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Finding Happiness Through Risk.

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:30:26 -0500

All entrepreneurs, by definition, must engage with risk.

What is your risk tolerance?

Let me ask you a few questions.

Are you doing what you love for a living? If you aren’t already, would you like to?

What would you be willing to do to have the happiness that can come from doing what you love for a living?

Almost all businesses require money to begin. Thus begins our relationship with risk.

How important are dreams to you?

Would you spend $1,000? How about $10,000?

Can you place a value on your career happiness and your feeling of work fulfillment?

How about $50,000? If you could make that investment, which would engage you in a process that may lead you to career fulfillment, would it not be worth $50,000? Is it worth more?

Many of us are forced into “survival jobs”, to do work that is not creatively fulfilling and is work we would not do in the first place, if we had another viable income.

If you were in such a place, what would it be worth to be able to leave that world behind and make a living from your creativity?

Would you be willing to risk your lifestyle?

If you like to eat out, would you be willing to sacrifice that part of your life? Would you be willing to eat in for almost all of your meals?

Would you be willing to eat less expensive food, if it might lead to your dreams?

Would you be willing to simplify almost all aspects of your life, to decrease your risk in pursuing your dream? (Simple adjustments can have profound effects).

Almost all people feel a drive and need to work, to create, and do something productive. A lot of people feel very empowered and…dare I say…*happy* when they are doing the work they love. Then work is less “work” and more a joy.

If you had to sacrifice your lifestyle and finances for three years or longer, in order to achieve potential long term financial and career success, would you be willing to do that?

Here is the real crux…What if you invest all of that time, money and energy and do not succeed as you desire? What if you don’t fulfill your dream? Well, that is a risk, too.

But what if you do succeed?

Risking and sacrificing are, in some ways, like quitting smoking. For those who have smoked, you will know what I am talking about.

Those addicted to smoking, when they quit, will likely experience the following:

• Your mind will play tricks on you, convincing you of why you REALLY NEED to smoke, why it is actually good for you.

• You will profusely sweat and loose significant sleep

• Your mind will fixate on cigarettes for nearly every thought of your day. One thought after another…hour after hour, day after day.

• But, what one often finds too, is a feeling of empowerment.

These experiences are trying, exhausting and difficult to navigate.

For many ex smokers, 2 weeks was the magical point of gaining strength. If one makes it to the 2-week mark, without succumbing to withdrawal and all the temptation and mind games, they have a good chance of quitting successfully.

Engaged effort over a span of time, can give us a great sense momentum, of accomplishment and of purpose. Over time, we begin to see the fruit of our labors…or at least that the tree is in bloom and may fruit.

At this state, we gain perspective. We realize we would not have made it to even this point, had we not made the investments that were necessary. We are then that much closer to achieving our goal. The beginning risks, at this point, start to seem smaller and smaller, less and less significant.

Effort decreases entrepreneurial risk.

You can’t win the game, unless you play.

For greater happiness and creative fulfillment, what are you willing to risk?

Beginning a new endeavor, one, inevitably, has to sacrifice, has to risk. But, with time and continued effort, the enormity of the task, seems a little smaller.

Inspirado, My Sweet Muse.

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:39:03 -0500

A number of years ago, while at Yale, I had the good fortune to meet renowned playwright, Arthur Miller (author of The Crucible, Death of a Salesman and All My Sons). This was, for me, a truly magical encounter, as he is one of my favorite writers. I asked him if he, in his creative process, met inspiration at the door OR if he consciously sought it out. He responded that it is different with every occasion, but that sometimes one must look for it.
Vision Seeking. What a romantic coupling of words. For me, it brings to my mind the mythic vision quest, where a hero strikes out with the express intent to have adventure, to experience new stimuli and to find inspiration.
Not all of us are blessed with a regular muse. Sometimes, we must make a conscious, concerted effort to hunt down the often elusive Inspirado.
For many artists, inspiration is a seductive, but fleeting lover. We bask in this lover’s affection and reap the reward of their presence. But, this lover is rarely around long enough and leaves you longing for another encounter.
Inspiration can come in many forms and ways. Sometimes, I feel that I am holding a very fine silk thread and am gently following it, hand over hand, hoping it does not break. At other times, I feel that I have been hit by lightning and vision unrolls before my like a long Persian rug.
Waiting for inspiration to arrive is a waste of time and creative energy. Why? Because waiting for inspiration is another form of giving away one’s power and most entrepreneurs and independent artists crave autonomy. It is marvelous to have inspiration. But, when it is not present, we must find other ways of moving forward.
Here are some tools I have found useful in luring Inspirado. I hope some of these may help you.
1. Give yourself time. Dedicate time to actively look. Books, for me, often inspire. My wife and I have a large collection of books that focus on various painters´ works. Also, my wife, having been a professional dancer, has many books on choreographers, companies and dancers. I poor through these pages, seeking stimulation. Inevitably, it comes.
2. Gardening. In myth, it is a symbol of the soul. For me, gardening is a constantly evolving, living canvas. Structuring a garden is always a temporary act. Nature takes it back so fast. Being in nature and engaging in creation, stimulates me greatly.
3. Brainstorm. I love this word. A storm of the mind. Chat with a good brainstorming friend (someone with intelligence and their ego under some control). One idea can give birth to another (and often does). In this process, listen a lot, see the ideas in your mind and follow whatever impulse arises (without first judging it). You think it? Go with it. It does not matter whether you think it is a worthy impulse or not. Throw it out, as it may stimulate another person you are working with and may be a better idea than you initially thought. No self-censorship.
4. Change your routine. We are all creatures of habit. Many of us have a structure to our lives that causes us to not see things around us. We take the typical for granted. Such eyesight can lead to a lack of “seeing”. Meditation can help. Bump up against stimuli you might not otherwise encounter. Walk around the block and go a way you do not normally go. Be open to conversations with others you do not typically communicate with. Go to the magazine rack and pick up a magazine that has nothing to do with your typical interests. Look for text that pops off of pages for you.
5. Engage in dialog about what interests you with people of like interest. Such talk can serve to stimulate, inspire collaborations and cultivate energy.
1. Be rested. An exhausted mind and body, often, do not yield inspiring results.
7. Begin to make something. Create. Develop a sense of momentum. Doing so will help you to begin moving forward. Think of your own energy like that of rolling a stone down a hill. While the stone is fixed in space, it can be difficult to move it. But once it begins to roll, it develops more and more speed as it rolls down the hill.
1. Find a sense of balance within your life. I have found that if I am not attending to all of my basic needs as a person, that inspiration is less likely to find me. Lack of attention to my needs, for me, creates a feeling of gap or lacking. I will then feel unsettled and unhealthy habits might begin. Such a feeling can slow my momentum and lead towards inertia. Sometimes, we are not able to fully attend to all of our needs. In such a case, try to find a “sense of balance”. Schedule time to commit some small energy towards the filling of your need gaps. In doing so, a greater sense of “wholeness” can arise and, consequently, happiness and better use of ones´ energy and mind.
2. Go down a rabbit hole. My favorite rabbit hole is YouTube. I like to watch videos of something that fascinates me and then keep following the links.
10. Play. Engaging in a playful state of mind will, invariably, get our imaginations firing. When I say, “play”, I truly mean just that. Engage in a ridiculous scenario or activity and play with as you did when you were a child. Don’t judge. Engage. Commit to your sense of play with wholly, with abandon and joy.
11. Play with your imagination. Ask, "What if"? What if you had a million dollars? What if you were elected President. What would your first day of office look like? The more you use your imagination, the stronger it, as a muscle, becomes. The more you use it, the more you are able to use it. The imagination is one of the partners of the dance.
1. Cultivate your emotional intelligence. Inspiration comes from the imagination (and emotions). When one is inspired, they are emotionally engaged. Emotional intelligence is one of the artists´ keystone tools. If you do not already have a good degree of sensitivity to your emotions, what you are regularly feeling, start. They are often not as scary as we believed they might be. Ride the wave of what you feel. Pay some attention to it. Name it. “I am feeling...excited or giddy”, for example. Name it to understand it. If you feel you are already too engaged with your emotions, try to channel them into activities or creations. Make something and let your emotion be the gasoline in the tank. Let your expression come out of that.
2. Meditate. Willfully still your mind. Letting the constant clutter of our thoughts subside for a while, gives space to our imaginations. Present consciousness can enable us to see our world through a clearer lens.
Then...follow the silk thread, impulse after impolse. Keep following. Keep doing.

