Lena Dunham, the creator and star of Girls, and Sheldon Cooper, the quirky and maddening character played by actor Jim Parsons on The Big Bang Theory, have something in common and something powerful to teach us: commitment and focus create the magic sauce of achievement. It’s hard to imagine two people who are less alike and yet they arrive at the same conclusion when it comes to their work. They bet the farm and won.
Lena Dunham was on David Letterman this week. She was so funny and authentic that I decided to learn more about her career. She built her rising star through a web series, Delusional Downtown Divas, and SXSW Film. In 2009, SXSW Film screened her first feature film, Creative Nonfiction. In 2010, the same festival screened her second feature film, Tiny Furniture. Dunham wrote, directed, and starred in both films. Tiny Furniture earned two Independent Spirit Award nominations and that caught the attention of Producer Judd Apatow. Girls is the result of their collaboration; she creates, stars, and sometimes directs it while he serves as the Executive Producer.
Sheldon Cooper said something profound in this week’s episode, appropriately titled “The Occupation Recalibration”. His neighbor and friend, Penny, decides to quit her job as a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory to focus on her acting career. After five years in LA, she does much more waitressing than acting and she decides to give her near-impossible dream all of her attention. Sheldon supports this decision with one simple statement: “The best way to achieve a goal is to devote 100% of your time and energy to it. When I decided I was going to be a physicist, I didn’t take some other job in case it didn’t work out…We’re dreamers.”
Who says there’s nothing good on television? People who don’t watch television. There’s plenty of inspiration to be found in the content squeezed in-between expensive commercials. Lena and Sheldon are just two examples and they serve as powerful role models for all of us: if we really want to achieve a dream, we must double-down on it. There’s no guarantee of success, though focus gives us our best possible chance to make it come true.
* Tonight, The Big Bang Theory and Girls are competing for the Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical Golden Globe. Lena and Jim are both nominated for Best Actress and Actor, respectively.
Christa Avampato 