Do or do not, There is no Try:

The first truly inspiring phrase that ever struck me in life came not from a politician, a famous figure of history or an athlete.

The words were uttered by a wise science fiction character called Yoda on Empire Strikes Back.

Do or do not.  There is no try.

These words gave me confidence and have given me confidence my entire life.

So I’m not usually the nervous type.  Granted there are people who get jittery at the drop of a hat before an interview or if they think they’re being followed or they worry and worry and become nervous wrecks about something they believe they cannot fix or achieve.

I have not worried like that since the last time I sat university entrance exams. And I only worried because I knew that I had misplaced my priorities and that now I was going to pay for my lack of foresight.

I barely improved my score from the previous attempt.

But I did get into university.  I found a way.  You see while my academic scores may not have been the highest; I had 2 things going in my favor.

I was determined to go to university and I would do anything I could to get there.

I was a fine actor and had starred in a lead role that year in the local Theatre circuit.  You didn’t need a tertiary score for acting, you only needed ability.

So I auditioned.

I went to one local university and failed to impress.

I went all the way to Toowoomba and still failed to impress.

Then I found out about James Cook University.  I rang and discovered that they had already been down to Brisbane that week.  So I asked if I could send a video audition and they accepted my proposal.

I worked out my pieces, hired a camera and got a good friend to film me.

I got in.

I’m not sure whether it was based on my talent or my appearance (As I later discovered was the reason I got the lead role at the Theatre) or whether it was my passionate enthusiasm and drive.  I would like to think it were all reasons.

Most importantly, in the end I achieved my goal.  I did this through knowing exactly what I wanted, changing my approach and being determined.

These three skills coupled with my unbridled enthusiasm are really going to help us to get SPELLSINGER up.

 

Hope you all had a very Happy New Year and thanks for reading!