Over the past month or so I’ve had the opportunity to meet with a few denizens of the solo-play arena, those rare artists who get on stage and perform a singular or plethora of characters, a play, or a monologue—in the vein of John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, and that socially awkward weirdo that shows up to open-mic night at your local coffee shop.
Each artist I met with was at a different stage of their career but each wanted to know, “Josh, man, how are you doing it? How are you getting your show booked all over the place? What’s the secret?”
I’m going to defer to Steve Jobs in just a minute. But the secret to any delicious and prize-winning Success Sauce are two ingredients: Passion and Perseverance.
Your sauce is going to look and taste different than mine. But if it’s going to win the blue ribbon at the fair, you must infuse your recipe with Passion and Perseverance.
Why? I’ll give you an example. I love what I do. I have a passion for it. Because I love it, I will persevere.
Now, I can persevere for a short time without passion, but generally I will give up if I don’t love what I’m doing. That’s called being stubborn.
I can have passion for something but not persevere. But that’s called a hobby.
If you can find that magic combo of both passion and perseverance, you’ll find a way to make great art and then find a way for the world to experience it.
But don’t take my word for it (Cue the Reading Rainbow music). Here’s a minute-long clip of Steve Jobs talking about passion and perseverance: CLICK HERE
You must have tons of passion - NO doubt. I do think wit and brains are HUGE factors as well.
ReplyDeleteThe passion is there for sure, thanks :) Wit and brains are huge factors indeed...intangibles...wit can be learned...brains can't be but I feel like sometimes hard work and effort cover up a shortcoming in that department :) (at least I hope!!) Thanks!
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