Love what you do

Like me, you may have never heard of John Calley.
But I’ll bet you’ve seen many of his movies.
“The Exorcist”. “Deliverance”. Blazing Saddles”.
“Chariots of Fire”. “All the President’s Men”.
“GoldenEye”. “Spider-Man”. “The Da Vinci Code”.
Calley was a highly successful movie producer.
Unless you’re a credit watcher, his name means little.
His close friends were names you might know.
Mike Nichols, Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick.

He started in the NBC mailroom and worked his way up.
He retired after making 120 movies at Warner.
He manned his own sailboat across the Atlantic.
He bought a farm and became a gentleman farmer.
MGM lured him out of retirement.
Sony lured him away from MGM.
He lead an exciting and adventurous life.

Here is what’s unusual about John Calley.
He was a film mogul but did not act like one.
No private Gulfstream jets or fancy titles.
No Saville Row custom-fitted suits.
None of the trappings of millionaire moguldom.

Calley loved the work. Loved a good story.
Was passionate about making award-winning films.
Think about that and the fancy title on your office door.
Think about your company-paid golf club membership.
Think about your private aircraft and parking spot.
Are you working for the trappings of success?
Or do you work at what you’re passionate about?

My mother influenced my decision to become a writer.
She read to me as a child. She fired my imagination.
She taught me the alphabet so I could write to my father.
I fell in love with storytelling and writing.
Not the idea of “being” a writer. It was the act itself.
The craft of the work. The endless writing and rewriting.
The editing of others’ work to hone my own.
That became one of my purposes in life.

I hope you’ve found your great purpose, too.

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