The Vs. Studio Blog

Nor should they.

That’s your job.  To decide what you’re passionate about, what’s vitally important to you.  So much so, you had to create and share it with others.

Stop looking for affirmation on your idea.  Just do it.

Go make your art.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” -Ghandi

James Clear argues in his terrific book “Atomic Habits”, that when setting goals, we should focus on identity. Not outcomes. Rather than asking the question, “What do I want?”, we should ask “What kind of person do I want to be?”

Take health, for example. Instead of setting a goal to lose a specific number of pounds or look a certain way, we should focus on becoming a healthy person. Someone who eats moderately, exercises regularly and prioritizes their physical and metal health.

Old habits are based on our old identity. Create a new identity, he argues, and we’ll create habits that support this new identity. Consistently doing small or atomic habits over time leads to lasting change. (Read more about this in Mr. Clear’s blog post HERE.)

In the book, he provides a fascinating, real-world example of a person who loses a lot of weight and more importantly, stays healthy after the weight loss. The person focuses entirely on identity. Not outcome. His process is extraordinary…The first two weeks, all he does is wake up early, get dressed and drive to the gym. He doesn’t work out. Just shows up and leaves. After two weeks, he does the same thing, but then adds five minutes of exercise. Every two weeks, he increases the amount. And so on and so on. He’s consistently proving and supporting his new identity.

In deciding to make a change or create art, we might be better served by first asking ourselves “What kind of person do we want to be?” That will inform our choice and our process. In doing so, we’ll increase our chance of making lasting change and real impact.

A great essay persuades. Makes us re-think our convictions. Often motivates us to act. Emerson’s “Self Reliance” comes to mind.

A great, personal essay does all this through the author’s observational lens and firsthand experience navigating the world. It engenders empathy which is the first step towards making any kind of lasting change. Both for ourselves and for others.

My friend Michelle Cacho-Negrete wrote a beautiful collection of personal essays entitled “Stealing: Life In America” Centered around her being a “street kid”; being raised by an immigrant Jewish mother in Brooklyn during the 1950’s and 1960’s, here are some samples of her crisp and insightful prose…

I can, however, imagine the moment after death: a quiet state, perhaps close to what we sometimes achieve during meditation; the absence of fear, worry, hate and anger. Or maybe there is only emptiness.

None of us can return to the past, especially one not ours, except in dreams and memories and sometimes in madness.

I understood that living my life would involve living with uncertainty, without answers, with secrets that would forever remain secrets, and that I needed to learn to be comfortable with it. I understood, also, to not judge the love of another by what I wanted, but by what they were capable of giving.

The book goes out of print in October. (I will always love print over digital.) You can find copies on Amazon HERE while they last. Get one. You’ll be glad you did.

P.S. – You can also email me at jclark@vstheatre.org. I’ll put you in touch with Michelle to purchase a copy directly from her.

“You find out when you reach the top, you’re on the bottom.” – Bob Dylan

Joseph Campbell said that the greatest tragedy in life is not so much failure, but climbing the ladder of success and finding that it was up against the wrong wall.

The reason it’s so important to take time to figure out what we’re passionate about and why, is that no matter what the outcome, at least we knew set out to do something we really cared about. We put our ladder up against the right wall.

Two of our most precious assets.

Finite. No matter what we do, we can’t get more.

Everyone is vying for them. Now more than ever.

Guard them with your life.

P.S. – This is my 150th blog post. Thank you for reading. I promise to continue doing my best. To continue earning your time and attention.

The first image is Van Gogh’s, “Wheat Field, with Cypresses.” It’s one of the most famous and expensive paintings (over $100 million adjusted for inflation) of all time.

The second is a stock photo I found when googling “wheat fields with cypress trees.” It sells for $19.99.

Both are beautiful. Both have value. Both engage our senses.

But it’s Van Gogh’s that truly captures our imagination. Weaves a spell. Makes us feel something and want to know more.

That’s the power of art.

Go make it.

“‘The Only True Wisdom Consists In Knowing That You Know Nothing.’” “That’s Us, Dude!”

“The Best Time To Be Is Now, And All’s We Can Say Is…Let’s Rock!”

“All We Are Is Dust In The Wind, Dude.”

“Be Excellent To Each Other.”

“San Dimas High School Football Rules!“

“The Art Of Fielding” by Chad Harbach is one of my favorite novels of the last decade. It’s about a college baseball star, Henry Skrimshander, whose life is upended when he makes one bad throw. Henry spends the majority of the novel wrestling with his own self doubt and trying to recapture the person and star he once was. Give it a read.

I’ve been reflecting on this specific passage which details the philosophy of his young baseball coach and mentor, Schwartz:

He already knew he could coach. All you had to do was look at each of your players and ask yourself: What story does this guy wish someone would tell him about himself? And then you told the guy that story. You told it with a hint of doom. You included his flaws. You emphasized his obstacles that could prevent him from succeeding. That was what made the story epic: the player, the hero, had to suffer mightily en route to his final triumph. Schwartz knew that people loved to suffer, as long as the suffering made sense. Everybody suffered. The key was to choose the form of your suffering. Most people couldn’t do this alone, they needed a coach. A good coach made you suffer in a way that suited you.

When making art or striving to achieve any goal, we all want to be pushed to our limits. Even if we don’t know it. Or admit it.

A good coach, teacher, family member, friend, etc…helps us get there. Seek them out. When you find one, be grateful for their honesty and their relentless pursuit of your excellence. It’s a real gift.

And while you’re at it, maybe you can be that coach for someone else.

How would you complete the sentence?

…A Game.

…A Test.

…Fun.

…Meaningless.

…Precious.

…Hard. And Then You Die.

…Suffering.

…Magical.

…A Constant Chance To Help Others.

…Short. Might As Well Make The Most Of It.

…A Box Of Chocolates. You Never Know What You Get.

…Whatever You Make Of It.

As Viktor Frankl advises, our ability to make meaning, to choose, no matter the circumstances, is what makes us uniquely human.

Once we make that choice, it determines how we think and what we do.

Choose wisely.

I once had a conversation with a successful independent film director…He was always curious about the theater and had flirted on and off with writing and directing a play. I asked him why he hadn’t done it yet. He said he just couldn’t justify all that time and effort going into an ephemeral art form. For him “film was forever.”

That ephemerality is exactly why I love theater. The moments, the experiences, the artistic solidarity…will live with me forever.