had no choice but to go to the Detroit zoo with my sketchpad. I don’t know where you’ve grown up, but Midwest winters are VERY cold, and I was going to be outdoors at the zoo. Nevertheless, I was determined to get those sketches into my portfolio and off I went. The good thing about going to the zoo in the winter was free admission and no crowds! The bad thing was the 10 below zero temperature. Lol. So there was 17 year-old me in my winter coat, gloves and hat, practically the only human being at the zoo, drawing animals in their exhibits, cages and houses.
The life drawings I created in those days completed my portfolio and I ended up being accepted into the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). When I look back on it now, I realize something that has served me well for 30+ years—hustle is more than moving quickly or doing things rapidly. Sometimes in order to hustle, you need to stand still in the freezing cold and draw a gorilla.
You will need energy, courage and belief to make it in the entertainment industry. In MAD HUSTLE, I share how I got into the industry and stayed there. Get your mad hustle on with my new book!
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Art gives you power…use it wisely.
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