Commit to the Work

I listen to a lot of interviews with comedians. Comedians are writer-performers, and the good ones talk beautifully about tools of the trade. Writing and testing unfinished material on small stages is part of the process. They call this process “working out.”

The word “commitment” comes up a lot in these interviews. Often it’s in the context of an observation like this, “That bit bombed when they were working it out, but what was great about it was how committed they were.”

I heard Judd Apatow quoting his partner Leslie Mann on advice she’s given their children who are following in their parents’ showbiz footsteps. The advice is something like this: “The only things that’s embarrassing (about performing) is when you’re not committed.”

Commit to the Work.