Keep the Channel Open.

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:40:34 -0500

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is on a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."

-- Martha Graham to Agnes Demille

Overcoming “You Should”.

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:06:45 -0500

Overcoming “You Should”, to attend to “I want”.

Joseph Campbell, the famed mythologist, articulated that the mythic dragon in the hero quest, which sits on a mountain of gold and hordes all of the virgins and gold of the world (neither of which it can use), is a symbol of the bound ego. Upon every scale of the dragon, are written the words, “Thou Shalt” or “You Should”. This is the voice of your parents, teachers, society, friends and everyone else who has an idea of how you need to be living your life. You should do this. You should do that.

It is the job of the Hero, to kill the dragon and to attain the elixir, which is typically a symbol of self-knowledge. Know thyself.

It can be very difficult to get past the voice of “You Should” and listen to our own creative desires and impulses, as we are each the product of our social imprinting, which begins to take place from our moment of birth. A certain degree of selfishness is required to focus on our individual, personal desires and to say, “No” to others’ desires for us.

That is, partly, a process of maturity, of standing on our own legs, of finding our own independence.

That is the hero’s job and that is your job.

That, too, is what entrepreneurship is about. In the words of Shakespeare’s character Polonius, “To thine own self, be true”.

Entrepreneurs create from what they, personally, want to do. They build from what they find interesting, missing, necessary or of value (and sometimes all of these).

What is it that interests you, personally? Is that desire based in your family’s desires or your colleagues or peers’? What do you really want to do? If you are not already doing it, what is keeping you from it? What obstacles do you face? How can you overcome them?

Simplicity Allows for Depth.

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:47:54 -0500

The first original work of theatre I created was a production I conceived, wrote and directed (and acted in) at the Yale Cabaret (part of Yale School of Drama). It was called The 9th Annual World Weight Wrestling Blood Exxxtravaganza and was a social commentary told through “professional wrestling”. In the creation of the piece, I was given sage advice from renowned stage combat choreographer Rick Sordelet. His words ring in my ear to this day. “Keep it simple, stupid”.

Most great works of art are simple. Sometimes, we as artists, attempt to say too much at once. Consequently, we muddle our work. Simplicity allows for depth. Here are a few examples that come to my mind:

The Beatles Yesterday
Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh
The Story of a Mother by H.C. Andersen
Any of the Brothers Grimm tales
The work of Ansel Adams
The Far Side comics by Gary Larson

I could go on and on, medium after medium.

Each has stood the test of some time and will likely continue to do so. Each transcends generational differences. Each communicates the universal.

Keeping our created form simple, allows us to focus on depth of expression.

Advice for the day?

Keep it simple, stupid.

Creating from Unconscious Thought

Sun, 6 Sep 2009 14:49:42 -0500

Entrepreneurial Arts Training must have equal parts artistic and entrepreneurial skills. We must invest deeply in each or the other will suffer.

I want to discuss a phenomenon, which is one of the keys to artistic freedom and greatness. Though I give examples from theatre, it is a phenomenon that can be experienced in dance, in painting, writing or any other art form.

The Japanese call it Mushin.

Joseph Campbell refers to our brains being a secondary organ.

The Balinese Topeng dancer transcends present consciousness, becoming a conduit for the Gods.

Actors refer to this state as “going up”.

This all points towards this phenomenon.

This state of mind, what the Japanese call “Mushin”, is where the gems of the creative process occur. What happens in this state is that our conscious mind ceases to attempt to control the creative process and “something else” takes over. We commit to risk. We free-fall, trusting that we will be safe, that there is a net, trusting that the words will come, that our bodies will kick in and that all of the rehearsing we have done, what the French call répétition (repeat) will enable us to let go and release.

We must learn our varied techniques to the degree that they become second nature. We must develop these skills to the point that we do not have to think about the mechanics of our technique. Ex. A master woodcarver does not think about how they are holding the chisel and hammer. They do so naturally, as a result of much practice. It is engrained within them and no longer needs to be at the conscious level. If one is thinking about their technique, they will not be free and ultimately, their performance or creation will have a stifled quality and not be as dynamic as it can be.

Each of us understands what an impulse is and what it feels like. I like to refer to impulses as being the lighting-quick voice in our heads that says, “Do this. Do this”. In the words of my college theatre professor at SMU, Dale Moffitt, typically, there is a second voice that arises, which he calls, “The watcher at the gates of the mind”. This voice tells us, “Don’t do that. You aren’t doing that right. Everyone is judging you. You aren’t good enough”, etc. It is our job to push this voice down and listen to the constant stream of creative impulses—and here is the trick—to do so without first judging them or being fearful of them.

