Bouncing on the Scene

Actor Tom Selleck lives up to being handsome with the same good looks internally as he has outwardly.  He's someone I'd want to be friends with. I heard his interview the night of May 18 on PBS The Tavis Smiley Show. He spoke about risk being the price you pay for opportunity and success. He had a fear of failure message; he said not only does fear hold people back but it prevents them from growing. And of course it leads to being stale. As a former athlete he heard far more no's than yes. In writing, the same principles apply. How many times do we get turned down without an explanation, without the benefit of reading a facial gesture, hearing a tone of voice, before we get a positive reaction.

Rejection is a way of life for the actor just as it is for the writer and not for the light-hearted. Some say that the actor him/herself is the instrument, as for the writer, isn't the mind and imagination also the instrument?

An artist has an escape clause–when rejected you can rationalize by saying– I should have tried harder or you can blame others–that person didn't have the insight to see my talent. But clauses don't lead to learning the lesson. Navigating your down time and coping with rejection dictates whether an artist will have future success, failure, a short or long career, or even a happy or unhappy life.

If one needs anything it's persistence, and other than a willingness to stick to a goal, a plan until such time as it proves itself successful or a complete failure.  Failure is not the cue to feel sorry for yourself, but a time to reset your plan in another direction. 

So it's up to "you," not up to "them" how things turn out for you, which brings me to one of my favorite quotes: 

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

–Calvin Coolidge