The Vs. Studio Blog

“Gone, gone, utterly gone, all has passed over to the other side.” -Buddhist heart sutra

“Yearning for a new way will not produce it. Only ending the old way can do that. You cannot hold onto the old all the while declaring that you want something new. The old will defy the new; the old will deny the new; the old will decry the new. There is only one way to bring in the new. You must make room for it.” -Neale Donald Walsch

Maybe the reason you’re not able to step up right now, to make your art, to fully embrace the new, is because you haven’t fully let go of the old.

Sunk costs are real and powerful. Don’t let them drag you down.

Whatever it is, say goodbye. Be grateful for the time together.

And with arms wide open, welcome in the new.

“I just want to let the work speak for itself.”

While noble in theory, this idea is doomed to fail. (Trust me. I’ve learned this and continue to learn this the hard way.)

Because work doesn’t speak. It just is.

People do. And it’s your job as a producer to get them to see and hopefully speak about your work. To others. That’s where marketing comes in.

If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it…

Desiring to write, but feeling like you have nothing to say? No energy? No time? Literally, no time given all your commitments.

That’s okay. Take the pressure off yourself. Don’t sweat it.

Take out a piece of paper and pen and just write one sentence. One bad sentence. Who cares? Just one sentence.

After you’re done, put it away. Feel good about yourself. You wrote one sentence. Tomorrow, you’ll write another sentence. And then, the next day, another one. And so on and so on.

Just do that.

Here’s my sentence for today.

“The big red rose opened her heart to me, but I was too busy to notice.”

“Marketing is the generous act of helping others become who they seek to become. It involves creating honest stories—stories that resonate and spread…Marketing is our quest to make change on behalf of those we serve.” -Seth Godin, This Is Marketing

Marketing is not this commerciaI. I mean, I guess technically it is. But no. It’s not.

Marketing is storytelling. And as artists, we should embrace it rather than shy away. Because don’t we love to tell stories? To change people’s hearts and minds? Isn’t that why we chose this path? Or at least part of the reason?

If we expand our circle of storytelling to not only include the actual art (or service or product) we’re offering, but also to the why behind it, then we can challenge ourselves to become great marketers. Generous and thoughtful marketers. Empathetic marketers. We can have fun with and enjoy our campaigns. Get super creative with them. Allow ourselves to be personal and vulnerable as we share the reasons behind our passion project.

By doing so, we will only heighten the experience for those we seek to serve.

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” -Thornton Wilder

“Pass then through this tiny span of time in accordance with Nature, and come to your journey’s end with a good grace, just as an olive falls when it is fully ripe, praising the earth that bore it and grateful to the tree that gave it growth.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” -Willie Nelson

Today and every day going forward, trade your expectation for appreciation.

Watch how much your life will change. You’ll feel better. Have more energy. Be happier. Be more generous. You’ll dramatically increase your capacity for empathy, awe and wonder. The quality of your relationships will improve. You won’t take anything for granted. You’ll feel more purposeful. Your imagination will expand. And you’ll be inspired to make great art that moves others.

Sounds like a pretty good trade to me.

P.S. – Having strong expectations in your acting is a good thing. Don’t lose those.

“There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

“To acquire happiness you don’t have to do anything, because happiness cannot be acquired. Does anybody know why? Because we have it already. How can you acquire what you already have? Then why don’t you experience it? Because you’ve got to drop something. You’ve got to drop illusions. You don’t have to add anything in order to be happy; you’ve got to drop something.” -Anthony de Mello

Instead of worrying about whether the thing you have to do is bringing you any joy, what if you just bring joy to everything you have to do?

“The mind is everything. What you think, you become.” -Buddha

Not peace of mind.

Peace from mind.

Advice for the aspiring actor…find a play or film you’re passionate about, act in it and produce it yourself. You’ll become a much better actor.

Advice for the aspiring playwright…write a play you’re passionate about and produce it yourself. You’ll become a much better playwright.

Advice for the aspiring screenwriter, write a film you’re passionate about and produce it yourself. You’ll become a much better screenwriter.

Advice for the aspiring director…find a play or film you’re passionate about, direct it and produce it yourself. You’ll become a much better director.

Advice for the aspiring designer…find a play or film you’re passionate about, design it and produce it yourself. You’ll become a much better designer.

Advice for the aspiring producer…find a piece of material you’re passionate about, recruit all of the above talented artists, create a generous space for them to thrive and produce it with excellence and generosity. Do this again. And again. And again. And…

If you’re uncomfortable or reluctant to tell people about the art you’ve made, the project you’ve committed to, then maybe it’s not that important to you after all.

Because if you can’t care enough or aren’t brave enough to share it with others, then why would you expect a single person to show up? To give it their time and attention? To care?

And why exactly are you making this art in the first place? Isn’t it because you felt something so deeply inside that you just had to manifest it? And then to generously share that feeling with other people?

“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 all time.

He didn’t think, plan, research, imagine, question, wonder, doubt, ask for advice, etc…on how to end his book.

He sat down and WROTE 47 different endings.

Just do the work. Go MAKE your art.