Often, when creating, we are “mind-full” of external and internal matters, which restricts our ability to create in a fluid, dynamic fashion. To arrive at this state of creating from a place of unconscious thought, we must focus deeply, in an outward fashion and allow ourselves to turn our “minds” off. Using theatre as an example, we cease to be mindful of the audience, of our lines, what action we are sending, the agent or casting director in the audience, etc. Instead, we focus so completely, that all of that fades out of consciousness and we begin to create from “another place”.

Typically, an actor who has “gone up”, only realizes that they have entered this state of consciousness, once they fall out of it. Typically too, one is not entirely aware of the minute choices they made within the moment of this state, as they are no longer observing and controlling, but have released and become a conduit.

It has been my personal experience that when a performer enters this state, the audience cannot help but be sucked in. People, after the show, will often talk about “that moment”, as being amazing. It is during this state, that one expresses “truth” or so much as can be expressed in the creation of illusion.

The great irony is that if one tries to get to this state of consciousness, they are guaranteed to not get there. Why? Because they are controlling the process. This place is achieved, when we free-fall, when we get out of the way of ourselves. We get there by trusting that all of our technique is there, that we are going to be safe, to accept the inherent risks (which typically translate to mean potential embarrassment). The greatest way to get there is to invest completely in play. We must play as children do.

Surely each of us has engaged in some creation, where we are so engrossed in the process that we lose track of time and find that hours have flown. This is the land of Mushin.

Play is the reason we do what we do, as artists, yes? We can convince ourselves, and others, about all of the higher ideals and purposes we have, being the real reasons we create (social change, enable others to have catharsis, etc), but the real reason, at its base level, is because it is fun. It gives us bliss. That is why we artists do what we do.

We have fun playing King Lear and tearing at the heavens. We have fun playing Hamlet and experiencing a range of emotion in a few hours that few people experience in a year.

Play, bliss, joy is the way. Controlling, intellectualizing, playing technique, being too mindful is the problem.

Let yourself free-fall. Believe me—there is a net. Once you experience Mushin, if you have not already, you might, as I have, make this state of consciousness, freedom of expression and release the goal and the measure to which you strive in all creative processes.

Jim Hart is the founder of The Hart Technique, TITAN Teaterskole and ACPA (Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts). ACPA will open doors in August of 2010. To reach Hart, email jim@harttechnique.com

www.harttechnique.com

Increase Your Chance of Success

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 14:56:31 -0500

In his book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell, also author of bestselling books Blink and The Tipping Point, makes the case that success is less about talent and more about opportunity. He argues that those who are exposed to more and greater opportunities have a greater likelihood of being successful. Makes sense, right? We are each products of our experience and if we receive rich opportunities (schooling, exposure to influential people and elements, etc), we have a greater likelihood of accomplishing goals that are above the ordinary.

I believe we are not destined towards a certain tear of accomplishment because of our childhood backgrounds, necessarily, but that we each have the potential to gain greater opportunity, by exposing ourselves to environments that are rife with possibility and opportunity.

The richer the environment, the more focused our effort, the more we may yield.

If we place ourselves in environments that are dynamic, we have the potential to gain in a dynamic way.

Gladwell also argues that mastery is largely due to logging the hours—10,000, to be precise. Again, makes sense, right?

If you log 10,000 hours, doing any sort of development training, your skills are likely going to reach a masterful level. If one does not reach mastery after 10,000 hours, one needs to choose another discipline (if, in fact, mastery was the goal).

Artists have, forever, used the technique of purposeful isolation to reach a near super-human level of skill. When one focuses very deeply, consistently putting a high degree of concentration, thought and effort into an endeavor (not succumbing to distraction, hesitation or sloth) and does so with consistent effort over time, they are likely to develop and improve quickly and in profound ways. I refer to this type of focus as a “laser point focus”.

The Hart Technique and entrepreneurial training for the arts develops individuals who have a phenomenal degree of discipline. One needs discipline, in order to log the 10,000 hours. I like to refer to this type of discipline as that of a marathon runner. The marathon runner does not have the luxury to take a significant break from their training or they lose endurance, stamina and strength. They must, more or less, be running consistently. That takes fierce discipline.

Another reason that we must be consistent in our efforts is that our techniques (or our talents and skills), will dull and rust over time, if not used. If an artist stays in constant form, their technique will be sharp and they will be able to best express themselves. If they do not stay in proper shape with their technique, when opportunity arises and they call upon their technique, they will likely be self-conscious and not be able to express themselves as well as they desire. Their form can return, but they will likely have to log considerable effort with their technique to get to the place they were before.

Here is an example: When I was young, I was very active in martial arts. One summer, I was training for a national tournament and trained, literally, all day and night--some 10 or 12 hours a day—6 days a week for the entire summer. I was, then, in the best physical shape of my life. Following the tournament, I took a break from training for three months. When I returned to the studio, I found that my endurance, flexibility, strength, speed and stamina had all suffered. When I would spar others then, I would lose to those I consistently won against, when I was in such good shape.

At Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts, we provide a dynamic environment, which enables students to focus deeply, to develop discipline and to utilize their skills—constantly, so as to make significant headway towards acquiring their 10,000 hours of effort. We expose these students to the highest quality of teachers possible and place them in the market, while still in school, so that they interact with professionals, expanding their networks in the process.

This combination of influence, opportunity and student effort, yields, for many, a phenomenal return on their educational investment and increases their likelihood of success.

Students gain a sense of empowerment, first hand experience of how to create opportunities themselves, and a high degree of technique; enabling them to manifest and realize whatever impulse they feel.

Jim Hart is the founder of The Hart Technique, TITAN Teaterskole and ACPA (Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts). ACPA will open doors in August of 2010. To reach Hart, email jim@harttechnique.com

www.harttechnique.com

Is Your Identity Defined by What You Do Professionally?

Tue, 1 Sep 2009 13:16:29 -0500

A lot of people define their sense of self, based on what they do for a living. Artists are notorious for this. They think of themselves as, “I am an actor” “I am a dancer” “I am a writer”, etc.

Tricky thing about such a line of thinking is--that if you are not working, what are you then?

