My students come to me asking, “How do I make an A in your class?”
“Turn in your homework, completed and accurate, on time,” I reply.
The students, exasperated, say, “Yes, we know about homework, but how do we make an A?”
An overweight man comes to his personal trainer asking, “How do I lose the weight?”
The trainer replies, “Exercise and watch what you eat.”
The overweight man, exasperated, says, “Yes, I know about nutrition and exercise, but how do I lose the weight?”
The actress comes to her coach asking, “How do I become an excellent actress?”
The coach replies, “Train your voice, your body and your imagination.”
The actress, exasperated, says, “Yes, I know about the exercises, but how do I become an excellent actress?”
The lesser comes to the greater asking, “How do I succeed?”
The greater replies, “Do the work.”
The lesser, exasperated, says, “Yes, I know about the work, but how do I succeed without doing it?”
An actor knows that the best way to convince an audience that he is doing a thing is to actually do it. No pretending. No discussion necessary. Just do the action. A salesperson knows that the sales come if you just approach a solid number of people. You don’t focus on the sales, you focus on the approaching.
Focus on the result and one gets frustrated. Focus on the action and one gets results.
Epictetus said, “First, say what you want to be. Then, do what you must do.”
I want to be a full time writer and theatre artist. The steps will take some time to complete.
What do you want to be? What to do you need to do? Are you ready to do it? What’s it gonna take?
And, um, when are you getting started? Or have you already?
