She was extremely popular on campus — it seemed like she knew everybody, and no one ever had anything bad to say about her. She seemed to be a favorite among students and faculty at school.
So every year at this school, there was this big production of a different play. This particular year, the girl wanted to try out for the lead role. She told any and everyone who would listen that the lead role would be hers that year.
Every day, like clockwork, she could be seen on the yard, putting on a show to whoever happened to be with her at the moment. Any time someone struck up a conversation with her, it was as if she couldn’t talk about anything else but that play and how much she was committed to landing that role.
So like I said, this production was a big deal on campus. So much so that people would show up to the auditions to watch and root for their friends.
On the night of the audition, campus was buzzing about this girl and how much of a certainty it was that she would land that lead role. The auditorium filled with antsy people ready to see her smash her audition.
As one person after the next completed their auditions for the same role, every one grew more and more certain that she had this in the bag. Finally, the lights dimmed, and she stepped out on the stage with the spotlight beaming on her.
She started delivering her lines. The more she acted, the more the audience began looking around at one another in utter confusion. That’s because the lines she was acting out weren’t in the script. She was winging it.
People in the audience couldn’t believe what was happening. She was completely blowing her audition. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion, and it was very painful to witness.
She was so confident and when her audition was over, she seemed oblivious to what she had just done. People were stunned.
When the roles were announced later that night, it wasn’t surprising to anyone but her that she didn’t land that role. And the commentary to her from the Director of the play was, “Next time, stick to the script.”
The Director felt that it had been disrespectful for the girl to have been so cocky about the lead role being handed to her that she didn’t even bother to learn the lines. He felt that she had missed a huge opportunity by just failing to prepare.
The play went on that year, and the actor who ended up with the lead role was the new buzz on campus. The girl was crushed and embarrassed, but she learned a lot of valuable lessons from that experience. She learned that there’s a process that we all have to follow when we want something and no one is truly exempt from that.
When you want something, you have to prepare in order to get it. Nothing in life is ever free, and no one — I mean NO ONE — is going to just hand you anything.
Just like there were people in that audition who had actually prepared, remember that there’s always someone out there who’s willing to do the things you aren’t willing to do. They’re more prepared than you, they’ll out work you, and and they will take your spot right out from under you in a New York minute.
Audiences are fickle. Hell, people are fickle. They’ll like you one minute and hate you the next. Never assume that you’re safe from that or that you’ll skate through because people like you. Lastly, she learned to always, always be prepared, have a plan, and stick to the script.
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