Motivation is the key to success

I have been thinking a lot recently about 'success'

With me, success would be recognition as a playwright and relative fame as a comedy actor. Ideas constantly dart inside my mind throughout the day as I day dream or stand having a smoke. Boredom certainly is a catalyst of creativity! My problem is, rarely does any of those ideas come into fruition - they entertain me for the time I am bored but then evaporate as quickly as they appear. On some occasions I have forced myself to write the idea down: An interesting character here or a play concept there. But these usually end up wrapped up in a small red book I keep in my bedroom drawer called "Play Ideas". This little book was created when I was in Uni and I will sometimes read through the old scraps of scribbled notes or drawings I have collected over the years - but all that comes from that is a nostalgic trip...never anything of substance!

This has led me to believe that success is truly down to 'motivation' and not necessarily 'talent'. Perhaps there is an abundance of people who truly could do a better job than their successful counterparts, but are locked in their lives through a general realization that it would require real effort to do so. Many famous actors and playwrights seem to have some amazing story from their past that inspired them into becoming what they are - rarely do we hear about an average Joe who decided one day to become a playwright and achieved instant acclaim (although this DOES happen). It seems to me that if you are at all content with your life at the moment, there is little chance of you pushing yourself to find that success.

My day-to-day life consists of going to work in an office doing the nine-to-five, going home at the end of the day and entertaining myself through TV shows, movies, messing about on the internet or video gaming. Sometimes my spare time will be taken up by rehearsals for my next show with an am-dram group or going out for some event with friends. And i'm happy with that. I'm content! I love watching old British sit-coms or the latest big budget American drama show (it's House at the moment!) and the am-dram group keeps me involved in my love for acting. This doesn't mean I never dream about success - I still feel envious pain when I hear about my acting buddies of the past performing in West End Shows or spending the day filming for something, but that's natural.

Time seems to be the key - I live by the code that you should never work more than you play, and so when I finish my day job, my free time is very much down to what I enjoy doing the most. But I am also mindful that come the day that I 'shuffle off this mortal coil' I will look at my life and be filled with regret - why didn't I never finish that play! Why didn't I go to that audition! Perhaps I should set aside one night of my free time and add a little personal work to the agenda...