“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 thinner than you think. As is the time you think you’ll save and the other opportunities you think you’ll get instead.
And you might surprise yourself with how much fun you’ll have. How good you’ll feel. Just from doing something you didn’t want to do at first. But did anyway. And you did it to the best of your ability. For no other reason than it’s who you are. It’s what you do.
“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 you haven’t seen “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” on Netflix, do so now. It’s spectacular. Performances are off the charts good.)
Two moments from the conversation that really struck a chord:
(1) Viola on impostor syndrome and “owning the room”….
It’s hard to walk into the room and ‘own it.’ I never understand sayings like that–because it’s completely antithetical towards being an artist. All artists I know have the impostor syndrome. They all do. They don’t walk in the room going ‘I am it. I did that. I know I did that performance’…But “Ma” helped me to harness the Viola power. The feeling that I deserve to be in the room. The feeling that I deserve all that I’ve received in my life because I worked for it.
(2). Viola talking about her co-star–the supremely talented and sadly passed away all too soon, last year–Chadwick Boseman…
What I will remember about his legacy is his integrity…He was not concerned with being a movie star as much as he was concerned with being a really great artist…He even learned how to play the saxophone, even though they were just filming, sort of the hand movements. But he was still learning how to play after the scenes where he was playing were over. That’s dedication.
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 made them up on the spot.
“The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
“A flute without holes is not a flute. A donut without a hole, is a Danish.” -Basho
In the United States Golf Association’s “Rules of Golf,” Rule No. 13 is referred to as “Ball Played As It Lies.” This rule prohibits improving the lie, the area intended for making a swing, the line of play or the area in which the ball is to be dropped or placed. In general, a golf ball should be played where it lands without any change to the overall situation.
As a result of Rule 13, we’ve witnessed incredible golf shots over the years as players adapt and improvise to their existing conditions. To having to “play it as it lies.” Some examples: This one from Tiger Woods. This compilation from the LPGA. And this short doc about what some have called “the greatest shot in the history of golf.”
When we lean in and EMBRACE our obstacles as opposed to merely enduring or worse, running from them, then we can create magic. To put it another way…the obstacle allows the magic to happen.
So, when life presents you with a difficult lie (and it will), you’ve got two choices:
P.S. – It was only a matter of time before I found a way to incorporate Caddyshack–in my pantheon of great movies–into this blog. (Bonus points to anyone who identifies the character who uttered the above mentioned Basho quote.)
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