The butterflies in his stomach were flapping their wings wildly. This was the final night of the show, and the theater was packed. It was almost time for his moment. He stepped out and started into the biggest part of the play, his soliloquy:

“To be or not to be, that is the question. Whether tis’ nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or…”

He blanked. What was the line? In his periphery, he could see the director mouthing the lines to him, but he couldn’t understand them. Damn it, what was the line? He started to panic, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

This was his chance, and he was blowing it! All because he couldn’t remember the line! The crowd was silent. He heard the words his father said to him so many years ago:

“You’ll never make it as an actor. Quit being an idiot, and get a real job!”

He wished he had listened to his father now. Murmurs rippled throughout the crowd. He could feel the bile rising in his throat. He ran off stage as the curtains fell…