Plant The Bulbs

 Plant The Bulbs 

A reel recently popped up on my instagram during one of my pointless scrolls into the pits of social media doom and it snapped me into consciousness because the sentiment really resonated with me and inspired me to share this with you all. 

I don’t even know who this woman was but she was in her allotment on a gray cloudy day, looking a little weathered and ‘outdoorsy’, talking to the camera about these tiny little bulbs that she was about to plant in the ground. She was speaking in a motivating/inspiring tone which was also a little like she was reprimanding me for being a lazy son of a bitch on instagram. 

*I think the following reads best with a New Jersey accent

“I’M DOING THE WORK RIGHT NOW! I’M GETTING DOWN IN THE DIRT AND I’M PLANTING THESE BULBS AND I’M SOWING THESE SEEDS. SOME OF THEM WON’T BLOOM UNTIL THE SPRING BUT I’M PLANTING THEM NOW. SOME OF THEM I KNOW WON’T BLOOM FOR ANOTHER TWO YEARS BUT I’M PLANTING THEM NOW. AND SOME OF THESE,  I FOUND, AND I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY ARE OR WHEN I WILL SEE THEM AGAIN, BUT I’M PLANTING THEM NOW!”

The reel (and yelling) continues but you get the jist. What she was doing was using her planting as a metaphor for what you can do in life to invest in your future. 


I often talk to my students about being in preparation mode. By showing up to class or private coaching, you are preparing yourself. You don’t need to specifically know what for or when you’ll see the effect of the work you’re putting in - if in fact you’ll see the effect at all - but showing up for yourself fully today, by ‘planting your bulbs’ today you are giving future you the chance to be grateful for the “hard work you did back then”.

 

So consider what you want to be experiencing in your work as an actor 12 months from now and create a plan of action so you can be a little more purposeful between now and then. I am currently working with many of my private coaching students getting very specific with their goals. “You want an agent 6 months from now?, let’s break down a plan of action for the weekly sessions to get you that result”


This past summer I played a role that was very demanding. Before going to the theater each day I would place a clean, empty, tall glass in the freezer. When I got home I would pour a refreshing beer into that ice cold glass as a reward for my hard work that night. Boy did I appreciate that I’d planted that bulb for future me to enjoy.


Consider what bulbs you might want to plant in your life and your work right now. 

I wish you the biggest, most vibrant, fabulous blooms to enjoy in the future, whenever that may be. 


Keep up the great work


Mark 


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