Your Peers Are Your Allies In The Arts & Entertainment
In the arts, entertainment, publishing, content creation etc. it’s very easy to get into the mindset that you’re in competition with your peers. Some gatekeepers or institutions may accidentally reinforce the idea that there are only so many jobs or opportunities (true) and therefore you must be in competition with everyone else on your level (unbelievably false.) The truth is you can kiss as much ass at the top as you want, but the people who will bring you growth, joy and opportunities in creative fields will almost always be your peers.
First of all, it’s important to have friends who understand what you’re going through. People in your industry you’ve made true connections with, who understand the intricacies of the environment you’re working in and how it changes over time. It’s so, so helpful to know you’re not alone in any given thing. It’s also just refreshing as hell to have other creatives, other expressive people in your life. People who share your passions and have the same personality types. People who can remind you why you chose such a tough journey.
Getting along with your peers is also crucial because you’ll need to learn how to collaborate, give and take notes and it’s better to do so now than in your first real work opportunity. It also helps you to stop being overprotective over any one idea, which is important because you want to get to a practiced place where you know you’ll always have new ones. (Besides, from experience I can tell you it’s not peers who successfully steal ideas, it’s those closer to the top. Also parallel thinking happens often and will likely happen around you and you must to learn to accept that.)
You never know who’s gonna ‘make it’ in any creative field. While you don’t want to come at friendships with an ulterior motive, this is important to keep in mind. It’s usually your peers, your friends, who will bring you opportunities and vice versa. Not only is it very possible a friend will ‘make it’ and take you with them, sometimes opportunities will fall into your lap that aren’t right for you, but are right for one of your friends. If you provide them with the right opportunities your friends will return their favor as soon as they can. They’ll also just appreciate that you know their work and ‘style’ or ‘voice’ enough to know which jobs they’re perfect for.
When you get to know and ally yourself with your peers, you get to know their work as well (and vice versa.) This allows you to give and receive better critique. You’ll begin to understand what tone or style your friends are going for with their projects and help them achieve that (and vice versa. I need a thesaurus.) If said project takes off and your critique was very helpful, they may bring you along for the ride if possible.
So, any time time you feel like you’re engaging in comparison in terms of career milestones, especially with a peer, STOP. First of all, social media is bullshit and people only present their successes, not their failures. Second, their success may be your gain as well. Third, it just feels better and more sustainable to get to a place where you’re genuinely happy for people. So cheer your peers on. Help them grow. Be there for them. You don’t want to regret having snubbed someone whose career took off- but also, this is your life and you need a full one. That means having friends who understand a crucial part of your life. Who love your art form itself and can remind you why you love it as well when you’re feeling down. And who can help your career if the opportunity arises to do so.
