Justin sits down with Chris Fenton, veteran Hollywood executive and author of Feeding the Dragon. Chris spent seventeen years as president of DMG Entertainment, produced or supervised twenty one films including Iron Man 3 and Looper, and teaches the business of cinematic arts at USC.
Chris shares the philosophy that shaped his colorful career. Life is a lottery, so own as many tickets as you can. Every person, every lesson, and every failure is a ticket in the drawing. He and Justin get into chasing opportunity instead of passion, why your network is only worth the currency you can give back, and why money alone will never make you happy.
They also dig into the thing every creator wrestles with. Authenticity over clicks, the brutal role of consistency, and why staying true to your mission beats chasing the algorithm.
Plus, Chris makes the case for American made film, an industry that employs three million Americans, and his new movie Bad Counselors.
Topics covered:
- Harvesting life's lottery tickets
- Pursue opportunity, not passion
- Networking as the currency of trust
- Money cannot buy happiness
- Authenticity over clicks
- Consistency is the key to success
Website: https://badcounselors.com
https://fenton-ibsc.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-fenton-chinaexpert/
Plate & Ponder Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2dZxONorGM2NHrW2VyixF2?si=de026db061ce46bd
────────────────────────────────
LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMS
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/1V4SjmlnG2sntDnck8UrGW
Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strictly-from-nowhere-a-podcast-experiment-by-cause/id1804380172
iHeart Radio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-strictly-from-nowhere-a-po-315649122/
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWAstEyCK6YsKVTTRsQr37w
SUPPORT THE SHOW
Patreon
http://patreon.com/StrictlyFromNowhere
CONNECT WITH US
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/strictly-from-nowhere
Website
https://strictlyfromnowhere.com
────────────────────────────────
FOLLOW JUSTIN ABRAMS | @cuzzinjustin
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cuzzinjustin/
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/cuzzinjustin/
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@cuzzinjustin
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/cuzzinjustin24
Website
https://www.cuzzinjustin.com
────────────────────────────────
FOLLOW MIKE RISPOLI | @mike_rispoli_cto
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rispoli-cto/
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/mike_rispoli_cto/
X
https://x.com/michael_rispoli
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@mike_rispoli
Website
https://michaelrispoli.com/
────────────────────────────────
CAUSE OF A KIND | @causeofakind
Website
https://www.causeofakind.com
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/cause-of-a-kind
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/causeofakind/
X
https://x.com/causeofakind
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@causeofakind
Newsletter Signup
http://eepurl.com/gcc-yj
Newsletter Archive
https://us16.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=847ea1526d6523a41ef1eb5a5&id=48d53e9627
────────────────────────────────
OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS
CodeDojo
https://github.com/Cause-of-a-Kind/code-dojo-core
OCR Ruby GEM
https://activestorage-ocr-demo.fly.dev/
────────────────────────────────
COMMUNITY INITIATIVES
Long Island Technologists
https://www.longislandtechnologists.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/long-island-technologists-networking
https://www.instagram.com/longislandtechnologists/
────────────────────────────────
We Build Products, Because We Want Them To Exist
https://coakstudio.com
────────────────────────────────
Brought to you by Cause of a Kind
A boutique software development and startup studio from Long Island, New York
Stand up. Show up. Build.