The Vs. Studio Blog

“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” -Archilochus

“Goals can provide direction and even push you forward in the short-term, but eventually a well-designed system will always win. Having a system is what matters. Committing to the process is what makes the difference.” – James Clear

“None of us is an island doing things alone and with no help. I don’t care how much willpower you have, you’re dead in the water without systemic support. It’s like putting a plant in a dark closet and wondering why it’s not growing, even though you’re watering it. Doesn’t matter how “great” the seed is or how high “quality” the water is – that plant needs sunlight.” – Margo Aaron

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

Maybe it’s not an information problem.

Or a discipline or motivation problem.

It’s not a money or resource problem.

Perhaps the reason you’re not making the art you want is you have a systems problem.

Good news, there’s a fix for that. Start with just five minutes a day. Carve out time and space. Drip by drip. Page by page. Step by step. Watch the magic unfurl.

P.S. – Wanna up the ante to ten minutes? Check out the cool work my friend Margo Aaron is doing with her newest project, Brainstorm Road.

If it were as easy and straightforward as paint by numbers, we’d all be Van Gogh’s.

Art is hard. It’s messy. It’s not linear. And it might not work.

Do it anyway.

“I went into photography because it seemed like the perfect vehicle for commenting on the madness of today’s existence…Sell the public flowers–things that they can hang on their walls without being uptight.” – Robert Mapplethorpe

“He wasn’t certain whether he was a good or bad person. Whether he was altruistic. Whether he was demonic. But he was certain of one thing. He was an artist. And for that he would never apologize.” -Patti Smith on Robert Mapplethorpe, from her memoir Just Kids

“Freedom is…the right to write the wrong words.” -Patti Smith

In their 2018 book, The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff write about a culture of “safety-ism” that arose in the early 2010s. They called it “safetyism” because it was a collection of morals and values that obsessed over and optimized everything for young people to feel safe and comfortable. This meant parents not letting their children play outside alone. It meant removing upsetting or controversial content from television, the internet, or news media. And yes, it also included trigger warnings.

The aims of safety-ism were noble. They saw that young people were experiencing greater amounts of anxiety, stress, and depression than previous generations and sought to remedy their angst by protecting them from anything that could potentially harm or upset them.

But this is not how the human mind works. The human mind is not fragile—it does not need to be protected and cushioned from the hard surfaces of reality like a vase or piece of fine china. The human mind is antifragile—that is, it gains from discomfort and strain. That means to grow stronger, the human mind needs to regularly be confronted with difficult and upsetting experiences to develop stability and serenity for itself. -Mark Manson

While I understand trigger warnings and believe they come from a good and noble place…isn’t a main purpose of art, especially the theatre, to trigger? To hold a mirror up to ourselves and society? To bring up difficult and sometimes painful emotions? To stimulate important dialogue? To engender greater empathy for the human condition?

Yes, art absolutely can and should entertain. Entertaining and providing an escape has meaningful purpose.

But additionally, I think most people go to the theatre and interact with art at large–even if on a subconscious level–to also be triggered. To have their worldview expanded. To be shaken up a bit.

And if that’s the case, should we also then put trigger warnings on bland art that does nothing? So that people who do want to be triggered know ahead of time that they won’t be.

“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” -Nelson Mandela

Wrath and anger are hateful things,
yet the sinner hugs them tight. – Sirach 27:30

“Mankind is born for mutual assistance, anger for mutual ruin: the former loves society, the latter estrangement.” -Seneca, Essay On Anger

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to
hate. Hate leads to suffering.” – Yoda

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act. It is a permanent attitude.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive.” – Mother Teresa

“To err is human. To forgive, divine.” -Alexander Pope

Dr. Buddy Rydell (played by Jack Nicholson): Let’s say hello to someone who’s joining our quest to get the anger monkeys off our backs: Dave…

Dave Buznik (played by Adam Sandler): Hi. Good news, I fed my anger monkey a banana this morning and he’s feeling much better. -from the film Anger Management

You can choose to get angry and say or do something you’ll regret.

Or you can choose to forgive.

If you’re not quite ready to do that, good news, there’s an in between step: Use that anger as fuel to make some art.

Then when you’re done (because that fuel runs out quick)…forgive.

“If you need to be proven right, learning is a challenge. If you’re eager to be proven wrong, learning is delightful.” -Seth Godin

“Strong opinions. Weakly held.” -Marc Andreessen

Yes, you absolutely need the vision, the belief, the conviction, to start your passion project.

But you also need to be open-minded to new information you learn along the way. That way you can tweak, iterate, or full pivot if need be.

