The Vs. Studio Blog

100 blog posts today. Woo-hoo! Let’s celebrate!

Thank you for reading, for commenting, for encouraging, for sharing these posts with others. You inspire me to do my best work every day and I’m very grateful to all of you.

And thanks to my virtual mentor Seth Godin. (Be sure to check out his awesome blog HERE) Seth was right…Starting a daily blog has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve loved doing it and highly encourage any of you to do the same. Count me in for your first subscriber!

I promise to continue giving you one hundred percent effort every day.

See you at 200.

My friend and world-class acting teacher, Howard Fine, often says, “There are no genius acting mistakes.” 

What he means is that no matter how accomplished the actor, if something isn’t going well in a scene, it’s always the basics.  Not listening, not having strong actions, not playing the given circumstances, etc…We don’t reach a level in our work where we make “higher-level” mistakes.

The same can be said for all of life.  When we mess up, it’s the basics.

This is good news! Because it means that when we mess up, and we will, often, we can more easily diagnose what went wrong. And then take steps to fix it.

It also means that to get great at anything, we just have to practice the basics.

A lot.

P.S. The pics above are…

(1) Bill Buckner (apologies Red Sox fans)…was a great baseball player. All-Star, Batting Champion, near Hall of Famer, 20-plus year career in the Majors. Yet in Game 6 to close out the 1986 World Series, he miffed a routine ground ball. He picked his glove up, the ball went through his legs, and the rest is history (the Mets came back to win the Series).  A little leaguer easily makes that play.

(2) “Inverted Jenny” postage stamp…A rushed, flat-bed printing process led to several sheets being printed with the airplane upside down. All the stamps were destroyed, but one sheet of 100, somehow got out to the public.

(3) Ford Edsel…Ugly, overpriced, overhyped, poorly made and poorly timed, the Edsel was a colossal mistake. Easily the biggest in the company’s history and a staple case-study taught in business school classrooms.

P.P.S. – All three mistakes are rare collector’s items. The Jenny sells for over $1 million.

The interview master, Cal Fussman, tells a great story about a conversation he once had with the writer, Harry Crews…

Harry’s books and essays were always filled with rich, colorful detail. Often pulled from his own life and experiences.

Harry was also a drunk.

Cal asked Harry (who was drunk at the time) how he remembered everything for his stories. Harry looked at him, straightened up a bit, then replied…

“The good shit sticks.”

Once while on tight deadline for Esquire, Cal lost all his notes and had to rely solely on memory to write the article.

He ended up turning in a brilliant piece.

Cal remembered Harry’s advice.

“The good shit sticks.”

Let this be a mantra for our lives.

Let it guide our actions and decisions.

Let it enable us to always be present. Especially in our conversations with others.

Let us trust that if we make good art, people will remember.

Because…

“The good shit sticks.”

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about affirmations.  Lots of interesting things about quantum physics, the observer effect, the reticular activation system, etc…Fun, rabbit hole stuff.

But what if the reason affirmations might work is simply that they force us to pick? To pick one thing we really want and focus non-stop until we get it.

The deciding is the hard part. Because decision means incision. It means cutting off all other possibilities until we either accomplish what we want or pick something else. We’re all in on this one thing. That’s hard to do. Especially in a world of infinite possibilities.

I mean, if we say or write down one, specific, strong, declarative statement that starts with “I want to do X” or “I am X” 15 times a day, every day, AND visualize ourselves doing the thing, doing the process, we’re bound to take action.  Consistent action to make it happen.  

Right?

I don’t think it’s magic. Or a secret.

I think it’s decision.

And focus.

And consistent action.

Kinda like making your passion project. Your art.

“I’ll go first. If I’m at checking out at the store I’ll say hello first, if I’m coming across someone making eye-contact I’ll smile first. Not all times, but most times — it comes in your favor. The response is pretty amazing…You have to go first because now we’re being trained in this world to opt out. Nobody’s going first anymore.” — Gabrielle Reece

I love this advice from Gabrielle Reece–beach volleyball champion, first female spokeswoman for Nike, best selling author, entrepreneur, devoted to her family, and an absolute powerhouse–for several reasons.

