The Vs. Studio Blog

A stunningly good poem by Kahlil Gibran that I’ll just let speak for itself…

“Fear”

It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.
She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.
And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.
But there is no other way.
The river can not go back.
Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.
The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.

“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own.” -Epictetus, Discourses

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing . . . to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” -Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search For Meaning

“You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

A consistent theme of this blog is embracing the Stoic principle that while we don’t control the events of our lives, we do control our outlook on these events. Here’s a story that reinforces this timeless wisdom (h/t to Sahil Bloom’s always excellent Curiosity Chronicle for providing)…

Two salesmen were sent by a shoe manufacturer to a rural part of India to investigate and report back on market potential.
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The first salesman reported back, “There is no potential here. Nobody wears shoes.”
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The second salesman reported back, “There is massive potential here. Nobody wears shoes.“

Exact same event.

Two completely different outlooks.

You get to choose.

And it is your choice that dictates everything that comes next.

So, what’s it gonna be? What choice will you make? What path will you take?

Seek trust over attention.

Play the long game.

Keep showing up. Be consistent with your actions. Give generously. Always do your best.

That way, when you have something that you’d like people to pay attention to, they will trust you to do so.

“According to former UCLA basketball players, John Wooden’s practices were considered significantly harder and more intense than the actual games, with many describing game time as a “relief” or “a walk in the park” compared to the demanding nature of his practice sessions; they felt well-prepared for games due to the rigorous drills and focus on fundamentals instilled during practice.” -excerpt from “Remembering John Wooden” article

“When I was teaching basketball, I urged my players to try their hardest to improve on that very day, to make that practice a masterpiece. Too often we get distracted by what is outside our control. You can’t do anything about yesterday. The door to the past has been shut and the key thrown away. You can do nothing about tomorrow. It is yet to come. However, tomorrow is in large part determined by what you do today. So make today a masterpiece. You have control over that.” -John Wooden (winner of ten NCAA Basketball Championships including seven in a row)

“If you stay ready, you ain’t got to get ready.” -Suga Free

One way to know if you’re truly ready for the moment, is that you can’t wait to get out there. Yes you’re nervous, but more so than that, you’re bursting with enthusiasm. You can’t wait to take the stage (or play the game, take the test, give the speech, etc.)

You’ve prepared. You’ve left no stone unturned. You’ve done the work.

Now it’s time to let go, have fun and leave it all out there.

Make it your masterpiece.

P.S. – “It’s the details…”

P.P.S. – H/t to my friend Andy for the Suga Free quote and this video.

Speaking of communicating….

You can dress up like a ghost for Halloween.

But don’t be a ghost in real life.

A good rule of thumb…If you have to deliver bad news, then tell them in person or call them. Don’t do it over email or text. Or worse, ghost them.

And if you’re producing something and people aren’t getting back to you…don’t freak out, don’t get upset, don’t take it personally. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Breathe.

Then, calmly reach out to them one more time. Let them know you haven’t heard from them after several attempts, that you’re concerned, and that you do need to hear back. Even if to just let you know that they’re okay and they received your message.

At the same time, start thinking of a contingency plan. Hopefully it’s just a minor communication blip and you won’t have to engage in this plan B, but either way, you’ll feel better because you’ve taken action.

P.S. – This scene. And this music video. “I ain’t afraid of no ghost.”

So much of producing is communicating. Over-communicating in fact. In a collaborative medium like film or theatre, you will work with a lot of different people and as such, you will be delegating many responsibilities, while setting multiple deadlines. It is vital that you communicate well, early and often.

One thing that you can do right from the start is to know your own communication expectations and then you guessed it, communicate, those expectations to everyone. Do you prefer meetings, phone calls, emails, texts? How much or how little do you want to hear from people and departments? When you reach out to someone, how soon do you want to hear back? Also, ask them what are their preferred or best methods of communication and timeline expectations?

Inevitably you will learn from each other throughout, as communication is a fluid process. But, if you can get it right at the outset, the better your chances of everyone having a great and memorable experience. Which at the end of the day, is what it’s all about.

“A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.” -Tim Ferriss

A hoops metaphor that applies to all areas of life…

If you show up to the park wanting to play pickup basketball and there’s already a game in progress and people standing around the sidelines, you have to go up to complete strangers and ask two questions:

The first: “Who’s got next?”

The second (once you find out who has next): “Can I run with you?”

Both questions (especially the second) are scary and vulnerable because you have to put yourself out there.

But if you don’t take the leap and ask, you don’t get to play.

It is said that every actor gives three auditions:

The one they do at home before the audition.

The one they do in the room for the actual audition.

The one they do in the car driving back home from the audition. This is usually the one they wished they gave in the room.

How do you get closer to the third?

By not thinking of it as an audition.

Reframe it. It’s a chance to work. To act. To perform your craft in front of an audience.

Gratitude and preparation. Then let go.

P.S. – Self tapes also help with this process. Lean into them. Find the joy in doing them, Have fun!

“In any moment on any given day I can measure my wellness by this question:
Is my attention on loving or is my attention on who isn’t loving me?” -Andrea Gibson

“Our perceptions of reality are already fragile things. We perceive the world through our eyes, ears, sensory nerves in our skin, proprioceptive receptors, and integrate all that information into our brains to create a model of reality that allows us, at least, to navigate through it. But these systems are fallible — as simple illusions illustrate, prone to error, and dependent on prior experience which may color our perceptions for the rest of our lives…And as if that isn’t bad enough — what we perceive as reality is shaped by our very expectations.” -F. Perry Wilson

“What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.” -Buddha

Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.

P.S. – This fascinating study of expectation, perception and hot sauce.

“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” -Steve Jobs

We didn’t know we needed or wanted your art (or product or service or organization).

But because you were brave enough to make what YOU needed and wanted, without regard to “fitting in” or “the market” or “the industry”, we now can’t imagine living without it.