Of course, each of us is more than the titles we wear. But many artists are so passionate about their art and medium that they wear their medium title (actor, painter, dancer, musician, etc) as a cloak, which gives them their sense of self. Defining one’s identity in what one does can lead to identity crises, as they change with time and mature. For such individuals, I encourage them to not identify themselves only via the type of medium they practice, but, rather, as Artists--Creative Artists, at that. One may be a creative artist who acts or paints or does photography or...all of the above, simultaneously.

I believe that artists are artists are artists. Every artist creates from the same place--we simply have different tools to express ourselves. Some of us use our bodies, some film equipment, some computers, etc.

Mastering technique in one form or discipline will enable one to pick up other mediums of artistry. When we hop mediums, we need only learn the new tools or “rules” of the medium.

Another tricky thing about identifying oneself as, say, “an actor”, is that it can cause the artist to mentally rule out other possibilities and potential--like writing or directing, teaching or producing.

Certainly, most of us ask what it is we want to do, numerous times in our lives. I have heard that the average American has 6 careers in their lifetime. This further illustrates that we are all in a constant state of change.

Nearly everyone in the field of theatre, began in an acting class. Acting classes are the window into the medium. Many leave acting to pursue directing, design, producing, writing, technical theatre, stage management, etc. Once again, change is represented. One who begins in an acting class and discovers a passion for directing or design is not a “failed actor”. They are creative artists who direct or design.

Most artists today cannot afford to think in such a limited fashion. There are not enough professional opportunities to do so. The markets are over saturated. We need to be teaching our artists to have “a wider directional perspective”. Rather than thinking about what opportunities exist in a narrow sort of thinking, (ex. Do these few things, via these few paths to find work in your medium), we need to teach them to broaden their perspectives and ask the question, “What can I do with my skill sets”? What opportunities exist? Where are there needs to be filled? What gives me joy? What are ALL of my interests? How do I synthesize my many interests, into a single endeavor?

Such a line of thinking and practice will lead to more artists with unique voices. New aesthetics will emerge. Greater innovation will occur and these students and graduates will dramatically increase their potential to make a living via their creativity.

Jim Hart is the founder of Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts, The International Theatre Academy Norway, and The Hart Technique. www.harttechnique.com

What Type of Artist are you? What is your Function?

Tue, 1 Sep 2009 09:18:39 -0500

Artists can play many roles in our society and have, throughout history, been thought of to exist between high priest and prostitute.

When we look to cultures past, attempting to understand their values, their thinking, often we look at their art for insight.

Artists, unequivocally, play an valuable function in society, one that often achieves the test of time and promotes change and cultural identity.

Some artists don’t give a second thought as to what specific role they are playing or what impact their work might be having. Many do not know, specifically, who the audience is that they are trying to reach, to speak to and serve.

Here are some questions I encourage you to ask of yourself:

1. What role are you playing?

• Are you serving to aide your audience to experience escapism? Do you help them to forget their troubles and be transported to fantasyland, to the realm of the imagination?
• Do you serve as an agitator, to cause people to think, to stir up preconceptions?
• Are you politically oriented, attempting to promote change?
• Do you serve as educator?
• Are you a conscience to your society, serving as a mirror, holding up what you see and reflecting it back to your audience?

There is a wide range of options.

In fact, one can play many roles, simultaneously.

In Bali, Indonesia, a culture I have had the privilege to spend a good amount of time in, the Topeng dancer serves as a literal conduit for the gods. The Balinese believe this dancer serves as a channel, through which, spiritual forces enter and exit, blessing the community in the process (this is a theatre of necessity). But these village rituals are not just spiritual ceremonies, but are entertainment as well. Like Shakespeare would craftily do, they speak to many audiences, simultaneously—from the educated higher castes to the peasant lower cast. These dances can, in the course of one evening, go from trance-induced performance of ancient ritual to bawdy genital humor. It serves a spiritual function AND as escapism. These ancient dances, repeated for literally thousands of years, give a sense of cultural identity to youth. It teaches them about who they are as a people and gives them a sense of communal pride and interconnectivity.

If you are not already doing so, I encourage you to be specific about what role or roles you would like to play. You do not have to wear the same hat each and every time you create. You can wear a different hat for each collaboration that you take part in.

Here are some more questions:

How might you like to be remembered, should your work stand the test of time?

What impact on your audience, culture, society, nation, and world would you like to have?

Do you have any interest in your work standing the test of time? Though that is something that we can never personally control, here is a clue in how to increase the likelihood of your work lasting some time: Speak via universal themes. Open your message to humanity. Speak to the human condition. Appeal to that which is universal to the human animal.

Do you have a message?

Do you have a voice?

What role will you play?

Jim Hart is the founder of The Hart Technique, Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts and The International Theatre Academy Norway. For more information on these endeavors and Hart, see www.harttechnique.com

How to Have Vision.

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:39:23 -0500

What is Vision and How do you Have it?

I am sure each of us has heard that “He/she is a person of vision”. This phrase has a mystical quality to it, as though there is a type of person with the ability to see what others cannot. I believe most people are capable of having vision, but hey need the proper stimuli. They need the proper influence and training.

We love our visionaries. We need our visionaries. We need to train our artists to have vision.

Vision is lucid dreaming. It is about dipping into your imagination, while you are still awake and conscious. It is allowing yourself the mental space and flexibility to see pictures in your mind.

Visionaries are much like entrepreneurs, with many being entrepreneurs. Both dreaming types develop their ideas or vision through their imagination, creativity and filling in of gaps.

Such gaps can occur in any number of fashions. Typically, they are a response to status quo and serve as offerings, outside of the norm.

How does one have vision? How do you create a profitable vision? Can the ability to have vision be taught? Absolutely. ACPA, Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts, as part of its curriculum, will offer such training.

