BWW Blog: The Metric of Success

I've always seen life as an adventure. The more we seize opportunities, or even create them for ourselves, the more we'll realize the joy life can bring.

Grad school is just a part of my life's adventure. And I truly believe that students can help shape their own experiences. A positive attitude, a resistance to mediocrity, and the ability to create ideas and see them through to fruition makes for a fantastic learning experience. At the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, I've been able to do just that.

Because of the support from my school, I was able to head to New York City to witness brilliant theatre-makers at work. In my conversation with Ryan McCartan, who just reclaimed his role as Fiyero in Wicked, I was encouraged to find that he also believes in the power of positivity.

"Before college, I remember being resentful of the presence of luck," Ryan told me. But then he said that we have to "remove ourselves from that completely."

Luck is not the only means to success. Ryan offered an alternative "metric of success." He said it includes three things: authenticity, passion, and kindness.

"Better than a town buzzing about how good you are is a town buzzing about how good you are...inside. Your character," Ryan said.

Living with authenticity is not just a trend. Passion to do the work well is not a joke. Kindness shouldn't be a facade. In fact, success and fame is not an action you can play, but doing the job and working hard is an action. When you combine that with authenticity, passion, and kindness, you may see success, in many forms. I certainly saw those traits in Ryan McCartan's work.

And from his example to also meeting and seeing the great John Cullum at work, I was inspired to live those truths as well. Both John Cullum and Ryan McCartan showed their authenticity and kindness just by simply talking to me and sharing their advice.

Throughout my week in New York, I learned many things. Creating and seizing opportunities, not letting fear or negativity get in the way, and living authentically were just a few.

So to all of the learners out there: live truthfully, be kind, and don't be afraid of your own potential. Create and seize your opportunities because this life is an adventure!