Improvement Tips from the Masters

Improvement is about commitment - in school, sport, or other activities. 

Here are some tips from MasterClass experts on success:

1. "Bring your best self." - Samuel L. Jackson

2. What does it take to be successful? 1) Be on time. 2) Don't be a jerk. - Helen Mirren

3. "Find the best version of the truth." - Investigative journalist Bob Woodward  

4. "The film is made in the editing room." - Director Ron Howard

5. Success "takes the soul of a poet and the skin of an elephant." (Be able to withstand criticism/coaching) - Director Mira Nair

6. Become more athletic. "I can throw a football like an NFL quarterback." - Serena Williams

7. "Read, read, read, read, read." - Director Werner Herzog 

He requires all of his film students to read The Peregrine. “Cold air rises from the ground as the sun goes down.  The eye-burning clarity of the light intensifies. The southern rim of the sky glows to a deeper blue, to pale violet, to purple, then thins to grey.  Slowly the wind falls, and the still air begins to freeze.  The solid eastern ridge is black; it has a bloom on it like the dust on the skin of a grape.  The west flares briefly.  The long, cold amber of the afterglow casts clear black lunar shadows.  There is an animal mystery in the light that sets upon the fields like a frozen muscle that will flex and wake at sunrise.”

― J.A. Baker, The Peregrine

8. Every story, joke, adventure has "three parts - the beginning, the middle, and the end." - David Mamet 

- beginning "Before crossing the Delaware, what was the last thing George Washington told his men?"

- middle (Pause)

- end "Get in the boat." 

The volleyball season is like that. There's the offseason player development, the regular season, and the postseason. 

9. "Kill your darlings." - David Mamet  Ruthlessly edit the unnecessary. Simplify your game. A jump serve can be great. But a simple serve like Leah Fowke's can also be great. 

10."Feed your people." - Director Spike Lee  People can put up with a lot on a movie set. They can't be hungry. Take care of your nutrition. 

11."Raise the stakes." - Author Dan Brown (The DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons, Inferno) Make it competitive. Brown says, "the difference between good writers and bad writers is that good writers know when they're bad."

12."Obsess the product." - Entrepreneur Sara Blakely, CEO Spanx 

Blakely tells a story of an "Outward Bound" like adventure for executives. There was a cliff and participants each were hooked to a bungee cord. Each had to jump out to a crane where someone would catch them. She said she was not the biggest or the most athletic, but she jumped and made it to the 'catcher'. How? She aimed three feet ABOVE the target. Her advice, "Aim high."