Why Success Can Be Just as Scary as Failure...
- R.E.A.C.H. Team
- Apr 1
- 6 min read
When I ran Youth to Youth in the Cayman Islands, there was a young man in the program named Frank Flowers. From the first day I met him, I could tell he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to make movies. Even as a kid, he was writing sketches and scripts, acting in plays, producing short films, and doing anything he could do in the Cayman Islands to immerse himself in storytelling. He eventually went off to USC Film School and wrote and produced a short film about the dangerous world of drug couriers called Swallow. That film earned him a lot of praise and attention. From there, he went on to write, direct, and produce films like Haven - which starred Orlando Bloom and Zoe Saldana, Metro Manila - which won a BAFTA Award, Shooting Stars - the LeBron James story, the Bob Marley biopic One Love, and The Bluff, starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Karl Urban, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Frankie committed to his dream early and is seeing it through. His mindset has always been focused on how a goal can get accomplished, not if. That has served him quite well and it’s been amazing to be a witness to his drive and effort.
I got to go experience several of his filmmaking accomplishments first-hand, and a lot of the time whenever we’d hang out in LA, I’d give him ideas for stories or movies we could make together. I was never really that serious about it. I’d just get random ideas from time to time and toss them out to see if any would stick. I never expected one to catch his attention, until one actually did.
One time I was in LA for the Black Film Awards. Frankie was being honored. Afterwards, he was driving me back to my hotel and I told him about an idea I had for a script that I’d actually written some notes on. He honestly didn’t seem much more interested in that idea than he had any of the others. But when I woke up the next morning, I saw that I had a missed call and a voicemail from Frankie. He basically was using a ton of expletives to convey how much he loved my film idea. He said he hadn’t been able to sleep because he couldn’t stop thinking about it and how good it could be. He wanted to know if I planned on doing anything with it. I called him back, and he was on fire with excitement about the idea of turning it into a movie. I told him that I had actually written out a basic outline. He asked me how serious I was about writing the script. I told him that if he believed in the idea, I would go all in. He said that if I wrote it, he would edit it and shop it around town to see if we could get any studio interest. He couldn’t make any promises, but he said if we had a finished script, he’d see what he could do.
I was thrilled. I brought in one of my close friends to help develop the story. We started writing the screenplay together and came up with some strong ideas. One day, while I was in the Cayman Islands for work, Frankie called. He told me he had already had three meetings with Ice Cube’s film company, Cube Vision, and had pitched my story each time. Then he said he had a meeting scheduled with Ice Cube himself that Friday. He told me not to get too excited because nothing was guaranteed, but it was a good sign that the first three gatekeeper meetings had gone well. He said Ice Cube would probably have one of three responses. The first was “No, thank you.” The second was “Let’s do it!” The third, and most likely, was “I’m interested, but I need to see a script.” That meant we’d have to write it on spec, which meant speculation that if it was good, they’d buy it and produce it. He told me to keep writing and promised to polish the script and take it back to Ice Cube if that third response came. I told him I was on it. I flew back to Columbus, and the whole way home, I couldn’t stop thinking about the idea of Ice Cube producing my film! I kept asking myself how I had even gotten here. It didn’t feel real.
Now, whenever I tell this story, I like to ask people how long they think it took me to write the script. I usually get answers like a day, a week, two weeks, maybe a month. Then I tell them the truth…Five years! That’s when their jaws usually drop, but it’s true. For some reason, I delayed and procrastinated for five whole years. I think sometimes people can be just as afraid of success as they are of failure. Both are unknown, and we tend to fear or be uncomfortable with the unknown. The idea that Ice Cube might actually be interested in my movie, and that it could change my life in ways I couldn’t predict, seemed too overwhelming. Even though I was surrounded by film professionals and had legitimate connections, I couldn’t picture myself in that world.
Frankie kept checking in. At first, every couple weeks. Then every couple months. Eventually, the calls slowed down and then stopped. I think he finally got the hint that I wasn’t serious about finishing the script. And just like that, I let the dream die.
A few years later, I was speaking at a conference in Illinois with two dear friends and fellow speakers, Shaun Derik and Tei Street. We were hanging out after one of the sessions when Tei asked whatever happened to that screenplay I’d been working on. I told her I put it on hold because of work, family, and whatever other excuse I could think of. She looked at me and said, “You’re such a hypocrite!”
I was stunned. “What are you talking about?” She said, “You travel around the world telling young people to chase their passions and live with purpose, but you’re not even doing it yourself!” She said, “Is your dream to be a speaker? Or is it to work in film?” I told her my dream was to work in film.
She bluntly responded, “Then stop putting it off and finish that damn script!”
That hit me hard. Right then, I knew she was right. I decided I was going to finish the script. Even though Ice Cube and Frankie had moved on, I knew I had to do it for me. Shaun told me he would help too. That little nudge from Tei was the big push I needed. Shaun and I worked on the script for about six months. It felt good to be back in the creative zone. When we finished, we did script read-throughs with professional actors in New York and another one in Columbus. Both went great. We even shot an investor interest trailer that looked so professional some people thought we had filmed the entire movie.
The window of opportunity with Ice Cube’s company had closed, but we worked and pushed and got other studios interested as well. Ultimately the film never went into production, and I felt like I had ruined my shot. I got involved in a lot of other film projects, but I still have that finished script on deck if the opportunity comes around again to dust it off and make something happen. I read one time that Steven Spielberg pitched Schindler’s List to studios for thirteen years before a studio took a chance on it. That film went on to be considered one of the greatest films ever made. So I figure if the guy responsible for movies like Jaws, ET, and The Color Purple had to wait over a decade to get a film produced, I can probably wait a decade or two as well.
Looking back, that experience gave me lessons, gave me stories, and taught me how to do better and be better. And I don’t think there’s really a price you can put on that. My hope in sharing this story is that you realize that when an opportunity comes along in your life that feels scary or uncertain, look at it as a chance for growth. Nothing of any worth or value ever comes easy and success isn't guaranteed. But if you don't at least make the effort...then failure surely is. Lessons and growth only happen if you at least try.
There are many different formulas for success. One of the keys to accessing your aspirations is to have conversations with and seek information / advice from a person who has already achieved what you are striving for. Whether its academic, professional, or personal success, make an effort to connect with someone who is already where you want to be and then ask them how they got there. We've created a tool that you can use to frame the conversation you have with the person you decide to connect with.
And here's the trailer that Shaun Derik and I actually produced to promote the film. Watch and enjoy!
As always, thank you for the work you do,
but most importantly for the person you are.
Also don't forget to share this to your socials!
