Basically, I just didn't want to do anything with New Year’s resolutions or achievements from 2013. So I decided to start the New Year talking about failure and a great big lie!
Okay, ready?
Success comes to those who wait. That's the lie. Success does NOT come to those who wait. It comes to those who fight, lose, regroup and fight again; even if they think that they might not deserve to win or be good enough to have the prize. It comes to those who get rejected over and over and over again and manage to come back for more, or those who have doors slammed on their toes when all they are trying to do is get their foot inside. These people are laughed at and are always being reminded how unrealistic their dreams are and are being told to “get a real job” (or a real life) constantly. Still, they keep going, focused on that goal...Whatever it may be.
These are the people to whom success comes. It's as if it seeks them out.
This is especially true for those people going after something that's a bit different, competitive or something that nobody has ever tried before.
Here are some of the world's greatest failures:
Ludwig van Beethoven was told repeatedly that as a composer he was “hopeless"
Walt Disney was fired from his first big job at a local Orlando newspaper because he was told he “lacked imagination.”
Abraham Lincoln lost the love of his life at a very young age. He also failed at business. Had serious bouts of depression and had many failures in politics before anyone ever took him seriously.
Winston Churchill failed 6th grade and basically hated school.
Thomas Edison was told he was “too stupid” to learn anything of importance.
Albert Einstein was encouraged by many to just drop out of school.
John Grisham's first novel was rejected by sixteen agents and twelve publishing houses.
The list of famous failures goes on and on and on...
Earlier this year I interviewed Nakata Fitch whose son played “young Simba” on Broadway and has had several roles on TV at the ripe old age of 12. She said when they started out they went with a 20/80 expectation at auditions. Basically, if Niles booked 20% of the roles he went out for, they were doing very well. This was for a kid who had already proven himself to be talented, smart and reliable in the biz. Still 20 percent was the absolute most they would hope for. So, it would just make sense to say that if you haven't had that much professional experience or training your percentage certainly wouldn't be more than 10/90...(9 grueling heart -wrenching “No's” for every surprising well-deserved “Yes”)
So, if you know from reliable sources that you actually do have talent and you have a decent amount of training but you still aren't hearing “YES” enough or at all, it could very well be that you aren't hearing “No” enough either!
If you really want to make it in a competitive field such as performing, you have to get out there and start failing and failing and failing again. I can't begin to understand why we have to go through so much rejection and humiliation to get where we want to be. Maybe the universe wants to see just how much we want what it is we say we want so much. Maybe we have to prove we're worthy of it at all.
It sounds like a cliché to say, “We learn more from our failures than we do our successes,” (It is a cliché actually) but it's true... All I have ever learned from success is that in the moment, it feels a lot better than failure. Everything else came from the depths of painful rejection.
Of course I learned from training and practice too but it wasn't until I got out there and fell on my ass over and over that I learned how to really nail an audition. Or to improvise when I completely get “stage amnesia” (my own term, whatcha think?) Or how to stop my hands from shaking when I play the piano in front of a large audience
So my big plan for 2014 is to get out there and fail as much as I can. Swallow my pride and know when the number of times I feel like such a loser starts getting to the 7 or 8 mark...something good is coming!. It's a lot easier to embrace the idea of this while I'm sitting here writing about it and NOT when I'm crying my eyes out because I just blew the chance of a lifetime AGAIN...But, it's a plan.
Okay so I can't start end the year or the holiday season without a fun, uplifting video. This guy's name is Preston and he is actually an extremely talented musician. I've spoken to him once. So, I don't know him at all. But, I love this video. You really can't watch it without at least smiling. Remember, while you're watching...Nobody else could hear the music. Just him. (gets me every year!!!)
Happy New Year!