Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole...
I thank whatever gods that may be for my unconquerable soul. In
the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of fate, my head is
bloody but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the shadow of the shade, and
yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate,
how punishments charged with the scroll, I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.
Panic is the one thing you have to stand up and face.
Courage, courage is the key to life itself.
A lot of people who are born in situations, they survive. Just, I'll never get out of this.
So, they won't. I say to people who say, well, I would like to have done so on and so on and so
on. You could have done it. So, well, I couldn't get out of here. Man, the bus runs every day.
I got on stage the very first time when I was 8 years old. I was brilliant.
Then I got on stage again four years later, when I was 12, brilliant again.
So by the time I was 13, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion, in everybody else's mind,
teachers, parents, that acting was gonna be my thing. I hadn't like made a conscious decision,
I'm going to be an actor. I don't think you do I think you just that's what you do.
There are, unfortunately, those of us who say well I'm gonna be a star.
That's way out there in the ether somewhere. I want to be a working actor. You can pull that off,
so act, work, work. Someone asked me and once and you were about to do it.
“What would you do if you weren't an actor, if you didn't make it as an actor, what would you do?”
I have no idea. I would act somewhere. Maybe I'd be driving a cab, maybe I'm working somebody's
yard. Whatever I'm doing, I'm going to belong to somebody's little theatre group. I will act
cuz I'll die if I don't.
I think that what happened with me was what should have happened with me,
you know. It's just, you know, find the time, do your work and when it happens you'll be ready.
You learn your craft onstage.
I don't think, tell you the truth, there is any actor who has not worked on the stage who would
ever be quite as good as a stage actor. You spend a lot, lot lot, more time developing character.
You analyze, you discuss, you rehearse. You analyze, you discuss, you rehearse.
Your job as an actor is to give it your best shot each and every time. So, yes, I'm going into it
with the idea that I'll play it to the best of my ability. And they wouldn’t give it to me,
the role, if they didn't think I was capable of pulling it off.
I wouldn't take it if I didn't think I was capable of pulling it off.
I don't know if it was any harder for me than for most people who try to break into
show business, particularly into the movies. It was hard,
arduous as a matter of fact and there were times when I said ‘not gonna work out, you
better be able to start thinking about something else to do.” But each time I got to that point
something providential happened. So, you know I'm where I was meant to be.
You are the master of your fate. You are the captain of your soul.
Whatever fears may hunt you, are not greater than the power you have to overcome them.
Fear is a reaction in the face of the unknown. Its might and strength scare those who cower and
gift those who have the courage to withstand it. The unknown can be the ugliest thing or the most
beautiful one. You change the outcome. You change the feeling.
Circumstance is a part of the natural cycle. It might hold you back for a
while but it can’t really stop you. Fate is not what is done to you,
but what you do with it. Your words might change your future.
Say you can’t and you stay stuck in place. Frustrated and disappointed,
sad and angered. Regretful.
But say you can, and the gates of wonder open to you, and welcome you
into the greatness you said would take place. Take the stand. Accept the responsibility of
shaping your destiny. In whatever situation, in whatever condition.
Venture into stormy skies, because the rain never lasts
forever. The sun and the rainbow always emerge after the gray skies. It is the cycle of life.
Learn how to ride it. Learn that in the beginning,
you may be nothing but a bundle of promise. Young and talented, but soft and naïve.
You have the talent and the qualities to succeed, but what you still don’t have is time.
The time to harden. To go through the experiences without which you would never understand success.
You must go through time to analyze and practice, analyze and practice, analyze and practice.
There are no shortcuts. There is no magical formula. Just you and your objective shaping
and being shaped by the world around you. Your passion is just the beginning.
The road is hard. Not just for you. For everyone else.
This is the great test you must take. And nothing prepared you for that.
The tests you took at school don’t have anything to do with it.
The advice you heard growing up won’t be of any use.
If you run away, you lose everything. Only one thing makes the difference.
Your endurance. How many times can
you hear the word “no” and come back anyway? How many times can you say your truth out loud
even if nobody cares? How many times can you
try to be better after you failed? How many times can you go for the
thing you want even after rejection? How many times can you give just one
more punch after you hit exhaustion? How many times can you learn something
new so you can make the difference? How many times can you fall
down, get up and try again? This is what determines the result of the test.
This is what tells you if you are success material or not.
Your drive is all you need to succeed. The rest comes with time and patience.
Don’t just be like the rest. Don’t use excuses as a shield to never face your fears.
You can conquer anything. Just give your best every day.
Your best effort. Your best idea.
Your best performance. Life is a stage and your practice arena.
Here will occur your best moments and your most horrible ones.
Your tears of sadness and joy. Your screams of anger and excitement.
The pivotal moments of success and defeat. All mingled together.
It is all your story. It is all your success. Everything you live will take you
where you want to be. The journey is every day.
Do more. Be more.
Achieve more.
And what happens next is just a consequence of the greatness you built inside yourself.