There's Always an Opportunity in Missing One
I knew very early in my life that I was marked for the entertainment business. By high school I had already had the chance to work in professional theater and had the dream to perform one day on Broadway.
I took drama in the year I would graduate. I was of the opinion that I had more skill and ability at theater than my drama teacher did. I'm not proud of it, but I allowed my assessment of what the teacher lacked to color my judgment, not only of the teacher's skillset, but of his character as well.
Somehow, in what appeared to be an absence of talent, the teacher seemed to be very connected in the entertainment business. The name-dropping that went on I frankly took to be a combination of exaggeration and outright fabrication. I figured if he really knew the people he boasted about knowing, he wouldn't be teaching high school drama.
One day later in the year he asked to speak with me after class. He told me that he was investing in the production of a musical with an odd-sounding name and that he could use his connections to get me an audition if I were interested. I had already made excuses to avoid being in the school play, since I was full of myself and too proud to want to be associated with what I saw as a lower-quality production. I thanked him, yet turned down the offer, assuming the show he spoke of was similar in caliber.
After graduating from high school I moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where I had applied, auditioned and been accepted into the liberal arts program at Webster University which had a highly respected theater program. It had a reputation for producing professional actors. I was surrounded by peers from all over the U.S., most of whom also aspired to appear on a Broadway stage one day.
Near the end of that school year some friends and I gathered to watch the Tony awards, which honor the best Broadway productions of the year. Actress Angela Lansbury, musical genius Stephen Sondheim, and director Harold Prince all took home trophies that night for their contributions to the musical Sweeney Todd. It was the Broadway sensation of the year. As I watched Sweeney Todd sweep the Tony's, winning award after award, it finally clicked. It was in fact the same musical that my drama teacher had offered to give me a once-in-a-lifetime shot at the year before.
We all know those moments where we either have to justify ourselves or admit that we have blown a golden opportunity. I was certainly eating humble pie on this occassion.There are two kinds of pride. One is when we work hard and can celebrate a victory of effort; the other is when we put ourselves on a pedestal out of insecurity and actually block the help we need to realize our dreams.
Ultimately, we have to trust that we're getting what we need to serve our true purpose, even though missing opportunities due to our own folly is never easy to forget. A missed opportunity becomes useful if we accept the opportunity to see our mistake.
In retrospect, it's clear that I was meant to get the lesson, not the part. And I couldn't be happier about the opportunities I'm given in my work to share both laughter and thoughtfulness with others.
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Quotable
"Don't be afraid of missing opportunities. Behind every failure is an opportunity somebody wishes they had missed."
Lily Tomlin
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