Here are some basic steps in How to Have Vision:

1. Answer this question: What is the status quo? This can be represented in your work life, your country’s cultural artistic offerings, communal values, political scenario, etc. Which area or areas do you like to spend time thinking about? Which areas do you have opinions about? Which areas do you feel something about?
2. How did the status quo come to be?
3. Is their something missing as a result of cultural, communal or institutional investment in the status quo, whatever it is? Let me ask this in another way: What do you wish were available/offered/existed/was a new standard? What is missing? What are the gaps? What do you wish would come to be?
4. How is what is missing different form what currently exists, specifically?
5. If you were to fill that gap, what would the filling component look like? What would it be? What function or role would this gap-filler serve?
6. How might you, personally, do it? Remember that there is no right or wrong. We are brainstorming here and brainstorming is a building of ideas (sometimes dynamic ideas come out of flubber). How would you, personally, do this, if you could, if it were possible?
7. Is it possible? If not, why? Can those obstacles be overcome? Have they been overcome in the past by anyone? We know that if something has been done before, that it can be done again. If it has been accomplished before, how?
8. What would you need to accomplish this goal?
9. Can you acquire what is needed? What would that take?
10. If you were to scale down your larger vision and reduce it to a vision that utilizes only the resources you have at hand, right now, or can readily acquire, what might that look like?
11. Who else is addressing this need?
12. Who else feels passionately about this need? People like to help those who share their passion, especially if it is a unique passion.
13. Who else needs what is missing?
14. Can your vision match their needs?
15. Is there value to filling the gap you have perceived? What might its value be, specifically? What is it worth to the people who need it filled? Are there people doing similar gap filling, anywhere? Have they found a value to such activity?
16. What would it take to begin, if it were to be begun?
17. Are you willing to commit to filling that gap? If not, why? Is it possible to work with whatever obstacles you face? Are such obstacles or entities possible to overcome or meet the needs of, as well? One standard act
18. What steps can you take right now? An old Chinese proverb says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”.
19. Create a To Do list. If you were to accomplish this dream, this vision, this goal, what 5 things (baby, beginning steps), can you begin today—and realistically achieve?
20. Complete your To Do list and start again tomorrow.

These twenty steps can serve as your window in. Once you see the dream, you see the gap and have an idea of how to fill it, begin. You must develop momentum. To develop momentum, you must commit to action, unequivocally.

I like to say that the hardest part of planning an extended trip abroad is to buy the ticket. Once the ticket is bought, you have overcome the initial hurdle and have started your adventure. You have committed. You have invested.

In having and building vision, you may offer your culture something it needs. There could be social and financial benefits to such thought and action.

Invest in your dreams. Doing so can make you feel, deeply. It will, inevitably, expand your awareness of what it is to be alive.

If you want that, begin today.

James Hart (Jim) is the founder of TITAN Teateskole (The International Theatre Academy Norway), The Hart Technique and Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts. To contact Jim, email him at jim@harttechnique.com
www.harttechnique.com

Where You Stumble, There Your Treasure Is.

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:27:32 -0500

I built a school in Oslo, Norway called The International Theatre Academy Norway, which begins its 6th year of operation this year. The school is entrepreneurial arts training for Theatre Artists.

One of the unique components of the school, and which I will incorporate into the new curriculum at Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts (ACPA), which opens in Austin in August of 2010, is that students build original projects, which they implement in the community, outside of the school environment. We push the students into the market and the develop a professional network, while still in school.

I would give students the assignment that they must create a one-person show. The stipulation? They could use NONE of the school’s resources and had to produce the work in a professional or semi-professional space, outside of the school and in the community. They would then have to:

• Write it
• Direct it
• Produce it
• Act in it
• Budget
• Fundraise
• Allocate funds
• Generate all resources necessary
• Negotiate and sign contracts for space, technical needs, etc.
• Market their show
• Generate press via radio, papers or TV
• And finally put butts in seats (who paid to view their show) and profit.

You can imagine this assignment was both exhilarating and terrifying.

I would tell the students, “The point is not to be as brilliant as Ibsen, though that would be great if you are, though it is improbable that you will be. Genius comes with time. The point of this exercise is to complete it”.

Some excelled in their process. They not only went through it, but generated large audiences, a good deal of press and made a profit.

Others fell squarely on their faces. They felt the bitterness of defeat and humiliation. In conventional thinking, they “failed”.

But did they?

The failure of these students was equal as a learning experience as those who succeeded. In fact, in some cases, I think those who failed, learned more than those who “succeeded”. Experience is comprised not only from our success, but our character-building failures.

For most of us, our fear of failure and judgment is what most impedes our action.

We must accept that we cannot always win and that failure is inevitable.

If we don’t try with all of our effort, wits and energy, we will never know what our potential might be. If we allow ourselves to fail before we complete our effort—to fail at, “I am not as brilliant as Ibsen” or “I am going to look stupid” or “I can’t do this…because I have never done it before”, then we are destined for a different kind of failure. This kind of failure is a failure of spirit. It is a failure of imagination. It is a failure of not heeding the call to adventure. In this type of failure, the world will never know what potential we posses, for we have not allowed ourselves to discover and express it. This type of failure is worst kind of all, as it is a failure towards our selves, rather than a failure of accomplishment.

Failure towards our selves can eat at our confidence, spirit, and sense of self. It is a weakening failure.

Failure of accomplishment—of having tried our hardest and of coming up short, can serve as a foundation for learning. This type of failure is a positive failure and is a stepping-stone, upon which to stand, as we build our next endeavor.

The hero’s journey is not one of following paths; it is one of making paths. Sometimes the hero stumbles. If they give up on their adventure at hardship and go home, the direction from which they came, they are no heroes, in fact. To quote from myth and Joseph Campbell, “Where you stumble, there your treasure is”.

We must learn from our failures. We must use our failures and we must expect failure, to some degree.

The exercise I gave my students, of being more self-sufficient, of being the engines of their own creativity, had a far-reaching effect for most. The effect was the realization, the illumination of, “I did that. I can do that”. This is a hugely empowering realization, for when they realize that they can, they do.

Jim Hart is the founder of The International Theatre Academy Norway (TITAN Teaterskole), The Hart Technique and Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts (ACPA). Jim Hart (James) can be contacted at jim@harttechnique.com or www.harttechnique.com

Ten Steps to Finding your Artistic Voice.

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:50:57 -0500

Ten Steps to Finding your Voice.

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves”. -- Carl Jung.

This is such a wonderful quote and is one of the keys towards finding ones voice as an artist.

Many artists fall into the trap of either imitating their favorite artists (attempting to serve as a cheap imitation of greatness) or by sticking too fast to their technique training they received in school. Remember that programs (meaning institutions’ educational offerings) do what they are called. They “program” students. It is very easy for artists to take the technique their teachers offer and become dogmatic about it, as though they have “found the answer”. Artists need to be careful that they do not fall into the trap of being “cookie cutter”.

When I was active as an actor in New York, following graduation from Yale School of Drama, I could easily tell which actors graduated from Yale, which from Juilliard and which from NYU. This is because the actors were products of their learning…of their programming and often behaved in relatively typical fashions. To the trained eye, it was easy to see.

Prior to going to graduate school, I was told by a friend and respected actor to be careful. He said, “Do not let them iron out what makes you unique”. I did not understand what he meant at the time, but view that advice now as sage.

