I am loosely planning my pilot episode and I am considering Philadelphia as a primary destination. A photographer friend of mine from The City of Brotherly Love, Stacey Salter Moore, was in town for the PhotoPlus Expo with her company JPG photography. We met up at Javitz and walked to one of my favorite Hell’s Kitchen watering holes the Holland Bar to blab about ideas for my new show.

Much to my surprise Stacey invited Food Network Star Russell Jackson to join us in the discussion. Both Stacey and Russell gave me great ideas. Russell hammered home the point that the content is everything and admitted to shooting much of his web footage on an iPhone. He showed me some time lapse video that he shot of his underground restaurant and I had to agree.

Russell also discussed the idea that my show doesn’t even need to end up on a network station. He told me about many shows that are strictly web based and are very successful. He posed the question, “Do you want to be famous or make money? Because you will make more money on the web.” I thought about this and realized I wasn’t overly concerned with either. My goal is to share a story that will be inspiring to others. It’s about conquering fear. It’s about going for it.

I am learning there is no single way to create an episodic show. As corny as it sounds, I need to follow my heart and let the content ring true.  Good storytelling doesn’t need to be complex or technically advanced. An old Harlan Howard quote comes to mind. When asked how to write a great country song, Harlan simply replied, “Three chords and the truth.”