And So It Begins

"Why do you want to act?" I asked the young man sitting across the table from me sipping coffee.
"Fame," he said flippantly. "I want to be known."
"There are many ways of being known. Successful politicians; professional athletes; even local news reporters. They are all known. Why do you want to seek fame through acting?"
There was a pause in the conversation.
"Because it's easy." It was more a statement from me than a question.
He looked at me sheepishly, as if I had read his mind.
"Yea. I walk, I talk, I feel. I can do that," he said, "...act."
"You did it," he said. "Why can't I?" Touche.
Defensively I said: "No reason. In fact, there's more reason for you to succeed the way you look (a handsome young man) than the way I looked at your age."
"But," I challenged him," are you prepared not only to look good--walk and talk--but also to feel in such an exciting way that 5 million people in the audience, will stop in their tracks, cease in their daily activity, just to watch you? And watch you specifically as opposed to the hundreds of thousands of other would-be actors living in NY, LA and around the nation?"
"Yea. I'm willing to work at it."
Bingo.
That was the answer I was hoping for.
I paid for the coffee, patted him on the back and wished him well.
I smiled with confidence. A carrer was born.