The best mantras are short, pithy, and easily repeated. Two of my favorite personal mantras are "misery is optional" abbreviated from a quote by Tim Hansel and "flow like water" derived from the aforementioned quote by Taoist master Lao Tzu. I have repeated these words so many times over the years and they have kept me from wandering the mirrored mazes of my mind.

We all need a cheerleader or a hype man. The hype man is the individual who is responsible for keeping the momentum of a show going, motivating the artist, and pumping up the enthusiasm of the crowd. He or she functions like an emotional barometer, constantly evaluating the feel of the environment and injecting energy into lulls and adding exclamation points to the performance.