Again and Again

For December, as we all wrap up another year, I think a series on how to get started and how to keep going is a good idea. I am also thinking that Thursday will be the posting day for now. While I want to have something important to say; my goal for this is to build a delivery cadence and improve my capability at generating written content. So how do you get started?

Mark Watney: [Addressing astronaut trainees] At some point, everything's gonna go south on you... everything's going to go south and you're going to say, this is it. This is how I end. Now you can either accept that, or you can get to work. That's all it is. You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem... and you solve the next one... and then the next. And If you solve enough problems, you get to come home. All right, questions?

The power of improv is that it's built one scene at a time. We get to work on one scene, and then it's over and gone. But how to get started is to start, because the gift improves as you do it, so it does not matter.

We have to always remind ourselves this doesn't matter. And I'm not saying that in a condescending way, saying that in a way, that the best improv show that's ever happened, whatever, whatever you've heard, was the best show, whether it took place in Chicago or New York, maybe LA at this point. As soon as it was over, it was gone. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter, no matter how good it was, so you might as well give yourself permission that no matter how bad it is, it doesn't matter.

You do it, you take care of it in the moment, give it away, then do it again. My job is to foster scenes for the brief shining moment they are alive and then let them go into the dark. My product is the moment of discovery, and then letting it go to go on to the other moment of discovery. I do one scene, and then I do another, and if I do enough scenes, I'll be good. That's what we're talking about this December.