“I really always worked hard, because I recognized from a pretty young age it was one of the only things I could control. I remember I did karate as a kid, at the Jewish Community Center, and when I started I was the worst in the class, I was the worst of 25 Jewish kids who were afraid of getting picked on. And then just because everyone else quit, three years later I was at the top of the class, and there were 25 Jewish kids who were worse than me. And that was always tangible: Just by not stopping I became the best one. It wasn’t this, like, ferocious leap. I just kept going, and slowly [other] people stopped. Because a lot of people will stop.”
Lesson: Don’t stop because you’re not great if you see or feel value in what you’re doing. (And improv is a great place to relish this idea!)