The Vs. Studio Blog

“Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently.” -Marie Forleo

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

“The greatest threat to success is inconsistency.” -Shane Parrish

“A simple filter for managing your time: You’re not focused enough unless you’re mourning some of the things you’re saying no to.” -James Clear

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.” -Steve Jobs

In a world of shiny new objects bombarding us every second of every day, focus, saying “No” and consistency of effort are the new superpowers.

Cultivate them. Guard them within an inch of your life. 

Don’t let squirrels keep you from the important work you’re trying to do.

In a collaborative medium like film or theatre, the producer needs to get everyone to care deeply about the final result. And when you’re working in small theatre or independent film, you’re asking people to work for lower pay and on lower budgets. So, how do you get them to care?

First, you must have empathy. Remember, everyone’s busy, everyone’s got problems, everyone’s got a lot on their plate. Your priorities are not their priorities.

Second, start and lead with passion. If you’re not making this art because you absolutely love it, then why are you doing it? And why would you expect anyone else to care? You as the producer first, must be all-in.

Third, communicate to everyone, early and often, your passion and love for this project. How it came to be. Everyone loves a good origin story. Your enthusiasm will be infectious! (Including for the audience you want to come see it.)

Fourth, demonstrate your love with your actions. Be the hardest working person around. Have no ego. Over communicate. Strive for excellence and generosity at all times. Design a work plan and set realistic deadlines. Give your artists creative freedom. If someone makes a mistake (including you), then be understanding yet also constructive.

Lastly, choose well from the get go. Find people with similar work ethics and generous spirits. Who are also in it because they love it. This might mean taking much longer to search for and cast your actors, designers and stage crew. But that extra time is worth it.

You can’t make anyone care. 

But YOU, producer, must care deeply. 

And because you care every step of the way, they will care too.

SONYA: Mikhail Lvovich. I’m…I’m just curious about something. If I had a friend, or a, or a…younger sister, and you found out she…let’s say that she…that she loves you. Loved you. How would you react?

ASTROV: I don’t know. I guess I would try to help her understand that I couldn’t love her back…and I’d tell her I’m not interested in that kind of thing anymore. –Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov (Annie Baker adaptation) 

“I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.” -Arthur Rubinstein

“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” song “The End” by The Beatles

Perhaps all human desires can be summed up in these two:

(1) The desire to love.

(2) The desire to be loved.

When either or both of these desires are missing, we seek fulfillment in other ways (e.g. buying stuff), which never satisfy, and so trouble ensues. 

(Side note for the actor: If you’re struggling to find a super objective for your character, you can’t go wrong with picking one of the above two.)

We can’t control being loved. (Though Christianity and some other religions teach that God does love us, no matter what.)

But we can control giving love. And as Paul McCartney, John Of The Cross, The Buddha and many others have advised over the years…When you give love, you’ll find love.

So, go love.

“Set peace of mind as your highest goal and organize your entire life around it.” -Brian Tracy

“Keep calm and carry on.” -Winston Churchill

I’ve written prior about having a daily self-care checklist, but for you visual folks out there, the above image is fantastic.

(Hat tip to Sahil Bloom and Greg Isenberg for providing.)

Speaking of a daily ideas practice, why not come up with a list of ideas that might help someone else.

For example, one of my favorite exercises in our Vs. Studio Producing Workshop is to have each participant come up with a list of 5-10 plays for another participant in the class. Roles that they think the other person would be great in. It’s a really fun exercise and people are always surprised and flattered by how others see and think of them. Why not do this for your favorite actor friend today?

You could also gift your ideas for an organization or cause that you admire. Write to them and tell them how much you love and why you love what they do. And while you’re at it, give them a list of 10 ideas or suggestions for new initiatives they could undertake. 

Not that you’re doing it for this reason…but you never know…they might just write you back and ask you to come aboard and carry out said initiative(s). That’d be fun, right?

