How many hours a week are you acting?
I’m not talking about auditioning or workshops (they don’t count). I’m talking about that rarefied and sacred space where you work on your art. The place where outcome doesn’t matter, where there’s no getting it right or wrong, and no one’s trying to be cool. A client of mine once called this “the sandbox of the creative soul.” How much time do you spend in that space, playing, getting dirty, and making castles?
Vincent van Gogh took his own life when he could no longer paint. He didn’t take it when he could no longer sell his paintings (he was never financially successful while he was living). Good ol’ Vinnie didn’t dutifully go knocking on doors trying to sell his paintings. He painted. He painted day after day, week after week, month after month. I believe that there is something profound to be learned from his creative rigor. He painted because that’s what it meant to make art.
Most of us started acting in grade school or high school. An awkward age for some—full of hormones, heartbreak, and hidden desires to fit in. That first time you courageously stepped onto a stage, looked out past the lights,
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