Making things

Indirect Paths

December 12, 2025

Some of the most sought after things have indirect paths. I’ve heard it described like a cat- the more you chase it, the further away it runs.

Its difficult to relax by pushing or forcing it- an action directed toward that outcome is counter to it’s realisation.

The same goes for money. If you chase money you will rarely find it.

If you want to be liked by others, you won’t get there by focussing on being liked by others.

If an actor wants a scene to land as sad, they don’t go for the emotion.

Great results come from indirect paths.

To relax we have to let go. To gain financial abundance we must create value. To be liked by others we must care for them in a way that speaks to them. To play the sad scene, the actor must fight tooth and nail to hold on.

What are you going for directly that actually requires an alternate route?

“You are interesting to the extent that you’re interested”

December 10, 2025

This is one of my favourite acting ideas. I heard it first in an early interview with Jeff Goldblum and he had learned it from his teacher Sanford Meisner.

It’s the idea that as actors one of our key jobs is to put our focus outwardly, on the world, the task and, most beautifully, on our scene partner.

They say there’s nothing more captivating than watching someone tying their shoes. They are unselfconscious and completely wrapped up in their simple objective- tying their shoe.

This is the gold standard we are going for as actors. We want to honestly have our focus, energy and intention on doing something.

I say ‘honestly’ because we must fight the natural human urge to be liked and thought of as good. And there’s the extra thing for actors of auditioning, where we have to somehow forget we are seeking to be cast.

Part of acting is learning to ‘honestly’ place our focus.

That’s it.

It’s riveting when someone does that. Don’t worry about being interesting, get interested.

The actor and the swear word

December 6, 2025

Andrew Scott is one of my favourite actors- and someone (dared) ask him how he remembers all those lines.

Even though this is every actor’s least favourite question- Andrew managed an answer that has stuck with me.

He said that generally actors have no problem remembering swear words. If their character really get’s to give it to another character in an outburst or argument, the indulgent part of every actor has ZERO trouble remembering that sequence.

The same goes for any text that an actor finds silly, gross, weird or unusual in some way.

What’s really happening is the text is causing an emotional movement in us. We are creating an emotional map; physiological reactions that embed the specifics of the text in our brain. It seems to live there ‘rent free’ as the kids say.

The game then, Andrew says, is to make every word your character says as interesting as the swear word. Our job is to connect to each and every word so they fall out of us as effortlessly as that weird part you could recite in your sleep.

We can’t force ourselves to remember things- it has to resonate emotionally for us. Brute force won’t do it, we must soften and connect.

Soften and connect- now that’s a pretty good way to be in general, don’t you think?

The boring bit and the best bit

December 4, 2025

When you’re making something, sometimes there’s an aspect or part that you find boring.

The chapter in the book you don’t like. The song in the album you always forget.

You’ve got it there because it makes sense, it follows the rules and it does the job…

But it doesn’t light you up like the other bits.

Here’s a challenge- how can you transform that bit into the thing that excites you the most?

What would you have to do in order to make the boring bit the best bit?

Don’t let your art bore you, dip in pink paint and swing it ‘round till it sprays the walls.

Get a thrill out of it!

You probably don’t need to learn more information

November 27, 2025

I love learning. And this can actually be to my detriment.

Learning new information is particularly dangerous because on the one hand it is really good! It’s fantastic to gain new ideas, insights and strategies.

The very fact that it’s so positive is why it’s dangerous. Absorbing new information can mask inaction really well.

It’s not often that knowing more was the thing that made the real difference. We mostly know what we need to do.

Here’s a belief to try on: “You have everything within you that you need”

You can start right where you are. Within you also is the capacity to learn what you need on the way.

Trial and error. Hypothesise and experiment.

You can read about swimming or you can dive in the pool. You can probably guess which will get you closer to the Olympics.

Here’s another belief to try on:

The fact that you envisioned the thing you want means you have everything you need to get it. If you can picture it, you can have, be or do it.

