Go After Your Dreams: ALL OF THEM

Over the last few weeks my sister and I have talked about what it would take to run our Film/TV/Webshow production company full-time.  We've been advised to increase the price of our DVDs, become a non-profit organization, or charge upfront producing fees rather than accepting no or deferred payment.  We are still not clear on which direction to go, but we know that dropping our full-time jobs is not an option. Or is it??

I talked to a gentleman today who decided to try his "luck" in NYC. Even though he had a life in church ministry and a teenage son he was leaving behind,  he went to NYC to chase after a dream of becoming an actor.  He first eased into it slowly.  He would go to NYC a week at a time to audition, then return to SC. Once he booked a few roles and saved the money to Take A Leap, he found an apartment outside the city, and took it to the next level. Commercials, Movies, TV, and Theatre.  He proved he could do it, and then returned home after two years.  He continues to act locally, and takes on work in NYC whenever he fits it in his schedule.  Other than that, he has returned to the hustle and bustle of full-time work; yet I could see in the twinkle of his eye, that Hollywood maybe calling him next.

The thought that has crossed my mind is maybe we can do the same.  At least one of us will have to keep our full-time job initially, while the other keep part-time employment and grows the business to full-time status.  I think 12-14 months is enough time to put a concrete plan in action and implement.  Then we'll reverse.  The one who took time off will return to full-time work, and the other will now take the same 12-14 months to grow the business even more.  Within two and half years, we would hope to be in a position to run the business full-time and be in the black financially (we're so in the red now).  If not, we'll both go back to full-time salaried work, and run our production company part-time as we're doing now.

Are you currently working in your dream job? If not, and you could leave your job today, what will you do?

MatadorU- First Impressions!!

I attended the MatadorU orientation this past Monday.  It lasted about 50 min. and other than the host, Kat, it included seven other individuals from the US and international locations.  However,  I came into the Skype session a few minutes late and missed most of the introductions.  The most important point that came from the orientation was that in addition to completing the chapter assignments, I need to take advantage of the expertise of the various faculty on board, and build relationships with my fellow students. This especially holds true for the filmmaking course, as it's fairly new. The open forums on various topics and faculty feedback within 24-48 hours makes it possible.

The hardest part of the course was the pre-course assignment to set up a blog.  I'm very green to Word Press, and I've heard so many horror stories.  I had similar trouble with my set-up until I learned that certain features were not available.  I had a basic version, and needed to stick with the simple design templates.  I was cool with that, but had to dig into the forum topics to figure this out.

The readings have been interesting, thus far. The terminology section was helpful in the beginning, and then a history lesson ensued.  This held true for both the writing and filmmaking courses.  Knowledge is power, and some of the interesting facts learned about the revolution of travel journalism as a writer and filmmaker became relatively clear. There are also a list at the end of each chapter of recommended readings offline (ie..books) and online.

I finished my first writing assignment with relative ease, but have not posted the assignment. It's advised to sit at least 24 hours and then go back to refine before posting.  I anticipate posting by tomorrow.  The video assignment will be completed by Sunday.  You can follow my assignment postings on my MatadorU blogsite.

I'm enjoying myself so far. I hope to improve my writing and visual storytelling, and from what I've learned so far, I know these courses will set me apart from other travel bloggers. I definitely recommend MatadorU for anyone SERIOUSLY considering travel journalism of any kind- photography, writing, and/or filmmaking.   

MatadorU

Reading a blog from April of The Absolute Travel Addict, I came across an advertisement from MatadorU, an online new media school for travel journalist.  They have three programs with enrollment costs of $350 each- photography, writing, and filmmaking.  However, if you take more than one course they offer a nice discount.  You can also take advantage of a 7-day trial offer for just $10 for each course.   I decided to Take A Leap and signed up for two courses, writing and filmmaking.  The best part about the program is that the 12 week curriculum for each course can be conducted at my own pace, and it's available for life, no expiration.  Therefore, any changes to the curriculum made years from now is accessible.

Another great feature is the access to their job lead center.  Many of the job leads make it possible to travel domestically and internationally with all-expense paid trips.  Work assignments include writing articles or creating travel videos on their Matador Network website or for their affiliates, including National Geographic or AOL Travel, amongst others.  This can lead to additional writing and video assignments in the travel industry and more all-expense paid trips.  How wonderful!!  Rhonda and I are already looking at a few leads, and see the trips as a way to obtain short-term paid work assignments that can fit within our current full-time work.  Not to mention, the international trips are a perfect fit to continuously expand our Take A Leap webshow.

Now technically I'm registered for the two courses, and will be sharing the class assignments with my sister.  Isn't that the twin thing to do :).  Hee, hee!!  However, some of the job leads are only for students and alumni.  Therefore, my sister plans to take the photography course after the New Year after we both save more money.

