In 1971, the National Theatre in London was losing money because two of their recents performances were flops.

In order to save the theatre, the directors got together and decided to write a play staring Sir Laurence Olivier—The most famous British actor in the 20th century.

Getting him to accept performing in the play turned out to be easier than they’d expect, but that was only the half of it.

Once rehearsals started, Laurence began butchering his accent, forgetting lines, and spoke with a type of uneasiness that even the entire cast began to notice.

It wasn’t until this moment that they realized Laurence suffered from anxiety. Or what actors would call it—stage fright.

The directors didn’t really know what to make of it because at this moment, Laurence was now the most famous stage actor in the world, and to see him buckling on-stage was the last thing they expected.

Late one afternoon during rehearsals, the directors wanted to practice everyones lines from the very beginning.

The director yelled “Curtain up,” and on the stage was Laurence and Constance Cummings, playing his wife Mary Tyrone.

After a minute or two of exchanging lines, Laurence stopped.

“What’s the line?!” he asked.

“Cut! No, let’s go back to the top and make a fresh start.” the director responded.

And just a few minutes later, the exact same thing happened where Laurence got caught up and stood there helplessly, waiting for someone to tell him his line he learned weeks ago.

The stage manager ended up running onto the stage and graciously showed Laurence his line, allowing them to finally get back on track.

They ended up making two more failed attempts and Laurence finally looked at the director and said, “That’s funny, I’ve got stage fright.”

It would take weeks for Laurence to get over his anxiety, but on the night of the play, he rose to the occasion and delivered a performance like no other.

The play ended up being a hit and is what ultimately saved the National Theatre from bankruptcy.

But years later, people would look back on Laurence’s legacy and realize that this wasn’t the first play he suffered anxiety from.

Every time before he walked on-stage, he would become so anxious he’d feel like throwing up, and in some cases his nerves were so bad that he’d even need fellow actors to stand by just in case he couldn’t continue.

But what made him one of the greatest actors of his time was his ability to own it. At one point in his life, he was accredited to saying, “The day I lose my stage-fright is the day I will stop acting.”

Despite the butterflies he always felt in his stomach, he always stepped out onto the stage and ended up delivering the performance of a lifetime.

So if you’re someone who experiences anxiety or that knot-type feeling in your stomach, don’t give in.

It’s your choice to either succumb to the butterflies, or follow this one piece of advice:

“There is nothing wrong with having butterflies in your stomach, provided you make them fly in formation.” — Jon Jones

Dive Deeper

What I’m Currently Reading - I’m now reading Brianna Wiest’s book, “The Mountain Is You.” A guide on transforming self-sabotage into self-mastery.

Quote Of The Week - “You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.” — Dan Millman