What happened to me on my way to work yesterday.
For some reason, yesterday started off like a horror movie. You know, when in the first few minutes, it all goes to crap.
There was no blood and guts or anything. But it wasn’t such a great start. (Well, actually, there was a little blood, but no guts were exposed.)
Here’s what happened:
I get up pretty early. (I’m a big believer in The Miracle Morning theory and how it can get you started on a path towards a super positive and productive day.)
So I woke up . . . ready to tackle another day in this business that I love . . . to find out that my dog had peed on the floor. And yeah, I stepped in it. (Already the morning was like a scene from a Will Ferrell movie.)
But no worries . . . just a little Fantastick, paper towels, and a few “Bad Girls,” and we’re off.
Jumped in the shower, and, well, maybe I shouldn’t have jumped, because I jammed by elbow against the glass shower door. Normally that wouldn’t be an issue, but since I just had surgery on my elbow a few weeks ago, it hurt like a . . . well, like my female dog. (Insert that little blood I told you about here.)
I turned on the water to wipe off that little blood, and got sprayed in the face with freezing cold water because I forgot the hot water in the building was turned off due to an emergency shut-down.
After my “Polar Bear Club” spritz, I dashed out of my building to get another spritz. Cuz it was raining. Well, raining is a polite word. Like telling your friend, “You do look a little warm,” when you can see pit stains the size of Lake Michigan under their arms.
It was Lake Michigan-ing on me. And I was . . . how shall I say this . . . sans umbrella.
Well, at least I got a luke-warm shower anyway.
Dashed to the subway . . . to find the 2/3 service delayed. Okeydoke. Went to put in earphones to listen to my latest audiobook that I’m “listening to” for my book club, and discovered that my phone was dead (I slept on the couch that night because we had a house guest in town, and I forgot to plug it in).
Train arrives, and marches downtown at the tempo of “Old Man River” . . . if “Old Man River” was played by an orchestra of 90-year-olds on downers. Oh man, it was slow.
Finally, I get to Times Square, make it up to my office through the rain, and with a squishy sigh, plopped behind my desk.
And we had no internet.
And that’s when I knew I had to tell you about this morning.
Why? Is it because I want a “woe is me” or “Ken, what a nightmare!” Not at all. Honestly, all the above is nothing but #1stWorldProblems.
I’m telling you my journey to work yesterday because it reminded me of something. Know what that is?
My 25-year journey in this biz. And my next 25 years as well.
And more importantly, your journey, too.
You see, the journey that we’re all on in this business, or any business for that matter, is going to be filled with things that get in the way of where we want to go.
You’ve heard that success is a journey, not a destination? Yeah, well, let me tell you, that journey is an obstacle course filled with things a lot more tough to get through than slow subway service, no hot water, and dead cell phones.
You’re going to have obstacles thrown in your way constantly. And what separates the people that get to that destination is people that just learn how to deal with them, and just keep going. Those obstacles will slow you down sometimes, but you can’t let that get you down. No matter how easy it may be.
See, when I did sit down, with my throbbing elbow and soaked-through shirt, I realized that no matter how “challenging” the morning was, I eventually got to work. The universe had made it a bit tricky, but I got there. I just got a little wet and had no internet. Big whoop. Cuz then I remembered how effin’ lucky I was to have a place to work, and how much I loved my effin’ job.
Your journey won’t be easy. No journey anywhere worth going actually is (you ever notice that the coolest beaches and islands and mountains take just a wee bit more time to get too?). And you’re going to need some “guts,” after all.
But you can get there.
In other words, to get to where you need to go, my fellow entrepre-artists . . . you just need to get to work.
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Podcasting
Ken created one of the first Broadway podcasts, recording over 250 episodes over 7 years. It features interviews with A-listers in the theater about how they “made it”, including 2 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 7 Academy Award Winners and 76 Tony Award winners. Notable guests include Pasek & Paul, Kenny Leon, Lynn Ahrens and more.