Hunt Like A Lion

The world cup ended this week.

Spain won.

Argentina mourned…

And perhaps the greatest

Football player of all time—

Argentina’s captain

Has  probably played

His last world tournament.

You may or my not have heard of him…

His name is Lionel Messi.

Players and commentators alike

Agree that Messi is far and beyond

Any player they’d ever seen before.

And perhaps will ever see again.

Not only that,

Statistically speaking,

He stands alone.

To name a single example

He’s one the prestigious

Ballon d’Or a record 8 times.

That’s the equivalent of a single actor winning

Best lead actor at the Oscars

EIGHT TIMES…

All this to say,

He’s very good.

When he’s on,

It always feels like something

Magic is about to happen.

So, fascinated by Messi

As he draws nearer towards the end

Of his international career,

I started watching videos

And came across one that struck me…

A video taken from a recent doco

Where Messi’s performance coach—

Paco Seiru.lo

Head of Methodology at FC Barcelona,

The club where Messi played the vast majority of his career

During his prime,

Paco said:

“Every study of Leo shows he runs the least.

He sprints the least.

He participates the least in the game”.

And I’m thinking,.. what the fuck

The best player in the world is… lazy?

You’re telling me that

On paper, the best player in the

World doesn’t contribute as much?

Paco then went on to say:

“Don’t worry about being tall or short,

Worry about being the most efficient.

Leo’s game is about maximum efficiency”.

***

Why am I bringing this up?

I meet  and have coached a lot of actors

Who are desperately frustrated with the industry

Trying to grind out careers

Because they’ve been told

“You need to hustle in order to survive”.

That you should work on your craft every day.

If you’re not constantly improving,

You are a lazy actor.

And I want to call bullshit.

Living your damn life,

Is making your better actor.

Gathering experiences

And taking care of the major

Pillars in life,

Health,

Wealth,

Connections,

Contribution…

THAT is making you a better actor.

Someone who reads every book on acting

Might be the best actor, in theory…

But isn’t acting all about being human?

Exploring your humanity,

And finding human connection?

Where’s the space for any of that

If you’re doing nothing but

Trying to work on being an actor every second

Of every day.

***

So.

Give yourself some grace.

Give yourself some space.

What is the lesson in all this?

Hunt like a lion.

Do less, but do it better.

Lions sleep on average

18 hours a day.

16–20 hours: Sleeping or resting.

2–4 hours: Walking, socialising, grooming, or patrolling territory and procreating.

1–3 hours: Hunting and eating

(Though a hunt itself may only last a few minutes).

Lions ain't got the energy to burn willy nilly…

That’s why they sleep.

But when they hunt, it’s with maximum efficiency.

To have maximum effect.

Messi isn’t lazy on the field.

No.

He is simply the most efficient.

He is the most effective,

The most impactful,

Every time he has the ball.

Weirdly,

I’ve noticed this in other sporting greats.

I went to a rugby match in Perth.

Watched

Darren Lockyer…an immortal play.

Didn’t contribute at all really,

For 90% of the match.

But two tries down with ten minutes to go,

I watched this guy

Inject himself into the action again and again and again.

Until his team was in front.

Then he sat back.

It was fucking amazing… and I understood why he is great.

And my team lost,

Which was shit…

But god damn it,

The lesson is clear.

***

Which brings me to my point.

The principle in all this:

DEEP WORK

FOLLOWED BY REST.

Focus on

Quality over quantity.

In all areas for a sustainable career.

Better to work deeply for 20 minutes

Then distractedly for two hours.

But the principle actually runs deeper.

Think of a showreel…

Better to have 1 minute of deep work

Work that makes you feel proud,

That reflects who you are,

Then 10 minutes of garbage

That you think will book your next job

Because that’s what your agent said

You should do.

Better to have a honest conversation

For 15 minutes in person,

Then 20 emails that skate around the issue.

You get the picture.

But how?

How do we hunt like a lion.

Here’s an example of what it might

Look or feel like in practice

In three steps.

1) Having purpose.

I.e. Knowing that you want.

And being specific about that.

What specifically are you working towards?

Narrow the focus.

When rehearsing,

It’s not good enough to say,

“Scene work”

Or

“Acting”.

You ask general questions,

You’ll get general results.

“Working towards being present in front of the lens”

Great.

That’s more specific.

Now you have something you can actually work towards.

2) Executing.

Or doing your best to execute.

Doing breeds doing.

The more you work in this way,

The more you teach your body

The value of deep work or quality conversations etc.

Then…

3) Review.

Reflecting upon the work.

What worked well.

What do you want to work towards next time.

Ready to improve for next time.

***

Do less,

Do it better.

When Messi is on the field,

There is a feeling

That something magic is about to happen

I think it’s the same with actors.

Where there is

An actor on set who is used to giving

Deep work, on command

Because that’s the way they practice.

It’s thrilling to watch.

And I love helping actors

Build the systems to get there

In practice,

So they’re able to do it on set

When it counts.

Have fun out there.

Dx