There’s a line from Michael Caine that I’ve always liked:
‘Use the difficulty.’
He was talking about acting. If something goes wrong in a scene, a noise, a distraction, a mistake, don’t fight it. Use it. Make it part of the performance.
This week I had a perfect chance to test that thinking in real life.
Normally, on a Monday at 12 noon, I stream Magic Monday LIVE. This week I couldn’t do it live. It happens.
But that wasn’t using the difficulty. I can pre-record a video in my office any time.
Time for a flashback (imagine wobbly lines and 60s synth sounds).
A couple of weeks ago I was at a shoot with a professional film crew capturing interviews.
One of our contributors was stuck in Amsterdam and suddenly the crew had a fifteen-minute gap.
They were ready to grab a coffee and wait.
Rather than getting frustrated I decided to ‘use the difficulty’.
I needed video in the vault. Magic Monday might need something. I have a pro film crew. Hmmmm.
And fifteen minutes later we’d filmed a short piece about… Using The Difficulty.
The irony was perfect.
The cancelled live session.
The spare film crew.
The missing guest.
All of it became part of the story.
Smooth times don’t test you.
Anyone can perform when everything’s going to plan.
But when there’s a wobble? What about when the rug’s pulled? When something or someone doesn’t show up? That’s when creativity gets invited into the room.
Instead of asking ‘Why has this happened?’
Ask a different question.
‘How can I use this?’
The difficulty isn’t the thing that stops you. Sometimes it’s the thing that makes you.
If you’d like to see the video, you can watch it at the bottom of this page.
It was filmed in fifteen minutes.
Using the difficulty.
Be Brilliant!
Michael
PS Have you noticed how difficulty and adversity are wonderfully interchangeable?
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