Nobody cares more than you do

On moving the train down the tracks. / Issue 1,511

Oh, hi friends!

Here’s a little story about advice that’s followed me around for months.

Earlier this year, my TV pilot script THE MUSE made the longlist for the Black List x WIF Episodic Lab.

(This was a script that had sat in draft form since 2021 — a lesson in there about resuscitating old projects, perhaps for a future newsletter.)

The Black List arranged an informational Zoom meeting for the longlist and shortlist writers.

(Turns out many of the writers live in Brooklyn, and later we got together for the loveliest, most encouraging meeting — another lesson in there, about finding the right circles to swim in.)

So a manager came on the Zoom to offer advice about pitching, what’s selling, how to approach our careers, etc.

And he said something so good I wrote it down on a notecard and taped it to my computer monitor:

“Nobody’s going to care more about your career or work harder than you do.”

Of course this is true.

So I tried to take it in and believe it.

I mean, it was on a notecard a foot away from my face.

Yet did I believe it?

Because I found myself slipping into the same patterns, spending lots of time chasing validation from other people — fellowships, residencies, agents, managers, etc. — rather than thinking creatively about what I can do now.

We want other people to care, to ease the burden of making stuff solo.

But where’s the line between asking and waiting?

Then last week, during a meeting with my friend Max, he said the best advice he’d heard about navigating a career in theater was this:

“Nobody’s going to care more about your career than you do.”

Oh look! Same message.

And so two paths diverge from this advice.

On the first path, we can rebel.

Maybe that’s true for you, but not for me.

If I wrote the perfect email, they’ll love me!

All I need is this ONE thing to get that OTHER thing.

Mmm. Comforting.

But on the second path, we can accept.

We can gently ask questions.

I’m not looking for a savior, but allies are welcome.

How can I put more care into my practice, rather than more chase?

Where can I take back control today?

My friend Janine recently said, “People want to get on a moving train.”

And we know that’s true — we are always attracted to excitement and movement.

But here’s the cold water: no one wants to help you lay the tracks, shovel the coal, check the brakes, start the engine, or push it out of the station.

People are tired and they don’t want to reach the destination as much as you do — and that’s OK.

You just gotta get the train moving yourself, my friend.

It’s your time.

Know someone who could use this message? Pass it along!

Thanks, as always, for being here.

Love, Kara