“Coming up with ten ideas a day is like exercise. And exercise makes the idea muscle stronger.” -James Altucher

A great daily practice (recommended by author James Altucher) is forcing yourself to come up with ten ideas per day. It can be about anything, any topic you want, big or small, doesn’t matter. If you do this practice every day for a year, then you’ll have come up with a total of 3,650 ideas. That’s a helluva lot of ideas. One of them is bound to be a good one. At the very least, you’ll have strengthened your creativity and engaged your curiosity.

If you want to take this daily idea practice a little further, then after you’ve written down your ten ideas, pick one idea, and force yourself to write down ten possible action steps (P.A.S.) for that idea.

If you want to go even further, pick one of those action steps and take action. (Could be as simple as doing a google search to learn more.)

By doing so, you’ll not only come up with a lot of ideas, but you’ll consistently and deliberately practice the most important part of any idea and what stops almost everyone…learning how to take action.

“As human beings, we come and go quickly, and we get to make works that stand as monuments to our time here. Enduring affirmations of existence. Michelangelo’s David, the first cave paintings, a child’s figure-paint landscapes–they all echo the same human cry, like graffiti scrawled in a bathroom stall:

I was here. -Rick Rubin, The Creative Act

If you’re looking for a reason to make and share your art, look no further than just to declare that you were here. 

You were here. On this earth. In this universe. At this time. By some miracle that is beyond you.

You saw this. You heard this. You learned this. You felt this.

So much so, that you were compelled to make it and share it with all of us.

In hopes that we’d all feel just a little less alone.

You were here.

We were here.

Together. We’re all here.

Go make and share your art.

Thank you for doing so and for being here.

… Well, I spent a lifetime lookin’ for you
Single bars and good time lovers were never true
Playing a fools game, hopin’ to win
And tellin’ those sweet lies and losin’ again
… I was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places
Lookin’ for love in too many faces
Searchin’ their eyes
Lookin’ for traces of what I’m dreaming of
Hoping to find a friend and a lover
I’ll bless the day I discover another heart
Lookin’ for love
… And I was alone then, no love in sight -song “Lookin’ For Love” by Johnny Lee

“Where there is no love, put love, and you will find love.” -St. John of the Cross

Love is not a feeling. It’s an action.

Don’t wait for it. Don’t look for it.

Just go do it. Love.

Give love.

And you will find love.

(The athlete or stage actor might especially relate to this post.)

Why doubt yourself?

If you succeed, you still have to go out there and do it again the next day.

If you fail, you still have to go out there and do it again the next day.

There’s no room for doubt. It’s just a waste of time.

Action, action, action.

Yeah, that’s right, I’m the Egg Man, driving around
King of the town (yeah)
Always got my windows rolled down
Ready to throw
You know, I’m the Egg Man
Once upon a time
Egg Man -song “Egg Man” by Beastie Boys

I’m not sure why, but often when you think you’ve done your best work, the initial response to it is…crickets.

It’s a reminder to stay present. Focus on what you can control, which is doing your best work and then shipping the work. That’s it. That’s all you can do.

In the documentary “Beastie Boys Story” Mike D and Ad-Rock talk about how they thought Paul’s Boutique–their second album and my personal favorite by far–was infinitely better than their debut and massive hit, License To Ill. They worked much harder and longer, they experimented (working with Matt Dike and The Dust Brothers), they pushed boundaries, they spent a fortune and when it was finally done, they were really proud of it. They felt it truly represented who they were as artists. When Paul’s Boutique was released, they were excited and ready for it to be a giant hit. It was gonna slay.

Instead, it was a flop. 

Who knows why? Perhaps it was because it was way ahead of its time. Or because it was a radically different sound than License To Ill. But to their credit, the Beastie Boys didn’t let it daunt them. They kept making kickass and genre-defying albums like Ill Communication and Hello Nasty among others.

Oh…and many years later, fans did come around. Paul’s Boutique went multi-platinum. Critics hail it as a “masterpiece…the Sgt. Pepper of hi-hop.” I would agree.

P.S. – This video. R.I.P MCA.