Winning Emmys, Directing Feature Films and Running a Production Consulting Firm While Traveling the World with Michael Thelin (Ep 32)

Hear how persistence, creative focus, and relentless networking helped him break into film and build a remote company. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE Michael Thelin takes us on his journey coming up as a trader on the CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange), explains what that unique environment was like on the inside, how he managed the rollercoaster of stress and euphoria, and the personal life lessons he took from the experience. He then opens up about how he pivoted to become a writer and director, lived on unemployment for a year as he grinded away, and finally had his breakthrough when he sold a show to NBC. He explains how he built his own path to success through networking, staying creatively focused on producing high quality work, and never taking a vacation. He talks about how he landed fortune 500 commercial clients like BMW, Amex and Coca Cola and landed production consulting work for Warner, Universal and Fox. He then talks about the projects that won him Clios and Emmys and shares some behind the scenes mishaps. He then explains how he built his business, “MTP”, a film and television production consulting company that he scaled to over 20 staff, which now oversees the production of Google’s premium streaming content that is competing with Netflix and Amazon. He explains how he built his business with a location independent infrastructure so he can run it remotely while traveling the world. He then shares his creative process for co-writing and directing his first feature film Emelie, which released theatrically in 2016. He shares what it was like on set directing the film, explains the incredible stress level and how he managed to stay focused and complete the project to critical acclaim. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU See my Top 10 Travel Apps See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!