Finding ones voice means finding ones own technique. An artist’s job is to experience technique as one would a buffet. Try everything. If it tastes good, swallow it. If it is not right for you, spit it out. What is ultimately your technique should be what works for you, personally. If you are like most artists of innovation, this technique will be a patchwork of many influences--not just one approach of one or two institutions.

Technique is just a means to and end. Technique is simply a series of tools that generate a result. Certainly, technique liberates art and the more talent one has, the more technique one needs. But, technique is meant to be learned and then forgotten. The function of technique is to give an artist a starting point and then a sense of freedom. It can also serve as a fallback measure when all efforts seem to be failing in the creative process.

I have no regrets about my educational choices and would likely repeat them, if the opportunity arose in another lifetime. But, it has taken me years to get away from my “programming” and to find my unique voice.

Encouraging artists to find their voice and making such practice a key element of training needs to become standard offering in arts education. Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts will do this.

How does one find their unique voice? Well, one won’t find it in most educational environments. It requires experimentation, personal meditation and assessment and can only be discovered by the artist themselves.

Here are some tips I have found useful in discovering my own voice, which I would like to share.

1. What do YOU love? As Jung said, “The creative mind plays with the objects it loves”. Don’t approach answering this question, based on what you think you SHOULD love. What do you, personally, love? Joseph Campbell, the famed mythologist, would call this your “bliss” and he would encourage you to “Follow your bliss”. What do you most like to think about? What gives you joy? What ideas do you like to play with? What thoughts cause you to lose track of time?
2. Be who you wish to seem. What type of artist do you want to be? What audience will you serve? What will your medium be? Will you be politically oriented? Will you dedicate your energy to the classics? Will you serve as a bold visionary?
3. Make Choices. The blank canvas and the sheer number of choices available overwhelm many artists. Just make choices. You can always change them later. Make a choice and then make another and then another, etc.
4. Know your history. Unless you know what has been done in the past, you are likely ignorantly imitating forms of past and present. If you know what has been done, you know if you are doing something new.
5. Surrender a need to be “right” and “good”. Ibsen was not “Ibsen”, prior to years and years of personal development. Greatness comes with time. Give yourself time. Remember: There is no right and there is no wrong. There is only what you create. What you create today will likely be different from what you create tomorrow. So, forgive yourself if you appear to be an ugly duckling at first. Most first efforts are not products of genius.
6. Steal from greatness. Nobody creates on an island. We are each products of experience and external influence. There is nothing truly original and all ideas are a mixture of other people’s ideas, whether we consciously realize it or not. So, if you see your heroes doing something stunningly effective and you would like to play with that idea, choice or medium, do it. Who are your heroes? What about them inspires you? If you are into a particular artist, what about that artist makes your heart race? Be specific. Make note.
7. Have courage. Most peoples social programming (what they have been taught is right and wrong, their social values and what they are told to do and think they “should” be doing) gets in the way of freedom of expression. We need to access our stream of creative impulses (as crazy, dark, weird or foreign as they may be) and to follow those without fear or judgment. Don’t judge your choices, as this is a form of self-censorship and does not lead to artistic freedom.
8. Synthesize your interests. Do you have numerous interests and talents? Do you find you struggle to dedicate your energies in just one area, which causes you to neglect your other interests or passions? Find ways to synthesize those varied interests. In doing so, you will feel more whole as an artist and person.
9. Play with your ideas, as a child plays with a new toy. Experiment. Jump off the cliff and see what your ideas generate. But, if you are truly experimenting, know what the experiment is and use a scientific-type structure. Otherwise, you are just “playing experiment”.
10. Allow your freak flag to fly. New ideas are typically, at least at first, rejected by the general populace. The more innovative and different the idea, the more rejection the creator will likely receive…until it is proven successful. Then the idea will be embraced by all as common sense.

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. -- Arthur Schopenhauer

Finding your unique expression, form, medium or aesthetic as an artist will lead towards greater originality, potential innovation, potential happiness and artistic satisfaction. More importantly, you just might contribute towards your culture and cultural forms in profound ways.

Summary: Cast off the cookie cutter programming and embrace the Freaky Flag.

Jim Hart is the founder of Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts, The Hart Technique and The International Theatre Academy Norway. www.harttechnique.com

To contact Hart, email him at jim@harttechnique.com

Fear Makes the Wolf Bigger than He Is.

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:06:50 -0500

Fear Makes the Wolf Bigger than He Is.

This old German proverb hits the nail on the head.

Fear is the great mind number. This emotion, more often than not, is the greatest obstacle that prevents us from achieving our goals, dreams and potential. What this means is that our downfall or lack of success is largely of our own making and, thus, within our own control.

Overcoming of fear is what the Mythic Structure of the Journey of the Hero is about--or rather, Fear and Doubt. But really, just fear, as doubt is a derivative of fear.

The fear we often anticipate, when encountering new experience, is almost always greater than the peril the actual experience brings. In brief, we can work ourselves into a tizzy, fearing the unknown and “what might happen”. Our imaginations create monsters under the bed and in the closet. But as adults, we know that those monsters and wolves are not really there. They are self-generated.

Here is a question for you: In beginning a process of change, when you feel fear, what is it that you are afraid of?

If you are like most, it is the UNKNOWN. But let’s think about this for a minute. Do you ever really know what is going to happen next? If you live a predictable life, you can predict what is to happen next (and sometimes even with some certainty), but you never really know. Life is a mystery. The other thing that most people fall into the trap of, is fearing failure, embarrassment, humiliation. These words translate to mean JUDGEMENT. People will always judge--for good or bad and such judgements we have no control over. Besides, is that a valid reason for surrendering dreams and potential? Fear of the unknown (which is life) and judgement (which is inevitable)?

Letting other peoples’ judgement affect our actions is a giving over of our own power and authority to others. Why should they have that sort of authority? We each have the potential to be the makers of our own destinies and are each far more powerful than most of us even realize.

How do we overcome our fear? Experience.

Experience brings perspective and knowledge.

How do we gain experience, even though our hearts race with fear and our fight or flight mechanism is saying, “Run”? Here it is: Just keep going. Go through the experience. Allow the fear to be present and just keep going.

When we enter a spook house during the Halloween season, we are confronted with all sorts of intense stimuli. People jump out at us, we see scary sites, our fight or flight mechanism is engaged, etc. But as any person who has been to such a horror house knows, if you just keep going forward, you inevitably exit out of the house and into the cool night air, away from the illusion of mayhem.