Just like a great entrepreneur, scientist, or documentary filmmaker does…start with a thesis, but then allow the real story to unfold. Capture the truth of the events and be delighted to be proven wrong.

“Faced with a choice between changing one’s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy with the proof.” -J.K. Galbraith

“The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.” -Leo Tolstoy

“Belief makes us human. Belief is our tool to dance with a possible future, confront our fears, and build community. Our personal taste and our preferences belong to us as well, helping us believe in ourselves…There’s more proof in the world than ever before, not less. It’s no longer, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” but instead, “I am confident enough to change my mind and informed enough to do the math and understand the concepts”…But the time we spend arguing about proof that we’re not prepared to accept is simply wasted. Belief needs proof the way a fish needs a bicycle.” – Seth Godin

“Always remember that to argue, and win, is to break down the reality of the person you are arguing against. It is painful to lose your reality, so be kind, even if you are right.” -Haruki Murakami

“I criticize by creation. Not by finding fault.” -Cicero

Some excellent articles have been written about this subject. Like this one and this one. Interestingly enough, all three articles employ the exact same headline “Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds.” I encourage you to read and reflect on them.

TLDR/Spoiler alert: So much of the answer comes down to one word…

Belief.

Yours and theirs.

Once you become aware of this, you’ll have much more empathy and kindness.

Towards yourself. And others.

One reason great art can penetrate is that it aims for the heart. Not the head.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” -Teddy Roosevelt

The best athlete
wants his opponent at his best.
The best general
enters the mind of his enemy.
The best businessman
serves the communal good.
The best leader
follows the will of the people. All of them embody
the virtue of non-competition.
Not that they don’t love to compete,
but they do it in the spirit of play.
In this they are like children
and in harmony with the Tao. -“Tao Te Ching” by Lao-Tzu (translated by Stephen Mitchell)

“Art is about the maker. Its aim: to be the expression of who we are. This makes competition absurd. You are creating the work that best represents you. Another artist is making the work that best represents them. The two cannot be measured against one another. Art relates to the artist making it, and the unique contribution they are bringing to the culture…Being made happy by someone else’s best work, and then letting it inspire you to rise to the occasion, is not competition. It’s collaboration…Great art is an invitation, calling to creators everywhere to strive for still higher and deeper levels.” Rick Rubin: The Creative Act: A Way Of Being

“If I ever do anything in my life, I’m going to make that good an album. I was so happy to hear it that I went and started writing ‘God Only Knows.’ ” -Brian Wilson on The Beatles Rubber Soul

“God Only Knows’ is the best song ever written.” -Paul McCartney.

“Without Pet Sounds, Sgt. Pepper never would have happened.” -Beatles producer George Martin

A healthy sense of competition (or really “collaboration” per Rick Rubin in the quote above) should invite, inspire and energize you. It should fill you with joy at what’s possible. Ala The Beach Boys and The Beatles going back and forth on making two of the greatest albums of all time.

An unhealthy sense of competition just leaves you feeling depressed, enervated and at worst, envious.

You’ll know which kind you have by how you feel and if you’re moved to take action.

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players”
-from the play As You Like It by William Shakespeare

“Everything’s copy.” -Nora Ephron

“Each of us has a container within. It is constantly being filled with data. It holds the sum total of our thoughts, feelings, dreams, and experiences in the world. Let’s call this the vessel. Information does not enter the vessel directly, like rain filling into a barrel. It is filtered in a unique way for each of us…One can think of the creative act as taking the sum of our vessel’s contents as potential material, selecting for elements that seem useful or significant in the moment, and representing them. This is Source drawn through us and made into books, movies, buildings, paintings, meals, businesses–whatever projects we embark on. If we choose to share what we make, our work can recirculate and become source material for others.” -Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way Of Being

One of the many wonderful things about being an artist is that all of life becomes source material.

Whatever happens to you, good or bad, allow for the source and when you’re ready, use it to make your art. Know that by doing do, you’re helping others and potentially giving them their own source material.

Just like grace, it’s a beautiful and infinite loop.

“I will listen to anyone’s convictions, but pray keep your doubts to yourself.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

If you’re not fully convinced in what you have to offer, then why would you expect anyone else to come to your show, by your product or invest in your business?

You can have your doubts at first (that’s part of being a great artist), but by the time the lights go up, you better have absolute conviction in what you have to say.

Otherwise, please exit the stage and make room for someone else who does.

When mountains crumble to the sea
There will still be you and me -song, “Thank You” by Led Zeppelin

“How long must you wait until you demand the best of yourself.” -Epictetus

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” –The Wizard Of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Institutional validation is a powerful thing.

Until you realize what’s actually behind the curtain.

Go make your art.