Rebounds & Rewards | The Benefits of Not Quitting

In my last post, I described the nightmare that was my first dinner theater performance. I left you with the thought that nightmares come with the territory and it is important that we use those experiences to improve.

Thankfully, I was able to rebound the following night with a solid performance, which was enormously important for my confidence. Additionally, I felt my 3rd and 4th performances this past weekend continued to get better. 

In addition to my current dinner theater role, I’ve had several auditions over the last few weeks, which I will share with you in the next podcast. Some went well, others were just okay. But what is important to me is that I keep lining them up, preparing and doing my best, come what may. 

Rebounds

When (not if) you miss a shot in basketball, it’s your number one objective to get rebounds. You don’t sulk and wonder if you should ever shoot again. Rebounds allow you the opportunity for another shot. That’s why I feel it is important that you not ever say the words “this is my only shot.” I have had some great auditions and I have had some clunkers. But I try to always put in the work in order to give it my best shot. 

Some people only share their successes. I, on the other hand, want you to be with me even when I fail. That’s what being authentic is all about. That’s what being in community with one another is all about. This life is about growing, and sometimes growth only comes through seasons of failure. 

I am challenging myself by submitting for more and more high profile auditions. Someone once said, “if you’re the smartest guy in the room, find another room.” I take that approach to pursuing my dream. We should all be trying to improve and the best way to do that is to surround yourselves with people who inspire you. People who are better than you, so that you can glean from their wisdom and experience. 

I know some people who are content to be a big fish in a small pond. But I want to be a hermit crab. I want to try bigger opportunities and grow into them. The more often you challenge yourself, the more likely you are to eventually be rewarded for all of your hard work. 

That happened to me last Friday night. 

Rewards

In the midst of grinding out some auditions and trying to do a better job in my dinner theater role, I received a text from my friend. My hometown theater company was having their annual holiday party and I was given the MVP award for my performance in EVITA last month. There I was, dressed like Sherlock Holmes, sitting down on my break, reading a text about how my hard work was being rewarded. It was kind of a funny scene now that I think about it. 

I can’t recall winning very many awards in my life, and the irony of not being present to accept this award was not lost on me. In that moment, it would have been much easier to be at the party accepting my award. But I was too busy doing something that had proven to be much more difficult than I realized, all because I wanted to get better as a performer. It was kind of fitting in a way. 

This is the first award I’ve received to recognize all of my hard work over the past year to pursue my dream of being a performer. What made it even more special was that the director specifically mentioned that she wanted to also acknowledge the full body of my work for the organization, and not just this particular role. 

That meant so much to me. I really can’t even think of the best way to word it so I’ll just leave it at that.

In addition to the award, I received a very nice email from owner of the dinner theater company that I am currently working with, congratulating me on an outstanding performance and thanking me for bringing my talents into the group. I was floored!!! All I can say is that God is good. 

Ego Check

Now, please understand I am not trying to brag and say I’m great. This post is about sharing with you some of the successes that have come in addition to my many failures. I think it’s important to share both scenarios with you in real time, with the hopes of inspiring some of you who may be ready to throw in the towel and give up on your dream. 

In closing

When pursuing your dream, sometimes you’ll get rejected or you’ll shoot some air-balls. But you have to remember to go for the rebounds, because without them, you’ll never get another shot. And without another shot, you’ll never know if the reward for your hard work was right around the corner. 

P.S.

No new podcast this week. Next week I’ll be sharing a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to be an #ActingRealtor. The podcast will be officially switching to a bi-weekly format in the New Year. This will allow me more time to document my life and produce better content for each show. I can’t believe we are closing in on 50 episodes! Pretty crazy. If you haven’t yet checked it out, then you have a lot of homework to do.