Real-life resilience - Yellowstone

The epic TV series of Yellowstone wrapped up in late 2024. It finished with 5 incredibly successful seasons and 2 spinoff shows (1883 and 1923). At one point, it was the most watched scripted series on television.

And yet, it almost never came to be.

If you’ve ever watched Yellowstone, Landman, Lioness, Tulsa King….these are all wildly successful TV shows created by the same man - Taylor Sheridan. These days, whatever Sheridan creates seems to be a massive hit. The guy can’t miss.

However, far before Yellowstone became the most-watched show on television, Sheridan was a young man with very few prospects. In his early twenties, his parents separated, the family lost their ranch in Texas, and he was eventually kicked out of university. Alone, without direction, he mowed lawns and built fences just to survive.

Like many great stories, a tiny moment of chance spun his life into a new direction. After seeing Dances with Wolves, Sheridan felt drawn to storytelling. He took a chance on acting, driving from Texas to Chicago to audition for a small TV role. He got the part and that role led to the next one, which eventually took him to Hollywood at age 25. He arrived in LA with his dog and no place to live. He slept in his car, then a tent.

For a whopping 20 years, Sheridan pushed forward with acting. He landed minor TV roles, most notably a recurring part as the deputy sheriff on Sons of Anarchy. But these small roles that would pop up from time to time just weren’t enough for any consistent success, and Sheridan recognized that he would only ever be a “fair” actor.

He was down and out with not much success to his name, until a student in his acting class asked why he didn’t just write a script himself. That was the question that changed everything.

It was a fork in the road moment. Sheridan quit acting for good and decided to write scripts. He had no formal education in writing, he hadn’t finished university, and didn’t even know how to use a scriptwriting software… but what he did have was decades of experience reading scripts and learning what not to do. He and his wife maxed out their credit cards, sold two horses, and downsized to a small apartment with no air conditioning, just to give him the chance to write his first screenplay.

He wrote a film called Sicario with just $800 left in his bank account and it was his first taste of success. The film was made with a budget of $30 million (starring Emily Blunt and Benecio del Toro). Then came Hell or High Water and Wind River, each more successful than the last. And by 2017, he had a bold new idea of a modern western, a saga about land, family, and power.

That idea was Yellowstone.

Sheridan pitched it as The Godfather in Montana, but no one wanted it. Studios rejected him outright because westerns were apparently “out of fashion”. HBO considered it but ultimately passed, believing the show was “too middle America” and that women wouldn’t like the fierce and fiery Beth Dutton character. But Sheridan refused to compromise. He took his script back and shopped it elsewhere.

Rejection after rejection until Paramount finally took the bet. They needed some original programming and they were willing to take a big swing. Sheridan poured everything he had into the project and it wasn’t an instant hit. But by Season 3, the audience had caught on. By 2022, Yellowstone was the most-watched scripted show on television. Today, Paramount spends half a billion dollars a year on Sheridan’s projects, and the show is filmed on the $320 million ranch that Sheridan now owns!

Applying the Yellowstone mindset to daily life.

Sheridan’s journey is a wonderful example of finding a way forward, even when the world says no. It can also be a blueprint for resilience in our own professional lives. Here are three ideas we can consider applying ourselves:

1. Start before we’re ready. Sheridan didn’t wait for a perfect moment - he couldn’t. And perhaps that was the catalyst he needed. He started with what he had which was just an idea of what not to do. Too often, we wait for the “right time” to start a big project, a career change, or a new venture. But there is no perfect time. Any action creates momentum and we can always ask ourselves what we can do today. One way I’ve tried to practice this is to put up my hand for something that I wasn’t ready for. It’s the fastest way to get moving. And leaders love it when we take that initiative.

2. Pivot when necessary. Sheridan could have stayed in acting, perhaps opting for the devil he knew, even if it meant struggling through minor roles indefinitely. Instead, he pivoted big time! Resilience isn’t about sticking to a failing plan - it’s about finding a way forward, even if that means choosing a completely different path. One of the ways we can practice this is just by trying something new today. What’s one small pivot that feels a bit scary? It could be as simple as choosing a different item on the menu, or proposing a new process at the office. Practicing small adaptations help us build the skill to adjust more easily when times get really tough.

3. Bet on yourself. The story of how Yellowstone came to life is inspiring. Sheridan went to the meeting with Paramount exhausted after being rejected several times. The story goes that he took control of the meeting (like the character Beth Dutton would have), outlining exactly what needed to happen to win big. He held no punches and the studio had enough confidence in Sheridan to take a risk on him. They bet on the man because they knew that Sheridan bet on himself. In any career, there will be moments when others doubt our ideas, our vision, or our ability. Resilience often requires belief in ourselves, even when others don’t.

This story of Yellowstone and Taylor Sheridan is about persistence, adaptability, and an unshakable belief in our own potential. The path is never easy, but when we accept that it’s going to be bumpy, we tend to get focused on what we need to do to make it happen.

Until next time friends, stay resilient.

Carre @ Resilient Minds