Only Quality People

World renown motivational speaker and author Les Brown has a term he likes to use when describing the folks he surrounds himself with -- Only Quality People or O.Q.T 

He understands the power of associations and credits much of his success to hanging around people who inspire him rather than bring him down.

There is actually data to support the value of associating with like-minded people who have your back, support your vision, challenge, inspire, and bring out your greatest potential. 

You will make within $2,000 - $3,000 of the people you're closest too. If you associate with people who don't take care of themselves and are overweight your chances of falling into the same patterns increase by 57 %.

Also, if you write down your goals you're 39% more likely to accomplish them but if you have an accountability partner who holds your feet to the fire that number jumps to nearly 75%.

Who we hang around matters. If you want to be great get around people who are at a level you want to be. Find a coach, mentor, or someone that knows something you don't. 

Simply clinging to people who are versed in different variants of skills and knowledge you already possess is not enough.

Creative Expression Matters

Today, the remarkable advances in how the world communicates has given birth to an overabundance of ways for us to share our stories.  There is a global platform that allows people everywhere to tell us who they are and what defines them.  Human rights movements have been energized on Facebook.  Millions of people hang on the 140-character thoughts of their favorite TV personality, entrepreneur, or author on Twitter.  Artists of all mediums can better publicize their work through social media resources, many of which are free.  We are living during an exceptional time of opportunity, bold ideas, and collaborative potential.  
     

If you doubt that art has played a role in this Renaissance of innovation and think that creative expression only belongs in drab black box theaters, fine art galleries, or exhibition halls, I encourage you to take a closer look.  If for example, you own a MacBook, you are the proprietor of an idea, not a product.  Many are already well versed with how a small calligraphy course at Reed College in 1974 influenced the creative vision of Steve Jobs, or how a stylized stencil image of then presidential hopeful Barack Obama conceived by street artist Shepard Fairey galvanized a call for change.  The truth is that art, which is to say the expression of imagination, has profound importance in our world.

Life Happens When You're Planning Something Else

Author and management expert Ken Blanchard once said, "Life is what happens to you when you are planning to do something else." What's his point? 

Well, as a young actor I recall being so rigid and monomaniacal in my pursuit of being a working actor that I had blinders on to just about everyone, or anything that wasn't in harmony with that goal. In the end, it came at a great cost.

It's great to be focused but important to also take some personal inventory. Sometimes what we wanted 2, or 3 years ago isn't what we want now. And rather than plowing through and not listening to that voice, it's important we stay flexible in our thinking and recognize it may be a sign to do something else completely.

That may sound like you're giving up on a dream, but I would argue it means you've evolved as a person and the things you value have simply changed. There's no shame in that. In fact, it takes courage.

Work harder on yourself than you do on your career and you'll develop the self-awareness to know if what you're doing isn't working, or doesn't resonate with you anymore. You'll also be more likely to do something about it. 

You would be amazed at the opportunities that await you when you approach your life with a mindset of availability.

"Some People Need to Move to Think"

In a 2006 TED Talk, author, speaker, and educational adviser Sir Ken Robinson said, "Many talented, brilliant, creative people think they're not because the thing they were good at in school wasn't valued or was actually stigmatized. And I think we can't afford to go on that way."

A few weeks ago, I taught an acting workshop. During a break I spoke with a gentlemen in standing in the back of the room who was patiently waiting for his teenage son. "My son texted me several times during the class to thank me for taking him here." I told him how great I thought that was. "No," he said. "You don't understand. He's being bullied at school for wanting to be an actor so this really meant a lot."

It's important to understand that intelligence and creativity is diverse. We need to move toward embracing those remarkable differences rather than denouncing them. 

What's more, we must also protect our own sense of being despite pressure to conform.

Stella Adler on America's Master Playwrights

Over the holidays my uncle gave me a book called, Stella Adler on America's Master Playwrights. I put the book on a shelf and promised myself I'd read it once I got through the others on my list. I decided to pick it up this morning and was instantly glad I had.  

Admittedly, it's been quite some time since I read an "acting book." But I think the distance from such works provided a clarity I didn't have as a young actor deep in the trenches of school and auditions.  

One passage in particular grabbed my attention in which Ms. Adler drives home the point about truly embodying a character through first understanding the playwright:

So when the playwright's job is done, you come along and say, "I'll take it from here and just say his words."

But you can't just take his words, because the words, by themselves, won't help you. You have to take his soul. You have to take his life, his experience of life, his ethic, what he has said to the world. 

In other words, we have to humble ourselves greatly before stepping into a role. It requires in depth understanding, but more importantly, an appreciation for the point of view the author has toward the world before diving in to interpret his or her work. 

A heightened sensitivity toward the author is where it begins.

Pick Your Pain

Author, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons."

No one I've ever spoke to has ever regretted a committed effort toward a goal even if the outcome failed to meet their expectations. We must decide if a fear of failure is worth discouraging us from trying something we know to be worth our application. My guess is that it is not.

If you want something you owe it to yourself to at least try. You'll be glad you did. 

The Year Ahead

Long after the ball has dropped and the confetti has been swept up, we take time to ponder the past year's wins and setbacks. Most importantly, we look to the year ahead.

If you're at all like me, you've already taken time to write out your ambitious goals for 2017; disciplines you hope to cement, habits you need to break, and achievements personal and professional you'd very much like to see come to fruition. 

Author, speaker, and former editor of Success Magazine, Darren Hardy once said, "The definition of commitment is doing the thing you said you were going to do, long after the mood you said it in has left you."

As you embark on the year ahead consider these two simple thoughts:

1. You can have high standards for yourself and hold yourself accountable without beating yourself up.

2. What will separate the people who achieve their goals versus those who don't will be consistency. Continue to put in the work on a regular basis long after the shininess of a new year has worn off.

Happy New Year and Best of Luck in 2017.