| The Stoics knew that each of us was born inherently unique. Well before an understanding of the science of DNA, they implicitly grasped that never before and never again will our combinations of genetics exist—that we are singular. And that one of the worst things a human being can do with this rarest of rarities is to give it up. To not be our singular selves. The great Rainn Wilson was recently on the Daily Stoic podcast and told the story of a painful period in which he tried to be someone he wasn't. In 1995, Rainn got cast in his first Broadway play. In his head, he had this preconceived notion of a Broadway actor: very professional, very serious, very matter-of-fact. Rainn tried to be that person. "And guess what? I sucked," he said. Night after night, for the entirety of the six-month broadway run, "I sucked. And it was a miserable six months. There's nothing worse than knowing what you are doing is terrible…And when I finished the play, I said, Never again. Never again am I going to do that. I'm going to find my authentic voice as an actor. I'm quirky, I'm kind of weird—I'm going to embrace that. I'm not going to try to be something to please someone else. I gotta be me. And I really just changed how I was as an actor at that point." Not long after he made the decision to embrace being himself, Rainn landed not only the biggest role of his career, but what would prove to be one of the most iconic characters in the history of television: Dwight in The Office. "I never would have gotten Dwight had I not gone through the suffering on that play. Because getting Dwight was embracing my nerdy weirdness. If I hadn't totally embraced that, I wouldn't have gotten the role of Dwight." BE YOU. Be the only one of you in the whole world. That's where the fun is (you don't have to fake anything). That's where the value is (when we are like everyone else, we are replaceable—by definition). Embrace who you really are. Embrace what makes you unique. Embrace your weirdness. Because chances are it's special.  P.S. You can check out the full video interview (it's a good one!) over at the Daily Stoic YouTube channel, where you'll also find interviews with others actors like Adrian Grenier, Karen Duffy, Troy Baker, as well as world champion athletes, bestselling authors, and military heroes. Subscribe today! |
