Chris Ka Long Au

I’m currently listening to one of my favourite podcasts: The Tim Ferriss Show, and in this episode, he is interviewing Robert Rodriguez – a filmmaker, writer, composer, editor – basically a legend in the cinema world. He’s particularly famous for his ‘Spy Kids’ movie franchise.

To check it out: https://tim.blog/2025/04/03/robert-rodriguez-returns/

This will be a short post of takeaways from this podcast as well as other reflections. By writing (blogging), I’m hoping to solidify certain mantras for a creative and fruitful life well-lived.

1. Focus on what you do have, which applies to everything.
   In any endeavour that is creative or otherwise, it is tempting to think that one ought to have a certain ‘set-up’ or ‘know-how’ in order to get started. Often, these become excuses to not get started, and the point of this observation is not only one of optimism and abundance but most importantly, one of resourcefulness.
2. Surround yourself with heavy-hitters.
   This is slightly difficult at times for those who may be starting out in their industries, but my opportunity to become friends with those in my industry who are excelling in their careers has allowed me to gain access: access to the people they know, access to the type of life they live (to see if it’s for me or not), access to the type of problems and issues they face, access to insights and their feedback from various engagements with orchestras, chamber music festivals, and other programs. For me, I guess this is equivalent to making and maintaining connections, whether it was at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (LAMP), or it is at Orford (meeting faculty members and performers of the festival), or the various people in Toronto I meet thanks to Joy of Music Inc. I’m truly grateful that I have these opportunities to be ‘in the field’, meeting awesome people and hoping for a chance to collaborate with them.
3. “Stop aspiring. Stop saying you’re an aspiring filmmaker.”
   Robert goes on to emphasise the importance of words and their significance on how we define ourselves.
   “Say you’re a filmmaker. Make a card. I said, “Make a business card that says, ‘I did, director, cinematographer, editor.’” Then what do you have to do? Just like the label, you have to conform to your identity. You have to go do that stuff now, and suddenly, you have movies out. You go make movies because that’s what a filmmaker does.”
   This is something I find a lot of inspiration from, and I have tested its effectiveness to some extent. It’s closely tied to manifestation, where the things you tell yourself as well as others (closely tied to your own self identification), will impact which doors and opportunities are open to you. For myself, I sincerely believe that the incessant story I told everyone at Orford and Toronto – that I wanted to work in administration (ideally in management and fundraising), has led me to become Academy Assistant (eventually) at Orford Music as well as Manager of the Artistic Team at the Joy of Music Inc. In spite of my short stint at LAMP in development, this all simply came about because of my manifesting. And I still learnt a lot from this experience:
   – Insist on a contract and really nail the details of a contract out properly before signing on to anything
   – MOST importantly, find out from the boss/president/director what the most crucial portion of the job is. Occupy oneself with that, provide proper reports on that, and prioritise the tasks that will lead to the most desired outcome from the employer
   – Fundraising takes TIME. And employers need a timeline otherwise they will become impatient and dismiss all other outcomes as insignificant apart from the amount of money raised.
   
   This ultimately leads me to the question: how do I define myself now? What am I trying to manifest now?