Crossing the Bridge

         Knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things.  Action is the bridge that links them together.  On the other side of that bridge are the results that you want.  Knowing what to do can only take you so far.  You still have to roll up your sleeves and cross that bridge.  You probably have to do it every day, too, so get used to it.  Assuming, of course, you really want those results that are waiting for you.
Do you?  I know, I do.  I'm a great to-do list maker, too.  I can make those to-do lists in my sleep.  I'm not bad at getting stuff done.  Nor am I that good.  Hey, it's on my list, even prioritized, but for some reason I never quite get around to the important stuff.  I keep putting it off.  Then I notice, week after week, month after month as I update my to-do lists, that quite a few of those to-do items—usually the important ones, too—gets repeated over and over.  Sound familiar?Again, knowing what to do and doing it are two different things.  We want the results, so what's holding us back?  Yeah, I know, procrastination, but why are you procrastinating?  What are you afraid of?  Fear is usually the culprit!  Do you fear that you're not good enough to complete the job, or not good enough to receive the rewards on the other side of that bridge?I admit, I fear both of those too.One of those items on my list that I've been procrastinating on is selling my screenplays.  Hey, I did the hard part, I actually wrote them!  But I still have to cross that bridge by selling what I wrote.  Sure LA agents won't take a look at me, this writer living in Borneo.  LA agents, I'm finding out, won't take a look at anyone, even if you're living in LA and knocking on their office door—they don't have time to deal with you and your movie dreams!  They are too busy making deals with producers.  Book agents and script agents operate differently!  For screenplays you need a script manager, and then, even before they even peek at your script, you've got to sign a release form (to protect them and everyone in the industry from being sued for "stealing" your ideas).  After they've determined that the script is as good as you hope it is, they can start knocking on those doors for you.  Since LA agents have worked with these managers before, they trust them.  Together they can put deals together, pulling in actors and producers along the way, to get your script optioned or sold and hopefully, eventually, produced.  Maybe it'll even will an Oscar!  I can dream, right?OK, I know all this, a recent discovery I admit since I've been procrastinating on sending out my screenplays for years (they needed rewritten!), so after rewriting them why am I still standing at the bridge of action, waiting and waiting?  For what, for snow to fall in Borneo?A good question to ask yourself—how bad do you really want those results?  Yeah, I know, really, really bad!  Why?   Just because you really, really want it is not—and never will be—good enough.  You need a powerful enough reason.  If not, you'll give up the very first time that troll who lives under the bridge says "Boo!"  See, you really don't want it as bad as you claim!  Now let's say your spouse or loved one or even your child is on the other side of that bridge and you need to get across it to save them from the trolls.  Are you going to give up this time?  No way!  You'll fight those trolls off, or find a way to outwit them!  You'll do whatever it takes to succeed.So let's pretend that these screenplays that I've written—all five of them—are my children and if I don't cross that bridge to contact that script manager  then I'll never be able to save my real children from those evil trolls.  Do I want that guilt hanging over my head for the rest of my life?   What about you, are going to cross the bridge and save those lives and get on with your own life?  Your family, your loved ones, your children all want you to succeed, but you can only succeed when you cross that bridge.  And maybe you'll get lucky, too.  Maybe all the trolls are asleep, so the only troll around is the one inside your head telling you all the reasons why you're not good enough, why you'll fail, why you should crawl back home and hide under the covers.  So find an important why, a really, really good reason why it's imperative for you to succeed in crossing that bridge of action.   Trust me; this will not be the only bridge you'll face.  In fact, you'll probably face several bridges a day.  But after awhile, you'll get pretty good at crossing those bridges and reaping those rewards on the other side.#  #  #