Leave Your Homework At The Door

The paradox: you need to do the work so that you have the confidence to forget the work.

It’s about getting out of your head. Being alive. Fully present. Living moment to moment.

And the way to do that is to prepare like crazy beforehand, but then drop that preparation the minute you step out on that stage or on that field.

Some examples:

An athlete relentlessly drills so that on gameday, muscle memory takes over.

A writer does tons of thinking and research so that when they sit down to write a scene, it flows effortlessly from their fingertips.

A director obsesses over story and shots so that when they arrive on set, they can adjust to whatever conditions inevitably arise.

An actor goes over their lines a thousand times, writes a detailed character backstory, has a strong action for every beat, etc….so that when they step onstage, they can live truthfully under imaginary circumstances.

Put another way…no one wants to see or read your hard work, research and preparation. That’s boring. But you still need to do it.

So that you can drop it.

Because we want to see creativity. Spontaneity. The now. As if it’s happening for the first time.

We want to see your magic.

That’s what breaks through, what gets remembered.