For some, getting into the entertainment industry is like having that impossible dream that’s never going to happen. And the perpetual question everybody’s asking - how to make it in Hollywood?

In this episode, Tim Tortora tells how he conquered Hollywood and made a living out of it. He shares some of the biggest lessons that only the industry can impart and why building a connection is the number one factor for success in this arena.

WHAT DID YOUNG TIM WANT TO BE WHEN HE GREW UP?

With both parents having their own businesses, it’s somewhat expected for Tim to follow their path. But it was during a drive around studios that young Tim realized what he wanted to do in life. 

Although the subtle implication was he was going to take over the family’s business as he grows older, Tim vividly remembers telling his dad, “I don’t want to do what you do, I want to work in Hollywood.”

As an undergraduate, he had a job in a recording studio as a tape operator. He eventually had a degree in advertising, and he just never stopped pursuing his passion. Tim was always adamant about creating his own path and always wanted to do the things he was interested in.

He thought that being a musician was for him and as he got close to realizing this dream, Tim saw that there were a lot of guys better than him. In his words, “they were more passionate than me, they played with soul.” He added, “I could play well, but I couldn’t play with soul flawlessly.”

Tim added that the guys who were good at playing music practiced for 6 hours a day. This was just not possible for him as he said, “there are a million other things I’d rather do in 6 hours than sit there and practice drums.”

He had the presence of mind to realize that he had a lot of interests, and he needed to pursue them. 

TWEETS

"I'm not interested in your path, I want to go find my own." #chasingdreams

"I had the presence of mind at a young age to realize that I had a lot of interests and I needed to pursue them." #chasingdreams

QUOTES

"I wanted to pursue what I thought was interesting and what I dreamed of doing which was being a musician." 

"I just had the presence of mind knowing that I'm not going to be happy following my dad's or my mom's path.”

"I could play well, but I couldn't play with soul flawlessly.

THE VALUE OF HAVING PRESENCE OF MIND

Since he spent most of his college career working in a recording studio, Tim saw firsthand band members who were broke, driving cars in bad conditions thus he was no stranger to the struggle.

He thought to himself, “I don’t want to be that guy, I don’t want to be struggling for art.”

His interesting journey of applying for work started when he sent out a cover letter with two typographical errors on it. Although he was not accepted because of this mistake, he corrected them and sent out another cover...