Choose. Or Be Chosen
Some don't have to audition. Most will audition for the rest of our lives.
And that’s cool.
Watch the video below, which is fascinating. Denzel Washington does not audition. Hasn’t done an audition in forty years. Some of us have earned “no audition” status by virtue of our talent, experience, and credibility. They come to you, you don’t have to apply for anything. You get to choose, you’re not chosen. Denzel chooses. The choices are created for him to say yes or no to.
Djimon Hounsou, on the other hand, does not get to choose as you can tell in this conversation he has with Larry Madowo. A badass two-time Oscar nominee, been in a huge number of blockbusters and critically acclaimed movies, and yet he says he does not have the respect or financial stability that should come with his portfolio and experience.
He has to audition. He has to be chosen.
Na so e be sometimes.
Most of us will always have to “audition” in some form or fashion. Are you right for this role—the gig, the deal, the spotlight, the interview, the stage, the exclusive membership, the connection. Amid lots of new year career evaluations and affirmations, my coaching to myself and to my people has been to keep auditioning…keeps you on point, sharpens your edge, and it is how you may get to Denzel status. If that is what you want.
I don’t mind auditioning. I am in no way even close to anything like Denzel status. But some roles have been written for me, and in some instances I do get to choose, not be chosen. However, most times, I have to audition. And I am cool with that. That’s the wahala of this jiu-jitsu match we call life, and it is the constant reminder that “Bobo…you are not there yet o. You never reach. May not ever get there, but we dey here.” The difference is that I choose the auditions. I don’t need anyone’s freaking validation and I don’t seek it. And I have earned the ability to walk away from those auditions, and the right to say no, yes, or “how about we do it this way” to the outcomes of the auditions.
That is…if I am chosen, right?
Alright, thanks for coming to this audition…now show us what you got.
We dey here.