The Vs. Studio Blog

“Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away.
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay.
Oh, I believe in yesterday.” The Beatles, Yesterday

“I will live this day as if it is my last. …I will waste not a moment mourning yesterday’s misfortunes, yesterday’s defeats, yesterday’s aches of the heart, for why should I throw good after bad?” -Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman In The World

“With a tear for the dark past, turn we then to the dazzling future, and, veiling our eyes, press forward. The long and weary winter of the race is ended. Its summer has begun. Humanity has burst the chrysalis. The heavens are before it.” -Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward

The only reason to look back is to look forward. Let your past inform your present. Learn from your mistakes and your triumphs. Ask yourself what worked, what didn’t and why? Even nostalgia if left unchecked, can be detrimental.

Today, today, today.

Forward, forward, forward.

“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” -Friederich Nietzsche

The reason why nobody can really explain “The Method” when it comes to acting is because there is no method. (Read this excellent New Yorker article about the just released book ““The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act”)

There are wonderful tools for your toolkit and you should learn and study them all. See what works for you and what doesn’t. Pick and choose. Be a grocery store artist. Know and be deeply committed to your craft

But also realize that acting is art. It’s alchemy. Elusive. A little bit magical and mystical. And however you get there is entirely up to you.

“It gets easier. Everyday it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it everyday, that’s the hard part.” -BoJack Horseman

“Any time you see what looks like a breakthrough, it is always the end result of a long series of little things, done consistently over time.” -Jeff Olson, The Slight Edge

For almost any goal, the easy part is figuring out what to do. It’s just a series of steps. Small, deliberate actions.

The hard part is doing them every single freaking day.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” -Ecclesiastes 3:1

Hang on to your hopes, my friend
That’s an easy thing to say
But if your hopes should pass away
Simply pretend that you can build them again
Look around
The grass is high
The fields are ripe
It’s the springtime of my life -song lyrics from Simon & Garfunkel’s “Hazy Shade Of Winter”

As much as I try to inspire people to “go make your art” in this blog, there are times when life just isn’t complicit with your artistic ambitions. Maybe you’re in one of those periods right now. Rather than force the issue or feel bad because you can’t seem to make it happen, just take a step back. Bring awareness to your situation, priorities and obligations and be okay that your art has to take a backseat.

For more on this, read this excellent blog post from Margo Aaron. I especially love the examples she gives of people who still find a way to be artistic in the margins. Even if for just a couple minutes a day. It’s inspiring.

Lastly…remember it’s not no forever. It’s just no for right now.

“The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”

The concept of the above proverb dates back as the poetry of Publius Ovidius Naso, better known as Ovid (43 BC – 17 AD), who wrote Fertilior seges est alenis semper in agris (“the harvest is always more fruitful in another man’s fields”). It was more a warning to not covet what someone else has or does.

While yes a warning that’s wise to heed, it can also hold us back from attempting to do something that’s in our heart. Explore a deep curiosity. Make the change we desperately wanna make. And that’s when stasis and complacency and bitterness set in.

Sometimes the only way you’ll ever know if the grass is truly greener is if you actually go to the other side and see for yourself.

If you’re struggling to figure out what constitutes meaningful consumption, ask yourself the following question prior to doing any activity…

Will this help me achieve my dreams and/or the change I’m trying to make in the world?

(And it’s okay if at times, the answer is “No.” The key is you’re aware of what you’re consuming and why.)

“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.” -Confucius

If you’re looking to produce something and you come across a piece of material that lights you up inside but is “flawed”, don’t let that stop you.

Embrace the flaws. Lean into them. Often they’re gifts. Challenges in disguise. If you can navigate them, they can become the takeaway moments for your audience. And you might just have a diamond on your hands.

“Do not expect Plato’s ideal republic; be satisfied with even the smallest step forward, and consider this no small achievement.” -Marucs Aurelius, Meditations

The system or industry you’re in might not be a meritocracy.  You might find many examples where the best idea or person doesn’t actually win the day.

But don’t let that stop you from doing your best. Work as hard as you can.  No stone left unturned.  Strive for excellence and generosity in all that you do. Be your own arbiter. Create your own personal meritocracy.

“There’s no such thing as writer’s block. There’s simply a fear of bad writing. Do enough bad writing and some good writing is bound to show up.” -Seth Godin

How long can you sit down and write,paint, act, etc… feeling that what’s coming out sucks? That it isn’t what you originally envisioned?

The longer you can do it, while trusting that eventually (and the kicker is you never know if or when it’s gonna happen) some good art will materialize, the more productive and happier you’ll be.

“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it… Life is long if you know how to use it.” -Seneca, On The Shortness Of Life

“Money never sleeps pal.” -Gordon Gekko advising Bud Fox in the movie Wall Street

The things you own…do you own them or do they own you?

Ask yourself what you’ve given up. Start with the single most important asset you have which is your time. How much time have you sacrificed for this ownership?

And what’s the opportunity cost?

Has it been worth it?