The trick is to not just stand in place in a state of shock or to retreat to supposed safety (away from our destination or goal), but to keep going forward, putting one foot in front of the other.

Entrepreneurial Arts Training teaches artists how to succeed, despite overwhelming obstacles and teaches, via experience, how to overcome our greatest obstacle of all--our self-imposed fears and the obstacles we create for ourselves.

www.harttechnique.com

Jim Hart is the founder of The Hart Technique and Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts (ACPA). In the autumn of 2010, ACPA will open doors in Austin, TX. To learn more about the educational offerings, contact Hart at jim@harttechnique.com

Create Your Niche

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:19:50 -0500

Create your Niche.

Our American culture worships celebrities and many young artists have celebrity as their primary goal, in way of career aspirations.

This commercial path is a valid path, but achieving sustainable success via this path, is like winning the lottery. People do win the lottery, but very few do and even fewer win an amount of any sizable worth.

One would be considered foolish if they put the majority of their earnings into lottery tickets, in the hope of getting rich. Why do so many artists do the same with their careers and energies? Many, I would argue, do not realize what potential exists, in way of career opportunities and how many ways there are of making sustainable income. In playing the celebrity lottery, a huge amount of artists get stuck in having to have survival jobs—like waiting tables, temping, cleaning apartments, etc. As we only have so much energy and time in the course of a day, these artists lose valuable energy and resources, as they are tied up in paths that have nothing to do with being a creative artist.

The problem lies in part with our culture (and its insatiable hunger for all things shiny) and in part with our educational institutions. Many of our schools are selling celebrity potential in their marketing. In the case of theatre, just open any copy of American Theatre Magazine and look at the school advertisements. There, you will see many schools, projecting a message that “we produce stars too”, regardless of how few stars the school has actually produced over the years and regardless of how the extreme majority of graduates never reach such status.

When artists are putting the bulk of their creative energies towards becoming famous or becoming a celebrity, their primary focus is on themselves. The audience they are serving is that of one. Who benefits? If the artist is working, they do and if the work they do is good, the audience or view does. If not, no person benefits from his or her energies.

If one has a principle focus of serving others and one’s audience is their community and its needs, then the community benefits from the artists’ energies (regardless of whether or not the artist achieves their goals, as they are in the act of “fighting the good fight”) and in serving the communities’ needs, the artist increases their chances of making a livable wage. Why? Because the artist is responding to a need and when one works towards filling a need, one increases their chances of making a living.

My goal as an educator is to do just that--to increase artists’ chances of making a living, to give students a competitive advantage. Entrepreneurial Arts Training, such as is offered via The Hart Technique and Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts, both do this.

The best way to increase one’s chances of making a living is to perceive gaps in community cultural offerings and to work to fill those. In filling those gaps, one has the potential to create a niche. In creating a niche for oneself, one dramatically increases their chances of making a living and of achieving a sustainable creative income.

Empty Your Cup.

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:02:37 -0500

Empty your Cup.
This is one of my favorite zen stories. The story goes that Nan-in, a zen master, was being interviewed by a philosophy professor.
Upon their meeting the professor began to tell the zen master all that he know about zen. He talked and talked and talked. After some time, Nan-in said, “Let’s have some tea”.
They sat for a traditional tea ceremony. The professor kept on about all that he knew. Nan-in began pouring tea into the prof ‘s cup. It became more and more full. The tea began cascading over the side of the teacup and the Professor said, “Stop. Enough. It is full. It cannot take anymore”.
Nan-in then said something like, “You are like this cup. You are overfull. No more can fit. Empty your cup”.
This is the mind-frame we need to allow ourselves to cultivate. Regardless of what we think we know, we must empty our cup. We need to cast out our pre-conceptions and listen to information, as though it were the first time we ever heard it. In listening with this open mindedness, information we have known for years can resonate in new ways and we can take on a new, deeper understanding of the material being offered, as if it were the first time we heard it.
When I was a boy, I was extremely active in martial arts. It was my passion for about a decade. I had five different instructors I regularly trained with. I would hear, more or less, the same information from each of my teachers and would marvel, at times, when I would suddenly have a mental breakthrough, as to understanding what each had been saying. I thought I understood, prior to this moment. But in some cases, it was only after I had heard the information from the fifth instructor, that I actually understood it with some level of depth.
Emptying our cup allows for new breakthrough discovery and deeper awareness and understanding.
We should each know that we do not really know much of anything, in relation to what is possible to know. If we are truly open to knowing more, and actively seek to know more, then we have the potential to be in a state of constant self-learning. We then become our own teachers. This state of mind is an optimal place to be as an artist (and human), as we are then in a constant (and often rapid) state of growth.
An emptied cup perspective is one that allows for possibility. When we think we know something, sometimes we close our minds off. We dismiss this information as, “Yea, yea. Got it. What’s next”? That is a form of closed-mind-ed-ness. Keep your mind open.
Empty your cup.
Jim Hart is the President of Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts (ACPA), a new conservatory, opening in Austin, TX in the autumn of 2010. For more information on Jim Hart, The Hart Technique or Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts (ACPA), see: www.harttechnique.com

Be Who you Wish to Become.

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:57:08 -0500

Be Who you Wish to Become.

What is the potential end result of Entrepreneurial Arts Training?

If I had to describe its benefit in one word, I would say, “Independence”. Let’s chat about what that word really means.

To be independent, one is not overly reliant on other people for all of their professional opportunities. One is not reliant on other people for all of their work accomplishments. One is not reliant on others, as to whether or not they will work AT ALL.

The typical path of arts training, which is all arts technique and no real business skill, leads to a reliance on other people. In the case of theatre, actors must rely on directors, casting agents, agents, producers, luck, etc. Entrepreneurial Arts Training enables an artist to compete for traditional path offerings, but ALSO enables them to be the drivers and makers of their own destiny.

I believe adult behavior is based on a couple ideas: 1. The individual takes responsibility for their own actions. 2. The individual weans themselves from the need of mother and father’s support (emotional, psychic or monetary). As long as one is giving their power over to others, they are not independent. Consequently, I would argue, they do not know real freedom.

Freedom is not all sunshine and roses. Freedom can spell out disaster, as there is no other person to blame for one’s failure. In the same, the independent artists taste of success can be very, very sweet.

I urge you, the reader, if you are wholly reliant on other people for all of your professional opportunities, if you are giving your authority and power away to others, just stop. Get off of this path.

