June 13, 2023, 12:00 p.m. EST
Growing up in Guatemala, Winnie never imagined that she’d find herself as a film executive at a top Hollywood Studio. Winnie shares with Georgette how she remained steadfast in wanting to assist international students like herself and was very honest about how she learned some things the hard way during her time in school. On this journey, we're often reminded to stay flexible and Winnie did just that. Recorded on April 13, 2023.
Transcript: Season 6, Episode 5
Winnie Carrillo
Georgette Pierre:
What does it mean to make it big? Well, it depends on who you ask, and we did. Welcome to Making It Big in 30 Minutes, a podcast for, by and about the Emerson community. You're about to meet an Emersonian who's making it. Making a living, making a difference, and sometimes making it up as they go. I'm your host and alum, Georgette Pierre. If you like what you hear, subscribe and share with your friends and meet me and other Emersonians over on Emerge, the only digital platform exclusive to the Emerson community. Go to emerge.emerson.edu for more.
Georgette Pierre:
Winnie Carrillo studied screenwriting during her time as an undergrad at Emerson. Shortly after graduating, she took on commercial production work in her home country of Guatemala, which later opened up an opportunity that eventually landed her at the film division of MGM Studios before the Amazon merger. On this journey, we're often reminded to stay flexible and Winnie did.
At MGM, she went from being an executive assistant to a creative executive, to the post she now holds as development director. Winnie remained steadfast in wanting to assist international students like herself and was very candid about how she learned some things the hard way during her time in school, while also remaining open. Here is Winnie Carrillo on making it in film development. I have Winnie here with us. Winnie, how are you?
Winnie Carrillo:
Doing well, how are you?
Georgette Pierre:
I'm doing well, thank you for joining Making It Big in 30 Minutes. So, the way I kind of like to warm my guests up is asking them to describe their profession in one sentence or even in a very lighthearted, quirky way.
Winnie Carrillo:
Ooh, one sentence. Similar to Cameron Diaz in The Holiday? That's one sentence, but yeah, I have a really long title, which is Director of Development of the motion picture group at MGM Studios, which is also now Amazon Studios. But, I am a movie studio executive who helps choose what movies we're going to make next. That's one sentence-ish.
Georgette Pierre:
I like that, I definitely like that. Now, what surprises you most about the work you're doing now?
Winnie Carrillo:
Oh, my god, everything. Just to put things in perspective, I never, ever thought I was going to be able to be a studio executive. I grew up in Guatemala, there are no studios there, this does not exist. I think it's just not as much of a, and I can talk about, there's different types of surprises, but I do think it's a situation which, every other day, I'm pinching myself. Like, "Oh, my god, I get to work on this and this franchise. I get to work on Legally Blonde and I get to work on The Addams Family and stuff that I watched as a kid."
So, I'm just being on the other side of things and watching how the sausage is made on those things that were iconic projects that I looked up to as a kid. There's always some surprises there, but I think one thing that would surprise a lot of people, if they weren't familiar with this job, is the insane amount of reading that goes into it. The job is 80% reading. You read 13 scripts a week of features, you read a couple books a week, it is a lot of reading.
Georgette Pierre:
Yeah, that's actually an interesting. I work in TV production, so I'm on the opposite side of helping execute said visions. I'm curious, with you saying you're from Guatemala and being from Guatemala, representation, I think, from where we're from and how we present in the world is really important. I guess with you being in this position, how have you been able to contribute to that in a real way that you probably didn't get to see growing up?
Winnie Carrillo:
Guatemala's a really tiny country and I am yet to meet anyone. I feel like I've met people that are a quarter this and this, and I'm yet to meet any people in the industry, at least in my side of things in development, that are born and raised in Guatemala. Because I felt a bit of a lack, I don't have mentors to look up to that come from where I come from and even just finding Latina executives, I've never met a more senior film executive than me in film that's Latina.
