John Cusack: Why Succeeding in the Arts is Different

Actor John Cusack joined us to discuss what it takes to succeed in artistic fields. John argued that individuals pursuing these pathways must have an irresistible passion to create and advised students to only pursue the arts if they feel absolutely compelled. If that’s you, only then do the normal rules of what it takes to succeed in any career endeavor apply. The Future of Education is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Paying subscribers get unlimited access to My Delphi. Julie LammersToday we’re excited to welcome actor, writer and producer John Cusack. John has built a decades long career in film, starring in iconic movies like Say Anything, High Fidelity and Being John Malkovich. And he’s also written and produced projects that reflect a strong point of view and a willingness to take creative risks. We’re excited to have him on our podcast today to share his point of view with us.Micheal HornIndeed. Indeed. And, John, a lot of middle and high school students, they love music, they love theater, film, writing, art. But they often hear that pursuing the arts, it’s risky or maybe unrealistic. So I’d love to hear based on your own journey, when should students consider a career in the arts? And what do you think they need to understand before deciding to go down that path?John CusackI don’t know if the arts are the same as succeeding in any other field, because if you’re going to be in the arts, the only reason to do it is because you don’t have any other choice. Like, you have to express yourself. If you don’t, it’s very difficult to if you don’t feel that. If you’re not really compelled to do it, I wouldn’t suggest getting into it. Unless you want to just make it something that you think is fun and you don’t care about the results, then just do it, you know, as much as you can and don’t worry about it. But if it’s something where you try to earn your living or build a career, it is very competitive, and there’s a lot of failure and there’s a lot of rejection.So I guess the only things you could compare it to would be if it isn’t sort of your dream job, or if it isn’t something that you love or feel compelled to do, then the normal rules kind of apply, which is work as hard, harder than the next guy. Do extra. Take initiative. You know, I always say it’s always better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. So, take your own initiative. Do more. You know, be honest. Be a good teammate, right.Because you have to work with other people. And, and if you have the vibe that all boats rise, that helps a lot. But that’s a little different than the arts. You know, if somebody has to sing, they gotta sing, and they’re gonna sing whether they’re out on a street corner or whether they’re in Carnegie Hall. So same thing with performance.So the arts are a little bit different, I think. You should only do them if you’re convinced that’s your sort of reason for being here, like, you must do it. But if you want to take any other competitive corporate job or anything like that, then the normal rules apply for excellence. You know, treat everyone well. Be excellent to everyone around you. Be the, you know, be the solution, not the problem. Take initiative and work your ass off and do it happily. That’s how you separate yourself from people who don’t want to be there.All right. I hope that helped. Bye.The Future of Education is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelbhorn.substack.com/subscribe