Sometimes you have to jump before you know where you\u2019re going to land.\nImagine being a kid playing with action figures like G.I. Joe. Can you imagine growing up to become a Hollywood film director and directing the G.I. Joe movie?\n\nThat\u2019s exactly what happened to Jon Chu, this week\u2019s guest. You may know him as the director of G.I. Joe, Step Up 2, Justin Bieber\u2019s Believe and Never Say Never, and Now You See Me 2.\n\nToday I\u2019m talking to Jon about what it takes to become a studio director in Hollywood, his path of creativity, and the inner workings of the movie world. Listen in to hear him talk about how his sense of play as a child helped fuel his creativity, why he doesn\u2019t think film school is for everyone, and why you should always be creating, even between projects.\n\nThanks for listening. Let\u2019s dive in.\nThe idea of love and how we love or hate each other, that journey is so part of our existence.\n\nSome things we learn in this podcast:\n\n \tWhat it was like growing up in the Bay Area in the 1980s [3:20]\n \tThe moment he knew he wanted to work in film [4:10]\n \tHow his sense of play helped build his creativity [6:40]\n \tThe surrealism of directing GI Joe [9:25]\n \tWhy film school isn\u2019t for everybody [10:40]\n \tHow Steven Spielberg helped jump start his career [16:10]\n \tHow the directing process starts early [19:55]\n \tThe importance of growing in your craft [23:30]\n \tWhy he keeps making stuff even when he\u2019s between projects [25:20]\n \tWhat it\u2019s like to lose a project [27:20]\n \tWhy it\u2019s great to be around people who are creating [32:20]\n \tThe importance of family [33:55]\n \tHow fear can stop you [37:20]\n \tHis definition of success [41:10]\n \tThe process of making a movie [48:25]\n \tHow to deal with people\u2019s opinions of your work [51:50]\n \tWhy you have to position yourself for things to work out [58:05]\n \tWhy he wants people to know they\u2019re not alone [1:00:10]\n \tWhy he looks up to Walt Disney [1:02:05]\n\nLinks mentioned:\n\n \tCheck out the Princess Grace Foundation\n \tMusic Credit: Jump the River by L\xe9o Lunel\n\nConnect\xa0with Jon\xa0Instagram\xa0|\xa0Twitter