We recently connected with Michael Rabb and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Michael thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Determination, preparation, timing and luck. I started in the entertainment biz almost 20 years ago. And at that time I had many peers, all around my same age, going after a similar goal. But over the years, 99% of those people have left the industry and went after a different gaol. Their reasons are varied, from the instability of the business, to the freelance nature of being a writer, to periods of unpaid hiatus or shows being cancelled. The reasons are as varied as the people. And the choice to seek greener pastures is not something I’m knocking. In fact, along the way I have thought about leaving the biz and doing something completely different. But every time I tried, I realized that nothing fulfilled me like getting paid to write. And so…I hung in there. And as I get older and have learned to relax a bit and worry less, it seems that more opportunities have come my way. Maybe had I let loose a bit more in my early days, I might have achieved the great success I once dreamed of. But, I’m still here. I’m doing what I love and I’m actually pretty fulfilled.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I moved to California from New Hampshire with $700 in my pocket and not much else. I couch surfed and relied on the kindness of strangers to help me find my way. Eventually, I found my way into the entertainment industry in the absolute lowest, pee-on position there was. But I was working and I loved it. During the NBC years of Must SEE TV I fell in love with the idea of becoming a sitcom writer. So, I wrote sample scripts of popular shows just for fun. I must have =written 20 of these scripts, and I would force them on anyone who was willing to read them. And as luck would have it, one of my scripts landed on the desk of a show runner at Nickelodeon. After convincing him that I could write kids TV, he gave me a shot. Twenty years later, I’m not only still writing kids TV, but I now have my own show that’s about to premier on Apple TV.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I started pitching original TV show ideas in the 90’s. I pitched every major studio, every production company, every agent that would see me. It was a tireless pursuit of a dream. And rejection rained all over me. Actually, it poured on me. But I never gave up. Then, one day my agent sent me a kids book that she said a certain studio was in love with but had no idea how to turn it into a TV series. She also told me that every kids writer in town had pitched their idea on how to make this book into a show. But they didn’t;t like any of what they heard. So, I saw my chance. I took the book with me everywhere. I ate with it, I slept with it, I even took it on vacation. But it was a leisurely walk with my 6 year old niece where I had an epiphany. I knew exactly what to do with this book. So, I set a meeting with the studio and put in a real dog and pony show, acting out my idea from start to finish. And when I was done…they smiled, shook my hand and congratulated me. “Let’s make this show!”

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2007 there was a writer’s strike that shut down Hollywood. No one was working, including me. And with no end in sight to the strike and no money coming in, I had to pivot. And pivot I did. I put my ego aside and took a job selling playground furniture. I was standing out in the 100 degree July heat selling slides and swing sets to wealthy families in the West Valley. Eventually, the strike ended and I found my way back to the TV biz, but it proved to me that when bad stuff happens, I was able to survive.