My Cosby Years

I woke this morning to a review of the new book about Bill Cosby. Having worked with the man himself what now seems a lifetime ago, I was, of course, drawn to the review, and will probably read the book. Reading the review brought back an experience that, though many years ago, is still very much a part of me. On "Cosby" (the CBS version), I learned that...
 
1. Working with big celebrities is cool, but working with a great crew is just as cool.
 
2. You can send a thousand letters to try to get a job, but nothing gets you in the door faster than someone recommending you.
 
3. Just because you haven't done something before doesn't mean you can't. It just means you have to be humble, and eager, and hardworking. And then learn stuff you can use everywhere you go after.
 
4. If you're gonna work on a sitcom, it's good to laugh along the way, and to make sure that you have some funny stories to take with you when it's over.
 
5. If you can have patience through the hard first steps of a new experience, you can make it to the easier second and third steps.
 
6. It's rarely a bad thing to do a little moving--even if you didn't choose to move. It often gives you people and experiences you never would have encountered if you had just stood still.
 
7. You get a lot farther in the world when you say "yes," and then work like crazy to make "yes" happen.
 
8. It's important to enjoy where you are while you're there. The life of a TV series can be short. Life in general goes pretty quickly too.
 
9. Making the right decision quickly is a good skill to have. The studio audience doesn't have a lot of patience for "re-do's."
 
10. Everything you do makes a difference in your life, whether you feel that difference today, or tomorrow, or twenty years later.
 
I hear Cosby's doing another show. Maybe I'll get to learn a little more.