MADEFEATURES
DF : Serve . You have to be focused on service . I started as an intern with Will Smith when I was 18 years old . My number one goal ... it was like …“ I want to contribute . I appreciate the opportunity that he ’ s given me . I value who he is . I ’ m inspired by who he is ,” and I said , “ Let me just help .” So as an intern I found a way to service him and to help what he was doing . When I became an assistant at his company , it was all about trying to help . You know really trying to make sure that I was making a contribution .
When I got to Sony and became an executive that worked on a majority of his films , it was all about , “ Okay , how can I make this movie great . How can I help him ?”. Service , service , service , service , service . And that has been the key to establishing the friendship and mentorship that we have . Because I ’ m always looking at “ I want to pour back into him what I believe he ’ s poured into me .” So whatever I can do to further his business and to help him , I ’ m invested in that .
I think that you know as an entrepreneur , ( I talk about this a lot ), that sometimes you ’ re trying to make a withdrawal from an account that you ’ ve never made a deposit in . So , in order to be able to make withdrawals you gotta start to make deposits into other people and what they ’ re doing , and not looking for a return . It ’ s just like “ Someone I admire - they have a project ... okay , you know what , I ’ m going to do everything I can to support that project ... I ’ ll post about it , I ’ ll tweet about it , I ’ ll Facebook about it , I ’ ll volunteer for it . Whatever I have to do to help the person I admire , or the person I believe in to further the business of their work .” When you start doing those kind of things , you ’ d be shocked at how much of an impact that would make on your life and on your career .
MADE : Wanna talk a little bit more about ambition ... How do we remain ambitious while not putting society ’ s success metrics over our God given purpose ?
DF : That ’ s a good question . I think ambition is all a part of our God given purpose . Okay let ’ s talk about God for a second . Let ’ s talk about it spiritually ... God sent Jesus to save the world . That is an ambitious goal . That is an ambitious approach . God is an ambitious God . So if He ’ s ambitious and we ’ re made in His image , then we should be ambitious too about the things He ’ s called us to do and who He ’ s called us to be .
And I think the danger is when you begin to worship that ambition more than you worship Him , or more than you tried to live out your purpose . And because tied in that ambition worship is a building up of ego , it can be very destructive . So it ’ s very , very important to not allow that to happen . And to say “ Yes , I ’ m ambitious and there are a lot of things I want to do in life , but I also am patient . I am also gonna have a service mentality . I am also going to be teachable .” Because those are the things that really allow ambition to fuel your career . But when you have ambition and you ’ re using it to feed ego , you may be stiff in the short run . But in the long run , it usually doesn ’ t work .
MADE : That ' s a very forward-thinking outlook . How do you continue to preserve these values while still being contemporary and modern in your mindset ?
DF : I don ’ t know if I have a good answer for that question ( laughs ). I don ’ t know , I just do what I believe , and I not only just do what I believe , those values really are the better octave of my success . I think for me it ’ s just because I legitimately believe in all the things I ’ ve been raised to stand on , and those are my foundation . It ’ s just the way I live it out and walk it out . It ’ s because I ’ ve worked in the real world , and I ’ ve worked
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