We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicholas Tabarrok. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicholas below.
Nicholas, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
Optimism doesn’t come naturally to me honestly. I’m not a pessimist by any means, but there is so much rejection in this business, so many set-backs and barriers along the way, that it can be pretty discouraging at times. It’s not always easy to be optimistic. I have learned to work at being optimistic, because it actually leads to better outcomes. I believe that a positive attitude is the first step towards positive results.
Optimism can be a self-fulfilling prophesy in other words. So can pessimism for that matter; thinking negatively will almost certainly lead to a negative result.
To be clear, I’m not talking about ‘magical thinking’ here. In isolation, attitude alone won’t get you anywhere, but hard work, determination AND feeling positive about the end result is a better recipe for success than hard work, determination and a negative viewpoint!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a film and television producer, originally from Toronto Canada now living in LA. My company has offices in LA and Toronto and we’ve made over 30 feature films in the past 20 years or so, as well as a television series for Hulu. We continue to work on an exciting and diverse slate of projects in both film and television.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I’m a big believer that making no decision is worse than the wrong decision. I think far more people are held back by fear of making a decision or taking a risk, than those that try something which doesn’t end up working out. One can learn from failure, there is no lesson to glean from never having tried in the first place.
If you want to run a business or pursue a career the first thing you have to do is go for it. Don’t just talk about it, don’t just dream about it, don’t just imagine it, act on it. Take that first step.
Second is resilience, you just have to keep at it. As I noted above, rejection is a part of this business. You will hear the word ‘no’ a lot. Accept it and move on.
The third quality I think is essential for success in this business is hard work. I know that’s a very boring, cliched answer, but sometimes the oldest answers are the truest. You can’t make a living in this business working short days or taking a lot of time off. Be prepared to put in the hours.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
The nature of my occupation, producing content for film & television, is defined by collaboration. This isn’t something one can do alone, it takes a group effort by many people, so I’m always looking for talent to collaborate with. Writers, directors, other producers. I’m always open to a meeting, a conversation, because you never know when that right connection will be made.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dariusfilms.com
- Instagram: @nicholastabarrok
- Linkedin: @nicholastabarrok
