We were lucky to catch up with Michael Blank recently and have shared our conversation below.
Michael, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
Growing up, I always felt like the outcast. It seemed that everyone else understood how the world works, but I always felt an intrinsic disconnect to social norms and what everyone else felt comfortable conforming to. When a teacher recommended ‘ The Catcher in the Rye’ for me to read, I felt it was too watered down to appreciate and connect to. For a long time, I didn’t understand why I was so unconventional, until a series of experiences opened my eyes. Those traits that I perceived as weaknesses turned out to be my strengths.
An early example was when my family doggy came down with tumors that turned cancerous. While the vets told us this was common for many dogs in our SoCal community as they age, my unconventional mindset refused to accept this as normal and began looking for possible solutions. Long story short, I found things to feed her and all her tumors shrank to nonexistence. She was completely cancer free when she died years later. Of course my family thought I was crazy… until they saw the results!
This became a major turning point in my life. If the insane asylum accepts you as one of them, you are probably crazy, but if they call you crazy for not fitting in, you are probably the only sane one. I realized that being shunned by conventional society and being labeled crazy was actually a clear indicator that I am on a good path. A path that can accomplish the impossible. I began to realize that I can be a leader that can set the example through my unique path, rather than following the norms. Once I realized that societal feedback is not productive towards accomplishing new and unknown things, it allowed me to gain trust and faith in my own convictions and tune out the external noise.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
After years as a photographer & director in the fashion and commercial industry, I started my own production company: StrawHatProductions.com
I teamed up with co-founder Donna Feldman, an incredible model and actress. Her experience on film and photo sets as the subject, combined with my experience on sets behind the camera, put us in the position to become our own producers. We gained all the experience and know-how to identify and reach the goals that our clients need. Because of our independence from the industry at large, we are able to provide a unique market of high quality content, and more easily accessible to everyone.
Through Straw Hat Productions, we have been able to produce TV Commercials, Music videos, Photo Campaigns, online assets and even Brand Development. It’s extremely exciting to be learning new formats as technology advances and learning new tools as AI is becoming inevitable. Though I will say, the new technology has created a greater appreciation for the old school artistry. AI is incredible but it still has not been able to match the soul and emotion an old school human being brings to the table.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
One of the most important lesson I’ve learnt is to never get ahead of yourself. Its crucial to dream big, but you have to allow yourself to go through the process that actually gets you there. Majority of the time, goals do not have a clear, smooth path. I’ve learned to see the hurdles in my path as opportunities to overcome and gain strength. If you can see challenges as opportunities, like going to a gym to gain muscle, you will realize that you are doing everything right in the bigger picture. Don’t judge yourself for failing at times, because failure is actually the biggest part of success. Failure as a process is where we learn, where we expand our abilities, and where we learn acceptance. All the gurus and masters have a past full of perceived failures and cringe moments. Embrace them as the normal process and you will have a library full of historical stories to tell. You can’t tell your grandkids that you could have done something, that you almost did – except there were excuses that prevented you. That story is boring and really doesn’t mean anything other than you giving up. The difference between success and failure is to keep going until you reach the successful part. Even then, you might feel satisfied for a moment, but you’ll be driven towards a new path, to stay fulfilled and full of life.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
In this world, we are not alone. I am always looking for new people to collaborate with. I have a specific set of skills, but when I see other people doing their thing I get inspired and it makes me want to apply them to all sorts of new projects. I liken it to a singer that finds awesome musicians to create music with. As a film maker and producer, I am constantly interested in artists that specialize in their unique vision. If you are a photographer, videographer, digital artist, musician, dancer, martial artists, comedian etc etc, I am very interested in connecting with you. What fulfills me the most is when I get to see great artists sharing their vision with the world. I’d love nothing more to help facilitate visionaries, so that they can make a living doing what they love. I feel that the world benefits every time an individual does. It’s always a tragedy when the world cannot see an amazing gift because people with untapped talents are too busy working a job they hate in order to make rent.
You can reach me here: [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.StrawHatProductions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelblankphotography
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp8xou7kzyI
- Other: https://MichaelBlankPhotography.com
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