Author Archives: thevsstudioblog

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is a habit. Not an act.” -Aristotle “How you do anything is how you do everything.” -Zen Buddhist Principle “To help others find and manifest the art inside them. And inspire them to do so with excellence and generosity for themselves, their fellow artists, and the audience theyContinue reading “Excellence”

Before showing someone your work, ask yourself what exactly you’re looking for. Affirmation? Or feedback? Both have merit. But the answer to this question determines who you reach out to. It’s also generous and empathetic on your part. Your respecting people’s time and personality. If it’s honest, critical feedback you seek, great. Realize there’s probablyContinue reading “Affirmation Or Feedback?”

“The common denominator of success – secret of success of every individual who has ever been successful – lies in the fact that he or she formed the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do…It’s just as true as it sounds and it’s just as simple as it seems. You can holdContinue reading “No More Info”

“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” -Roy Disney “If you don’t stick to your values when they are being tested, they’re not values; they’re hobbies.” -Jon Stewart A useful exercise is to get out a sheet of paper and write down all your core values. What matters mostContinue reading “Values”

This blog and the mission of The Vs. Studio is to help people find and manifest the art they’re passionate about. And to do so with excellence and generosity. For themselves, their fellow artists and the audience they seek to serve. So what if you don’t know what you’re passionate about? That’s okay. In myContinue reading “Tuesday Nights At Vs.”

The author and speaker Zig Ziglar classified goals into two categories. (1) “Give Up” Goals. Think of trying to lose weight or quit a bad habit. For these type of goals, tell everyone. Let them know to keep you in check. It’ll serve as extra motivation, especially in those weak moments when your willpower isContinue reading “Give Up Or Go Up”

A common note given to an actor is that the stakes aren’t high enough. “Raise the stakes.” How exactly do you do this? Here’s a simple cheat… Go back through the script and for every action, say to yourself, “I will die if I don’t get what I want.” That could mean physically, emotionally, mentally,Continue reading ““Raise The Stakes””

“Look, and it can’t be seen. Listen, and it can’t be heard. Reach, and it can’t be grasped.” –Tao Te Ching, Stephen Mitchell Translation Here’s the definition of a heat check as told by writer Shea Serrano: A heat check is (mostly) a basketball term. It’s used to reference a shot attempt, specifically a difficultContinue reading “Heat Check”

The Resistance will try a million different ways to knock you off course. To prevent you from doing the work you’re supposed to do. The work you’re born to do. It’s a motherfucker. Insidious. It’s the wolf at the door. Fight it! Fight it every day of your life. Your soul depends on it. GoContinue reading “Insidious”

“I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody and they’re going to find me out.” -Maya Angelou “The exaggerated esteem in which my lifework is held makes me very ill at ease. I feel compelled to think of myselfContinue reading “Fraud”