My name is Evan Carmichael and I believe that the fastest and most effective way to build a business is to model the strategies of people who have already done what you’re trying to do. I call it Modeling the Masters. My last post with over 2,000 views was How to Go For It, Follow Your Passion, and Be Nice Like Pierre Omidyar (eBay founder).

Today we're going to look at how a young man who wanted to become a professional race car driver changed his career choice after connecting with the right mentor and rose to the top of his industry. This is the story of Star Wars creator George Lucas and the top 3 lessons that you can learn from his success.

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"The secret is not to give up hope. It’s very hard not to because if you’re really doing something worthwhile I think you will be pushed to the brink of hopelessness before you come through the other side. You just have to hang in through that." - George Lucas

George Lucas (born May 14, 1944) is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm and is best known as the creator of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. Lucas' father owned a small office supply store that Lucas was destined to take over but he had other plans - he wanted to become a professional race car driver. Almost his entire childhood was dedicated to cars.

When he was in a near-fatal car accident just days before his high school graduation, Lucas gave up racing and went to college. He enrolled in the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television because he liked photography and thought "maybe that will be interesting." The program would change his life. He met Francis Ford Coppola at the film school who served as his mentor and inspired him to become a producer-director. Upon graduation he committed himself to doing films as his profession.

Today Lucas is one of the film industry's most financially successful directors/producers. His estimated 2011 net worth is $3.2 billion and he's received numerous honours such as being named among the 100 Greatest Americans by the Discovery Channel and receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Film institute.

Action Item #1: Love what you do

If you want to find success as an entrepreneur you need to be in business because you truly love what you're doing. You're not doing it just to make money. You're not doing it because others expect you to do it. You do it because you want to do it and you can't wait to wake up tomorrow morning and do it again.  You may not be excited about the results you're seeing with your business so far but you have to be excited about the actual work you are doing if you hope to become the next George Lucas of your industry.

Lucas knew he never wanted to take over his father's office supply store. He didn't even think of himself as a businessman. Once he discovered his love of making films that's all he wanted to do. Just like he had done earlier in his life with race car driving, Lucas devoted himself fully to filmmaking even though filmmakers rarely made very much money. He wasn't in it for the money, he was in it because he loved it - and he ended up making millions in the process.

According to Lucas: "My first six years in the business were hopeless. There are a lot of times when you sit and you say ‘Why am I doing this? I’ll never make it. It’s just not going to happen. I should go out and get a real job and try to survive’... You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. Otherwise you’ll stop at the first giant hurdle.”

Action Item #2: Find something you're great at

To make a mark on your industry you have to be really great at something. Create a niche where you are the absolute best at what you do and start building a name for yourself. As you expand your expertise you can offer more products and services but keep a specialized focus so you can easily separate yourself from everyone else in your industry.

When Lucas enrolled in film school he thought "maybe that will be interesting." He had no idea that making movies would become his calling. All he did was start following his interests in the hope that it would lead him somewhere he enjoyed. When he first enrolled he was interested in the social sciences, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and photography. He managed to combine all of them into filmmaking and by tapping into what he was curious about, success eventually became his.

According to Lucas: “I’m a storyteller, but to enable me to tell my stories, I’ve had to develop the necessary technology... A lot of people like to do certain things, but they’re not that good at it... Keep going through the things that you like to do, until you find something that you actually seem to be extremely good at... Talent is a combination of something you love a great deal, something you can lose yourself in – something that you can start at 9 in the morning, look up from your work and it’s 10 o’clock at night – and something that you have a natural ability to do very well."

Action Item #3: Keep going

Entrepreneurship is hard and you're going to have days when you want to stop. Keep going. If you love what you're doing and you're making a significant difference in the lives of your customers you need to find a way to keep going. Believe that what you're doing is right and that things will work out. The dots will connect in your future even if it doesn't make complete sense right now. Trust that what you're on the proper path.

When Lucas first decided to go to film school, he was told he would never find a job afterwards. When he graduated and decided to make a film about androids, he was told to come back when he was serious. And, when his film about androids was finally made, not everyone was singing its praises. But, Lucas pressed on and soon became one of the wealthiest and most renowned filmmakers in history.

According to Lucas: " You simply have to put one foot in front of the other and keep going... Put blinders on and plough right ahead... If you want to be successful in a particular field of endeavour, I think perseverance is one of the key qualities... The secret is not to give up hope. It’s very hard not to because if you’re really doing something worthwhile I think you will be pushed to the brink of hopelessness before you come through the other side. You just have to hang in through that.”

True Story

Lucas wrote the screenplay for Star Wars after being inspired by Flash Gordon and Planet of the Apes. While writing it he thought that it was "too wacky" for the general public but he insisted on finishing it.  When the script was finished, only Twentieth Century Fox was willing to take a chance on the movie. In a groundbreaking move at the time, Lucas agreed to give up his director’s salary in exchange for 40% of the film’s box office take as well as all merchandising rights and sequel rights. Breaking all box office records and winning seven Academy Awards, Star Wars made Lucas an instant millionaire as well as a household name.

More Quotes

"I’m extremely grateful that I discovered my passion. I love movies. I love to watch them, I love to make them."

"It’s hard work making movies…if you don’t really love it, then it ain’t worth it."

"I got the licensing rights because I figured they wouldn’t promote the film and if I got T-shirts and things out there with the name of the film on them it would help promote the movie."

What Do You Think?

Have you found what you love to do? Have you ever thought of giving your business up? What part of George Lucas' message impacted you the most? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts if you leave a comment below!

Evan Carmichael

To learn more check out my list of George Lucas articles or my website, EvanCarmichael.com.