1. take something someone else has created and
make it your own. Our culture puts such a premium on the notion
of originality, but when you really examine just about any “original” thought
or work, you find it’s a composite of previous influences. Everything’s a
remix. Of course, there’s such a thing as being overly derivative, but I tend
to mostly value sincerity over originality. I think I perform better when I
focus less on being original and more on being honest. P 148
2. At that time, I’d never even cared all that
much what other people thought of the movies and shows I got to be in. Mostly,
I just loved doing it. I loved the creative process itself, and I realized I
couldn’t let my ability to be creative depend on somebody else deciding to hire
me. I had to take matters into my own hands. I came up with my own little
metaphorical mantra for this, something I’d think to myself when I needed
encouragement, and that was “hit record.” I’d always played around with my
family’s video cameras, and the red REC button became a symbol for my
conviction that I could do it on my own. I taught myself to edit video and
started making little short films and songs and stories. P 148
3. “It’s really easy to say what you’re not. It’s
hard to say what you are.” In other words, you can spend all day undermining
other people, and even if you’re right, who cares? Anybody can talk about why
something’s bad. Try doing something good. P 149
4. I think moving away from my hometown
was one of the most fruitful things I ever did. We can’t help but define
ourselves in terms of how others see us. So being around nothing but new people
allowed me to define myself anew. I’ve since moved back, but the growth I got
out of living away was huge. P 149
5. ~for anybody out there reading this who wants
to get into acting or entertainment, my advice is to first ask yourself: why?
Try to be really honest with yourself about what exactly you’re after. Fame is
seductive. We’ve all seen and loved the movies about the young underdog
becoming a star. I won’t claim to be 100 percent immune to it. In fact, I think
there’s something natural about wanting to be famous, in terms of biological
evolution. When our ancestors lived in the wild, having everyone know who you
were probably helped you get the support you needed to brave the harsh
environment and pass on your genes. So I’m not saying you’re a bad person if
you want to be famous. I’m just saying you might be heading down a path that
won’t lead to happiness. Of the famous people I know, the ones who are happy
aren’t happy because of the fame. They’re happy for the same reasons everybody
else is: because they’re healthy, because they have good people around them,
and because they take satisfaction in what they do, regardless of how many
millions of strangers are watching. I think this applies outside of acting and
entertainment. In any field, there’s usually some kind of mythological reward
you’re supposed to receive if everybody considers you a success. But in my
experience, there’s a lot more honest joy to be had from taking pleasure in the
work itself. P 149-150
6. ~when I’m trying to work through something
that’s vexing me. I sit down and describe my situation in writing. I type. I
use complete sentences. I guess I write it as if it’s for an audience, even
though I never show it to anyone. By having to explain it to a “reader” with no
prior knowledge, I’m forced to identify and parse all the elements and nuances
of what’s really going on. Sometimes I arrive at new answers or conclusions,
but even when I don’t, I’m usually thinking more clearly and breathing a bit more
easily. P 150
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Gordon-Levitt
https://www.amazon.com/hitRECord-Season-One-Joseph-Gordon-Levitt/dp/0062372033/ref
https://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Book-Stories/dp/0062121669/ref
https://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Book-Stories/dp/0062121634/ref
https://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Book-Stories/dp/0062121650/ref
JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT is an actor whose career
spans three decades, and ranges from television (3rd Rock from the Sun) to
arthouse (Mysterious Skin, Brick) to multiplex (Inception, 500 Days of Summer,
Snowden). He made his feature screenwriting and directorial debut with Don Jon
(Independent Spirit Award nomination, Best First Screenplay). He also founded
and directs HITRECORD, an online community of artists emphasizing collaboration
over self-promotion. HITRECORD has evolved into a “community-sourced”
production company that publishes books, puts out records, produces videos for
brands from LG to the ACLU, and has won an Emmy for its variety show HitRecord
on TV.
Reference
Ferriss, Timothy. Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World (P. 147). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.
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