The Vs. Studio Blog

“It’s what you do, not what you say. It’s puppetry, not preaching.” -Peter Schumann

“We bring the starter for the dough everywhere we perform.” -Peter Schumann

There’s been a lot of recent press centered around theaters closing, cancelling seasons and/or laying off staff. A lot of bad news. Times are tough. No doubt, making art is hard. And as a commercial enterprise, it’s really, really freaking hard. Always will be.

But that shouldn’t stop you from making your art.

Because when you’re lit up by something, so much so that you just have to make it and share it with the world, nothing will stop you. And we’re all the beneficiaries of your passion, your striving for excellence, and your generosity of spirit.

We all get a seat at the table and a taste of your bread.

For some inspiration and fuel for your artistic journey, check out this phenomenal article on Peter Schumman’s Bread And Puppet Theater.

“Make me a channel of your peace.” -Sant Francis Of Assisi

channel (noun)
1 a : the bed where a natural stream of water runs
b : the deeper part of a river, harbor, or strait
c : a strait or narrow sea between two close landmasses
d : a means of communication or expression
e : a way, course, or direction of thought or action
f : a band of frequencies of sufficient width for a single radio or television communication

reservoir (noun)
1 : a place where something is kept in store: such as
a : an artificial lake where water is collected and kept in quantity for use
b : a part of an apparatus in which a liquid is held
c : supply , store

Channels and reservoirs both serve a purpose and have tremendous value. Just think of agriculture as one example.

But when it comes to making art or making change in the world, you want to be a channel, not a reservoir.

It’s about sharing, expressing, connecting, bringing people together.

Not storing or hoarding or keeping to yourself.

Measure your value in how much you help others. Not how much you help yourself.

“It’s faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Fires can’t be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men. Enthusiasm in our daily work lightens effort and turns even labor into pleasant tasks.” – James Baldwin

“If you have passion, there is no need for excuses because your enthusiasm will trump any negative reasoning you might come up with. Enthusiasm makes excuses a nonissue.” – Wayne Dyer

“Back of every creation, supporting it like an arch, is faith. Enthusiasm is nothing: it comes and goes. But if one believes, then miracles occur.” – Henry Miller

“None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.” – Henry David Thoreau

“Enthusiasm is the most important thing in life.” – Tennessee Williams

c. 1600, from French enthousiasme (16c.) and directly from Late Latin enthusiasmus, from Greek enthousiasmos “divine inspiration, enthusiasm (produced by certain kinds of music, etc.),” from enthousiazein “be inspired or possessed by a god, be rapt, be in ecstasy,” from entheos “divinely inspired, possessed by a god,” from en “in”

Enthusiasm is…

…the greatest asset in the world.

…faith in action.

…the love for whatever we are doing, at this moment.

…a habit.

…all we need to be happy.

…something within our control.

Got enthusiasm?

If not, go get some!

“If more information was the answer, then we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs.” -Derek Sivers

“We use ‘information gathering’ as a means of delaying action. Because we’re doing something, it feels like movement, but it’s just procrastination in disguise. Information threatens to turn us into a rocking horse: Always moving, never going anywhere. We need to find a balance between information and action. When in doubt, it’s safe to assume the balance is found with more action.” -Sahil Bloom

“ ‘Did you ever feel,’ he asked, ‘as though you had something inside you that was only waiting for you to give it a chance to come out? Some sort of extra power that you aren’t using—you know, like all the water that goes down the falls instead of through the turbines?’ ” – Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

You don’t have an information problem. You have all the information you need, and then some.

You might have a discipline, focus or motivation problem.

The cure for any of these?

Set a date.

Get started.

Make it happen.

Once you commit and go, you’ll be shocked at how quickly all these “problems” vanish.

“The secret to happiness is work worth doing.” -Gretchen Rubin

“The question you should be asking isn’t, “What do I want” but “What would excite me?” -Tim Ferriss

“All that any of us need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.” -Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman In The World, Part II

Not “what do I want?” That leads to thoughts of scarcity (not helpful) or consumption (not fulfilling).

The question to ask yourself (and continuously ask)…

“What would get me really f’ing excited to do or work on?” (Regardless of outcome, money, recognition, etc.)