I've definitely felt like there's a space there. What I've done is, even though there's not people that are in my exact position, there's a small community of Guatemalans that is growing. I am pulling them all in and being like, "Let's make this event. Have you heard of this thing that's going on? Let's introduce you to these other Guatemalans." I feel like I've luckily been in a position where I now see my friends that are in other fields. I have friends that are up-and-coming editors or up-and-coming directors and I have the privilege of being able to introduce them to other executives.
Being like, "You know, I heard about this opportunity and they need a Latina editor. You would be great for this." Or, "They're so wanting to tell the story from this POV, I think you'd be amazing." I think it's allowed me to make the introductions that I wish I had when I was starting out, but it's also really cool, because I get to the opportunity. Every now and then, I'll get calls from friends or from people who have siblings, cousins, students, mentees, whatever it is, that want to learn more about the industry. I very often do those [inaudible 00:05:43] of, "This is what the job is." "This is what it would look like." "This way to do next."
Georgette Pierre:
Yeah, no, I mean, that's a great segue because I think about, when I heard studio executive, when I started working in production, I was like, "Production is cool." But, there's this creative bug in me, Winnie, where I'm like, "Oh, I want to scratch this." Then I started learning the production, because I'm curious to hear more about your journey with this. Learning production almost felt like that was the side that I needed to start it on in order to start understanding how to tell stories, how to get stories produced and get to that side that I wanted to eventually get to. What does it mean to be a studio executive? What inspired you to become one? What was that journey to getting there?
Winnie Carrillo:
A lot of fortuitous mistakes.
Georgette Pierre:
Of course.
Winnie Carrillo:
At Emerson, I studied screenwriting, so I was convinced I was going to be a writer, because writing was the only type of storytelling that I really knew growing up. I actually intended to be a novelist and Emerson somehow didn't take me into WLP and instead put me in Writing Film and TV, which is a question I still have for the counselors in Emerson, because I'm not sure how that happened. But, I paid a lot of attention to crafting the story and what's your story arc and what are your character motivations? All the elements of being able to tell a good story in script form.
I always thought I was going to be, still in development, but on a different side of my career. But, I took a lot of left turns that I wasn't expecting. After graduating, I thought I would be able to go intern at a production company and then maybe make my way into a writer's room. I quickly realized that, as a foreigner, it's really difficult to get into the industry, because I needed sponsorship. I had no family in the country, I had no family in this industry. I had no mentors that came from the same place that I came from who could help me navigate. No even international mentors that could help me navigate the visa process.
I had to go back to a country that doesn't have a film or TV industry. The only thing that I had access to, really, was working at commercial production companies. It's not that I was forced to pivot, but the only opportunities, if I wanted to stay in this field, were for me to start in production, in the commercial space. I had the opportunity to learn a different side of the craft and I was like, "Oh, I love putting people together. I love wrangling everyone and making things happen."
Then I started thinking, "What if I do this, but for my original love of films?" Then I ended up going back to grad school and I studied specifically producing and I thought I was going to be a producer. When I came back to the US, I was like, "I'm going to get as much intern or assistant in whatever experience as I can." I immediately started interning. I first went to Paramount, then I went to Warner Brothers, because I was fascinated by the studios-
I never went into them being like, "I'm going to get a job here." I was just like, "I'm going to get a peek behind the curtains and then, with that knowledge, I'm going to be better informed as to how to go make my own movies." Because I didn't think I would have access, to be honest. Even though I was in there as an intern, I still didn't believe that there was a world in which I could have a seat at this table.
Another gratuitous mistake, I had a friend who I reported to as an intern. Well, we became friends through the internships, but there was someone that I reported to at Warner Brothers, who heard that they were looking for a temporary assistant at MGM and they submitted my resume. They didn't even ask. They were like, "Listen, I think it'd be." They told me afterwards and I was like, "Should I not have been consulted?" But I'm very, very thankful, because that happened almost six years ago and had it not been for me getting the opportunity to be an assistant there, I wouldn't have known what, exactly, a studio executive does.
