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The Tao is infinite, eternal.Why is it eternal?It was never born;thus it can never die.Why is it infinite?It has no desires for itself;thus it is present for all beings. –Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation) “Sell you cleverness and buy bewilderment.” -Rumi Decrease your expectation. Increase your gratitude, enthusiasm and encouragement. Detach fromContinue reading “Detachment”

“Darkness within Darkness. The gateway to all understanding.” –Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation) “You have to carry the fire.”“I don’t know how to.”“Yes, you do.”“Is the fire real? The fire?”“Yes it is.”“Where is it? I don’t know where it is.”“Yes you do. It’s inside you. It always was there. I can seeContinue reading “Small Fires”

“Ambition is when you expect yourself to close the gap between what you have and what you want.  Entitlement is when you expect others to close the gap between what you have and what you want.” -James Clear Stop waiting for the tap on the shoulder. Stop waiting for validation. Stop waiting for the cavalryContinue reading “Be Ambitious. Not Entitled.”

Ashes! Ashes!We all fall down! -nursery rhyme, “Ring Around The Rosie” “All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.” -Ecclesiastes 3:20 “Christ, cut us up to little pieces. We’ll die for what is right! Put fruit trees where our ashes are!” -Agate Keller in the play “Waiting For Lefty”Continue reading “Out Of The Ashes”

“Writing out your thoughts is how you realize that you do not understand what you are thinking about. Importantly, writing is also the process by which you figure it out. -Shane Parrish “A good writer doesn’t just think, and then write down what they thought, as a sort of transcript. A good writer will almostContinue reading “Enthusiasm! / Frustration :(“

“More than intelligence or persistence or connections, curiosity has allowed me to live the life I wanted.” -Brian Grazer, book A Curious Mind “Passion is the result of a good life design, not the cause.” –Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, book Designing Your Life “Follow Your Passion” isn’t always the right advice. Especially for a youngContinue reading “Follow Your Curiosity”

Speaking of wanting laughs, I love this story about the legendary acting couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne… Lunt and Fontanne did many plays together. One night, while performing in a comedy, Lunt got a huge laugh when his character asked for a cup of tea. The next night, he said the line more pointedly,Continue reading “Just Ask For The Tea”

For the stage actor… You’re working correctly where instead of wanting laughs from the audience (stems from our desire to please and get approval), you’re actually annoyed by the laughter. You’re “in it”, so focused on getting what you want from the other person that the laughs kinda get in the way. They’re an obstacleContinue reading “Are You Laughing At Me?”

“If the actors are going to hold nothing back in front of the camera, I can hold nothing back in front of them. They have to be able to trust me, to know that I “feel” them and what they’re doing. This mutual trust is the most important element between the actor and me.” -SidneyContinue reading “Trust”

“The most important element in an actor’s performance is confidence.” -Howard Hawks When faced with a difficult task, you can be confident you can accomplish said task for one of two reasons: Direct experience. You’ve done this exact thing before. You can do it again. Indirect experience. You haven’t done this before. But you’ve doneContinue reading “Direct and Indirect Experience”