Remember the formula…

Meaningful Work + Meaningful Community = Peak Artistic Happiness.

What small action can you take today to find work worth doing and community worth sharing it with?

And if you’re stuck on the answer, then how ’bout just bringing more meaning to the work you’re already doing and the community you’re already a part of?

“The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet; the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot.” -Salvador Dali

“I will continue to generate stupid, silly stories, even after technology has made me completely obsolete. If there’s one edge I have over AI, it’s this irrationality, this need to create something that has no right or reason to exist. I know it makes no sense. I’m starting to think it might also be what makes me human.” -Simon Rich

Do you see what I see?
Do you see what I see? -lyrics from the song “Do You Hear What I Hear” by Bing Crosby

The artist and the leader share something in common: they both “see it” before anyone else does. They’re often ahead of their time.

The price they pay for this gift is loneliness and dissatisfaction because no one else sees what they see.

If this is you and you “see it”, stop asking and waiting if others see it too.

They don’t.

It’s up to you.

Go make it.

Then, they’ll see it.

Or they won’t.

But at least you acted on your vision. You can live in peace knowing that.

When it comes to making your art, starting a business or any kind of passion project…if someone can can talk you out of it, then you’re not ready to do it.

Knowing this, you may want to closely guard what you’re cooking up until it’s fully baked.

“The ability to focus the mind is the ability to not let it run away with you. It does not mean not to think—but to be the one who directs your own thinking…Focus is not achieved by staring hard at something. It is not trying to force focus, nor does it mean thinking hard about something. Natural focus occurs when the mind is interested. When this occurs, the mind is drawn irresistibly toward the object (or subject) of interest. It is effortless and relaxed, not tense and overly controlled…Fighting the mind does not work. What works best is learning to focus it.” -W. Timothy Gallwey, The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

Instead of trying to be more confident, just be more focused.

Unlike confidence which is elusive, focus is something actable, something you can achieve.

And when you do, confidence gets thrown in for free.

“Self-actualized people…live more in the real world of nature than in the man-made mass of concepts, abstractions, expectations, beliefs and stereotypes that most people confuse with the world.” -Abraham Maslow, Hierarchy of Needs: A Theory of Human Motivation

“In the pursuit of knowledge,
every day something is added.
In the practice of the Tao,
every day something is dropped.
Less and less do you need to force things,
until finally you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.

True mastery can be gained
by letting things go their own way.
It can’t be gained by interfering.” -Verse 48, Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu (Translation by Stephen Mitchell)

“The fish in the water that is thirsty needs serious professional counseling.” -Kabir, 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint

While the world screams “MORE! MORE!! MORE!!!”, you politely respond, “No, thank you. I choose less, less, less.”

That choice leads to you having…

less needs.

less desires.

less obligations.

less distractions.

less stuff.

Because less is actually more.

More peace of mind, more energy and more freedom to find and do what it is you truly love to do.

Less, less, less.

“A turtle step is the least I can do, divided in half. It’s also the only way I’ve ever achieved anything.” -Martha Beck

May you have the courage to listen to the voice of desire
That disturbs you when you have settled for something safe. -John O’Donohue, book “To Bless The Space Between Us: A Book Of Blessings”

Do you have a plan or strategy to get things done when you’re “not feeling it” or the events of the day seem to conspire against you?

If not, best make one.

We make our big dreams and plans when we’re feeling good, have some free time, got a good night’s sleep, are lit up by the muse or that inspiring cup of coffee with an encouraging friend.

And then it’s back to life, back to reality.

The dishwasher breaks, your car battery dies, your child is sick, work ran late, traffic was abominable, etc.

Yet it is precisely on those days (which come up often), when you’re not feeling it, when you’re up against it, when you wanna do absolutely nothing but veg out on the couch and watch tv…that if you can manage to still just get one small thing done towards your dream…those are the days that will define you and your project’s ultimate success.

One tip…know in advance something that will only take a few minutes to complete and that when you do it, you feel good about yourself. Before going to bed, you can think, “well, at least I did that.” Or what Martha Beck calls a turtle step.

P.S. – This excellent article on “Why 10 Minutes A Day Is All You Need.”