Who better than you to motivate yourself to accomplish your dreams? That’s the question billion-dollar Hollywood producer Will Packer encourages you to answer in his new book, Who Better Than You? The Art of Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big. With his book, Packer has created the success toolkit he wished he’d had to start in the entertainment business; helpful for anyone who’s just starting out or perhaps ready to make a major transition but doesn’t feel there are great career options or ready examples of people who’ve succeeded before them.

One thing Packer does know is how to be consistently successful; from box-office smash hits like Girls Trip to Ride Along to Straight Outta Compton, his films have grossed more than $1 billion, making him stand out in Hollywood. Aside from the commercial success, Packer credits his strong relationships throughout his life as a way to propel him forward, like his beloved fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, lifelong friends he’s made at his alma mater FAMU, and invaluable industry connections.

By using powerful and illuminating stories from the frontlines of Hollywood to offer a clear vision of how to manifest your success, Packer’s book easily empowers us to start dreaming aloud and believing our wildest goals can come true. According to Packer, several surefire ways to ensure success start here:

Be arrogant! The highest-achieving people have “healthy arrogance,” which is a superior confidence not only in themselves and their abilities but also in their predestined success.

Convince people your goals are essential. It is crucial to assure others that your success benefits both you and them.

The work you put in when nobody’s watching makes everyone pay attention later. No single person deserves to achieve their wildest dreams more than you. But it will never happen until you act accordingly in every aspect of your life.

We spoke with Packer about how we can all produce our own blockbuster successful lives— (hint) it starts by believing there is no one more worthy of it than you.

ESSENCE: Why did you decide to write this book? 

Will Packer: I realized that over the past 30 years, dealing with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, some of the most famous people in the world, some of the most fascinating people in the world, also some of the enormous egos and some of the most toxic people in certain instances, I realized that my experiences had taught me how to hone a skill set that does work in a variety of industries, whether you’re trying to get into film, start your own business, climb the corporate ladder, pivot in your career. Just after graduating from college, I realized that there were lessons that apply, and there are traits that successful people have, regardless of their industry, that I wanted to share, which was the impetus behind writing the book.

And so, what are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned on your journey to success? 

Healthy arrogance is a term that makes some people uncomfortable. Many successful people are internally quiet about their confidence, right? It’s just about walking into a room and yelling from the top of your lungs how great you are like Hollywood does plenty of that. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about an internal feeling that you should be successful and deserve success.

So this idea of arrogance, whether you are a screaming extrovert or somebody who really doesn’t like to be around people, the point that you have to understand is that your success resides within you. Don’t give somebody else your power, no matter who they are, no matter what title, role, or resources they may have or control. 

Your dream isn’t over until you say it’s over, so don’t give that to somebody else. Be confident, internally confident, supremely confident that success is yours. You deserve it; even if you don’t have it today, that’s okay. That means you weren’t meant to have it today. Tomorrow is a new day; the day after that is another. Dreaming big is a big part because it’s tough to succeed. So you need a dream that is so big that when you get into those challenging moments, the dream makes it worth it. 

You have to be going for something that you are willing to lay it all on a line for, and if it’s not something that you’re willing to do whatever you have to do to get there, then it’s probably not a big enough dream. We don’t dream big enough because we think that’s not realistic, but you have to be a little crazy, a little mad, to be somebody who’s going to be successful because that’s what it takes. 

Sometimes, you have to fabricate momentum for yourself. Sometimes, you must trick yourself into understanding that you’re on the right path. You can’t get stuck on the first rung trying to get going. Instead of developing lofty goals initially, start with smaller ones to attain.

Some of us have a vision for our lives but lack self-determination due to fear, trauma, or self-doubt. How can we break out of that to move forward? In the book, your mentor suggests that you start climbing the mountain to become successful.

Don’t get paralyzed by preparation. That’s what I meant by climbing the mountain. There are so many of us that have preparation paralysis. You have to start somewhere. You gotta start climbing because you will spend all your energy, time, and many years of your life getting ready to climb the mountain but not doing it. 

You should be prepared, but don’t let the preparation paralyze you. That’s what happens often with folks who are afraid to take that step, to start something new or scary. The other thing is to ensure you’re putting the proper amount of energy into the possibility of success. I have always said that the fear of failure pales in comparison to the possibility of success. The worst thing that could happen is you fail, fall on your face, and do it in front of everybody. But what if you don’t? What if we spend more time and energy thinking about winning?  

You know it’s love month, and we know that you met your wife at ESSENCE Festival and married her in 2015, 15 years ago. How do you keep your marriage strong but fresh? 

It is a balance of partnership, friendship, and a fantastic love story for us. I say in the book that my wife is the most amazing business decision I ever made. 

How do all types of relationships factor into success? You talk about this extensively in the book. 

I’m a proud Alpha brother. The relationships we foster and the networks we build are essential to our success. You can’t do it alone. You need a network of people. You mustn’t be the most successful person in your circle, and if you are the smartest, most ambitious, most successful person in your circle, you need a different circle because your circle is not pushing you. 

You can purchase Who Better Than You? The Art of Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big on February 18th.