Author Archives: thevsstudioblog

“We might deserve something. We might be entitled to it. But expectations are a story we tell ourselves, and that story is up to us. The simple life hack is to lower your expectations, regardless of what you’re entitled to. Create the conditions for the outcome you seek, but leave yourself room if it doesn’tContinue reading “Low To No. Or Many. Expectations”

“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won’t adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words “make” andContinue reading “Be An Outlaw”

“Used to be ‘Stay safe.’ Now it’s ‘Stay dangerous.’” -Nipsey Hussle (featuring Kendrick Lamar), song Dedication “The most dangerous person is the one who listens, thinks, and observes.” -Bruce Lee “The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anythingContinue reading “Stay Dangerous”

“The measure of a person is the congruence between their words and actions, their kindness, their confidence, and their decisiveness about who they are in the world and who they intend to remain.” -Peter Cundill “In place of the term “realness” I have sometimes used the word “congruence.” By this I mean that when myContinue reading “Congruence”

I was happy in the haze of a drunken hourBut Heaven knows, I’m miserable nowI was looking for a job and then I found a jobAnd Heaven knows, I’m miserable now In my life, why do I give valuable timeTo people who don’t care if I live or die? -lyrics from the song, “Heaven KnowsContinue reading “Still Miserable?”

“Don’t whine. Don’t complain. Don’t make excuses. Just get out there, and whatever you’re doing, do it to the best of your ability. And no one can do more than that. I tried to get across, too, that — my opponents don’t tell you — you never heard me mention winning. Never mention winning. MyContinue reading ““The Road Ahead or the Road Behind””

In the late 1960s, researchers at Stanford conducted what became known as the Marshmallow Test. A preschooler was placed in a room with a marshmallow and given a choice: eat it now, or wait a few minutes and receive two marshmallows instead. Early findings suggested that children who could wait tended to be more successfulContinue reading “Trust”

For the director… When you make it (your direction) solely about what’s best for the play, you can’t go wrong. When you make it about anything else like your ego, your “vision”, your career, etc…do so at your own peril. The play’s the thing. It’s always been the thing. It’s the only thing. P.S. –Continue reading ““The Play’s The Thing””

Fifty years earlier, in a state of agitated anxiety, he [Mike Nichols] had told an interviewer, “I don’t care about being forgotten. I fear getting to the end of my life and feeling I’ve wasted it. I don’t want to get to the end and think I haven’t tasted enough and touched other people enoughContinue reading “Study Improv”

“If you don’t take money, they can’t tell you what to do, kid…Money’s the cheapest thing. Liberty, freedom is the most expensive.” —Bill Cunningham “Be fiscally responsible so you can be creatively reckless.” -Tom Rothman “I had learned to manage on very little money. I had it down to a science. I really didn’t needContinue reading ““If You Don’t Take The Money…””