Several weeks ago, I went to a film festival to watch a film in which my cousin played a prominent and hilarious role. He’s one of the funniest guys I know, and this genius role was made for him. Or he was made for it. Let’s go with both.
Words won’t capture how profound it was to watch someone you love doing what they were born to do. During the entire movie, I couldn’t help but think of where he was just five years ago: utterly stifled in a good, stable job so not suited for his soul. He is a positive guy, was doing his best to have a good attitude in this “good job,” acting on the side—and longing to do this kind of work full-time.
Why acting? Because this guy loves to have fun, makes things fun for everyone, loves to joke around, and celebrate others. Acting is his chosen craft—he studies it, takes classes, attends conferences, and tackles serious roles in addition to the fun ones. You can probably see how an office was far too small for his creativity.
It was finally his wife who convinced him to leave the job for the thing that lit him up, never mind that they were—still are—a family of seven. Basically, if anyone had reasons to be practical and responsible, it was him. But he knew his current work wasn’t tapping into his best parts, and never would.
Thank goodness he took the leap—he and everyone who sees his work would all be missing out if he was still playing it safe.
What’s your leap going to be?
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