At the end of 2018, I decided there was a large “skill-gap” that I wanted to bridge. Some skills I wanted to improve were more technical:
Other skills were softer, but equally important to me:
I didn’t see a way to work on these skills without making certain sacrifices. So I made a decision: I’d give up blogging for a year.1
My every career opportunity came because of my writing habit.
I wrote my way into my first Hollywood internship, covering entire book manuscripts in a day — that’d take others a week. I wrote a cold email that landed my job with Dennis. An article on how to get health insurance opened the door to working with Ramit for 2 years.
The quality of that writing fluctuated over the last 10 years, but the work ethic never wavered.
Until now.
I debated whether to write a “year end review.” Typically, the tone of something like this is more self-congratulatory than I’m comfortable with.
But there are benefits.
This article is part of a series, where I offer individual and specific pieces of advice to people about moving to LA and getting started in entertainment via email, over coffees, and on phone calls. You can see the rest here.
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Subject: Finally Moved to LA
Nov 6, 2018
Hello Chris!
A lot has changed since we last spoke, but as it so happens one constant in my life has been the weekly connection. I finally took the leap and moved out to LA, to hopefully start a career in Film and TV. I did in fact read a lot of your Fighting Broke blogs and it helped me transition through a tough time after graduation.
That said, I do have a few questions for you. You talk a lot about offering your services for free, and impressing your boss.
This article is Part 1 in a three-part series on building a sustainable life.
In 2002, late on Christmas night, the numbers to the Powerball lottery were announced — a jackpot of $314 million up for grabs. Jewell Whitaker shook awake her husband, John Whittaker. You got 4 out of the 5 numbers! she told him.
Before 2012, the term “growth hacking” wasn’t a thing.
According to the mythology surrounding Facebook,[note]https://www.recode.net/2016/3/21/11587128/silicon-valleys-homogeneous-rich-douchebags-wont-win-forever-says[/note] Chamath Palihapitiya coined the idea of the first growth team during a meeting with Sheryl Sandberg.
When my family goes out to dinner, we’re the worst kind of customer. You don’t want us to have a bad experience. Here’s why:
I used to work at a horror production company called After Dark Films. We churned out memorable films like Asylum (“A mess, from the moment the film starts, you can see it and feel it” – HorrorNews) and Getaway (2% on Rotten Tomatoes, and “…a reminder of the dangers in attempting to speed past coherent editing, character development, sensible dialogue, and an interesting plot.”)
Summary – Doordash: You need to call 650-681-9470. Dial 1 (for restaurants) then 3 (for removing your account). Tell the customer service rep you’d like your menu removed or account deactivated. They say the menu will be removed within 24 hours, but double-check to make sure. If it’s still not removed (which happened to us) call back and try again.
Summary – Grubhub: Email them at [email protected] and ask to have your restaurant listing removed.
Interested in a deeper dive into the world of restaurant marketing, operations, and food delivery services? Keep reading below.
Someone recently asked me, “How’s your work-life balance?”