Toward the end of his speech accepting the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, Tom Hanks shared a
3-step formula for success he learned decades ago. It’s simple and brilliant — and could completely change the way you work.
And since he’s widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time, we would all do well to listen.
In his acceptance speech, Hanks repeatedly got choked up as he thanked his family, co-workers, and several notable actors and directors. After all, Hanks said, “you’re a dope if you don’t steal from everybody you have ever worked with.”
But it was toward the end of Hanks’s seven-minute speech he dropped the real golden nugget.
Hanks shared a story of when he worked in his first professional job. He and his fellow interns showed up to work after doing a little too much partying the previous night. The director wasn’t having it.
“He screamed at us,” said Hanks. “You know what your job is?” the director asked. “You have got to show up on time, you have to know the text, and you have to have a head full of ideas.”
And there it is, a simple, brilliant, three step-formula for success:
Show up on time, know the text, and have a head full of ideas.
Hanks says “that was the greatest lesson a young actor could possibly ever get.”
Let’s break it down.
Show up on time.
“Showing up on time is one of the greatest liberating acts you can give yourself in a movie,” explains Hanks.
“That means those people with radios in their ears don’t need to knock on your door and say they’re ready for you. You’re actually already ready. And you have the liberty, and you have the freedom of being there early enough to settle down–because when the time comes, you have to hit the marks, and you have to ‘go there.”
Know the text.
“Knowing your text–it’s not just your lines, it’s the whole thing,” Hanks continued. “You might not be right in the opinion you bring to it. But you’ve got to come at it with some direction.”
In a word, Hanks is speaking here about: preparation. Generally speaking, the more prepared you are, the more successful you’ll be.
Have a head full of ideas.
Speaking to this final point, Hanks said:
“The head full of ideas: Bring anything. Try anything. They might not use it. If it stinks, they won’t use it. Am I right, Marty Scorsese?”
Routines and processes are helpful, but growth doesn’t happen when you always do things the exact same way. Growth is a result of being willing to take risks, to break out of your comfort zone, and to embrace failure when it happens.
Because out of failure comes learning. And out of learning, comes growth.
So, are you ready to do more, and to go higher? The formula is simple:
Show up on time. Know the text. Have a head full of ideas.
If it worked for Tom Hanks, it can work for you.
