Read this book: Fail Fast, Fail Often. “Tom…are you recommending I read a self-help book?” No. But if I was that’s fine because some self-help books are great, and some suck, like all genres of anything. People get all worked up about getting mental healthcare to the people who need it…maybe we all need it! Maybe implying that there are normal strong people, and weak people who cowardly ask for help with problems they aren’t experts in, is problematic. You can tell I went to liberal arts college because I use the word problematic. I’ve been to therapy before (see how I threw in “before” so everyone knows I’m sane now? And I’m writing this!), and it takes a lot more courage to see a therapist than to not. But all that is beside the point.
Fail Fast, Fail Often is based on science, or at least social psychology. It’s not just some successful guy’s affirmations and anecdotes. It’s a fairly well-explained collection of great mental approaches for achieving goals. For example: imagine twins with the same genetic ability. One tries do stand up by himself, maybe writes and rewrites until he has something perfect for the stage. Only goes out when it feels right. The other just gets out there and bombs, learns from each time, asks other comics for advice, bounces ideas off friends, has an eye out for people who might be able to help him, explores other things that excite him as well. Who will be more successful within the industry? That’s not the exact example in the book, but you get it. Seriously, go out and buy it. Or wait until I finish it and see how my year goes.
Tom Dunlap 