You are Not Ready

The Jim Pascoe Playbook Vol. 3 | No. 5

That’s the caption I’ve been using to promote our teaser for Squid Game 3 — and I mean it.

I'll have more to say about ALL the work we've done on this title after the show comes out in June. For now, let's talk about the creative process in general.

You’re not ready for what’s coming.

You think you are. But you’re not.

And that’s exactly the point. It’s not just hype — it’s a state of mind.

"You are not ready" means:

Your prep? Not enough.

Your expectations? About to be shattered.

Your plan? Irrelevant now.

Because when the moment hits — the real moment — you either jump or you freeze.

Be honest with me. Have you ever been deep in a creative project and thought:

• I need more research…

• I should find better reference…

• Just one more inspiration scrap pull…

That's not prep. That's hiding.

You can feel the twist coming: You’ll never feel ready. That’s how you know you are.

The most powerful thing you can do is move anyway. Hit record. Make that deck slide. Write the line. Trust what you’ve already absorbed. Trust the you that got you here.

When I say You Are Not Ready, I’m inviting you into the arena.

Not to wait. To play.

So whether you’re cutting a trailer or pitching a deck or writing a song —

Don’t delay. Don’t second-guess. Don’t flinch.

Let the games begin.

love,

jpp

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Cool Stuff

Hold on, Jim Pascoe, did you say teaser trailer for the new, final season of Squid Game? HELL YES I DID. Bravo to all my friends and coworkers at RAVE Collective, including Jenna Lolli, Emily Kramer, Mace Torres, for an epic piece of marketing.

I LOVE high res images. I love Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” (1665). So how about exploring this painting with a 108-Gigapixel Scan? Just so we’re clear, that’s 10 billion pixels! It’s not just about looking at this painting up close, it’s like an interstellar ride into painting itself! WILD! Close up images selected by thisiscolossal.com.

I don’t feel like I share nearly enough poetry here! So here’s a poem for May by Tom Disch.

I’m in Canada on a movie shoot. So sharing a pic I took of the Calgary Tower. Do you have any travel plans, either work or personal?

Do YOU have a cool project you would like me to share with my readers? Hit me up and maybe we’ll see you in an upcoming Playbook.