“The world is violent and mercurial–it will have its way with you. We are saved only by love–love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share: being a parent; being a writer; being a painter; being a friend. We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is love.” -Tennessee Williams
Sometimes a quote is so damn good that you should just step aside and not write anything else about it. Let it stand alone. That’s how I feel about the above one from Tenn.
And the quote was retold beautifully in the magnificent documentary “The Last Movie Stars” which is about Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s careers and marriage. Directed by Ethan Hawke. I highly recommend it.
Well, we all need someone we can lean on And if you want it, you can lean on me. -“Let It Bleed” song by The Rolling Stones
Mantras are powerful antidotes to suffering and difficult times.
Think of AA’s “One Day At A Time.”
Or…
Abraham Lincoln, who suffered numerous tragedies, struggled with depression, and led our country through its darkest period, had this one: “This Too Shall Pass.”
Or…
My dad, who’s struggling with some fairly serious health issues at the moment (and will probably be pissed at me for writing about him), has this one: “We’ll Get Through It.”
No matter the events of the day, no matter the problem, no matter how bad the news or prognosis, all his life he always says it back to me. “We’ll Get Through It.” And he’s right. We will get through it.
The key word in this phrase?
“We’ll.”
No one does it alone. We all need someone we can lean on. Whether it’s family or friends, if you’re struggling with something right now, don’t be afraid to reach out.
“Among the maxims on Lord Naoshige’s wall there was this one: ‘Matters of great concern should be treated lightly.’ Master Ittei commented, ‘Matters of small concern should be treated seriously.” -Excerpt from Hakagure, The Book Of The Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Translated by William Scott Wilson
“Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” —St. Francis of Assisi.
“Act without doing; Work without effort. Think of the small as large And the few as many. Confront the difficult While it is still easy; Accomplish a great task By a series of small acts.
The Master never reaches for the great; Thus she achieves greatness. When she runs into a difficulty, she stops and gives herself to it. She doesn’t cling to her own comfort; Thus problems are no problems for her.” -Verse 63 of The Teo Te Ching by Lao-Tzu, Translated by Stephen Mitchell
The greatest tool is your producer toolkit is the work plan. It reduces any production, no matter how ambitious, to a series of small, actionable steps with a set deadline. You can actually use this tool for any goal or most problems. Before fear and procrastination set in, get out a pen and paper (or spreadsheet) and start listing all the things you could and should do. Be very granular. Break tasks into micro tasks. Set realistic deadlines. And then do one, small thing.
You’ll feel great and have momentum on your side.
And then do it again.
And again.
And again.
Before you know it, you’ll be doing the “impossible.”
Oh, and if the thought of doing this is too much work, then you should ask yourself if the goal or problem is really that big or important after all.
“Man looks in the abyss, there’s nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.” -Lou Mannheim played by Hal Holbrook in the film, Wall Street
“We kept our rep, bro.” -Sue played by Alex Van Horn in the film, Swingers
Well, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) I really want to know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) Tell me who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) Because I really want to know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) -“Who Are You?”, song by The Who
“If the mind is disciplined, the heart turns quickly from fear to love.” -John Cage
“Stillness is what aims the archer’s arrow. It inspires new ideas. It sharpens perspective and illuminates connections. It slows the ball down so that we might hit it. It generates a vision, helps us resist the passions of the mob, makes space for gratitude and wonder.” -Ryan Holiday, book Stillness Is The Key
“All of humanity’s problems stem from a person’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” -Blaise Pascal
Stillness
leads to…
Loving Thoughts
which lead to…
Loving Actions
which lead to…
Peace.
An imperfect acronym to remember this would be “Stillap.”
Or for you visual learners (“Stillap! Hey Stillap!!)…
“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
“I say this is how we must act. I do those things which seem correct to me today. I trust myself. And if security concerns me, I do that which today I think will make me secure. And every day I do that, when that day arrives that I need a reserve, (a) odds are that I have it, and (b) the true reserve that I have is the strength that I have of acting each day without fear. (Pause.) According to the dictates of my mind.” -Ricky Roma from David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross
“My whole life, people have been telling me what I could do and couldn’t do. I’ve always listed to ’em, believed in what they said. I don’t wanna do that anymore.” – Rudy, character played by Sean Astin, from the film Rudy
Rudy is one of my all-time favorite sports movies (that and Hoosiers and The Natural are in the pantheon). I’ve seen it well over twenty times. And that doesn’t include the partial views when I get sucked in to watch if it happens to be on cable. For those of you who don’t know the film, it’s based on the true life story of Rudy Ruettiger, a “too short, 5-foot nothing”, “too slow”, “too poor”, “not too bright”, “no business-being-here kid” who dreams to play football someday for the University Of Notre Dame. I won’t reveal anything more. If you haven’t already seen Rudy, please do so now. If you’ve already seen it, see it again. Either way, you’ll be glad you did.
I just recently watched it end to end again with my younger son Truman. (When he casually mentioned over ice cream that he “kinda forgot the plot”, we immediately rushed home and I put in the Blu-ray.) Like any of your favorite films, every re-watch brings a new insight and different perspective.