I thought that this was going to be a three-month opportunity that was going to come and I didn't think it was going to be something that a solid job would come out of it. I just thought I was going to get some experience and that was going to push me off into the next thing. Because again, I didn't think at the time that I was qualified, or that I had this mysterious something that I needed to be able to be in the studio system.
I can't say that I intended and set out to specifically be a studio exec, but once I was given the opportunity to be an assistant, I was like, "Oh, I can do what they're doing. I'll work as hard as I have to work and I'll be here every night till 10:00 PM if I have to." But, I saw a glimmer and an opportunity and I took it and they haven't gotten rid of me since.
Georgette Pierre:
Yeah. There's something to be said about outside looking in and not necessarily feeling like you belong, or you had the access to be a part of that and still pushing through and thriving. Holding on, even when it still feels weary. What piece of advice has been tattooed to your heart along your journey to being where you are now and just personally and professionally?
Winnie Carrillo:
I think there's a couple. One is don't be afraid to pivot, don't resist the pivots that life throws at you. Because whatever journey you are embarking in right now, if it is in the arts, the film or TV industry, I am telling you, it will not be linear. You are not setting out to be a doctor where you get a degree or a lawyer where you pass the bar and then X, Y, Z. This is going to be its own unique journey. People are going to get places quicker than you, people are then going to get places different than you.
You have your own personal journey to pursue, so I'd say find whatever your core values are in going into your career path and your passions, your industries. To give you an example, mine was, I wanted to be a storyteller, period. That was my core. I was like, "That's the thing that I want to do." Don't be afraid to lean into the pivots that life throws you. Because I very easily could have been like, "Nope, this didn't work out as a screenwriter, I'm not going to do this anymore." Or, "I'm not even going to try production, because I'm not interested in that."
But, had I not leaned into those opportunities, I wouldn't be back where I am. One is always, if big doors open for you, lean in and accept. Try to find your values in those opportunities. If it's something that allows you to react to the real reason why you got in this industry in the first place, then lean in and just give those experiences a try.
Georgette Pierre:
I love that. I think if someone was to show us the path of a lot of our journeys that people that worked in TV and film, that line will be all over the place, right?
Winnie Carrillo:
Yep.
Georgette Pierre:
But I think a lot of times, we don't always see the line. We just see that someone got there faster than we did, that it looked more linear than our journey and so, you start to question. What's one mistake that you're glad you made?
Winnie Carrillo:
A mistake I learned the hard way, and this might be a little too specific, but I have faith that there are international students out there somewhere, listening to this.
Georgette Pierre:
There are.
Winnie Carrillo:
I didn't pay enough attention to the whole visa process before I left Emerson. I was too, "You know what? When the time comes, I will know exactly what to do and I'll have the right things lined up." This is also another thing that I would encourage old Winnie to do, even though I'm glad that it went the way that it went and I didn't get a visa right away. Because I wouldn't have otherwise taken my left turns, but if you're an international student, the best thing you can do right now is look up an immigration lawyer.
Call a friend, call whoever, and set up a free consultation, because it will allow you to know what your options are. The sooner you know that, the better. I've actually spoken to a couple current Emerson students that are international and it's the first thing that I tell them, like, "It doesn't matter if you are a junior, a sophomore. Unfortunately, time flies by a lot quicker than you think it does." My whole visa process took a year and a half.
Georgette Pierre:
Oh wow.
Winnie Carrillo:
That's a year and a half after I graduated that I had to figure out how to stay on a student status, doing OPT and whatnot. I would just say, get an early consultation. You can do it with multiple lawyers, they're free. Just tell them, "This is who I am. This is a field that I want to be in. What would you advise to take as the next steps in trying to pursue a visa?" If you want to stay in the U.S.. If not, ignore all that.
