We were lucky to catch up with Melinda McCormick recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Melinda, 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.
I developed my ability to take risks by deciding to enter a career field that requires to take risks. As a young teenager I started to learn that taking risks is important to following a passion. I fell in love with writing at any early age and was writing short stories for fun. My English teacher knew that I enjoyed writing and mentioned a creative writing workshop I should apply for. I decided to take a risk on my writing abilities to submit an application and a writing example to qualify for the workshop, and to my surprise, I got accepted. I had a short story published in a locally published book, and my passion for writing grew even stronger. Several years after, I decided to take a risk on my writing skills and write a full-length screenplay for a school project. That is when my love for movie magic began.
That project is what pushed me to risk pursuing a Film Degree in college even though the likelihood of successfully entering the film industry is nearly impossible. I could have focused on writing, but I took a risk with my studies and took classes in all aspects regarding film: directing, editing, producing, and acting. After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree, I began a YouTube channel to continue to grow my film making skills.
After graduating though, I was afraid of the real life and got a job in retail until I could financially support myself. I was shy and scared to apply for any film related jobs because I was afraid of getting rejected, and I was comfortable at my stable job. Many years later, I realized that if I ever wanted to pursue a career related to my degree, I couldn’t be afraid of putting myself out there. That’s when I took my first big job risk and applied for a producing job at a local media company. Aside from my YouTube channel, I had no other film experience and was terrified of what might happen. They were impressed with my education and decided to give me a shot as a Production Assistant. However, I had a lot to learn about being on a film set seeing as how I had never done it before, and after working two jobs with the company, I never heard from them again.
I was feeling down and second guessing whether or not I was truly meant to be in the film industry. I had been working retail for 4 years at this point, I was getting nowhere with my film career, and my one and only shot just flew out the window. That was when a Technical Media Producer position popped up for a local news station. I had been afraid to apply for TV news because it’s very different from film, but I decided to take the risk and apply to see where it could take me. That risk got me some of the best television/film experience I could have asked for.
I then decided to take a risk and apply for a job that leaned heavy into my editing skills. Again, to my surprise, I got the job. I was a Content Creator for a local Business owner, and I was a podcast editor, an online video course editor, and a Social Media Manager. I ended up falling in love with Social Media Management and wanted to pursue it full time. That is when my current position floated by me, and I took the biggest risk and applied for it.
I learned in order to follow my dreams and do something in my field, I need to take risks. Sitting and waiting for something to happen isn’t going to get me anywhere, and I can’t be afraid to put myself out there. I need to take the risks in order to get ahead and be where I want to be.
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 focused on my job as a Marketing Assistant for a Hospitality company, and developing my writing skills so that I can continue submitting to Film Festivals. My current position started as Social Media Management for a few of the companies’ properties, but with my education and experience background, my position has shifted into the designated Photographer and Videographer for all of the companies’ properties. My job gives me the chance to attend numerous different events and photo shoot opportunities including rock concerts, tribute band concerts, and weddings.
Being able to attend so many events is what is most exciting about my job because I get to experience things I never thought I would. It’s an added bonus when the artist or guest sees the photos on my Instagram and messages me to send more of my photos for them to promote. Two recent experiences that stick out in my mind is a Queen Tribute Band that saw my photos, asked for more, and posted my photos on their social media accounts and tagged me. I also got the opportunity to shoot Daughtry when he was in town, and his verified Instagram liked and shared the photos. Both of those experiences are incredible and leave me speechless. I love getting to take pictures of people and share the photos with them not for the exposure, but just because they liked my photos.
The last few jobs as a Technical Media Producer, Content Creator, and Marketing Assistant has since reignited my passion of film and writing. Within the past year I revised one of the better scripts I’ve written and submitted it to a bunch of Film Festivals. To this day, that script has won 3 awards, and received 4 other recognitions. The most special and exciting part about this is each recognition I get. Whether it is award winning, a quarter finalist, or just an official selection, it makes me excited because it means that somebody else enjoyed what I wrote and thought it was good. There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that I am good at what I’m passionate about.
With the success of my script, it has motivated to keep writing and work on some of my other scripts. I am currently rewriting the first script I ever wrote, and I plan on submitting that to Film Festivals as well. Now that I have some recognition, it pushes me to continue pursuing a career as a writer. In the meantime, I am so blessed and honored to be where I am and with my current position.
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?
The three most important qualities that were most impactful in my journey were passion, perseverance, and confidence. I believe that anybody can gain a skill with enough practice, but without those qualities I wouldn’t have pushed myself to take the risks necessary to further my career. Having passion is the first step, it’s a lot easier to pursue something that excites you. Then self-perseverance and self-confidence is the push to help you take a risk on yourself and see what you’re capable of.
My advice for others is that it’s ok to fail, because that’s how we learn. Pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone is what will get you things that you want, and places you want to go. Failing is scary, but you will never know unless you try.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
There are actually two people that have been the most helpful in helping me overcome my challenges and develop qualities to be successful. First is my best friend, Alyssa. We were coworkers at the local news station and both very creative people. She also shares a passion for film and she was was pursuing a different position at the news station that was better aligned with her interests when we met. Watching her go after something she was passionate about was very inspiring to me and helped push me to start my writing journey again. She encouraged me to follow my dreams and helped me along the way, and I am so thankful to have her in my life.
The second person is my husband, Sean. We met when I was still in college and from day one he has supported my creative dreams. Over the years, he continually pushed me to pursue jobs that he thought I was qualified for, but I was too nervous to apply for. He helped get my confidence up to start following my dreams, and I can never thank him enough for all the love and support he’s given me. Especially when it comes to my writing, he constantly tells me how proud he is of me, and how he wants me to be successful.
I think it’s very important to surround yourself with people who support and encourage you to be your best self and to follow your dreams. And that is something that I would love to share with everybody.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melindacorephotography/ and https://www.instagram.com/melindammccormick/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melinda-mccormick-40726a136/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MelindaCore
