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Throwing Your Hat Over the Wall
Acting Mastery
13 May
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN HOLDING BACK?
Although later made famous by President Kennedy, the phrase “throw your hat over the wall” was coined by Irish writer, Frank O’Connor.
As a boy, Frank was walking through the countryside when he and his friends came across a wall, that was seemingly too high and difficult to climb. The boys took their hats and tossed them over the wall, leaving them no choice but to figure out how to retrieve their hats.
Similarly, when President Kennedy pledged to land a man on the moon “before the decade is out”, NASA did not yet have the technology to get to the moon. They didn’t know how they were going to do it. Yet, President Kennedy committed the U.S. to accomplishing this within 10 years…
While President Kennedy didn’t live to see it, the U.S. landed on the moon
1 year ahead of schedule
When you throw your hat over the wall, you’re committing to figuring out how you’re going to get over the wall
You get skin in the game when you commit to something that has a DEADLINE:
- something tangible
- to hold you accountable
- with a test in reality for when you’ve achieved it.
This commitment calls you into action in the PRESENT
because there’s something at STAKE
By throwing your hat, you commit to figuring out what you need to do and who you need to be in order to get over the seemingly impossible wall.
My bet is that there are things each of you want to be doing, that you may be holding back on, or playing your cards close to your chest.
Maybe you’re waiting for the right time or waiting for “some day”.
But the truth is, is that “some day” is never going to come.
There's always going to be a “some day”
So where in life can you get skin in the game and make tangible commitments?
I’ll leave you with this clip from class about throwing your hat over the wall:
Take care and speak soon,
Ben Mathews & The Acting Mastery Team
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GIVEAWAY FOR ‘DOG’ AT KXT ON BROADWAY!
Our wonderful coach, Laneikka Denne, is acting in ‘dog’ @kxt_bakehouse !
They are giving away a double pass to see a preview performance of ‘dog’ at KXT on Broadway May 24th - June 8th.
‘dog’ is a play that explores the lived experience of OCD and alcohol addiction. both are a blackhole. If you would like to win a double pass, email [email protected] with the subject ‘DOG GIVEAWAY’ with your preferred date (May 24th or 25th), your full name and phone number.
You can read more here: https://www.kingsxtheatre.com/dog
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