Do you enjoy adventure? Your life is just that. Play the role of the hero and not just the comic relief tag along, which survives, but for the grace of the hero. Instead, Be the Hero. In fact, you are already positioned to play this role, as you are the star of your life. Who else would be? Who else should be? Make a life that is meaningful—to you. Define what that meaning is, yourself. Take those steps to carve out the man or woman you wish to be. Create a life that is defined by your choice. Be who you wish to become.

I think of training students, much like tuning muscle cars for a race. Allow me to elaborate.

At ACPA (Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts), we give our student artists a superior experience—a mentor guided base, coupled with intensity of hours spent practicing, to hone their craft. When they enter the market, their discipline is like that of a well tuned, warmed up muscle car. Can you hear the engine roar like a big cat? These empowered individuals are capable of staying on the road, moving at great speed, maneuvering around obstacles and logging significant miles in their journey.

As they have been working on their original projects over the course of a semester to two full years, they have momentum. Their personal creative energies are in a state of forward motion. Consequently, when they graduate, they do so not only with their feet upon the ground, but at a run.

The discipline these individuals have can only be equated to that of a marathon runner. A marathon runner trains every day and knows how to go the distance. Such discipline, dramatically increases these students’ likelihood of making a living from their skill sets.

This example is in direct contrast to what most institutions provide, in way of technique and approach to art training. Most such institutions provide an arts-only approach (heaving in intellectual theory). These students may have their artistic technique in good form or their “engines are in good shape”, but without the business skills, these automobiles, upon there break for the starting line (graduation), can quickly run into a ditch or go endlessly in circles, as the driver, controlling the vehicle, does not have the skills or tools to get him or herself to their desired destination. These cars (or individual artists), sometimes do not know where to drive, where they are even going or get stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, which slows their momentum down to inertia. And as we know, inertia is deadly to the creative process. This place of inertia is the “standard path” that most artists are put upon—the commercial route that is completely over saturated.

We need to teach our students to find new roads. They need maps and GPS, to know where they are going and where they are. We need to make sure these vehicles have 4x4 capability, to go where there are no roads, creating paths of their own.

When a driver and vehicle strike out into the landscape, where there are no roads, they will likely encounter obstacles. Our job at ACPA is to teach these vehicles how to deal with and to overcome these obstacles.

Many find that when they do exit the long beaten standard roads, that the vistas can be absolutely amazing; that they can encounter environments they never before knew possible. They have opportunity to experience the landscape of life, as they are not on the bumper-to-bumper highway, far below.

They will need to know where to find fuel and how to keep their engines well tuned. ACPA wants our “cars” to gain miles and be on the road for a very long time. In doing so, these drivers and cars increase their chances of becoming classics and, consequently, preserving and/or increasing their value to others.

Jim Hart
www.harttechnique.com

Burn Your Boats

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:41:00 -0500

I am Jim Hart, writing from Austin, TX.

Today’s Hart Technique Blog is titled “Say yes and Commit”.

If you are toying with engaging in a new lifestyle, career, artistic endeavor or life opportunity, I urge you to say, “yes”.

But, if you decide instigate this process of change in your life, do as Greek Army general’s once did and Burn your boats. It is this perspective that is afforded by burning your transportation home, that enables one to overcome whatever obstacles they encounter. Why are the able to overcome so many obstacles, because they have to.

If you always have the back up plan, you do not always have the inspiration and motivation to pursue your goal with the energy of a comet.

Commit as if your life depended on it. Arrange it, so that it does.

Commitment to new endeavors can, for some, be a terrifying pursuit. However, this is fear speaking. The hero’s journey is, in part, about overcoming fear…and his cousin doubt. Know that the anticipatory fear is always greater than the actual experience holds. In brief, we are the makers of our fear and can be the controllers and over comers.

Expect obstacles.
Expect to be tested.
Expect experiences that causes you to question what you know and what your motivations are.
Expect to have to wrestle, not only with circumstance, but with yourself.
Expect to have to sacrifice and compromise.
Accept that nothing in life is for free. There is a cost for everything

You are the hero of your life story and hero tales are ALWAYS about overcoming obstacles, adapting to the demands of change and persevering in the face of self-generated fear and doubt. Only fierce commitment, a having just burned your transportation home mentality is going to enable to have the resolution, the strength of commitment to achieve your full potential.

If you have never tested yourself on that level, I urge you to do that. Experience how strong you can be. Push and test your limits for strength. Many of us, but not all, will find that we have more strength than we ever imagined humanly possible.

It is a process that will change you.

Begin the act today.

Jump out of the plane.

If you want to feel what it is to skydive, if you want to feel greatly, if you seek an opportunity that can give greater depth of experience of what it is to be alive, commit today.

If you are reading this, if you have not already stopped, I would guess it is because what I am saying, resonates for you, in some capacity.

Consider this recording your call to adventure. The herald has arrived at has put forth the token of change. Now, will you accept it? Will you commit to build the life and career you dream of?

The Hero, on their adventure, typically rejects the call at first. If you find yourself doing that, don’t abandon playing with the thought of “what if?” Following their first choice to say no to the adventure, the hero says, “ Yes”. This saying yes is an embracing of change, an embracing of the unknown, which is really an embracing of life--a saying yes to life, as life is change.

The hero goes into the darkness, the unknown land (that which is foreign to their consciousness). They do not know what will happen next. It truly could be, that they could be crushed. In the same, there is the potential for treasure. That treasure is always self-knowledge. That is what the hero journey is all about--Know thyself.

Committing to this call, saying yes to the adventure I present you, will open doors that previously you may have thought closed.

Meet your destiny half way.

Don’t hesitate. Begin today.

Big News. New Professional Arts Conservatory to Open Fall of 2010.

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:53:36 -0500

I am happy to announce that I am building a new, innovative, dynamic conservatory for professional arts, which will open its doors in the Autumn of 2010. This school, with the working title of Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts (ACPA) will have a foundation of philosophy from The Hart Technique. Artists will be taught equal part artistic technique and equal part entrepreneurship. The school will be a 2-year, full-time professional study. This certificate program will have an optional 3rd year of study. In some cases, students may be able to study abroad during this time with other sister international organizations.

Though each of the three lines of discipline will be separate lines (Theatre, Film and Music), there will be much room for network building and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

This one-of-its-kind school will develop artists capable of creating original opportunities for profit. they will learn to create something from nothing, how to always be working and how to have and build original creative vision into a concrete reality (always with the goal of profit and sustainability).

The Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts will be located in the culturally rich city of Austin, TX.

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