Don't Do Too Much

There's a famous story about the day Jack Lemmon received a master class in acting for the camera by director Billy Wilder. The two were on the set for the classic film, Some Like it Hot starring Marilyn Monroe. At this point, Jack Lemmon had done a considerable amount of theater and television but was still relatively new to the world of feature films.

As the story goes Lemmon was in the middle of a scene when Wilder stopped him. "Less Jack. Less," he said. Lemmon supposedly took the note and resumed the scene. A few minutes go by and Lemmon feels like he's really cooking when once again he's stopped by the Academy Award winning director. "Less Jack. Less." Lemmon scratched his head, took the note again, and continued to plow along. The scene goes on for a while before Wilder stops him for a third time, "Less Jack. Less." At this point Lemmon's had it and screams, "Billy, if I do any less I'll be doing nothing." Wilder supposedly smiled before saying, "Exactly."

Too often we feel we're not enough when the truth is we're infinitely interesting. The key whether on stage or off is to trust we have a voice and something of value to offer without overcompensating for what we mistake to be deficiencies. 

Go and Fail

Academy-Award nominated actor Jeremy Renner attributes much of his success to this mantra and so does the billionaire founder of SPANX Sara Blakely. Both have reached great heights in their respected fields and claim to come from homes where their parents embraced the importance of trying something and failing at it.

Sara Blakely once said in an interview, "Growing up, my father used to ask my brother and me what we had failed at at the dinner table, which was so interesting. And he'd celebrate it. He'd actually be disappointed if I didn't have anything I'd failed at that week."

Jeremy Renner echoed the sentiment in his recent interview on CBS Sunday Morning when discussing his father's mentorship. "Pick a class and go take it. Go fail. I always had love and that go fail son empowered me to go succeed, or try. So I did! I went and I just tried stuff."

Part of success is about reframing failure. When you look at setbacks as deferred successes you cultivate a tolerance for being told, "No." As a result, you're not as discouraged when it occurs. You begin to see the bigger picture and appreciate the essential role not getting something plays in becoming a person of character and resilience. 

Start by Starting

Admittedly, it took me several years to figure out something that now seems profoundly simple about my acting career: I didn't need to wait for permission to create.

For years, I'd followed the perceived blueprint of many New York actors. I trained at a rigorous conservatory. I graduated and was signed by a great agent. And before I knew it, I was off to the races, auditioning for feature films, television, and commercials. I was living the dream. It was a truly exhilarating time in my young life.

Eventually, the auditions slowly tapered off, the realities of how challenging a career in the arts would be set in, and I began to question my purpose as an actor. I judged my credibility and success as an artist on the number of auditions I received and the length of my IMDB page.

Thankfully, close friends grew weary of my griping and rightly so. At first they nudged, then practically screamed, "Create your own work!" It took a few years, but I finally got the message.

Today, there are countless resources at our disposal to get you on your way. There are free screenwriting tools like Storywriter on Amazon and the feature film, Tangerine, shot entirely on an iPhone was nominated for an Academy Award. So don't wait for your friends to scream at you. You don't need permission to create. The world needs to hear your point of view now. Start by starting.