TIP #17

Save the expressing yourself and being true to your nature for your private life as your private life is real. Hollywood is the business of ARTIFICE and an important part of doing good business is being able to interact well with others, even if it is an act. Business is all about achieving RESULTS, not about personal self expression. I don’t care how talented you are if people don’t want to work with you it will get around fast and you will join of ranks of the COUNTLESS extremely talented people that NOBODY WANTS TO WORK WITH.

“But Ben, I’m not the *sshole! It’s everyone else who are the *ssholes!”

WRONG! If you find yourself constantly running in *sshole after *sshole in this town there is ONE common factor in these butt-wreaking interactions and that is YOU!

“Well how can I tell if I am an *sshole as I have a rather high regard for myself?”

If other people don’t have as high a regard for you as you have for yourself and you have a long list of people in your past who don’t want to work with you – you just might be an *sshole!

“So are you saying “brown nose” and kiss people’s asses, Ben?”

Absolutely not! What I’m saying is actually quite simple. “Treat people the way you would want them to treat you.” Learn the fine art of not talking about yourself constantly. That’s a good start. If you really enjoy people “bigging you up” then big them up even more.”

“So when is it safe to drop the artifice and be true to my *sshole nature?”

After you have proven yourself a valued commodity in the industry! Then you can be that *sshole who bought me my beach house! But — That will only last until you flop hard then you will be that *sshole that nobody wants to work with again!

Bottom line — Be and *sshole on your own time!