The Unexpected Virtue of Humility

Upon receiving the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his role in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), actor Michael Keaton had this to say;

Work hard.

Don't quit.

Be appreciative.

Be thankful.

Be grateful.

Be respectful.

Never whine. Ever.

Never complain.

And always, for crying out loud, keep a sense of humor.

This struck such a chord in me when I watched him receive his award. Someone who had been in the game as long as he had, finally receiving some recognition. It struck me that this was the credo of a workhorse. It struck me because I've tried to live my life to a very similar theme.

Work hard-I may not be the most talented, but i try to be the hardest worker in the room.

Don't quit-I've tried to look at my acting career as a marathon, not a sprint.

Be appreciative

Be thankful

Be grateful

Be respectful-these have all gone hand in hand for me. I always try to look people in the eye, shake their hand, say please and thank you, give them the benefit of the doubt, and think of what a mile in their shoes must feel like.

Never whine. Ever.

Never complain-I believe that you get what you give. If you wanna put that negative out in the world, that's what you're gonna get back. We all have our bad days, but I choose to focus on the good stuff, even when it's overshadowed by the crummy.

Always, for crying out loud, keep a sense of humor-in the end, what else do we have?

I hope to continue to see these words every day and to try to embody them. All we can do every day is try to be a little bit better than we were the day before.

And the fact that Bruce Wayne, Birdman, Mr. Mom, Jack Frost, BeetleJuice, Dogberry, Doug Kinney, Ray Kroc, and Vulture brought this to our attention is pretty great.