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On your artistic journey, it’s important to take time out to celebrate the small accomplishments. The little wins. The milestones. Keep yourself fresh and rejuvenated.
Thank you everyone for reading, for subscribing, for caring. I’ve loved doing the blog and will continue to pour my heart into it.
See you at 50.
Maybe the best reason to manifest a piece of art is because the thought of NOT doing it is agonizing. Soul crushing. It eats away at you. Constantly.
No matter how hard you try, you just can’t shake it. You feel like you can’t go on without making it happen.
Ever felt that way?
Kinda like falling in…
Two questions every artist should know the answers to. Few do. Because it takes work, often deep internal work coupled with external action to get answers.
What do I have a burning desire to say?
Why, right now, do I have to say it?
If you don’t know, keep asking. Keep the doing to work to find out.
Once you do get the answers—and you will, it just may take a while—you have power. The power of choice. The power of focus. The power of expression.
V = VISION. Have a big vision for the art you want to manifest. Something that fires you up as well as the people you enlist and enroll on your journey.
C = COMMUNICATION. Communicate that big vision early and often.
E = EXECUTION. Execute this vision. Produce with excellence. For yourself, your fellow artists and the audience you seek to serve.
Leaders need at least one of these qualities.
Good leaders have two.
The best leaders have all three.
Be the best. V.C.E.
Don’t do art to someone.
Do it for them. Do it with them.
Enroll them on your journey.
When you get enrollment, you get a chance at lasting impact.
“Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.” -Naval Ravikant
Choose Wisely.
“Trust The Process.”
These three words are linked to Sam Hinkie, former GM of the Philadelphia 76ers and highly controversial figure. His story is fascinating. You can read more about it here.
Let’s adopt this mantra/slogan for our own work.
“Trust The Process.”
Don’t trust external results–accolades, achievements, awards, etc…I mean, they might happen. But you certainly can’t count on them. And those externals should not be the reason why you’re doing a piece of art.
But you know what you can count on? What you can trust?
The process.
“Trust The Process.”
What is the process?
Basically, it’s any consistent effort and action that’s entirely within your control. Input equals output.
Some examples that might apply to actors, writers or producers include…
…learning your lines; really learning your lines; backwards and forwards so that they’re at your fingertips
…reading the script hundreds of times; breaking down the text; fully exploring every single character nuance and motivation
…daily observation of life and human interaction
…sitting your butt in the chair and writing something every single day; no matter what
…rewriting; not giving up on a paragraph until every single sentence is exactly the way you want it
…reading and studying other writers’ material; asking what worked and what didn’t; cultivating your own taste and style; finding a piece of art you’re passionate to manifest
…seeing plays, films, other art forms
…regularly meeting with artists
…putting yourself out there; sharing your work with others
Control what you can control.
Do the work.
“Trust The Process.”
It will never let you down.
So you wanna be a producer?
Okay. Great. There are two T’s you absolutely need to have. Two T’s you must continually develop. Two T’s you will always be judged on.
Your TASTE.
Your TENACITY.
CHRISTY What do you guys do? MIKE I'm a comedian. More uncomfortable silence. LISA Do you ever perform out here? I'd love to see you. MIKE No... LISA You should. A lot of comics play Vegas. MIKE Well, I'm afraid it's not that easy... LISA Why not? MIKE There are different circuits... it's hard to explain... you wouldn't understand... LISA Who's your booking agent? MIKE (flustered) Oh? You know about booking agents... I don't, uh, actually have a west coast agent as of yet... LISA Well, who represents you back east? MIKE Actually, it's funny you... I'm actually, uh, between... LISA What do you do, Trent? TRENT I'm a producer. BOTH GIRLS Wow... Oooh... Ahhh...
This probably won’t happen to you when you decide to produce a piece of art.
But you should do it anyway.
(Bonus points for the first answer to what movie the above exchange is from.)
“How long are you going to wait before you demand the best of yourself?” -Epictetus
If not here…where?
If not now…when?
If not you…who?
What are you waiting for?
Remember. Memento Mori.
The Vs. Studio Blog