Beyond all other freedoms our greatest liberty is our ability to choose our attitude. Viktor Frankl documented this great truth in his moving book Man’s Search for Meaning.

“The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes,” said Marcel Proust.

It is easy to be around these folks. They are can-do people. They have learned a way of working together on stage that commonly spills over into their daily lives. There is a spirit of cooperation. If I forget something, my colleagues cover for me. Everyone seems to say “thank you” often, and “I’m sorry” slips naturally off the tongue. We smile and

As improvisers we discover that we don’t need this unrealistic guarantee to begin. The only real failure is not doing anything.

be?” A constructive response to a mistake is to notice it, acknowledge it, and, if possible, use it. Artists do this all the time—capitalize on an unplanned paint dribble.

Are you sitting right now as you read? If so, then a chair, sofa, or bed is supporting you. You probably have not paid much attention to this fact until I mentioned it. Nor have you been thinking that someone designed the chair (sofa, bed, etc.); someone manufactured it; someone brought it to where you are sitting; someone paid for it—perhaps it wa

American Zen writer Alan Watts, clearly an improviser in spirit, named one of his books The Wisdom of Insecurity. He knew that life is all about balancing, not about being balanced.

Remember what a delight it was when a teacher said: “Let’s go outside today and have class under the big oak tree”? Just moving outside seemed mischievous, didn’t it?

How much do you notice and remember? This skill is at the heart of all improvising. What we notice becomes our world. So observe what is going on around you. Open your eyes, and notice the detail. See what is actually happening. Pay attention to everything.