Be grateful

One of the most important characteristics of a successful performer is to be grateful.  You must learn to be grateful to your parents, your teachers, your employers, the people that help you even in the smallest endeavor or step on the path to your career.  I cannot stress this enough.

Be grateful.

This quality must be learned from the start.  If someone lends you a hand, don't forget it.  Don't forget the teachers that help you, even when you move on to the next.  Don't forget the people who give you your first opportunities, even when bigger opportunities lie in the horizon.  Don't forget the people who give you advice.

Be grateful.

Being grateful is not just a pleasant quality to have as a performer, but also as a person.  You never know if you ever need them again.  Don't forget them.  Don't take them for granted.  Say thank you.

Be grateful.

I've met so many people who forget the people who have helped them, and later wonder why they no longer receive the help.  I know a young performer who gained all his professional experience due to the help he received from some good friends.  Later, he went off to do several smaller projects, but in the biography for those projects, he mentioned everyone but the friends who helped him.  Later when this performer had no job, he asked a friend why the people who helped him originally no longer gave him a break, and the friend told him:  "Read your bio."

Be grateful.

I've always worked in this business, and not because of my talent.  I learned early on, to say thank you and not forget those who gave me a hand.  I made a ton of mistakes along the way, but I learned that no one is indispensable.  I learned that it is not just a "nice" characteristic, but that my success in show business, and moreover in life, depended on being grateful.