Steven Spielberg

Build genuine relationships based on mutual respect and collaboration rather than zero-sum competition. Success multiplies when talented peers help each other rather than undermine each other.

Spielberg, Lucas, Scorsese, Coppola, and De Palma became lifelong friends and collaborators despite being fierce competitors. They pushed each other to excellence, inspired each other, and helped each other succeed. When Jaws was dethroned by Star Wars, Spielberg took out an ad congratulating Lucas. They understood the market was not zero-sum.

“We're competing, but I'm also being inspired from you. This is not a zero-sum game.”

Negotiate ownership and profit participation into your deals from early in your career. This compounds over decades and generates far more wealth than salaries or standard fees.

Spielberg went from earning standard director fees to demanding gross participation deals, then eventually 50 percent of distributor gross on his pictures. By controlling deals with Lucas on Raiders, demanding no distribution fees, and maintaining ownership through Amblin, he built enormous wealth. His 2 percent deal on Universal theme park tickets generates $50-75 million annually.

Learn discipline and cost control from successful peers. Even great creative success can be constrained by wasteful spending, and controlling costs directly increases personal upside.

After the failure of 1941, Spielberg worked with George Lucas as a disciplined producer on Raiders of the Lost Ark and learned to bring films in on budget and schedule. He applied these lessons to E.T., coming in at $10 million, which enabled him to capture enormous profit share. Better financial control meant he could see the back-end profits rather than just studio advances.

“Whatever is there, he makes it work.”

Commit to a single vision from an early age and maintain unwavering focus on that path for decades, treating it as non-negotiable rather than a hobby or experiment.

Spielberg knew at age 12 that he would be a director and spent 62 consecutive years pursuing filmmaking with monomaniacal dedication. He explicitly rejected the notion that his early years were a hobby, declaring it his career from the start. This singular focus gave him clarity when others wavered.

“I've been really serious about filmmaking as a career since I was 12 years old. I don't excuse those early years as a hobby.”

Study the history of your field obsessively and borrow ideas, techniques, and inspiration from those who came before. What worked before can be applied in new contexts.

Spielberg watched films constantly and studied directors like Hitchcock, David Lean, and others. He used Hitchcock's technique of power of suggestion in Jaws, employing barrels instead of showing the shark. He borrowed camera angles and scene composition from 1950s films he watched at the Kiva Theater.

“I've seen absolute duplicates in Spielberg movies of scenes that we used to see back in the 1950s at the Kiva Theater.”

Invest in cutting-edge technology and tools for your craft. Technology is not just computers but better ways to do things, and the savings and capabilities compound over time.

Spielberg was obsessed with finding the latest cutting-edge technology from his early career forward. With Jurassic Park, he invested in CGI dinosaurs instead of physical costumes, which saved money on materials and crew while creating a superior product. The shift was compared to the introduction of sound to film in terms of opening new creative possibilities.

Pay mentorship forward and give opportunities to young talented people without demanding they conform to conventional paths. This is both morally right and strengthens your industry.

Chuck Silvers asked only one thing of Spielberg in return for opening doors: pass it forward. Spielberg honored this by becoming a prolific mentor and giving first-time directors, writers, and producers opportunities. He invested money and reputation in young talent because he remembered how crucial those opportunities were for him.

“When you can, pass it on. You could be nice to young people.”

Seek out mentors who are older, wiser, and already successful in your field. Enthusiasm and passion will attract them to help you if they see you have skin in the game.

Chuck Silvers, Universal's film librarian, became Spielberg's earliest mentor because he recognized Spielberg's genuine obsession with filmmaking. Silvers opened doors and provided guidance because he saw that Spielberg truly cared and was already hustling. Spielberg later did the same for young filmmakers, honoring Silvers' request to pass it forward.

“He clearly has soul in the game. His enthusiasm, you can feel it. Passion is infectious.”

Develop meaningful, long-term relationships with mentors and collaborators. Relationships that span decades reveal true character in ways that shorter interactions cannot.

Spielberg maintained lifelong relationships with Chuck Silvers, Sid Sheinberg, George Lucas, and other collaborators. These deep relationships allowed for honest feedback, mutual growth, and the kind of trust that makes creative collaboration and business partnership possible. He honored these relationships by mentoring the next generation.

“You can fool someone for months, maybe a year, maybe even a few years. But if somebody knows you for 20 years, you can't fake being a scumbag that long.”

Create your own curriculum rather than relying on formal education to teach you the craft you need. Develop professional research through direct observation, mentorship, and hands-on work.

Spielberg was rejected by every film school but created his own education by becoming an intern at Universal Studios. He worked out his own curriculum by visiting sets, talking with editors and sound mixers, and learning the craft through active observation and questioning. This self-directed approach gave him knowledge more personal and practical than academic training.

“Universal Studios, in effect, was Spielberg's film school. He worked out his own curriculum, immersing himself in the aspects of filmmaking he found most crucial to his development.”

Create the life you want if the existing world does not satisfy you. Do not accept constraints; reimagine what is possible and build it yourself.