First, it’s a specific, daily practice. The more you do it, the easier it gets. It becomes a habit.

Second, it’s a good thing to do for others. Who knows, your smile might be the thing that makes their day?

Third, when you’re making art, you have to go first. You must be wiling to do something that might not work. Just like smiling at someone in a grocery store, they might not smile back. Okay. No problem. You’re still alive. It didn’t cost you anything. Move on. Try it again with someone else.

Finally, now more than ever, the world needs you. We need your leadership, your ideas, your service, your smile, your generosity, your art.

Don’t wait.

Go first.

“When your mind is telling you you’re done, you’re only 40 percent done. You still have 60 percent left.” -David Goggins, Navy SEAL, “Toughest Man Alive”

In Living With A SEAL, Jesse Itzler describes his month long odyssey of living with David Goggins. It’s compelling as hell. Primarily because of what Itzler is tasked with and accomplishes.

He realizes what we all probably think and feel inside. Which is…

We have so much more power inside us than we think.

What would you do if you truly believed this? If you owned this statement.

What art would you create?

What change in the world would you try and make?

In my opinion, Van Morrison’s “I’ll Be Your Lover, Too” is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded. At the very end of the song, after absolutely crushing it, he asks the recording engineer, “How Was That?” (I love that he left this part in.)

I saw Ed Harris give a stunning performance in the play Wrecks at the Geffen Playhouse. Afterwards, while waiting in the lobby, I happened to overhear him ask the director, Neil LaBute (also the playwright), “How Was That?”

Two monstrous talents. Yet both humble enough to genuinely want to know how they did. What they could do better.

No matter how accomplished we are or think we are, we all need someone to keep us honest. Always. Someone who can provide specific, objective and actionable feedback. Who has our best interests at heart. And the art or change we’re trying to make.

I hope you have someone like that in your life. Someone you can trust. If not, find one (perhaps it’s a small group of folks). Cultivate that relationship.

And while you’re at it, why not be that person for someone else? It’s an amazing gift you can give.

We’re all walking around with a narrative in our head. Sonder is the awareness of this.

What story are you telling yourself?

Is it a good one? Does it empower you?

If not, tell yourself a different story.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is a habit, not an act.” -Aristotle

In his excellent book, Atomic Habits (I highly recommend), the author James Clear tells the story of Jerry Seinfeld giving advice to Brad Isaac, a young comic just starting out in the comedy club circuit…

“The way to be a better comic is to create better jokes and the way to create better jokes is to write every day…Get out a big wall calendar and hang it on a prominent wall in your house. Get out a big red marker. Every day you write a joke, make a big red X over that day. After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is to not break the chain.”

We can apply this to anything we’re trying to do. Any habit we’re trying to form. The key is to make it simple and actionable.

Write one page.

Do 20 pushups.

Read one scene from a play.

Send one thank you note.

Whatever it is, just keep doing it. Day in. Day out.

Don’t judge your effort. Don’t worry if it’s “good”.

Just stay with it.

Just don’t break the chain.

(Warning: You might be shocked by your progress.)

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” -Jim Valvano

For those of you who don’t know Jim Valvano (AKA “Jimmy V”), he was the head basketball coach at North Carolina State. In 1983, they shocked the world and defeated Houston in the NCAA Championship game. Their Cinderella tournament run ranks right up there with the greatest upsets in all of sports. ESPN made a terrific 30 for 30 episode about it.

Valvano’s remarkable life was tragically cut short by cancer. In its vile clutches, he valiantly urged people to “Never Give Up.”

But it’s a speech he once gave about his father and belief that’s stayed with me. I urge you to watch this short segment HERE. It’s powerful, stirring, and from the heart. And it will inspire you to take action. Everything a great speech should do.

Sometimes it’s really hard to believe in ourselves.

That’s okay.

Believe in someone else. Champion their work. It’s the greatest gift you can give them.

P.S. – Thank you mom and dad, my wife Amy, and all my friends who believed in me. Especially when I didn’t believe in myself. Love you guys.