Stop learning and jump in the pool.

Why you need to break your flow state

November 26, 2025

We should all take breaks when we work. You might think this is because you need to rest; maybe the work is difficult or not particularly enjoyable, so you have to stop to get some respite, right?

But you also have to have take breaks when you’re enjoying the work.

“But I’ll break my flow state!” you say.

I believe it’s detrimental to stay in it.

Set a timer to work and a timer to rest. Honour both.

If you don’t rest to break up the deep work, you’re more likely to burn out and get to the point of diminishing returns.

It won’t feel like it at the time, your brain will tell you “No! It’s going well, I’ll just do this little bit more!”

That’s a sure sign to take 5 minutes.

If you do take that 5 minutes, you’ll be ITCHING to get back to work AND you’ll have the benefit of a short break.

The 5 minutes you take off of the enjoyable work acts like a sling shot, pulling back the rubber band and building your excitement, anticipation and so the passion you can bring to your next work chunk.

Take breaks when it’s hard and take breaks when it’s fun.

You’ll get more out of yourself over time.

And the winner is…

November 25, 2025

Sometimes my work day feels like a host announcing the winner of American Idol:

“And the winner….of American Idol is…

………..”

And on they pause!

I feel like I have hundreds of these little pauses throughout the day, and if you added them all together it would be the length of the debut album of the above mentioned American idol winner.

My pauses are caused by indecision. Should I do this or that? Should I use this approach or that? What’s the best colour to use here?

Here’s my answer:

The best one is the one you choose, okay?

If I catch myself over-deliberating the next cause of action on whatever scale, I just say to myself “get on with it Seacrest!”

Output is the outcome

November 23, 2025

We have to do something over and over again to get good at it.

Trying to paint the ‘perfect’ picture today is hard.

Trying to paint ‘a’ picture today is easier. And it still might be pretty good… or not.

But that’s not the point. Great pictures are rarely the result of an artist sitting down with the intention of creating a masterpiece.

The ‘masterpiece’ is one of a long line of drafts, sketches, doodles and scribbles.

You can’t have the masterpiece without the scribbles.

Make repetition your resolve. Invest in iteration. Output is the outcome.

Where does magic come from?

November 20, 2025

I think we all encounter magic now and then. It’s that spark we feel when we completely fall in love with something, when what we’re working on ‘clicks’ or when we are held spell bound by something.

Magic can happen with people, with the art we consume or create, in random encounters in the world or in the work we do in the world. And a million other places.

If magic is the ephemeral and abstract, what is it’s predecessor?

Thankfully, the genesis of magic is concrete (well, some parts anyway). Here’s a few ingredients.

Generous.

Magic comes from a generous act. When the intention behind an action is a generous one. Magic is magic because it increases the level of joy in the world, and generosity is directly aimed at that.

Possibility.

Magic arrives when we invite something that didn’t exist before. We must release the need for certainty and open up to what could be. Just because something hasn’t happened before doesn’t mean it can’t. It just means it hasn’t happened before.

Presence.

Magic is alive to what’s happening now. It’s alive and it’s listening intently. Magic requires you to forget what you thought you knew and be with only what is.

Magic is mysterious but it’s downstream from these beautiful pillars.

Care to make magic?

Unusual results require unusual actions

November 16, 2025

If you want something not a lot of people get, you have to do things not a lot of people do.

If people look at you strangely for the things you do, you may well be on the right track.

Or not…

But of course you can’t know unless you try.

Let everyone else do what is normal; they are running millions of experiments for you that you are welcome to observe and learn from.

While they’re doing that, you may as well run some experiments of your own.

What remarkable result do you want to create in the world?

And what is the thing you will do that people will ‘remark’ upon? (Whether they are being judgy or not in their remarks doesn’t matter- it still fits the definition of remarkable!)

Dare to do things vastly differently and you will have a life vastly different to anyone else.

JUSTIN ROGERS

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