Georgette Pierre:
Well, I think that's really helpful advice for anyone to think about. My parents are immigrant, so there were things that they had to do that I had no ties to because we were born here.
Winnie Carrillo:
There's this constant ticking time clock the second you graduate that's breathing down your back. Also, I guess some people don't realize that you don't have, even though you're here as a student, you don't necessarily always have the same opportunities. For example, I went to the AFF with Jim [inaudible 00:15:13] shout out to Jim, one of my favorite teachers at Emerson. We went to the Austin Film Festival and I remember pitching a story at this pitch competition that they had.
Someone mentioned that there was a similar version to that being made at Indian Paintbrush, so I immediately found someone to contact at Indian Paintbrush. I want to say this was between my sophomore and junior year and I reached out and I was so passionate about wanting to work with them. They do the Wes Anderson movies and they do a ton of other, they used to be a bit more active, but they did these tiny, beautiful, emotional films. I reached out, because I wanted to find some sort of way to collaborate with them. They were like, "All right, cool." Whatever I said must have been moving enough where they were like, "Come intern for us."
I wasn't aware at first that as an international, you can only intern once, because you can only do it for credit because you're not allowed to be paid. If you do want to be paid, then you have to dip into this thing called CPT, which is a time that you usually allot till after you've graduated. But, there's a lot of other smaller complexities of things that you have to deal with as an international student. I would've loved to intern as much as I could at Emerson, but it's the small things that you have to be mindful of. You don't want to waste your credits too early and this and that.
Georgette Pierre:
You mentioned earlier that the opportunity or the job that you're in requires a lot of reading. Can you walk us through a day in the life of Winnie as the director of development for motion picture?
Winnie Carrillo:
Yeah.
Georgette Pierre:
I'm curious on what that entails for those that may be like, "Oh, that's cool, I get to help develop stuff." Not realizing, yeah, but in the process of developing, you still have to pull out the right script, the right characters, the right. I'm curious on what a day looks like for you.
Winnie Carrillo:
Yeah, I'll unpack that a little bit further and I'll just explain, more or less first what I do in a very basic way. As a development executive on the film side, I'm part of a group of executives whose job it is to go out into the world and find the stories that the studio's going to tell next. Then, once we've identified them, sometimes they're competitive situations, sometimes they're not, but you have to help acquire them and then package them with the right elements.
That means hiring the right writers, hiring the right directors. Sometimes it's the right lead actors or producers. Then working hand in hand with them throughout the entire development process, which is reading the scripts that they turn in, giving notes, or it could be treatments. Just helping shape the stories up until the moment when they go into production. For anyone who's very new, you can very easily divide the whole process into three stages. Pre-production, which is everything that happens before a camera gets turned on. Production, which is everything that happens when the camera's rolling and post-production, which is everything once you've wrapped.
My job is heavily in the initial stage, so I shepherd those projects through. Then once it gets to production, we hand them off to the production team and still just oversee. We make sure that everyone stays on budget, that we're making our days. It's more of a higher-level overview of the project and then, same with post. We'll look at cuts and we'll give notes, but we're not physically necessarily in the edit room, unless we actually have to, which is rare, but it happens. Then you see your baby off into the world on release date. But, as I was saying, that a lot of the bulk of my work is in the initial half and that is, stories can be found anywhere.
Typically, you will interact with agencies. There are agents who represent writers, who represent directors, who represent actors, who manage the liaison with these people. They'll be like, "My client." I don't know, "X wants to submit the script." Then you'll read it and you'll decide whether it fits your company's mandate or not. We also have book scouts, so our scouts will send us books, they'll send us articles and we'll check those out. Other times, it actually happened recently, I, in the middle of the pandemic, saw my little brothers reading a book that they could not put down. I grabbed the book, I read it myself, I looked up the rights, it was available, and now we're making into a movie.
It's like stories can really come out of anywhere. It sounds easier in just saying like, "Oh, you just find a story and then you run with it." But really, it's when we identify a story, we have to then fight the good fight within our group and really convince the president or the chairman, whoever's at the head of the company. We have to fight our battle of why this story needs to be told, why it needs to be told now, why the studio needs to spend the money on this. We champion these stories, and then obviously we're allowed to go.
Following through with the book example, I found the book, I found who represented the author, I reached out, we had a couple conversations. My boss then and I sat down with the author. Actually, we were on Zoom, and we met with the author and we pitched why we wanted to tell this story and how we envisioned putting his story in the big screen. Then we got the rights, and then the next step has been hiring producers. Because usually, these projects are brought to you either by agents or producers and this one didn't have anyone.
It was another pitch-me moment, where I got to work with someone who I had admired for so long and whose movies I had been in awe of. Then for him to be like, "Winnie, I want to make this so bad." I was like, "This is insane." I kept it cool in the room, but then I closed the door and I was like, "Yes." But, we hired producers and now we're in the stage of looking for writers, so I get sent a ton of samples of writers, every single week. On average it's, I don't know, 10 to 15 samples. You will go through all those and what you're looking for is the right voice.
Some people are really good at writing action scenes and they have great pacing and other people are really good at writing small, intimate, beautiful, emotional stories. That's not to say that writers can only do one or the other, but you use these samples, these scripts to be able to take a bet on people or make your informed guesses of who you want to go out to. Then the next step is meeting with those writers and then hiring those people and then they will turn in a script based on the book. Then I'll be giving notes alongside my producers and we'll give notes until we feel like it's at a stage where it's ready-
Georgette Pierre:
It's ready to go.
Winnie Carrillo:
To be put in front of the green light committee. Then you present it for green light and you hope for the best. No, you package your baby the best way that you can, because you only want to set it up for success. Then once that gets the green light, you go into the production side of things. For context, that is one project. I am currently on, I want to say somewhere between 25 and 30 projects.
Georgette Pierre:
I was curious. Right, yeah. Because I was going to say, if you're in the pre-production, once that rolls, you're onto the next. You have to juggle simultaneously, right?
Winnie Carrillo:
Yep.
Georgette Pierre:
Okay, that's what I thought. Yeah, yeah. Okay.
Winnie Carrillo:
Some are legacy projects that have been titles from MGM for the longest time. Others are franchises, like I mentioned Addams Family and Legally Blonde that already have certain characters in them that we have to honor. Then others are things that I've found on my own that I'm very passionate about and others have been submissions that we're reacting to. There's a variety of things and some are ready to go into. I have something that's ready to shoot in September, I have something else that we literally just acquired. It's all very different stages of where we're at with them.
Georgette Pierre:
Yeah, and I know, because some people don't realize, by the time we see it on screen, it didn't just get green light a month ago, six months ago. There's something to be said about the things that you're juggling and the stages that they're in that, some of the times, this could take a couple of years plus before it gets to the screen, if I'm not mistaken.
Winnie Carrillo:
Yeah, so animation usually, I think the average is around four or five years. I think we made one super quickly, which was three years, which was really pushing it and I was sweating till the end of that. But, I would say four or five years, and not even taking into account all of the development time. Then for features, I would say the average is, from when you start making deals for the writers to when it comes out, maybe three years?
Georgette Pierre:
Okay.
Winnie Carrillo:
Because people also don't realize how extensive the business affairs process is. That just trying to hire someone takes months.
Georgette Pierre:
Yeah, legally speaking.
Winnie Carrillo:
There's a lot of back and forth, yeah.
Georgette Pierre:
The contracts. This person wants this, this has to happen this way. I can only imagine.
Winnie Carrillo:
Now that the industry's changing so much, there's so many things that are changing in our contracts. MGM used to be theatrical only, and now that we got acquired by Amazon, now there's a streaming component to it. There's a change in the deals that we make, where certain directors are, "We'll make this deal intending." For example, "To go to theatrical." But if it changes, then they have to add clauses of what's going to happen to their backend, how are we going to compensate them if it goes to the platform, etc?
