Author Archives: thevsstudioblog

The Pareto principle: for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes (the “vital few”). Named after the Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, who observed in 1896 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population, this principle evidences itself throughout nature and across a wide variety ofContinue reading “80/20 It”

Escape Velocity: “the minimum velocity that a moving body (such as a rocket) must have to escape from the gravitational field of a celestial body (such as the earth) and move outward into space.” Holy Metaphor Alert! Here we go… You are the rocket. You desire to do something great, make art, make a change,Continue reading “Escape Velocity”

“The single best thing an actor can do, both professionally and personally, is to create their own work.” -Jenna Fischer, from her book The Actor’s Life “Hard work doesn’t guarantee you success. But without it, you don’t stand a chance.” -Pat Riley Jenna Fischer recently wrote a phenomenal book about the actor’s life. I highlyContinue reading “Jenna Fischer – “The Actor’s Life”: Three Reasons”

“People are people, so why should it be? You and I should get along so awfully.” -Depeche Mode, song People Are People “When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell goodContinue reading “People Are People”

Do tons of work on your own before asking. (Writers, at the very least, make a concerted effort to eliminate spelling and grammatical errors and all other typos.) Have a select group of people whose opinion you trust and taste you respect. Even if it’s radically different than yours. Relinquish the need for praise orContinue reading “On Receiving Feedback”

“Don’t demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well.” -Epictetus To get to where you wanna go… ..You must first fully accept where you are now. For more on acceptance, listen to this excellent podcast episode with Navy Seal Jocko Willink.Continue reading “Acceptance”

For the actor… Care way less about whether you were emotional. Whether you were “feeling it” up there. That you were moved. Care way more about whether your audience was.

“They went, the Ghost and Scrooge, across the hall, to a door at the back of the house. It opened before them, and disclosed a long, bare, melancholy room, made barer still by lines of plain deal forms and desks. At one of these a lonely boy was reading near a feeble fire; and ScroogeContinue reading “It Will Haunt You”

Measure your success by what others think and say about you and your work. Don’t have your own internal scorecard of excellence. Try to please. Don’t have a plan. Be inconsistent. Do things only when you’re “feeling it.” Don’t have a strong why. Blame others when things don’t go your way. Be boastful. Seek praise.Continue reading “Doomed To Fail”

“Indifference is the elixir of love.” -P.M. (a college buddy) Prescription for your Hollywood dreams…(Or any desire for that matter.) Want it. But don’t need it.