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“After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain.” –A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway That’s the number of endings Hemingway wrote to A Farewell To Arms. It’s in the conversation for one of the best and certainly most famous novel endings of allContinue reading “47”

Think you have nothing to say? Sit down and write hour after hour, day after day, month after month…Then assess. Think you have a whole lot to say? Sit down and write hour after hour, day after day, month after month…Then assess.

“Don’t let the force of an impression when it first hit you knock you off your fee; just say to it: Hold on a moment; let me see who you are and what you represent. Let me put you to the test.” — Epictetus The ancient Stoics tried to practice apatheia. Not to be confusedContinue reading “It Happened.”

Just as journalists are taught to always ensure they lead with the 5 W’s, we must do the same for any desired project. If not, we’re doomed. To review, the 5 W’s are: who, what, when, where and why. (There’s actually a 6th question, “how.” But I believe if you have a strong enough why,Continue reading “The 5 W’s”

“No person would give up even an inch of their estate, and the slightest dispute with a neighbor can mean hell to pay; yet we easily let others encroach on our lives—worse, we often pave the way for those who will take it over. No person hands out their money to passers-by, but to howContinue reading “No. Fear.”

“The readiness is all.” –Hamlet “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” -Abraham Lincoln Watch any great athlete, performer, chef, public speaker, etc…anyone who takes their job seriously, who cares about their craft…and notice their preparation. See the concentration, the focus in theirContinue reading “Respect The Prep”

“The secret of happiness is not to do what you like to do, but to learn to like what you have to do.” -King George V Fo whatever in life you have to do, you might as well give it everything you got. Invest all of yourself. The line between mediocre and great is thinnerContinue reading “A Thin Line”

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” -Samuel Beckett Muscles only grow when you repeatedly expose them to failure…and you keep going. Past the failure. So wouldn’t it make sense that the only way you can grow as a person, as an artist, is if you did the same? IfContinue reading “Muscle Failure”

“Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” -Dorothy Bernard This recent Oprah conversation with Viola Davis is fantastic. There are so many gems in here that any artist will find useful and inspiring. I strongly encourage you to watch. (Thank you to my friend Marilyn for turning me on to it. And if youContinue reading “Viola Davis On The Craft”

As actors, we always want the audience to believe that we made it up on the spot. Improvisation is great for this. Know what’s even better? Having incredible lines written for us. Lines we wish we could say in real life. And then working so hard to fool ourselves and the audience that we madeContinue reading “On The Spot”