Abraham Lincoln said, “Things may come to those who wait, but only those things left by those who hustle.” Mr. Lincoln must have somehow known of Naomi Galatas. I met Naomi at last year’s New Orleans Film Fest. We have a mutual friend, Fatima, and the three of us went to go see the shorts at the festival and I instantly liked her. She had a spunky spirit and knew movies like I do-watching all the intricate details no one else cares about. After we went to have beignets and talked a bit. Naomi shared that she’d worked on a show that was in town and enjoyed it and wanted to explore working in film and tv more. She also shared how much she loved music. Naomi felt that New Orleans had such great underground hip-hop talent and she somehow wanted to help spread the word about the talent she saw to the world. As I listened I thought FINALLY someone who sees it like I do. BUT I wasn’t convinced yet if she was truly ambitious or if she was just a great talker (after all it was our first meeting and I can get very excited about new people only to find they weren’t quite what I thought). Naomi and I promised to stay in touch and parted ways at the end of the night (after watch Dee-1 perform AND catching a great film starring Anthony Mackie who spoke at the screening! WHAT A FAB DAY!). Anyway, several weeks later, my job was looking for an assistant in set containment. This job would not be glamourous but would be a way to be on set and get a foot in the door. I debated for a while about telling Naomi. True, she said she was down to work in whatever capacity and she had a brother in Baton Rouge but still I wasn’t sure it was for her-I didn’t want her to think I thought she was only capable of set containment – people can be funny that way. I decided to just let her know and she could decide what she’d like to do. She was excited about the opportunity and jumped on it. She met the boss on a Sunday and that Monday my superior had only awesome things to say. Naomi had secured the job on her own. Once she started work, she knew set containment wasn’t her thing but she showed up and went above and beyond on the daily. But she’s a hustler, she introduced herself to the PR director, told her the vision she held and basically went after what she wanted. I was in awe! Naomi always says I got her a job-I did no such thing. I just gave her info and she created her own lane. That’s what hustlers do!
After the job, it was time to think of what’s next. Naomi invited me to go swimming at her friend’s and while we were there she mentioned starting a website. Again, she had a great idea but I was leary because folk talk a lot but don’t always back it up. By the end of that week, Naomi not only had the site set up but had quite a few followers and interest! A few weeks after that, we both applied for a job as assistant to the Second Unit Director on GI Joe 2. I can count on one hand how many interviews I’ve gone on and not gotten the job. This is job was one of the two!!! Naomi had captured the position! (LOL my ego didn’t like that but that’s another post for another day lol.) I’m so beyond proud of this girl and she reminds me to stay on my hustle, not just when it feels good and things are going my way but ALL THE TIME! Now her peers are even taking note of her hustle as she’s been nominated for a NOLA HIP HOP AWARD, category you ask? Hustler of the Year! So again you can wait for what’s coming but know that Naomi’s hustle is leaving LITTLE behind! Read her story for yourself…
NAME: Naomi Galatas
AGE:26
HOMETOWN: New Orleans, Louisiana
CURRENT CITY OF RESIDENCE: (residing Uptown currently)
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Xavier University, New Orleans
Major: Mass Communications (Broadcast); Minor: Speech Communication
OCCUPATION: Personal Assistant..PR…Marketing/Promo…Media Consultant…Blogger/ Writer…
I’m so thrilled to welcome you to my new site and blog! A year ago, I got some new business cards made by My over at Springcart. I really enjoyed working with her because she got my vision with very little to go on…all I could tell her was that I loved the way the dark black sky turns to blue in the early morning hours. She whipped up a card that stands out and presents exactly the image I desire. When I was ready to re-do my site, she allowed the vision in my head to become a reality! I’m so pumped!!! This is an interesting time for me…I call it the grinding season. Please follow my blog and follow the stories that arise along my journey!
Alicia Keys’ latest song “Unthinkable,” has made me realize not only that I’m ready but what I’m ready for! I’m not longer content living a mediocre existence. I’m ready to live up to my true potential. I’m ready to grow my business and expand my brand. I’m ready to create great stories and characters. I’m ready to enjoy my life ALL THE TIME! I’m ready to release all things that no longer serve me. I’m ready to be a better, more authentic me. I’m ready to life the life I dream about. I’m so ready!!!!
Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. ~Abraham Lincoln
Even as far back as the Lincoln days, ole’ honest Abe knew the importance of HUSTLE. I’d say it proved successful for him-he’s considered one of the best presidents in history after all!!! The dictionary defines hustle as “getting by trying hard”. I define hustle as “getting by DOING hard”. (Nothing beats a “try” like a “DO”!) I feel like when I was in L.A. I was always surrounded by “the hustle”. EVERYBODY was hustling ALL THE TIME! The industry there is serious and there’s a gazillion people equally as qualified as you are that have all the same credentials. Now that I’m in New Orleans, there is a WHOLE ‘nother type of hustle. There is a huge music scene here – so many emerging talents it is ridiculous. It is so much going on, so many ways for someone with my career experience to get involved. I want to just sit back and watch but my hustle won’t let me! LOL! I’ve landed smack dab in the middle of a talent explosion. You think I’m gonna wait for the leftovers?!?!?
When I decided to leave my first Hollywood job it was super difficult. I loved my boss and we were really like family. All my friends worked there and I was very close with the clients. It was a great situation except I felt like I had stopped learning. There was no more mystery or excitement in that position (and I had done so great, my boss would pay me whatever I said but he wouldn’t promote me to manager; as long as I stayed there I would be his assistant and I wanted to do more.) So I decided to leave. A couple weeks before I left an interview came out featuring my boss’ biggest client. In the article she said that while she wished more people of color were in the position to greenlight film projects, she didn’t foresee it happening. She said the day a studio has an African American in a position to greenlight films she’d backflip down sunset. I had often dreamed that I would be in a position to yay’ or ‘nay some hopeful’s attempt to create a show or film project. When my boss told her I was leaving, she gave me a call and asked why. I told her because I wanted to get closer to the job that would make her do her flips! On my last day, she brought me a Tiffany bracelet with a note that said she vows to stay flexible for as long as it takes to see me reach my goal…
I want to be a successful, notable figure in the entertainment industry. I’ve been focused on that singular goal for as long as I can remember and seriously began to pursue it in 2002. Over the last eight years I’ve made huge strides, and I feel like I’ve been learning my craft. I feel the time is very near where I’ll be able to start my ascent through this industry I love. Although my goals have changed and studio head is no longer as appealing, I think I’ll make achievements so notable that that actress may have to get those flips together…
About two months ago, I got the opportunity to do publicity for an up and coming singer/songwriter Kourtney Heart. This girl is amazing! I won’t even get into her talent, let me just tell you about what makes me excited about being a part of her team.
Kourtney has that thing … you know how like whether you like people like Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera you have to respect them because they really work hard at their craft. Kourtney has that type of work ethic right now … at 16! She works equally as hard in the classroom and maintains an above 3.0 GPA. But my favorite part is that she gets the bigger picture in the grand scheme of things.
I always say I want to give back but I rarely do because of the … I don’t have enough money or there’s not enough time or other excuses. Kourtney makes it a priority to use whatever time she has to host and participate in events that have a civic appeal. She got her start by turning popular songs into jingles to prevent teen smoking and singing at her teen advocacy events around town. And now that she has two songs on rotation here in the city, she’s decided to host an event that will help girls aged 7-14 develop self esteem. Kourtney gets upset when she hears young girls compare themselves unrealistically to others, and decided she wanted to do something for the girls that made them feel good about themselves. We’ve prepared an awesome event for these girls. The fact that she was so excited about doing it makes me equally excited that someone so young gets it.
Get to know Kourtney Heart on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. She also has a blog click here. I’ve included her new video “My Boy” featuring Magnolia Shorty. This song is so cool for the summer because it is fun and light! It’s a radio hit here and since she’s from New Orleans she’s got authentic moves to go with it! The second video is her debut single “Spell It Out” because I find it to be such a cute little song that shows more of her sound (more videos are on youtube that show her range). I mean I know I will STILL buy a brand new outfit and shoes when I know I’m going to see a new boy I like!!! LOL! Sooo … without further ado, start to get to know Ms. Kourtney Heart!
Thousands of mosquito bites, one heat/dehydration incident, new best friends, first film gig in New Orleans that lead to current tv gig, best breakfasts ever, introduced to yerba mate tea, visions of pool boys, got my first IPhone and ran the battery down 100s of times a day, many trips to St. Francisville and back and sober nights working in the Quarter while the drunkards walked through ….
And on June 18 you can see what all the hard work went into!!! Click here to watch the trailer!
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I’m so thrilled to welcome you to my new site and blog! A year ago, I got some new business cards made by My over at Springcart. I really enjoyed working with her because she got my vision with very little to go on…all I could tell her was that I loved the way the dark black sky turns to blue in the early morning hours. She whipped up a card that stands out and presents exactly the image I desire. When I was ready to re-do my site, she allowed the vision in my head to become a reality! I’m so pumped!!! This is an interesting time for me…I call it the grinding season. Please follow my blog and follow the stories that arise along my journey!