We spent quite a bit of time searching reviews on MatadorU,  and couldn't find a bad thing said about the school or the courses.  Many of the top travel bloggers have taken the courses, and are currently working full-time in the travel journalism industry.  I can see how all three areas will be useful in making a full-time career in travel journalism, and the fact that they recently added filmmaking a few months ago is awesome!! In fact one assignment from a lead that Rhonda and I plan to apply to is a travel film scholarship for an all-expense paid trip for two to create 3-5 three minute videos surrounding Brazil's cultural festival--Carnival.  Exciting!!

Have you heard of MatadorU? Have you taken a course? And if so, what has been your experience?

Take A Leap...Moving Fwd Part II

The Indiegogo campaign has ended and we raised $480 ($420 with fees taken into consideration).  We have our entire hearts into this project and will see it through.  We paid the final payment for our trip to Italy in November last week.  We have received our airline details, and airline tickets will be sent within the next month.  It's interesting to note that daylight savings times will be going on during our travel to Italy. We'll actually get to stay in Rome one additional hour.  How exciting!!  We are in the process of getting our funds together for the final payment of our December trip to China due in early October.  God is our provider and will make our provisions. We do believe!!

I've entitled this post moving forward part II because there is so much more that is needed to make Take A Leap get off the ground (pun intended) other than money.  We are revving up our efforts to put into play our next initiative.  One of the points that I made early on when I started this blog was how it was more than about chronicling Black Expats.  Yes, that's our premise, but our mission is so much more. We want to encourage more people to obtain Passports, take a Gap Year, or make career transitions.

A story many people don't know about is that last year this time we helped a friend Take A Leap by following her passion to head out to Los Angeles to become an actress.  Her story does not have a fairy tale ending with her landing "the role of a lifetime", but she's constantly knocking on doors, and ever so grateful for our help to get her there.  We were able to utilize hotel bonus nights points and although we didn't quite have enough frequent flier points, we were able to provide funds for a low-cost one way flight to LA.

Via Sean Kelly, LA Times

I share this story because our next initiative is to start a Take A Leap Hotel Bonus Nights and Frequent Flier Miles Club.  We want to make it possible for people to donate either unused or expiring points from hotel stays and airline flights.  We'll share in a later posts how the new initiative will work but it will essentially benefit two fold.

One--half the hotel and mileage points donated will support Rhonda and I in future Take A Leap travels.  We have been asked to consider France, UK, Latin America, and S. Africa as future locations to chronicle Black Expats.  This is exciting for us, but also overwhelming because of the costs involved and we don't want to constantly be asking for money time and time again.  Having our flights and accommodations covered via donated points seems like a less invasive way of asking for HELP!!

Two--half the hotel and mileage points donated will support people who we either know personally or will extend an invitation to.  The purpose will be to help someone Take A Leap to travel domestically in US or internationally in pursuit of career goals; Gap Year or Sabbatical; cultural experience; Volunteer opportunity; or other.

Do you have a Take A Leap experience that you've taken or plan to take? Would you like to benefit from the donated points of our new initiative? Please comment or email us weconnectedprod@gmail.com.

Sharee

Expats Education

My cousin has been in the military for 10 years now, and in that time has traveled quite extensively.  He has said time and time again that he would consider going back to school, but with a wife and rambunctious three year in tow, it appears he's going to be a lifer in the military.  His wife, on the other hand, has taken advantage of pursuing her education.  Utilizing his benefits, she has continued her education despite being uprooted from Germany to the United States in the last year in a half.  She's almost finished her Bachelor's degree, and plans to pursue a Master's as well. All the while, not knowing where they will be sent off next.

As I talked to her, a few thoughts came to mind about opportunities for Americans who have considered pursuing their education outside of the United States beyond the semester or year long study abroad experience.  I looked into a few schools that many Americans have attended that gave them an opportunity to live in a foreign country.  These schools are not listed in any particular order, and are not a full list of the educational opportunities one can attend.  Some are associated with American schools.  Most have classes taught in English.  In a future post I would like to highlight Black Americans who have attended or currently attending a college abroad in pursuit of higher education, either at undergraduate or graduate level.

#1 Parsons Paris

#2 Le Cordon Bleu Paris

#3 Hult International Business School

#4 John Cabot University

#5 Webster University- Worldwide Campuses

#6 Richmond, The American International University in London

#7 American InterContinental University London

#8 Girne American University- Turkey

#9 King's College London

#10 Trinity College Dublin

#11 McGill University Montreal

#12 University of St. Andrews Scotland

#13 Peking University China

#14 University of Waikato New Zealand

#15 Jacobs University Germany

Do you know of a college or university abroad that is actively recruiting Americans? More specifically, Black Americans?  Are you a Black American who have attended college abroad and would like to be highlighted in a future post.  Please contact us at weconnectedprod@gmail.com and share your Take A Leap story.