Inspiration

21 Feb 2012 by Chris Boughton

I stumbled across a television programme yesterday where a famous American female actor was answering questions about her career and life to an audience of undergraduates, mostly in their late teens to early twenties. Normally I would have switched channels immediately but at the time I was glancing at a newspaper too so I left the programme on. It was the last question and I initially groaned as I heard a student ask how she dealt with the high and lows of an acting career and particularly how she raised her game when returning to the screen after a long break. But as she articulated her answer it suddenly dawned on me that the acting parts she had often played in no way represented the intellect and thoughtfulness of this lady (why should they). She suddenly had my full attention. I cannot recall exactly what she said, nor can I do justice to the eloquent way in which she made her point, but basically she said that she had always conducted her life, and particularly her career, by living in the present. She explained that acting inevitably had highs and lows and that it was no good dwelling on past highs or yearning for future highs, but to live in the ‘now’.  This she said had helped her stay positive and continue to believe in her acting abilities and not to see a drop off in work as a negative against her acting competence. Now I know it is easier said than done but the notion is certainly appealing and as the programme ended she had clearly inspired a large gathering of very bright students and given me a much needed boost after a particularly difficult few Parkinson’s disease (PD) days.

Strangely it wasn’t the first time I was inspired yesterday as it was also the day that Steve Jobs sadly passed away. I read on the BBC news website that there had been over 35 million tributes uploaded on the internet, in China alone, that morning. The actor/comedian/presenter Stephen Fry wrote a lovely tribute on his blog which included the following extract that I was particularly drawn to: 

"I once heard George Melly, on a programme about Louis Armstrong, do that dangerous thing and give his own definition of a genius. “A genius,” he said, “is someone who enters a field and works in it and when they leave it, it is different. By that token, Satchmo was a genius.” I don’t think any reasonable person could deny that Steve Jobs, by that same token, was a genius too."

On his Twitter page Stephen Fry reported that the blog’s hosting site was receiving over 20,000 visits a minute.

Steve Jobs and Apple also had their highs and lows but he never lost belief in himself or his company despite the critical illness he endured for the last 9 years of his life. Coincidently Steve was diagnosed with cancer the same year that I was diagnosed with PD and up until a few months ago he continued to lead one of the most successful businesses in the world and inspire all those around him and most who read about him, despite being a very private man about his personal life.

I have had a few tough PD days this week, probably as a result of the extra demands of attending college. But I feel inspired after listening to the American actor engaging the undergraduates on TV and reading about the life and ethos of Steve Jobs, a truly remarkable man (Steve was 2 years younger than me). I still have my ‘now’, Steve does not!