CALIFORNIANS NEED TO SPREAD THIS FAR AND WIDE. Too many voters are low information and will vote yes on all three w/o realizing the latter cancels out the former

My 9 YO (watching an IG video with my wife): “Ooh, they got a cool painting of Michael Jackson!” My wife: “That’s a painting of Elvis.” My 9 YO: “Eh, they’re basically the same.”

I keep a "book of tiny wins" where I track this stuff, because it's a lot harder for your brain to argue that you're a big ol' failure when the wins are written down

A showrunner once told me, “Hollywood attracts all the people who are the most desperate to be affirmed by others, but entertainment is the industry least likely to affirm you.” So you gotta affirm yourself and find your own joy, because if you can do that, rejections start to matter a lot less.

And don’t forget to celebrate the wins along the way! And I’m not talking about when someone buys your script. I’m talking about the little wins. Write a killer scene, joke, or line of dialogue? That’s a win! Collaborate with a friend? That’s a win! Put yourself out there? That’s a win!

So dealing with rejection requires focusing on your process, because YOU CAN’T CONTROL THE RESULTS! And if results are what you’re focused on, you are ceding your agency. But here’s the thing, when your process is good, results tend to follow. Not always or immediately, but more often than not.

Don’t chase trends. Tap into your weird, unique POV. Write from a place of passion. Learn from your mistakes. Do all the things you can control to set yourself up for success. And then let the chips fall where they may. Worrying about the past or the stuff you can’t control is a waste of energy.

The last one is a key to dealing with rejection. You get to define success for yourself. And that might be writing a script you love that no one ever buys. That’s a choice you get to make for yourself. But if you choose to let others define success for you, you will inevitably be disappointed.

Here’s some stuff I can’t control: -Industry contraction -AI -A reader’s particular sensibilities -What’s trendy -Old mistakes Here’s some stuff I can control: -What I choose to write -How hard I work -How kind I am -How I handle feedback and mistakes -What I share with others -How I frame success

I’ve made lots of mistakes, but I rarely make the same mistake twice, because I learn from my mistakes. So rejection can be a chance to learn some lessons. But sometimes rejection is beyond my control. And since, I can only control what I can control, that’s what I focus on.

The part of Janet’s thread that inspired this 🧵 was when she wrote about looking backwards with regret about what could’ve happened but didn’t. Looking backwards can be healthy, but only if it’s in service of helping you in the present. Because you can learn from the past, but you can’t change it.

Rejection is part of the gig. FOR EVERYONE! My agent jokes that her primary job is to hear all the rejection, so her clients don’t have to. So the first part of dealing with rejection is understanding that it happens to everyone. And while it feels personal, most of the time it’s just business.

I’ve been a TV writer for 16 years, written on a dozen shows, and sold several pitches. Lots of people have said “yes” to me. LOTS MORE have said “no.” There have been hundreds of jobs I didn’t get, pitches that didn’t sell, meetings that didn’t go anywhere, and scripts that weren’t responded to.

Yes! Saw Goat Rodeo at the Hollywood Bowl several years ago. There was some serious musical chops on that stage!

Now, more than ever, it feels healthy to expose myself to new art created by actual humans. It’s part of the reason I see so much live music. And last night’s Punch Brothers’ show at The Ford was one of those shows that reminded me humanity is capable of creating profoundly beautiful and unique art.

My 11 year old’s favorite song is Iris, so I listen to more Goo Goo Dolls now than I did in the 90’s. But hey, they write some bops.

This is a sensational bit of marketing.

My daughter found the pine cones outside this morning and screamed, “What the heck are my pine cones doing outside and why aren’t they in my bed?!”