We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rick Shepherd a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rick, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.
Taking risks is obviously a big player in the game of pursuing your dreams, especially in the entertainment industry.
I never wanted to live a nine to five life. I never wanted to have a routine day in and day out. I knew that if I wanted to succeed in acting and filmmaking I would need to think outside of the box and execute the ideas that would come to my mind.
One thing that always pushes me forward when taking risks is my willingness to listen to my gut. Might sound cliché, but it’s that feeling of I don’t know if this is logical decision, but who are we to judge ourselves on what is logical? If it’s progressing us towards our goals, then it makes sense. I feel that as we get older, sometimes we are tempted to listen to our intuition less and less because comfort and logic sounds more and more appealing. I don’t want comfort at the cost of what I’m trying to achieve.
I never want my gut feelings an instincts to disappear so I try to listen to them as often as possible. Have they ever led me a bit astray? Sometimes. That’s the whole risk-taking aspect of it. However, I’ve always pivoted to make those not-so-great outcomes some of the best things that have happened to me. There’s no end to trying to make the best of a situation. We can continually try.
Take the risk and hope for the best. The amazing thing is, hope is absolutely free.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Currently, I am working on a variety of projects.
I have never been the type that does well with free time so I’m constantly giving myself things to do, more specifically with scripts I’m writing, films I am producing or movies I’m acting in.
Over the past few years I’ve been developing a television show with my partners at AWRY productions. We started that journey three years ago and since then we have produced and filmed several pieces of content for it. After completing our treatment and final pilot episode script, we’ve been exploring several different options of where to go next with it. Luckily, we’ve been getting great feedback from industry professionals and feel good about the options ahead of us.
For me, I want to make this show happen so badly because I really love the characters and world we’ve created. I don’t want to just let them live on pages; I want them to live and breathe. I fully invest myself into my work and because of that, personally, it motivates me to another level
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Well, I can tell you pretty much immediately that dedication is one of the most important qualities while traveling along this road. You really have to want it. There’s a good amount of things that I have missed out on in my personal life while pursuing my dreams.
When I was first starting out in New York I would bring my lines to the late-night bar I was working at so I could glance at them any chance I had a bit of free time because I’d have an early call-time to set the next day. That was a small price to pay, but it’s when I started having to miss my friends’ weddings, important life events, etc… wherein I really had to ask myself how badly I wanted this.
A sub-skill of dedication is preparation. Simply put, you need to put in the work. You’ll need to miss out, you’ll probably have to do work for free and you’ll have to pay your dues. Let your passion carry you through all of this. Again, how badly do you want this?
Second, resilience is an important trait to posses. In this world, you will get rejected. That’s just a fact. It’s having the ability to keep pushing past the “no’s” until you get that “yes” and once you do get that “yes”, the feeling is addicting. It’s also realizing that it isn’t always about how good you are. There are a million people and artists all fighting for one spot and everyone has something to bring to the table. Sometimes the people making the decisions just want something else that you don’t have and that’s okay because if you keep going, you will find someone who is looking for exactly what you are. Even with all that, it’s the resilience to wake up everyday and give it your all even under strenuous circumstances. Resilience is going to a day job that you don’t want to be at. Resilience is dealing with personal turmoil whilst trying to prep yourself for that important audition and trying to focus. Resilience is to keep going when no one believes in you. Resilience is not usually a skill that comes naturally, but it is learned. You just gotta be ready to take some hits, but I promise if you keep going you’ll get that thick skin.
Lastly, my tip for all my fellow artists out there is to find an actor, writer, director or whoever and study them. Find someone’s style you like and watch their work. Figure out how they operate when they’re in the spotlight and take notes. Do they like to focus on small subtleties? Do they project their voice? How do they use inflections with their lines? Do they direct with a certain style? Ask yourself what kind of artist you want to be and study those who you think can get you there.
With all that, I always say, “let yourself shine and don’t waste any opportunity to do just that.”
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
Awhile back I read a book by the title of “Tuesdays With Morrie”. It follows the story of a once-student, now grown and well into adulthood, rekindling a friendship with one of his old professors, Morrie.
At the start of the book, Morrie is towards the end of his life and shares his reflections with his previous pupil. The aging teacher reminisces about times of triumph and moments of his life, while providing the perspective of someone whose journey is almost at an end.
For myself, my life, along with many others, is somewhat complex and there is so much going on. I can so easily become caught up in it all. This book is a healthy reminder that happiness and fulfillment can be found in the smallest/shortest of moments.
For instance, at one part in the book, Morrie is asked what he would do if he had one more day on this planet to do whatever he would like. His answer changed my life and I think about it often.
It’s a pretty short read and is super reader-friendly. This piece of literature is a nice foil to the stress that life can provide and the way that we as people deal with it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rickshepherd.me/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realrickshepherd/
Image Credits
Griffin Riley Benjamin Steeper Connor Ewart
