An unshakable faith & complete confidence in your talent & ability.

The courage and tenacity to stick it out "no matter what".

A consistent relentless focus on what is possible rather than what's not. No matter what the circumstances dictate, train yourself to always visualize the possibility in every encounter and situation. "Dwell in possibility".*

Develop a big appetite to staying open, vulnerable, available and aware at all costs.

Never cease searching for your unique style and expression.

Be in acting for the love of it: fall deeply in love with the art form. "Love the art in yourself". *

Keep on deepening what calls you to lead a life in art. Find where it springs from inside you.

Search for the deep longings that inspire you to create and bring that out in your work.

Take your work and yourself as an actor seriously but don't forget that "Life is too serious to take seriously". *

Be a leader because "If you ain't the lead dog the scenery never changes." *

Find the absolutely necessary and essential support and encouragement in people around you.

Protect yourself and your art from anyone or anything that does not support you and your vision.

Keep your spark alive and act from it.

Find ways to share your deepest feelings and experiences through your work.

Above all stay true to yourself. It will always guide you to the right places, the right people and the right choices.

by Eric Stone

* Quotes by Stanislavsky, Emily Dickinson and two anonymous writers

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all time this expression is unique. 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; nor how valuable it is; nor how it compares with other expressions. 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 only a queer, divine dissatisfaction; a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."

by Martha Graham to Agnes DeMille

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frighten us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

by Nelson Mandela 1994 Inaugural Speech