In this solo podcast episode, Tony Suriano uses filmmaking as an extended metaphor for taking control of one’s life. He begins by urging listeners to choose a "genre" for their personal story—preferably a positive, adventurous one—because the genre shapes how the life narrative feels when re‑watched. He then outlines a concrete creative process: capture raw ideas in a "vomit draft," transfer them onto index cards, and arrange them on a board to prioritize scenes (life milestones). After organizing, he advises stepping away from the board for days or weeks, allowing the subconscious to incubate the material, which often results in sudden insights. When inspiration strikes, he recommends writing a full, unedited draft (the vomit draft) to get the story down before polishing. The next phase is "showing up on set," meaning committing to the plan, engaging with various "departments" (aspects of life), and being open to "happy accidents" or "movie magic" that can improve the narrative. He reflects on his own evolution from a bleak European‑drama genre to a more adventurous, underdog‑overcoming story, illustrating that one’s life genre can change over time. Throughout, he calls listeners to share their chosen genre in the comments, emphasizing community learning, and promises a follow‑up episode that will dive deeper into the filmmaking‑life parallel.
Chapters
You need to pick the genre of your story. And you're gonna do what humans do, and we're gonna rewatch this story as we live through life. So if you're watching a crappy genre, crappy film that doesn't make you feel good, and you're rewatching it over and over, that's gonna suck. Your life's gonna suck. My wife says this intro sounds like a conspiracy mystery. So I'll stop that voice and tell you, this show is for you. I'm going to share encouraging educational content, hopefully entertaining, that will help you direct your life. I have a question, the ultimate question: are you directing your life? That is the theme forever. And I have a metaphor today that can help walk you through what it really looks like to be in control of your life. And how you can apply it. That metaphor deals with what I have been obsessed with for 20-plus years, and that's filmmaking as a director, actor, editor, producer, you name it. To me, it's all one thing because I've been doing it so long. And this metaphor, if you pay attention and you lean in, can really help you Break down this whole big thing we called life and help you navigate how you want. Okay, ready? Listen up. This is what we're doing. How I make a film from A to B. This can be applied to your life. So think about your life as I'm explaining this. What does it start with making a great film? First, You have to have an idea so you can create a story. Following? Now, I know you are. I'm just messing with you. But you have to create a story. But what do you do before the story? You have these ideas. And here is an immediate tool. What I do is I will write down ideas on paper. It's a vomit draft, what I want it to be about. If I have a scene that comes to mind that makes me excited, I write that down. I just have all these scattered places, and then I go to the next stage, which is index card, okay? And I write everything down on index cards. I put them on the board in order, or what I think the order should be, and then I rearrange them. I'm prioritizing the scenes for the film. Now, right before that, I actually missed something. And this is a tool that you need to do right now if you don't already know it. You need to pick the genre of your story, the genre of your life, so then you have a target to go towards. Now, in filmmaking, I love all types of genres, but in life, I think you have to be very specific. And I think it has to lean— well, I know it has to lean more on the positive, adventurous side. Can we all agree we all need a little more positivity, a little more adventure in our life, and that's what helps us feel fulfilled and grow and feel happy? So what is your genre? Is it a romantic comedy? Is it light? Is it easygoing? Or is it up and down struggle for that big goal? What are you fighting for? Now, this genre is so important because when you create the story You're gonna have the story and you're gonna do what humans do, and we're gonna rewatch this story as we live through life. So if you're watching a crappy genre, crappy film that doesn't make you feel good, and you're rewatching it over and over, that's gonna suck. Your life's gonna suck. So what do you need to do? Create the genre that you know lights you up like a Christmas tree. That's, that's the truth. So when I put these scenes on the board, I do 10, 10, 10, 10. There's like 40 scenes in a feature film. I've written 7 feature films, and it's always tough, it's always hard. But if I break it down, I can actually navigate. So think of your life. Are you thinking of your life in one big chunk? Are you breaking it down in chunks so you can start actually Stepping into the role of a director and making things happen how you see them? That's a question straight to you. So what happens after you put it on the board? Now things are brewing in your life, in your head, about the movie, or in this case with you, about your life. So what I do is I actually go