I was thrilled to discover on Twitter that famous director Justin Lin was visiting Taiwan and giving a talk in Taipei. So excited to attend the event Fireside Chat with Justin Lin .
3 Biggest Takeaways
1. The way to have better options is to learn the craft by doing it yourself.
If you aim for greatness, first dive in.
Before joining any industry, you must learn 3 essential skills - (1)understanding context, (2)cultivating empathy, and (3)developing perspectives. Develop your process and language to effectively communicate with your people. Participate in every aspect of the industry, like working on everything.
The keys to great work are building the right communication, connection, and relationships. Finding the right partners is critical during your journey. The right partners inspire each other. Globally, people yearn to connect.
When you dive in, you’ll learn what truly excites you. That’s the only way to be certain it’s your passion.
Justin said, “It’s like surfing - you gonna go out in the ocean. When the wave comes, you can ride it.”
2. When it comes to success or failure, you have to remind yourself that, after all, those are just someone else’s opinions.
Justin Lin’s pragmatic perspective - there’s no time to dwell on setbacks.
Justin Lin chooses not to dwell on failure, because he believes whether you fail or succeed is just someone else’s opinion. The most important thing is to keep moving forward. He says getting denied is part of the process. You’re going to have ups and downs, but just keep growing and trying.
To achieve goals, hard work alone is not enough. You need the mindset to try many times, and the determination to quickly move on when something doesn’t work.
Knowing when to quit and move on is crucial.
3. Getting your ass kicked is a part of process. If something doesn’t work, move on.
I related strongly when he mentioned that Asians’ default setting is on the bottom line. It’s true - we have nothing to lose, so why not just try?
As Justin Lin once said, hone your voice, build your own perspectives, keep trying.
Here are 5 great quotes from Justin Lin that I would also like to share:
- Life is unwritten, let’s enjoy it.
- The power of film is to unlock something in me. Make me wanna try.
- To make movie, the currency is money, but to make indie movie, the currency is passion.
- No is very powerful.
- Why this movie has to exist?