Of Little Wings and Elevator to the Top Floor

 On 14^th July, 2023 I attended a virtual event to commemorate World Youth Skills Day, which is celebrated every 15^th of July. Later that day, I listened to a podcast that really resonated with me and that I felt was timely advice for today’s youth who will face unprecedented challenges…and opportunities!

Below are some of Jason Fried’s thoughts that struck a chord with me as the Founder, CEO, Chief AI Officer, JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) Officer, Marketer and Cheerleader of ROFFEKE😄

Minute 11:38 – “There is no secret sauce here…this is hard, all of it is hard so you’ve got to find a way to do something that is going to be enjoyable. In that joy, you find more ease. It’s easier to do something hard when you like the way you are doing it…the amount of pressure that’s put on you by other people to do things a certain way, to perform a certain way, to show results in a certain way is not enjoyable and it doesn’t bring an ease to the work. It brings stress and anxiety to the work.”

Minute 16: 33 - “You have a choice as an entrepreneur to decide what [business] model you want…but you also need to check your ambitions a little bit too, grow slowly, grow under control. You have to be able to handle it ego-wise, that maybe you are not going to have 7 million customers…it doesn’t matter what your economics are compared to someone else. What do you need to cover your expenses and generate a profit? If you can keep your ego in check, then you can recognize that you are not competing with other people’s egos, other people’s company size, just do your own thing. If you can get into that mindset, it’s a really wonderful place to be…"

[The short film Elevator to the Top Floor deals with this issue of keeping one's ego in check. Read the ROFFEKE interview with the director,Litvinov, HERE  Excerpt from the interview: “We had little time to shoot (about two days) and a very modest production budget. But thanks to the help of like-minded people and the production company "Potential", we were able to cope with all this. The shooting was not easy due to my inexperience. Many of the things that I wanted to see from the actors didn't get to be fully realized. But I'm not ashamed of the result - it's important."

Minute 10:48 - “The other thing that’s nice about staying small is that you can achieve profitability faster. Your overhead is lower, your costs are lower. This is strangely a forgotten thing in the tech world; cost. Everyone is thinking about revenue. Cost is important. Hugely important."

Minute 10:21 – “…constantly thinking about what really matters and what doesn’t. It requires you to figure out what not to do…build a muscle that helps you figure out what not to do. That’s a good habit to form.”

Minute 13:54 – “For us we value independence more than anything else. Do we miss opportunities? I’m sure. We left money on the table? Absolutely. But we wouldn’t have traded any of it for what we have.”

You can listen to the entire awesome podcast episode HERE

This episode reminded me of the lovely bluegrass-flavoured protest song “Little Wings”by Kris Delmhorst:

“Now I don't want to be a jet airliner, I just want to be a little bird

I don't want to rip the skies wide open, I just want my song to be heard

And I don't want to be state of the art, I don't want to get there overnight

I just want to be part of all this beauty, want to be part of all this flight on little wings"

Mike Messier: Lessons from 2020, New novel, Screenwriting versus Novel writing

ROFFEKE Alumnus Mike Messier shares what he's been up to and the lessons he learned from 2020.

 1. What is your novel about and what makes it stand out?

"A Distance from Avalon: when the dying and the dead reunite" is about a school teacher named Joe and his co-worker named Shadow who find themselves at a mysterious, gothic castle on Halloween night hosted by the enigmatic Jean La Croix Distance and his lover Heartbreak. As the night unfolds, the hosts are able to pry emotional secrets from their guests in what seems like genuine bonding and friendship but is ultimately revealed as a more nefarious tactic to gain their trust. I'd like to think that the dialogue of the piece and unique paragraph structure stand out as well as the cover art by my collaborator Nazar Germanov. 

2. What did you like about the process of writing the novel and what did you find challenging?

Writing in the novel format definitely has more freedom in terms of length of paragraphs, structure, page count etc. Also, there were no deadlines on me for this project, since I wrote and self-published it on Amazon on my own terms.  The book can be purchased on kindle or paperback here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SQ6SQ48?ref_=k4w_oembed_S4vCSZx87c64LC&tag=kpembed-20&linkCode=kpd

3. What's the difference between writing a novel and writing a screenplay?

A big difference is that feature film screenplays have certain understood "expectations"  that become part of the mix for a writer. "By page twelve, there should be an inciting incident", "no scene should be longer than two pages" etc are some of the lessons learned in screenwriting classes and through books that become part of the "mental fabric" of a screenwriter's mind. When writing a screenplay, there is also a running dialogue of "can this idea be actually filmed?"  and "Am I writing a script that can be filmed on a budget?" type questions.  When writing a screenplay, there is usually not a guarantee that the script itself will ever be filmed, so there is a sense of uncertainty if the writing efforts are in vain or not.  Freeing myself from those constraints and concerns in writing this novel was a welcomed change of pace. 

4. Any other new projects?

I have been working a lot on my YouTube Channel during the pandemic, doing road trip videos, Mike's Instant Movie Reviews, Pro Wrestling rants,   interviews including "This Podcast Cures Racism", and more. People can subscribe from this link:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSx8RE_a4Nh_Fq-BpUq7ghw

As far as writing, I'm working on the second of  A Distance from Avalon  trilogy right now! The cover art is already ready, now it's up to me to do the writing! 

I also worked with my friend Aaron Woodson on an "urban romance" feature film script titled Aaliyah and Troy, more info can be found here: https://mikemessier.com/2021/01/27/aaliyah-and-troy/

 I recently did some acting in a couple of films, both of which directed by my friend Tom DeNucci. One of them titled "The Mick and the Trick" is a fun action film shot in Pennsylvania in October, 2020. Info here: https://mikemessier.com/2020/11/26/mikes-road-trip/

Federico Castelluccio and Mike Messier on The Mick and The Trick set

I chronicled my road trip up there for "Subscribe to Mike Messier YouTube Channel" . I have also been tweaking and improving a lot of my feature film scripts including American Luchador: The Dream of Lobo Fuego and Also Ran, my prison drama.

5. What lessons did 2020 teach you?

The lesson from 2020 is that time is short for all of us and if any of us want to "make a dent in the universe", then it's best to get going soon because we are not guaranteed another fifty, thirty, ten or even five years on this earth. We must do what we can to make our goals into realities before we are dead, because if we end up in that shallow grave with things still on our "things to do list" , well, then it will be too late! 

ROFFEKE gets a mention in Wikipedia!

I recently heard about the Rock Society of Kenya so I decided to google to find out more about it. This is when I came across a Wikipeida entry about the Music of Kenya and RSK was mentioned under Rock. I was also pleasantly surprised when I read:

"Organized member bodies such as Wiyathi (now defunct)& Roffeke (Rock 'n' Roll Film Festival Kenya) were fundamental in initially marketing local rock bands in the country by hosting regular shows & helped to establish a vibrant rock community."

It's great to receive some recognition!

Read the whole entry about rock music in Kenya at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Kenya#Rock