WHOSE STUPID IDEA WAS THIS ANYWAY?
10 September 2014
Scary yet exciting times lay ahead. I’ve taken the plunge and taken the next steps to finishing this film that I’ve been tinkering and stressing over the past few months. We hit a roadblock (roadblock being outta cash), but now with Spark My Potential, we’re now back in business. Sort of. It all depends on whether we can hit our 10k target, which at the moment is still rather a far way off. Will we?
Yes. Yes, we will. I know it.
In the words of the wise George Michael, “Cause I gotta have faith, faith, faith.”
I’ve never given the crowdfunding platform the fair shake it deserved – I had instead focused on trying to pull in sponsors. After spending vast amounts of hours crafting the most compelling sponsorship proposals and sending them off, my confidence and faith took a massive nosedive when I didn’t hear back from any of them.
But I persevered. I had to. Because this is my dream. And you’ll find things worth doing in life are never easy, nor handed to you on a silver platter (although that would be quite awesome). You gotta work hard. There are no shortcuts.
After constant rejections, and production issues not worth mentioning, it got to the stage where I was asking myself, “Whose stupid idea was this anyway?” I mean, seriously. Why didn’t I just continue living my unremarkable albeit stable life? Why did I embark on what is perhaps the biggest headache inducing thing I’ve ever done? They’re questions that, as corny as it sounds, kept me up at night. I had sunk in savings that would’ve helped out my struggling family, especially my brothers who are still in school, and yet I still didn’t have anything to show for it.
I was faced with a tough decision. Should I just put my project on the back burner, or forget about it altogether, and focus my efforts and finances into helping my family instead? My brothers? Give them the opportunity to thrive and live their dreams? Or should I persevere in the hope that I can LIVE my dream, and EVENTUALLY also be able to help them out too – just not right now? Basically, I wanted to have my cake and eat it too. But however I tried to make it work, no matter how I looked at it, it always seemed to come down to choosing between one or the other. It was tough.
So to hear from Spark NZ offering a place in the Spark My Potential program, I was floored. Opportunities are hard to come by, and even then, vying for opportunities can be extremely competitive. I’ve put in my fair share of applications for funding, scholarships and grants, only to be beaten by someone who is better and more deserving. And it’s a reality one has to contend with. There will always be people out there who are better and more deserving than you.
But it helps when you stay positive, proactive, and continue to persevere. I did. And now I’ve got the backing of the biggest telco in New Zealand.
It’s a seriously humbling feeling to have a giant like Spark see something in an insignificant nobody like me. I’m so grateful. I’m ever mindful that opportunities are scarce, so I plan to make the most of it so I can have my cake and eat it too (and what are cakes for anyway if you can’t eat it, amirite?). And I hope you’ll join me in making this dream of mine into something real. Something I can build on and make into something sustainable, so I can give back to my family and community, and live my dream – and maybe we can eat a real cake together while we’re at it.
With that all said, I want to thank those of you who’ve already jumped on board, and pledged so generously. Saying I’m ‘grateful’ doesn’t fully encapsulate the deep sense of – well, gratefulness – that I feel. I am overwhelmed. Because I won’t be able to do it without your help, without YOUR backing. So thank you so much for your kindness and generosity, and like Spark, for seeing something worth supporting in a nobody like me. I will not let you down!
It would help me a lot if you could spread the word to others too, so they can drop a spare dollar or two into this project. Each dollar counts!
Once we hit $1000NZD, we’ll upload a very cool blooper reel worth checking out. While it can be stressful, it helps being surrounded by cool people who believe in this project – and after long hours of shooting, having a laugh really helps energize the crew. You’ll see what I mean.
Fa’afetai lava ma ia manuia!
Jordan