Jason Segel is an entertainment superstar. He is an actor, a writer and a producer and his movies have earned nearly $1 billion at the box office. And that doesn’t even include the work he may be best known for — playing Marshall Eriksen in the CBS hit show How I Met Your Mother.
You do not have to look far to see his success in the entertainment industry. But this wasn’t always the case.
Segel’s broke into the industry in 1999 on NBC show Freeks and Geeks. However, the show was canceled after just 12 episodes and Segel was suddenly out of a job. He spent the next 3 years looking for work, with his only acting credit occurring on an un-aired pilot titled North Hollywood.
We may never have heard from Segel again if not for the following advice from director Judd Apatow…
Segel listened to Apatow’s advice and has written or produced nearly half of the major roles he has landed in the past 10 years. He has become successful in large part because he is creating his own opportunities.
Like Segel, many of us are out there trying to find our way in very competitive markets. We are often considered “weird” and our goals and dreams probably look funny to others.
Based on Segel’s experience, we have a couple of choices…We can sit around looking for people to give us an opportunity. Or we can start creating our own material and make it happen.
Photo credit: Flickr
