Founder Jeremy Evans at California Sports Lawyer® has written an article about trying to find your path to success in the entertainment, media, and sports industries, or in any business.
Often when having conversations with colleagues, students, and mentors, lurking in the background or engaging with the moment is the question, how does one become a success? For conversations in the aforementioned scenario are generally about finding or learning some piece of information that helps someone grow. Success is personal to the beholder, internally and externally focused, and there is no one path. If anything, success is determined by what matters to you, others, and is anything but linear.
There are three things along the way that have come in handy when demonstrating a pathway to success. The three things may seem unconventional at first and different from what the reader might normally hear, but they have helped this author navigate one path. The three things: geography, branding, and community.
Geography. You have to be in the place where the action is happening. Despite living in an age where everything is digital, distant, and virtual, being present still matters. One cannot overcome the quintessential fact that relationships are best built in person and industries, especially entertainment, media, and sports in America are physical locations, and the latter is in Los Angeles, California.
Branding. It arrives in two forms, both personal and where you have connections, e.g., school and work experience. The personal side can be demonstrated in a quote by Jonathan Perelman: “Content is king, but distribution is queen and she wears the pants.” If you have the option to write an article for your local or university publication or Forbes, Inc., or Esquire, etc., you would choose the latter. Why? It is because the more well-known publications have a broader distribution and will reach more people. Code for more people will see and know who you are and your brand. Broken down further, you have to use the skill sets that you have to help build your brand. This author has built a brand through skills like writing, podcasting, events, radio and television appearances.
The second part of branding arrives in the form of your education and experience. The truth is that regardless of where you go to school you will have to perform the task at hand. However, certain brands help open doors a little easier. Fortunately or unfortunately, notice how certain companies hire from certain schools, generally where the CEO or hiring managers went to school. It is also true that working for certain companies can and will open doors to other companies. The point here is that working hard to get into a school or company can help you down the road by possibly making the path a little bit easier to navigate. Life can be hard enough, but worth it, so take the steps to do the work on the backend to the opportunities come a little bit easier.
Community. This is where one joins organizations very strategically to grow their skill set, meet people, and take on leadership opportunities with a servant attitude. This is also where you connect with alumni from your educational and work experiences to help you along your path.
Timing. Now, as you are working and waiting on seeing your path develop, and we all wait, it is key to remember that success in this (or any) business is about timing, in two senses of the word. First, timing as being the last person standing. Life happens and plans change, God laughs, but consistency and patience is a must. You must weather the storms waiting for your break. Second, timing is like the Roman philosopher Seneca wrote, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” You prepare for the opportunity, and be ready when it arrives.
Taken together, being in the right place geographically, working on your branding, and connecting with your community, these three aspects will help push your success in the right direction, which is complimented by timing. The struggle to succeed is a hard race to run, and no one on Earth is undefeated, but hopefully with the above it might be made a little bit easier.
Jeremy M. Evans is the Founder & Managing Attorney at California Sports Lawyer®, representing entertainment, media, and sports clientele. Evans is an award-winning attorney and industry leader based in Los Angeles. He can be reached at Jeremy@CSLlegal.com or via his website: www.CSLlegal.com.
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