Macey

Macey Miller spent more than two decades in the BBC newsroom.

It was not a place to play, to be creative, or to make mistakes. After all that time, she knew she needed to leave and do something truly creative. The Make Happen Masters in Creative Practice, with its focus on how you think, resonated immediately.

Getting Into Action

What worked for Macey was doing rather than theorising.

Real deadlines. Real questions. No need to work out the established way of doing something first. Your practice is your practice, and the only way to find it is to do it, make mistakes, and embrace them.

When she hit a wall, that was often where the magic happened. Looking back, she was grateful for every wrong turn that pointed her the right way.

Just Send the Email

Years of getting it right had left their mark. Macey would catch herself wondering whether an email sounded professional enough. The answer was always the same: just send it.

The Power of the Request

Making requests changed everything about her film.

“Once I started making the request, I realised this film wasn’t me. Making this film was about everybody else that I got on board.”

Getting people on board meant being vulnerable, and that was hard. As a reporter she had always held herself back. People saw the BBC, not her. Now she had to reveal herself and explain why she was making the film. The generosity that came back blew her away.

Far More Authentic

Macey describes herself as having been “quite institutionalised,” and shedding that took a lot. She credits the Masters, the Make Happen method, and her cohort with getting her there.

Her cohort still meets every week. They have worked on each other’s projects and remain committed to what they want to achieve.

Today she describes herself as far more authentic and far more brave.

“It’s an incredible experience doing the Masters, and it’s always going to be with me.”