In my opinion way too many people are unhappy in their job, the SOLE reason they work is money and day after day they don´t have the feeling that they are doing something with a meaning for them. In our civilization the main reason for not doing the job you would like to is laziness. That fact may seem a little bit harsh and of course this statement is exaggerated, but for most of the people it is true.

The only thing you ever wanted to be was a doctor but you think you didn’t have the opportunity to study? When “opportunity” means that you didn’t get any financial backup of your parents it certainly is harder to study, but it’s possible nevertheless. When it comes down to the bottom line the main reason why you are not “living your dream” is laziness, because you can earn your money easier, because starting over again means to cut back, because you are afraid of change or because you don’t believe in yourself.

Please note that by talking about “our civilization” i mean the so called first world situation, and not people who are struggling to survive and don’t know when they will have something to eat in the near future.

My situation

Why especially i am writing about this topic? Because i am living it, during the past few years i am on my way to get a foot into film and theater business. I have not yet reached my goal, but i´m on my way and i can tell you that despite all the downsides i really like it.
When i was a teenager my dream job was to be a programmer, sitting in my little office and code hours for hours. It was completly obvious to me that i would attend an IT college right after army service, and later on i decided to study Software Engineering. During my study i got interested in movies more and more, and after some time i realized that watching movies is not enough for me, i missed something. I started to read books about screenwriting and also started to work on my first screenplay (which by the way i read last week or so and was really shocked how crappy it is…).

Is it too late for that decision?

Besides the “it is never too late” phrase it has to be noted that it gets more complicated the older you are. Your job, experience and also your living circumstances change when you get older, so apparently it gets harder to take a step back (as well financially as your position), but nevertheless, if you are willing to sacrifice some of your earned luxury for a fulfilling job you should take your chance.

You may say that any other person who knew from the beginning that he/she wants to be in movie business deserves an opportunity more than me, well, i don´t know. I think everyone who works hard on it and is desperate to work in that business deserves a chance, and for sure it doesn´t mean that the job would be done better by somone else. Life is constantly changing, and some know from the beginning what their way is, others have to figure it out, but before i drift of to a philosphy discussion i better get back on topic.

My first steps

Right, so i recognized that my way has to change, it was not enough to make movies just as a hobby, i had to take steps in my life into the right direction. The first thing that was clear to me was that i would not study any further after my bachelor, i could have done a master study in about two years, but i knew that such a study wouldn´t bring me any further to my dream, so i finished the bachelor and quit.

I worked as a part time programmer to make some money and got my first few shorts into production. After three years of working that way i felt it was time for another change, just doing shorts was not enough anymore, so i decided to also quit that job and focus fully on my career as filmmaker. I´m presenting these facts as if it has not been a hard decision, but believe me, it was not and still isn´t. I have got job offers where i could have made about 3000€ - 4000€ a month, thats a good salary, i could have a nice life with that.

But could i really? I would have to work at least more than forty years and spend my time with stuff i don´t care about, and if you ask me, thats not worth it, no money on earth is worth spending your life in a hated job where the first thing in the morning is a crappy feeling that you have to get there again, day after day, year after year. Life is just too short and valuable for that…

Well, during the last years i am working on my career, i don´t say that i´ve always done right, you also learn from mistakes you make. I think i have got some experience by now and i can give some tips, but don´t take anything for granted, anyone has different premises and each situation is different, but i think there will be some points that could help.

Another little disclaimer: i am talking about my personal experiences, and i am trying to get into movie business, so probably not everything in this article will be of help in other businesses, but i am trying to bring it down to a common denominator, so my tips might be of value even if you are trying to do something completely different.

So lets get started, my small list of (at least) ten things you should consider if you want to live your dream…
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As some might have noticed the WGA (Writers Guild of America) is on strike since yesterday. I wont be the 101st to discuss the reasons, they are summarized here: filmonic.com.

It really is about time to do something for the compensation of screenwriters, their payment is in no relation to the salaries of actors or directors.

Anyway, there is a really funny video on the net, wrapped up in a nice posting of Alexis Niki (of whom i stole borrowed the title as well): Vive la Résistance.