Spielberg said, 'I never felt life was good enough. So I had to embellish it.' He created elaborate fantasy worlds through filmmaking because the real world felt limiting. This drive to create and improve led him to question existing industry practices and rebuild them on better terms.

“I never felt life was good enough. So I had to embellish it.”

Pursue your passion relentlessly, understanding that it will consume your life. There is no Plan B, and that certainty creates the focus and determination needed for exceptional outcomes.

Spielberg said multiple times that he had no plan B. He told his father, 'The first picture I do, I'm going to be a director.' By his early 30s, he said, 'I realized there was no going back. This was going to be what I was going to do or I was going to die trying.'

“I know there was no going back. This was going to be what I was going to do or I was going to die trying.”

View yourself as a misfit or outsider and lean into that perspective. Being different from the mainstream often provides insight and motivation that drives exceptional work.

Spielberg felt like an alien and a misfit growing up. He was Jewish in areas without Jewish communities, not interested in sports or dating, obsessed with movies instead. He says, 'I never felt comfortable with myself because I was never part of the majority.' This outsider perspective shaped his filmmaking.

“I never felt comfortable with myself because I was never part of the majority. I felt like an alien.”

Work with the same core team for decades rather than constantly replacing people. Shared knowledge and understanding compound over time, making you faster and more effective.

Spielberg consistently hired the same editors, visual effects people, and collaborators across multiple films. The compounding knowledge and shorthand communication from years of working together made him much more efficient than he could be constantly onboarding new team members. Larry Ellison used the same approach with Oracle's programming team.

“We just have a way, all the knowledge we have working with each other, it compounds. That compounding makes it easier for us to communicate and work faster.”

Be resourceful and make the most of what is available rather than being pedantic about original plans. Adapt quickly to circumstances and turn constraints into creative advantages.

When 5,000 unexpected people flooded a road during filming in Shanghai, Spielberg's assistant expected disaster. But Spielberg said it looked great and rolled cameras. With Jaws, he turned the broken mechanical shark into an advantage by using barrels and power of suggestion, which made the film more suspenseful. He learned this technique from Hitchcock's Psycho.

“Whatever is there, he makes it work.”

Think visually and in the perfect medium for your skill set. Understand how you naturally process and communicate ideas, then work in that format.

Spielberg speaks cinema as his native language. He thinks visually and cuts scenes efficiently without wasting film. His strength was in visual storytelling and composition, which made him perfect for the film medium. He would conceive of entire scenes visually in his head and had to figure out how to translate that vision to others.

“No one can help you holding the entire idea in your head. That is your job. That's something that you have to figure out.”

Build your product the way you would consume it. As the audience, make what you want to see, and that authenticity will resonate with others.

Spielberg declared, 'I am the audience.' He made movies he personally wanted to watch, a trait he maintained throughout his career. This approach mirrors Steve Jobs' philosophy at Apple, where they knew the iPod would succeed because they loved using it themselves.

“I am the audience.”

Have a calling card, a piece of work you can point to, before asking for opportunities. Passion and enthusiasm alone are insufficient without tangible evidence of your ability.

Spielberg made the short film Amblin at age 21, which became the portfolio piece that attracted Sid Sheinberg's attention at Universal TV and secured him a directing contract. This demonstrated that he could execute his vision, not just talk about it. He later advises young filmmakers to make films on their phones for the same reason.

“You can't just say, 'Hey, I'm excited about making films.' You need a piece of work that you can point to as a calling card.”

Understand that your mind will play tricks on you during difficult periods. Have mentors and peers around you who can see clearly when you cannot and push you forward.

During Jaws production, Spielberg wanted to quit, convinced the film would be a failure and end his career. Sid Sheinberg literally forced him to continue, saying this opportunity was vitally important. Lucas felt the same way about Star Wars. Having people who believe in you when you do not believe in yourself is critical.

“Why are you making me do this B movie? I thought it would be a turkey.”

Maintain positive forward motion regardless of internal suffering or external setbacks. Keep working and moving toward your goal even when circumstances feel hopeless.

While struggling to break into the industry as a young filmmaker, Spielberg maintained visible positive forward motion in his work even though he was suffering internally about his prospects. When making Jaws with a broken mechanical shark and massive production problems, he thought his career was over but kept executing and adapting.

Do not let early rejections or failures define your path. Rejection from film schools, early directing failures, and script rejections were stepping stones, not destinations.

Spielberg was rejected by every film school but created his own education. Sugarland flopped before Jaws became his breakthrough. 1941 was a major failure before Raiders brought him back. He understood that each setback was temporary and kept moving forward.

Question conventional wisdom in your industry. When others say something cannot be done profitably or successfully, that gap between belief and reality is where opportunity lives.

Before Lucas and Spielberg, studios believed science fiction films could not make money. They revived the genre with Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Similarly, all the young filmmakers, called the Movie Brats, questioned why the film industry worked the way it did and rebuilt it through their innovation and talent.