I want to talk about something that affects every single creative person alive today: why we need to embrace both big dreams and small realities.

Last night, I went to a local meetup for filmmakers. It was a good group, I met some nice people, but as I was reflecting on filmmaking in general, the questions began: Why do independent filmmakers who have little to no money make feature films? I mean Netflix spent an estimated 320 million on The Electric State by the Russo Brothers. What chance does a $15,000 film have against that juggernaut?

So many questions, right? How about some more?

• Why are authors writing novels or books in general when they could be connecting with audiences in new ways?
  
  
• Why toil away on a screenplay for 10 years, hoping that it will be optioned by a studio executive?
  
  
• Why make an album when a single is more impactful?

I believe that big dreams are essential to the work of a creator. If we never dream of moving a ship over a mountain like Werner Herzog in Fitzcarraldo, then how we will learn about our capabilities and the consequences of our dreams? But while dreams keep us in the land of hope and belief—”One day, this will happen”—we need small projects that can keep us nimble, learning and growing on a daily basis. We need both to realize our creative dreams.

Note: After releasing the episode, I found the newsletter I mentioned in the section about economics and monetizing serial podcasts: “The harsh economics for serialized podcasts” by Simon Owens.

• Fitzcarraldo (1982)
  
  
• The Electric State (2025)
  
  
• Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash