I’ve written before about the qualities to look for in a long-term business partner. But how do you find one?

In the last year, I’ve learned the secret. Tara and I now have multiple projects going with high-quality partners and plenty of creative momentum.

What’s the secret? Fair warning - you’re going to laugh cause it’s so stupid simple.

Here’s the secret:

Tell people what you’re doing, or (if you haven’t started yet) what you're planning on doing.

Tell people what you’re doing.

This tactic is supported by 13.7 billion years of physics. Newton’s Third Law of Motion says that “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

It’s called mirrored reciprocation - the simple idea that you get back what you put out into the world.

So, when you tell someone what you’re doing (or want to do), they have to respond in some way. They must reciprocate. It’s like a superpower fueled by physics.

And their response is usually one of these three:

1) they want to get involved because they’re into the same thing you are,

2) think it’s cool but not for them, or

3) not into it / ignore it.

All three of these responses are valuable filters for finding your creative collaborators.

Tara and I have found all our creative partners this way - we pitch what we are doing or what we’re thinking about doing, and listen to the response. Sometimes it’s yes, sometimes it’s no, but we get an answer.

Now, it’s not always easy to put yourself out there like this. It can be scary to boldly say what you want. And you have to do it authentically for it to work.

But have no doubt - it does work.

Don’t be what you think they want. Be who you are.

Humans are social creatures. That means we very easily conform to fit in.

It’s easy to waiver from what you’re trying to create as you get feedback from the other person. Especially if the other person is someone you admire, or is seen to have a higher status than you. For Tara and I, this includes film producers, high-level directors, star actors, buyers, etc.

Don’t do this. Don’t drift away from what you want to create because someone has a different idea.

You can’t pretend you want what the other person wants. That defeats the purpose of what you’re trying to do: suss out if this is the right creative partner for you.

Obviously, I don’t mean be stubborn and belligerent in your interaction. I just mean don’t let someone else’s taste influence yours. What you like. What you want to build.

Tara and I experienced this last year when we were re-writing our first feature script for a Hollywood star actress. The star’s taste was not our taste. And yet because she had immense power to move the project forward, we took her feedback and tried to make it work despite it going against our instincts.

It didn’t work. The script got worse and after six months of re-writing our producer told us to go back to what we had - it was better before.

We ended up delivering to the star actress a version of the script Tara and I really liked, even though it wasn’t what the star wanted. The star passed on the project. But at least the script was still the movie Tara and I set out to write.

My point is this: you must stick to your taste to figure out if a possible creative partner is right for you.

Never let potential partners kill your momentum.

When you’re creating anything, momentum is everything.

As Naval Ravikant says, “Inspiration is perishable - act on it immediately.”

But this is tough when you’re working on a collaborative project or searching for creative partners. Because other people can slow your roll.

Don’t let them. Don’t let someone else kill your creative momentum.

If you do, it’s very difficult to get that inspiration back.

Keep going, even if you have to leave someone else behind. They’ll either A) get their ass in gear and realize if they want to keep up, they better step up, or B) fade away and free you up to find someone else who’s a better match for where you’re at.

But nothing good can happen unless you finish what you start. So finish.

Thanks for reading.

- Thomas

P.S. Artificial intelligence is leverage. So check out these…