Learn to draft off others.

I learned early on that if you're around people who are better than you,

you don't need to match their skill.

You just need to stay close.

You can learn so much by being the guy who's there, paying attention, staying humble.

Don't try to beat the experts at their game.

Draft off their experience, their energy, and you'll go further than you ever thought possible.

Chapter 9, High School Never Ends.

High School Never Ends.

I know it's hard to hear but it's true. The clicks, the drama, the

endless need to fit in, it's all still here just wrapped in different packaging.

And nowhere is this more obvious than in the film industry.

The gatekeepers, the film festivals, the awards, they're just the new prom queens and jocks

deciding who's in and who's out. It's the same toxic

popularity contest you thought you'd left behind, but with higher stakes, bigger egos,

and more expensive price tags.

Remember high school?

The power dynamics, the cool kids who seem to run everything,

the outsiders trying to make a mark,

but always feeling just a little bit out of place.

Now fast forward, you're not a teenager anymore, but the landscape hasn't changed.

The film industry is just high school with more zeros on the

...