We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Felipe Zamudio a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Felipe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

At first feel, earning a living from creative work is one of the most liberating experiences one can have. You don’t have a boss. You don’t have to clock in. You don’t have to come up with small talk in the elevator every morning when you arrive to the office. The lack of expectations of you is where the catch is. I have never been a perfectionist in anything I have pursued in my life. Although, being a freelance creative will at least have you walking towards that path, and the more that you are passionate about your work, the more you start to sprint. A major milestone of being able to make a freelance career work is to understand two things. But most importantly, how you can bridge them together. One, is having a sense of urgency. Leave nothing for tomorrow on what you can make this very moment. Is the idea that you would be better prepared to do that thing tomorrow stopping you? Not only is that a myth, but it’s the difference between most people who can’t make it work and the few that can. Two, is having the patience to understand that most of the things you do will not net you profit or perceivable improvement. However, you will never experience a compounding effect of skill advancement if you don’t have what can feel like a devastating amount of failure. The duality of having a sense or urgency while also having an elevated amount of patience is a non-negotiable part of being successful.

Felipe, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a full time filmmaker. I am a one stop solution for all video related products. Most people don’t understand the complexity of an excellent video product (outside of TikTok dances). Script writing, shot planning, a quality production and editing is the way businesses can deliver a conscious message within that venture. Inviting new and existing customers to the values and inner work of a business is not only what creates culture, but its the overwhelming reason one brand stands above any other. It is one of the most powerful tools in marketing. Many others like to focus on one part of this process. Whether that is directing, editing, filming, or ideation, I like being part of the entire process. Even though the intent of a video can have a million different ways of getting there, I am most proud when that is done in a simple way. Experimentation is one of the most valuable ways of achieving that, and I am most fit for those businesses and organizations that have a good tolerance for it.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Most of my life was spent in the world view of working towards one thing. Having a destination. Whether that is retirement, having a family, or getting a certain amount of money. This was something I always struggled with, because in practice it never kept me on task. It never offered ways to grow in my personal or professional endeavors, making the work towards that destination unfulfilling. Being a creative offered a completely different worldview. In my experience, I found that although I can get close, predicting an outcome of how an audience will react, how many opportunities, how many likes, or DMs I will get from sharing a project with the world is impossible. This meant one thing: If I was truly passionate about my work, I could not be driven by its outcome (or possible destination). Causing me to shift my focus to the process itself. Not only did this elevate my practice and product in my professional life, it also gave me a newfound love for the mundane in every day of my personal life.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

A line from the movie Basquiat (1996):

“What is it about art anyway that we give it so much importance? Artists are respected by the poor because what they do is an honest way to get out of the slum using one’s sheer self as the medium. The money earned, proof, pure and simple, of the value of that individual, the artist. A picture a mother’s son does in jail hangs on her wall as proof that beauty is possible even in the most wretched. And this is a much different idea than the fancier notion that art is a scam and a ripoff. But you can never explain to someone who uses God’s gift to enslave, that you have used God’s gift to be free.”

Ray Dalio, Principles: Life and Work:

“I feared boredom and mediocrity much more than I feared failure.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thrillvisual.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/felpsworld/?hl=en

Image Credits

Ryan Mckibenny