Michael Caine knows a thing or two about success. His legendary film career spans more than 70 years and features two Academy Award wins. On top of that, Caine has been a restaurateur and author.
In his latest book, “Don’t Look Back, You’ll Trip Over: My Guide to Life,” the 91-year-old touches on topics ranging from his early years getting into acting to being recruited by director Christopher Nolan to star in his Batman trilogy.
Caine learned early on that no matter how hard he worked, there would always be people who were better and worse than him at his craft.
“Jealousy is a terrible motive — it eats away at people and exhausts them,” he writes. “If you start by saying, ‘Oh, I can beat him as an actor,’ you’re going to tie yourself in knots.
“Of course, whenever I was nominated for an award, I wanted to win,” he continues. “But the reason for that was that I wanted to prove to myself that I’d reached a certain level — not that I wanted to beat all the other people, who were usually actors I admired very much.”
By competing with yourself, you become a better judge of how you’re doing.
Instead of pushing yourself to improve by competing with others, Caine recommends instead looking inward and back at the work you’ve done in the past.
“You compete with yourself, you’re always trying to get better in comparison to your past performances,” he writes. “And by competing with yourself, you become a better judge of how you’re doing.”
Whether you’re an actor or restauranteur, ignoring the competition is the surest way to find success, he says.
“Take no notice of them whatsoever,” Caine writes. “The trick is not to be the best actor, because that’s totally subjective, but the best actor you can possibly become. And I think that rule applies to everything, really.”
The trick is not to be the best actor, because that’s totally subjective, but the best actor you can possibly become. And I think that rule applies to everything, really.
The philosophy has served Caine well. Though he retired from acting a few years ago, the nonagenarian has found continued professional success by setting goals and challenging himself to meet them.
“[A strong work ethic] helps you deal with times when your main career goes quiet,” Caine writes. “Restaurants and writing have meant that I’ve always been busy, even between movies.
“I think having a sense of purpose is key to everything,” he adds. “Drifting isn’t good for people. You need to get up and get on with it.”
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