We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Nixon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sarah, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
My parents instilled me with my values of generosity. As I grew up, I watched them take part in many acts of kindness, both in their careers and in the day-to-day of interacting with friends and family. I am grateful to them for role modeling this for me, as it has helped me make stronger personal connections. I also think that as a director it is important to have empathy for the people you work with, and to try to cultivate a kind atmosphere on set. I really do think that helping to fill someone else’s cup fills yours too!
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a writer-director! I’m currently in post-production on my first feature, which doubled as my masters thesis project. We had a tiny budget, but with an incredibly dedicated set of cast and crew we were able to pull together what I think is a very special project. I love writing because when I sit down to write I get to escape into a world of my own creation. What I love most about directing is that it is a very collaborative process. You get to know people very quickly when you work with them in-depth on a project, and when it’s all said and done it is cool to see everyone’s personal contributions come together to make the final product.
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 qualities I can think of are patience, curiosity, and humility. You need patience in this industry because anyone will tell you that it takes at least 10 years of trying to kick-off your career, usually more. I’m still early in the process, so I’ve got a long way to go. You need curiosity because you must always be actively learning. You need humility because in order to learn best you need to set your ego aside, listen, and be ok with making mistakes. I have learned so much by observing and asking questions!
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
A recent read that I liked was Stephen King’s “On Writing.” King’s philosophy is that when you write your first draft you should write it “with the door shut,” which is to say without receiving any feedback and with very minimal distraction. I have since adopted this habit and it has been helpful! The book also contains great tips about how to handle subsequent drafts, and how to outrun the voice in your head trying to tell you that you are a terrible writer. Plus it’s just a fun read!
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Alexa Kanarowski
