Don’t worry! No spoilers.
Whether or not you’re a fan of the antics of Midge Maisel (portrayed by Rachel Brosnahan) and her colorful journey, Amazon’s comedy-drama series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel offers up plenty of life lessons to ponder as we craft our own to-do lists on the road to creative success in 2020. Here are a few. Add yours in the comment section.
Lesson 1: Paying attention to the creative fire within you can pay off. What lights up your enthusiasm or makes you feel like you have finally found the perfect place to land? Sometimes it takes a little trial-and-error to find the right job or the right hobby. PS: Unfortunately, as Miriam Maisel can attest, finding the perfect creative job doesn’t mean it will be the perfect paying job.
Lesson 2: Finding your unique and honest voice can give you an edge. In a copycat world, there are plenty of people who try to mimic the talented and successful. The truly talented are those who find and develop their own style. Midge Maisel is the coiffed, pearl-wearing, fashion plate comic comfortable in her own skin. She doesn’t look or sound like any of her colleagues or competitors.
Lesson 3: Being memorable might get you the gig. Talent makes you memorable. Kindness makes you memorable. Hard work makes you memorable. Quirkiness makes you memorable. Midge’s colorful over-the-top fashion always makes her memorable. But so does her enthusiasm for great food, her inability to say “no” to a career opportunity, and her talent for thinking fast (creating original, relatable material) on her feet.
Lesson 4: Learn when to dump it. Unnecessary baggage can slow you down. Sometimes you’ve got to load up the taxi with luggage before you realize the importance of leaving something behind. Always an over-packer, Midge might not be able to part with her hat boxes, but over time she has gotten a bit better at culling out or ignoring some of the metaphorical baggage in her life. Warning: Don’t be too quick to toss though, life can throw you some unexpected, supportive surprises.
Lesson 5: Keep moving forward. Constantly show up with your best work. Take pride in your work ethic and perfectionism. And be patient. Nothing happens overnight, especially success. Mrs. Maisel’s been at it for three seasons and her journey continues. So does yours.