completely away from the board, completely away from my notes for days, sometimes weeks. And I just go and live and have fun and let it brew in the subconscious mind. Then every now and then you get something like a lightning bolt and you rush back, and that's when you start writing your story. That's when I start writing the feature film and I get into it and it's like my hands are just magic and I'm actually wondering what's going to happen next. Because my subconscious mind, which I can call my body, right, the internal working system that I can't really reach and touch, but it's there. It's such an amazing thing, but it works for you and it's always listening. So all the stuff I put in the board, all the things I wrote down, then I went away, it was listening, and then it conjures up into something That just ignites me. So think about your life, find the genre, write down all these thoughts. Get it? That's why we have dream boards or battle boards, whatever you call it. You put things on the wall that inspire you because your subconscious is always listening. Write that down. Your subconscious is always listening. One more time. Your subconscious is always listening. And it is true. It is the biggest secret. So what happens next? I write it out, and I don't want it to be perfect. I just want to write it out. So create a vomit draft. That's what we call it in the industry. We just vomit it out, get all the way to the end. Do not edit on the way to the end. Just get to the end. You can always go back and refine it. And what that means in life is that you pick a genre, You let the ideas brew, you plot it out, you have a good outline, maybe you have a rough draft, but as you step into this story on set, on a film set— when I step on a film set, things change as we start filming. And as you step into your life as a director of your life, things start changing. And if you're open to it, magic moments can happen. That's why they say movie magic. Happy accidents can happen, as we call them on set, when you don't have exactly what you want happen. Something else comes in. It could be a problem, but actually it's a blessing in disguise. So that's the main first chunk. Just get the story you want with the genre that will serve you and just let that brew. Start writing your vomit draft today. Don't wait. And guess what? This changes. Maybe 10 years ago you had a different genre, like me. I had a crazy, melancholy European drama with a severe ending. But it changed and it developed, and I started to be more in the adventure genre, the growth genre, the overcoming genre. The underdog goes through struggle and he relinquishes and he wins. That's the genre I like. So what's your genre? What's your story? Please tell me in the comments. There's a comment section on Spotify now. And if you're watching on YouTube, please share in the comments. I want to know. I want to read them. And this is a fun way to socially learn because everyone knows you can learn so much in the comments. How many comments have you read that actually solved your problems when you're looking up how-to videos on YouTube? I know it's been a lot for me. So that's this part of the episode for you. I might go into the next section, which is going on set. That's when you really step into the story and actually roll the camera, make it happen. And when I think about that with life, it's like you set the plan, you pick your story, what you want out of life, you set your goals, and then showing up on set is like committing and telling others that you're doing this thing in your life and you actually committed. So you have to show up on set, and then you just figure it out when you're on set, even though you planned Things change, but you're on set, you're figuring things out, you're dealing with different people, different departments. As a director, I deal with every department on set. I let them do their thing for the vision, but then I'm the director, so I get to lovingly pick apart that department or add it or do whatever I want to really help with the vision that I have. And it's exciting. I love it. It so much. I love what I do. And in your life, you must love what you do. When you step out on that stage or you step out on that film set, you have to be all in and commit. And you will be all in and commit if you did the work and you put the ideas on the store— on the board, and you wrote that vomit draft. You are in. It's in you. It's in your subconscious. And you're going to be all in. So I'm gonna stop right here. I think the rest of filmmaking will be in another episode because there's so much that goes on in our life. Again, we don't want to over-chunk it. In a film set, to make a full feature film, it is huge. To make a full short film, it is huge. We have to break it down in chunks. We have to have a plan, and we have to let happy accidents happen. And let the magic moments come through. That's it for this episode. Check out the next one where I go deeper into the process of filmmaking and how you can apply that to the process of your life. Thank you so much. Please share this with someone that needs to hear it. I really appreciate that. Like, and if you haven't subscribed by now on YouTube, please do. I appreciate it so much. Thank you once again. Thank you.