This time out I was struck by the sheer number of uncomfortable, one could say cringe-worthy, conversations Rudy engaged in towards achieving his goal. Sure he busted his ass and outworked everybody, but what also stands out is he had no problem asking for help and telling people his plans and dreams. All the time. At every turn. He would then spring into action with no reliable outcome in sight. He said and did the things most of us are unwilling to do.
And why is that? Why exactly are we unwilling?
Like most things in life, it boils down to fear. The fear of being judged. Mocked. Of looking stupid. Worrying what others might think about us.
If you want to overcome this fear, here are some things that might help….
One. Consistently remind yourself of your goal/vision and your “why”. If it’s truly important and meaningful enough to you, you’ll do what you need to. You’ll break through the discomfort to get to the other side.
Two. Realize that most people are too busy worrying about their own needs and wants and dreams to have time judging you. They’re focused on themselves. Not you. That’s just your ego and fear talking.
Three. If you have the courage to follow your passion, you also have the potential to lift up others around you. They directly benefit because of your creation (think of an entrepreneur who starts a great company or a producer who makes a great film or play) and also, you can inspire them to follow their passion. That’s kinda cool. right?
(Spolier Alert: Don’t read any further.)
In short, can you have a ton of uncomfortable conversations in support of what you want? If so, maybe, just maybe, this could be you…
Then a couple days later, I came across this NYT article about Jason M. Allen (headline: “An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy”) who took first prize with a picture completely generated by A.I. (image above).
The last paragraph/quote from Mr. Allen is particularly alarming. (Or is it trolling?)
“This isn’t going to stop. Art is dead, dude. It’s over. A.I. won. Humans lost.”
How to fight back and win?
You don’t. You play a different game. Make art from your heart. Art for art’s sake.
“It is better to pick the wrong priority that none at all.” -Peter Drucker
“The majority of what you want will come from the minority of what you do.” -Gary Keller
“Remember that if you don’t prioritize your life someone else will.” – Greg Mckeown, book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit Of Less
What’s the story morning glory Well (You) need a little time to wake up Wake up well What’s the story morning glory Well Need a little time to wake up Wake up -“Morning Glory”, song by Oasis
The word priority came into the English language around the 15th century. It’s derived from the Latin prioritas, meaning “first in rank, order, or dignity.” There can only be one first thing—one priority.
It’s thanks to the Industrial Revolution and the massive leap in productivity that we can even think about having multiple priorities. As this article states, the plural form didn’t even exist until about a hundred years ago. Prior to this, you didn’t have time to focus on more than one thing. Things took too long. And if you go way, way back to prehistoric times…if you’re not focused on one thing, namely survival, you starve or get eaten by a saber tooth tiger.
It’s a blessing to be able to do multiple things. But if you find yourself overwhelmed and stressed and with an endless to do list, it might be time to simplify. Time to ask yourself, “what is my first and only priority.”
And if you have trouble answering, remember the magic focusing question. It comes courtesy of Gary Keller from his book “The ONE Thing”. “What’s the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
“If you get a chance to act in a room that somebody else has paid rent for, then you’re given a free chance to practice your craft.” -Philipp Seymour Hoffman
“I had this cognition that I realized I was going into auditions, trying to get a job. And that simply wasn’t what I was supposed to be doing. An actor is supposed to create a compelling, interesting character, that serves the text. You present it in the environment where your audition happens. And then you walk away. And that’s it. Everything else is out of your control. Don’t even think about it. Don’t focus on that. You’re not going there to get a job. You are going there to present what you do. You act. And there it is. And walk away. And there’s power in that. And there’s confidence in that. And it’s also saying, I can only do so much. And then, the decision of who might get a job is so out of your control, that, really when you analyze it, it makes no sense to hold onto that. That, to me, was a breakthrough. And, once I adopted that philosophy, I never looked back. And I’ve never been busier in my life, than once I grabbed onto that. That’s it!” -Bryan Cranston
How much time today can you spend practicing your craft? Actually doing the work rather than thinking or talking about the work.
For everything that happens during the day, look for ways to turn it into deliberate practice.
For example, if you’re an actor and fortunate enough to get an audition, be grateful as it’s a wonderful chance to practice your craft. Learning lines. Breaking the script into beats. Trying out different actions. Etc…And then when you go into the room, it’s not an audition. It’s five minutes to play the part in front of an audience. Even if you’re just a helping a friend with a self tape and reading lines opposite them, that’s time practicing your craft.
One of the great things I love about our Vs. Studio Solo Workshop is how much time people actually write. Our instructor Paul Stein does a wonderful job curating different writing exercises. At the end of each class, he reminds people how much time “they wrote today.” Which in turn, inspires them to write more pages during the week.
This is also why I recommend having an anchor project at all times. It focuses you. You can feel good that no matter how hectic the day was, how harried you were, at least you spent a few minutes doing meaningful work. Something you are passionate about.
More making. Less consuming. Drip by drip, it all adds up.
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