I was up late writing some music in October when I got a text from my friend Emily asking if I was free for a call. Not unusual, except that this friend was currently traveling in Ireland shooting a short film. She had called me earlier in the week for a BFF pep talk session—her trip in Scotland wasn’t going well and she had been asked if she wanted to be cast in a short film in Ireland. I told her she’d be an absolute idiot to stay miserable and not take the chance.
Apparently, as Em had toured around London, she met with a mutual friend while he researched an aviation documentary. Kevin is a director and was getting ready to compete in a 48 hour film festival and asked if she would like to be cast in it. I passionately supported this because I operate on the personal belief that life is simply a series of small adventures and we should have as many as we can. Though... I don’t always follow that advice myself. I get scared, insecure and sometimes stay frozen. And now it was my turn to take an opportunity.
The 48 hour festival was nearing a close and the short film needed... something. It told the story of two women in weekly weight loss meetings who become good friends bonded around the common misery of weight loss and food deprivation. In the midst of the hysterics about life, laxatives, and cheat days, one of the women finds out she has a lot more to lose than just a few pounds (NO I WILL NOT SPOIL IT FOR YOU). Emily called me because they needed a song, a specific song, and they needed it in a few hours.
Now I like Coldplay, but I had never heard the song “Fix You,” and I had eight hours to learn it, record it and get it sent. So I called my guitarist, Gypsy, and set up studio time, and soon we were in the studio trying to nail a sound fitting for the show. At this point, I had NO IDEA what the film was about or what scenes the song was built around. So I just tried to interpret the song the best I could. I sent it off in six hours and WE NAILED IT. Not only did the song make the cut, the film won the festival! So it was automatically added to the Galway Film Fleadh.
I attended my first premiere of anything yesterday, and I just happened to be part of the cast, interviewed for local television, and now have an entire crowd of new Irish friends. Through a series of other great events, I am living a month in the UK, getting ready to go on tour and suffering from a severe bout of imposter syndrome. All I can say is, don’t let the opportunities pass you by. A small opportunity in a short film may land you walking the streets of Ireland and singing Led Zeppelin with a local band for no other reason than the fact that you can.
“If you’re not scared then you’re not taking a chance. If you’re not taking a chance, then what the hell are you doing anyway?
—Ted Mosby
Gallery
The reason I am here: a timely phone call from Emily Battles
About the Creator
Keep reading
More stories from Monte Mader and writers in Motivation and other communities.
The Truth
I am currently living in London for a month, prepping for a tour I am a part of, and so far it has definitely been eye opening! I can say, without reservation, that I am a work addict and I put way too much of my personal value in my day job, I have a relatively unhealthy relationship with myself (which is why I try to keep living life 1,000 miles a minute, so I don’t have to feel things), and also that writing more honest music has been a lot more than I bargained for. That being said, its a lot more than I bargained for in good and bad ways.
By Monte Mader5 years ago in Motivation
It Only Took One Minute.......
It only took a minute. I was sitting at the computer in my office when the phone rang. I picked up the receiver and then laid it down my desk as I went to find the student who the call was for. Within seconds I was back at my desk, ready to resume typing, when I heard the student yelling obscenities at me for listening in to his call through the handset that was still lying on the desk. Sick and tired of the lies he was spewing, I was up running down the hall, ready to kill him. By the time I reached him, I had calmed enough not to hurt him, but as I turned back towards my room, I knew that I couldn’t go on like this any longer. The decision was clear. I had to leave.
By Gail Wylie3 days ago in Motivation
Pivot really fast
Starting a business is never easy, aside from all the work it takes out of you, it also comes with very little guarantee of success and there is a high chance of failure regardless of your strategy. I started a business with a friend, which eventually failed down the line due to our inability to pivot and adapt to the changing environment, but what struck me the most was how fast my partner was willing to give up on the whole endeavor. In his mind, if our first strategy didn’t work, then the whole endeavor wasn’t worth it any ways, We would be better off doing something completely different. In the same way, there are people out there who, after trying one strategy in a specific sector, once that strategy lets them down, abandon completely instead of pivoting and keep going.
By real Jemaa day ago in Motivation
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.