Georgette Pierre:
For streaming?
Winnie Carrillo:
Yeah.
Georgette Pierre:
That makes sense. Yeah. How do you keep the momentum going during the times you don't always feel strong, motivated or inspired?
Winnie Carrillo:
Oof. At work?
Georgette Pierre:
Sometimes we just have bad days or shitty days where you're just like, "I need to try again tomorrow." Or, "Give me a minute."
Winnie Carrillo:
Yeah. I mean, I'm a person that operates by deadlines. I need to give myself very strict deadlines because I am not an organized type of brain and if you don't push me to the last minute. It's one of the things that I think a lot of my colleagues, or not my colleagues, what's the word for this? A lot of my classmates at Emerson were a lot more right-brained than left-brained. Some people were super organized, but I have a hard time in forcing myself to do things in an organized manner.
Sometimes that will feel very overwhelming. It's very often that I feel super underwater with everything that's due, because there's a lot of deadlines. Even giving notes, for me, it's a very time-consuming process because you have to sit there and really be incredibly thoughtful about how you're going to shape these people's projects. You are telling the director what to change or you're telling the writer what to change and that's not something that I take lightly.
When you have a lot of those going on at the same time, it can feel like you have time for nothing. Or sometimes, something that you work really hard for isn't coming out or isn't received the way that you want it to be received. I wouldn't say it's a job that is for the fainthearted, especially because it all gravitates on our gut instincts. There's no right or wrong way of doing this job. It's very heavily personal and I would just say make sure that you have the things that accept you in life outside of the work as well.
Georgette Pierre:
Makes sense.
Winnie Carrillo:
I have a lot of friends who are not in this industry who will be, "Winnie, what are you freaking out about? It sounds like." Whatever. "This writer?!"
Georgette Pierre:
This is not brain surgery.
Winnie Carrillo:
Exactly, and it's incredibly helpful. As much as I respect our industry, and it is an insane one. It is very high stakes, because you're taking bets on really large budgets off of gut feelings, which can at sometimes feel very overwhelming. I'll then literally look at my friends who are surgeons or my friends who are doing things that are like. Even if it's not that, people who just don't have that mindset or that pressure.
My whole family, no one's in the industry and having conversations with them can be very grounding. Also, I think I'm someone who loves being active, so a good boxing class can get a lot of things done and sorted for me. Yoga, boxing, whatever it is, just find moments to disconnect. I've recently found myself a lot turning in notes or working on documents until 2, 3 AM And it's just like, some days you just have to accept that you've done enough for today and take your time.
Because if I don't take those 30 minutes to go off and eat and have my lunch and peace, or go meditate or go do that workout class, whatever, if I don't take that, that's just going to weigh on me and it's just going to take me longer to do the rest of my job. I think it's a combination of having activities and people that you love outside of the industry to take your mind in a different direction at times. More importantly, being reminded of why you started doing what you're doing, the core reason why you love. Yes, sometimes interacting, there's a lot of big personalities in this industry-
Georgette Pierre:
Yes, there is.
Winnie Carrillo:
And it's like when you're dealing with those, you'll be like, "Jesus, why am I in this position?" But then, it's also pivoting that mindset being like, "Wow, I have the privilege to be in this position?" It's also that shift in mindset that gets me through a lot.
Georgette Pierre:
Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I think it's really heavy on the disconnect, finding ways to really unplug. Production will just consume you, I know for me it does. By the time they hear this, it would've already filmed, but in the middle of just pre-pro for a shoot that I'm working on, I haven't left my computer. I'm just constantly at it, at it, at it, at it. Yeah.
Winnie Carrillo:
This is easier said than done-
Georgette Pierre:
It is.
Winnie Carrillo:
But if you have access to, in general, just disconnecting, but if you have access to nature, if you're in L.A., there's so many hikes everywhere. Even if it's a walk around your block. I realized during COVID, just those little walks, taking out my dog for a tiny walk, it could be two blocks and it's just like, don't even bring your phone. Just go and sit in your own space.
Georgette Pierre:
Whatever that looks like for you, for sure. I love that. No matter what you do now, your experience at Emerson has influenced who you are today. Every institution leaves its fingerprint on us, whether we use it, acknowledge it or not. What mark did Emerson leave on you?
Winnie Carrillo:
I think Emerson left a different and a deep respect for the arts that I didn't have before. Because before Emerson, I hadn't been in a space where people took their art so seriously. It was crazy to me that everyone, and it was a very, at first, intimidating thing, but everyone leaned into it so wholly that I was like, "Wow, this is really amazing." Because again, I came from a background where everyone had a very not artistic career.
Being able to be in a room with people where they're owning their art in such a different way was really, it was the first time that really allowed me to take that side of myself more seriously. Because again, I didn't set out to fully, I thought I would maybe be a novelist before I was a screenwriter, stuff like that. But, it's taking every single facet of this industry more seriously and with such respect that I think that's where the really amazing filmmakers, storytellers, writers, whatever come from.
Because they're people that really respect and honor and praise their craft. I think it gives you that. Also, Emerson was full of people, and it goes hand in hand with this, but they're very passionate about things that are so left of center and they're unashamed, unapologetically so. You can literally go be whoever you want to be-
Georgette Pierre:
Whoever you want to be, seriously.
Winnie Carrillo:
It's just like, I'd never stepped into a space that was so freeing before and where everyone was so authentically leaning into who they wanted to be. I thought that was beautiful and since then, I think I've looked at some people a bit differently. I just went to a bachelorette of one of my Emerson friends. Actually, it was a double bachelorette, in January. I've noticed a lot when I go on social media and I click through my friends of Emerson, there's still so many super tight-knit groups of Emerson students.
I had very different pods, I had my Latina group and I had my writers group or I had my this. There were different little pods and I look around me and it's really impressive how that network really shapes the people that become really important in your life growing up. Everyone's at each other's weddings or at each other's baby showers, everyone's growing up together. Emerson might also very well be the place where you find your next best friends and soulmates and people that are going to be there with you for the rest of your life.
Georgette Pierre:
Lastly, what does it mean for you to make it and how will you know when you get there?
Winnie Carrillo:
I don't think that's really a destination. I think that's something that I'm constantly checking in with myself, because I think it's more of a state of being. As I briefly explained earlier, I'm not someone who looks back a lot and I'm also not someone who focuses a lot in the future. I'm someone who very much sits in the day to day and focuses on what I can do now and what's around me now and appreciating the people that I have around me now.
I think making it means being in a state of being at peace and proud of who you are at the moment. That can be career-wise, that can be relationship-wise. I don't mean just love relationship, I mean with your parents, with your sibling. Who are you and are you putting out the best version of yourself? Are you happy with the decisions that you're making on the day-to-day? If the answer is no, then I would encourage anyone to, what's holding you back from pivoting and leaning into that space that makes you say yes?
But, I think I currently feel like I am making it. I don't know, I'm not making it big, I think that's another question, but I am making it because I feel very happy and at peace and fulfilled with the things that I do and the people around me.
Georgette Pierre:
I think that's the perfect answer. Making it, I think, is subjective and relative to wherever you feel like you are, but I love the idea of it being a state of being.
Winnie Carrillo:
Because in terms of career, my goalpost is constantly going to be moving. It's more of, in this state, with the resources that you have now, are you making the choices that you're proud of, that make you feel fulfilled?
Georgette Pierre:
Yay. Winnie, thank you so much.
Winnie Carrillo:
Thank you. Thank you for taking the time.
Georgette Pierre:
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