Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lorenzo Jackson II. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Lorenzo , thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
I used to think that imposter syndrome was not real. How could a person earn something and not feel like they earned or deserved it. It just didn’t make sense to me. I thought it was people pretending to be humble for the sake of not sounding arrogant. That is of course until it happened to me. A project that I was working on in with Megan Piphus and CET. That project won an Emmy.
But for the first six months that I had it in my possession, I had it locked away in a drawer. I felt like I didn’t deserve it. I rationalized that had they chosen anyone else to do the same thing I did, the project would’ve won anyway.
I’m supposed to be answering the question of how did I overcome imposter syndrome. Well the truth is, I haven’t. I still feel the same way. So when others find out about it and ask me, I don’t get the feeling of excitement. I feel caught.
What I have done though is allowed myself to face that uncomfortable feeling and force me to prove to MYSELF and no one else that I did deserve it. So for me it’s not about overcoming imposter syndrome. It’s about removing all doubt that could be an imposter in the first place.
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?
My goal is to try and make each project look and feel different. If I’m filming two different restaurants, they should not look like I copy and pasted one to the other. Each business has it’s own unique look, feel and even personality. My job is to capture the essence of that business and display it for the customers to see.
Sometimes I feel like Bill Belichick when he kept repeating, “we’re on to Cincinnati”. For me it’s about moving on to the next project. I’m much harder on myself than I think anyone else could ever be on me. Rarely do I finish a project and feel completely satisfied with the work. Not that I think it’s terrible and obviously if the client is happy with it then so am I do a degree. But there’s always a thought afterwards of, I should’ve trimmed a couple frames here or, I should’ve added a transition there. Maybe the color on this clip doesn’t quite match the clip further down in the timeline. Things that 99 people out of 100 would not notice or not care can really bother me. But that’s where I have to metaphorically “move on to Cincinnati”. So the most exciting thing is working on the next project.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I struggle with compliments but if everyone tells you the same thing it has to be true right? Well, I get told very often how easy I am to work with and here is why I think that is.
One is, you have to listen to your clients. Often times I think creatives may go into a project with a mindset that you know what’s best for the client. And that can be true to a certain extent because you are the expert in the field. But you must be willing for it to at least be a collaborative effort. That can only happen if you are truly listening to the client’s needs and desires for the project.
Be flexible. This one is also a two way street. You can have meetings and meticulously plan out everything you’re going to do. But sometimes once you get started things just will not go to the plan. There is an infinite number of things that can go wrong so you have to be willing to change course.
Third and what I believe to be the most important is, you must know what you are not. More important than knowing what you are is knowing what you are not. Do not take on work you are not capable of delivering. I’d say 95% of my clients are via word of mouth. If I had taken on projects that I could not deliver on, not only will I not work with that client again, but they could negatively discuss your business and cause you to lose prospective clients in the future.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I chose this question knowing full well I am probably not the best person to answer it. I’ve been told my work ethics are not healthy, but I don’t allow myself the feeling of being overwhelmed. I think sometimes being overwhelmed can also be used as an excuse to not get something done. There have been times where I literally had stacks of hard drives and 3-4 projects all due within seven days. Where it gets unhealthy for me is I will keep working until it’s done, even at the cost of losing sleep to ensure the project is done on time.
I think we get overwhelmed when looking at the complete scope of work. What works for me is to make micro goals. Maybe it’s just to get the first five minutes done. Maybe it’s to just create the title graphics or find the music. When I do that the stacks of hard drives disappear.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.reelvision1.com
