HARDEST DAYS

One of the hardest directing days of my career happened in Canada while filming “All I Didn’t Want for Christmas” starring Gabourey Sidibe, Loretta Devine and Kel Mitchell.

Bad tech. Missed timing. Energy off. Just one of those days.

I was away from my family. Already stretched thin.

Then I glanced at the date.

It was my older brother’s birthday.

He passed away years ago, but grief doesn’t check the calendar. It waits.

And suddenly I realized…the tension I was carrying had nothing to do with the scene. It wasn’t the crew. It wasn’t the schedule.

It was me.

As directors, we are the emotional thermostat of the set.

If we’re tight, the set tightens.
If we’re scattered, the room scatters.

So I took five.

Between two cars in the parking lot, I let myself feel it. I cried. I breathed. I released it.

When I walked back in, the energy shifted. I was clear again. Focused. Calm.

Leadership isn’t about pretending nothing affects you.

It’s about recognizing when it does…and recalibrating before it spills onto everyone else.

Making content should feel alive. Passionate. Collaborative.

And sometimes the most professional thing you can do is step away for five minutes…so you can come back better.

Curious if you ever had to step away and reset?