In July 2023, after announcing that I had left my previous teaching gig of twelve and a half years, I was asked if I’d be interested in joining the training team at a very prominent studio here in Vancouver.

I didn’t apply for the position.

I didn’t chase it.

I only entertained the conversation out of respect for an old friend and to see if there was genuinely something I could contribute.

Things looked promising, until they told me their Head of Training didn’t think I could do the job.

I wasn’t interviewed.

I wasn’t asked a single question.

But somehow, they had already made up their mind.

This happens more often than you think.

Sometimes, you won’t even be given a chance to prove yourself.

Not because you’re unqualified, but because someone decided you don’t fit their picture.

Even with a track record of training hundreds of students from around the world, helping them secure internships at Sony, DNEG, ILM, MPC, and jobs across nearly every major and minor VFX studio in Canada, through a curriculum I designed myself, I still wasn’t considered suitable for the role.

Because their decision wasn’t based on merit.

If someone doesn’t give you the opportunity to show what you’re capable of, they don’t get to define your potential.

And they sure as hell don’t get to decide how you’ll respond.

Maybe you’re not a good fit for their studio.

Or maybe they were never planning to give you a fair shot in the first place.

Either way, don’t let that moment shrink you.

You trained. You studied. You worked hard.

And your future doesn’t need to pass through their approval system.

There are other paths.

Better ones.

And sometimes, the best thing that ever happens to you is being underestimated by the wrong people.

I don’t believe in kumbayah solutions.

I believe in building people strong enough to outlast the gatekeepers.