Do You Have the Guts to Fail? by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz We came across a recent college commencement speech given by the fabulous actor, Denzel Washington. We had to share a small part of it... (as you read this, you can almost here Denzels voice. A link to watch the entire speech is at the end.) ...You will fail at some point in your life. Accept it. You will lose. You will embarrass yourself. You will suck at something. There is no doubt about it. Thats probably not a traditional message for a graduation ceremony. But, hey, Im telling you--embrace it. Because its inevitable. And I should know: In the acting business, you fail all the time. Early in my career, I auditioned for a part in a Broadway musical. A perfect role for me, I thought--except for the fact that I cant sing. So Im in the wings, about to go on stage but the guy in front of me is singing like Pavarotti and I am just shrinking getting smaller and smaller... So I come out with my little sheet music and it was Just My Imagination by the Temptations, thats what I came up with. So I hand it to the accompanist, and she looks at it and looks at me and looks at the director, so I start to sing and theyre not saying anything. I think I must be getting better, so I start getting into it. But after the first verse, the director cuts me off: Thank you. Thank you very much, youll be hearing from me. The next part of the audition is the acting part. I figure, I cant sing, but I know I can act. But the guy I was paired with to do the scene couldnt be more over dramatic and over-the top. Suffice to say, I didnt get the part. But heres the thing: I didnt quit. I didnt fall back. I walked out of there to prepare for the next audition, and the next audition, and the next one. I prayed and I prayed, but I continued to fail, and I failed, and I failed. But it didnt matter. Because you know what? You hang around a barbershop long enough--sooner or later you will get a haircut. You will catch a break. Last year I did a play called Fences on Broadway and I won a Tony Award. And I didnt have to sing for it, by the way. And heres the kicker--it was at the Court Theater, the same theater where I failed that first audition 30 years prior. The point is, every graduate here today has the training and the talent to succeed. But do you have guts to fail?
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 21:31:16 +0000
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