Chocolate & Peanut Butter.

Mary & Bert.

Salt & Lime.

Rama lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong.

Sometimes, togetherness just makes magic. Thing singular is delightful on its own ~ but paired up with another delightful singular… Viola! And, maybe one thing isn’t quite so delightful on its own, but then paired up, it’s BAMOLA! Awesomesauce.

This, my friends, is the secret of Action & Discipline. Action and Discipline are great: individually, these are super-duper. But paired up, Action & Discipline? Whole new thing.

Action

Action is doing SPECIAL stuff. Special Stuff = The stuff you always think about doing, but rarely, if ever, do.

~ Look up all the local Retirement Homes in the community, to give a free concert/scene selection.
~ Email three contacts.
~ Go to the Library and check out the limit’s worth of Original Cast Recordings and binge listen.
~ Finally become a member of Yap Tracker.
~ New headshots.

Action is also doing the not special stuff… the mundane, boring, annoying stuff.
~ Practice
~ Clean your room
~ Finish your music theory homework
~ Laundry (Please watch Laundry and Tosca so you can get my drift. A mentor of mine made it. Shameless plug.)
~ Write your proposal for tenure.

Action is awesome because it GETS STUFF DONE, and rewards you with an amazing sense of accomplishment, pride, and gives you a little fire under your boo-tay.

Discipline

Discipline is consistency in doing stuff, regardless of emotion, motivation, desire, and/or attitude. (Also known as SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP)

~ It is emailing three contacts. Everyday. For a month. Or twelve. (Just be sure they are different contacts because if you emailed the same three everyday for a year, I am pretty sure you would be arrested.)
~ It is writing another blog post. Next week, and the week after, and the week after.
~ It is keeping up your Yap Tracker membership by sending out audition material to everything.
~ It is practicing on a schedule.

Discipline isn’t about the doing one time… it is the doing every time. I call it the “suck it up buttercup” because at some point you WILL get tired and want to stop ~ not because you have given up on your dream or anything, but because you are tired. Or bored. Or it’s cold outside. Or too busy. And we really have to take a deep breath, acknowledge the grossness of having to “do”, and then “do” anyway.

TOTALLY great apart, right?
Action gets your business done.
Discipline gets your business done consistently.
Action and Discipline.

But there is also Action & Discipline. And this is where the magic happens, because Action & Discipline BUILDS TRUST.

When you do what you know you should, and do it consistently, you create a bond with two extremely important entities: (1)Your Audience and (2)Yourself.

Trust is the most sacred of sensations.

Where trust abides, truth is heard. Where trust is fostered, new things are learnt and grown and sewn. Where there is trust, there is love. And love is that mysterious force that comes from above and within, and is action & discipline manifested.

When your audience trusts you, they allow you to give them your talents and skills. You have opportunity to work, perform, teach, BE YOU.

When you trust you, fear becomes a faithful companion, rather than a traitorous foe. Yup, I said fear. When you trust you, and you have fear, then you build the muscles of courage.

Oh wait, Michelle?! That’s on the Success meme!

I know. I am so clever. Courage: next week.