During a critique session at broadcasting school, a student apologized to the instructor for putting in a mediocre effort on his mock radio shift tape. "My mind wasn't really on this," he said, listing various distractions from his life. The instructor replied, "I'll give you some advice that a program director once gave me. He told me, 'When you're on the air, you can't do anything about the rent or anything else outside the studio. Why not put in your best effort at work? That way, at least one thing in your day will have gone right.'"
I never knew if the student turned in a better tape during his next session, but I always thought the instructor's advice was sound.
