On the weekend of March 29 - April 1st, I was performing in a play called The Labyrinth of Desire , staged by the USC School of Dramatic Arts.

The production was a culmination of 5-6 weeks of intense rehearsals. The thing was though that this theatrical experience was not like any other for me.

This time, I had to learn to ride a unicycle.

Yes, you read that right. I was told during the first week of rehearsal that the director intended for me to enter on a unicycle instead of a bicycle, which was what the written play had initially suggested.

You see, my character, Camacho , was pretty much a messenger, fool, clown and wingman all rolled into one. I had to enter from one side of the stage, riding the unicycle and delivering my opening lines and ride across the stage before jumping off and continuing the rest of the scene.

I agreed to the suggestion and began my journey on acquiring this strange new skill.

I knew it was going to be difficult, but I assumed it to be a frivolous endeavor.

After all, how serious could learning the Unicycle really be?

Boy, was I in for a spiritual ride.

Here are 11 important life lessons bestowed upon me during my journey of trying to master this iconic vehicle:

1. The Proven Way To Success Is Not The Only Way To Success

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When I was first handed the Unicycle, it was accompanied with a complete handbook on how to get started. When I read the handbook, I realized that it had a step by step guide on how to perfect riding the Unicycle. I thought this was fantastic!

As I looked through the steps, however, I was stumped. One of the early steps was getting the help of two friends to get on the unicycle and balance and to begin riding. The handbook stated explicitly to do this as this was a 'proven' and easy way to master balance.

The problem was that I did not have two people to help me. At the rehearsal, everyone else was busy with their own parts and scenes. Outside of rehearsal, no one had the luxury of time to hold my hands and walk for a couple of hours as I struggled to stay on a unicycle.

What's more, I only got to bring the Unicycle home during Spring Break - literally when no one was around.

The fact was, I had to do it by myself. What did this entail?

I had to first believe that I could - that there was a way different from the 'proven' way to the same result.

This also meant that I had to think of other creative solutions. In rehearsals, I stacked chairs on either side of me to provide me some support as I struggled to get on, for example.

It was only because I chucked the handbook away and began experimenting that eventually, I began making progress. I had to first believe that it was indeed possible.

I realized that often times - whether in our education, careers or passions - we often hinder ourselves by sticking too strictly to 'proven' methods of success. Whether this means following our parents' way of navigating education or careers, or fixing too strictly to a workout regime that worked for others, the fact remains that even though a proven way might help us achieve our goals, it should not be a source of stress or anxiety in the event we are unable to follow its path.

Instead, we must look for the alternative, original, and creative solutions on our own and trust that we can make it work!

In due time, the chairs helped and I began riding the unicycle - albeit only for 3 seconds.

2. Be Unafraid To Network & Ask For Help

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So now, I was able to get on the unicycle and stay on while pedaling for a couple of revolutions. I knew I needed some sort of guidance but had no idea where to look.

One day just prior to spring break, I remarkably came across a student comfortably unicycling to her class. She had a backpack too.

In the moment, I realized I had to bite my tongue and ask for help. I stopped her and told her of my situation and to my surprise, she happily agreed to exchange contact information and was willing to help me during spring break, once I got possession of the Unicycle.

When we did meet, Ursula gave me tips on how to balance, what to think while riding and revealed to me what I could expect in the process of learning to ride the Unicycle.

Her experience provided me with some foresight, almost as if clearing the fog ahead of me, pointing me to an expected path ahead. This calmed me down and reinforced my belief that I could indeed master it.

Looking back, making friends with her and learning from her experience sped up my process. It would not have been the case if I was afraid to approach a stranger in the middle of a school day.

Though indeed it felt strange and awkward initially approaching her with such a strange request, I am happy I did so, and it has strengthened my belief that in anything in life, it is never shameful to stop and ask someone for guidance and help.

In any area of life - whether it is your career, mental health issues, relationships etc - asking for help and learning from others is invaluable. It is also surprising how happy and willing others are to offer their help, if only you approach them.

3.You Cannot Let The Lack Of Results Stop You

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This friend and mentor I made also told me another important thing - that learning the Unicycle happens in phases.

There will be times of absolutely no progress. And then eventually there will be considerable progress. Then again you will find yourself stuck for some time before you make even more progress. I had to accept and expect that.

This meant that I had to deal with only being able to make 3 revolutions on the Unicycle for 2 weeks. I had to practice for at least an hour or two every day, both in rehearsal and in my own time, and constantly struggle with no evidence of any progress whatsoever.

It was incredibly easy to start thinking that this was never going to work.

After all, if even small results were not evident, how could I believe that I would make any big progress any time soon?

I realized how easy it must be for someone to feel frustrated and discouraged.

Thanks to Ursula though, I knew I had no reason to feel as such. My brain was simply learning to balance on this strange new vehicle. I had to give it time to figure it out. All I had to do was to keep trying and never give up.

As cliche as it sounds, it's true. The present lack of results does not define the future. In whatever you do, understand that your mind, body, and soul is constantly learning and adapting. Whether learning a physical, mental, emotional or spiritual skill, the fact is that things take time.

This led me to reinforce the next important life lesson.

4. Faith & Patience Are The Most Important

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My mother is a follower of Shirdi Sai Baba, an Indian spiritual master from the late 1800s and early 1900s. She often used to tell me of one of his popular sayings and central tenets - Shraddha Aur Saburi . This translates to 'Faith and Patience' from Sanskrit.

Learning the Unicycle embedded in me the importance of these two values. Faith, or belief, dispels doubt. Patience dispels anger and frustration at the lack of results.

Collectively, these two values enable us to remove the two main feelings that often lead to giving up. Doubt and frustration make us feel like we can never achieve our goals, simply on the basis that we are not achieving them now. We begin to think we are not good enough and that there is no point in trying.

Once we give up, failure is guaranteed.

It is only when we eliminate doubt and are able to remain calm and collected in our pursuit of success that success can take its time to arrive. We must simply keep working and believing that it is on its way.

Once I ingrained this within me, the weeks of no progress breezed by. I did not give them heed. One day, towards the end of Spring Break, I began to ride the Unicycle for a longer amount of time.

I was so thrilled that I fell. Bummer. But hey, I saw success with my own eyes and it came in its own time. From that point on, I knew that having faith and patience was key.

I kept going, and sure enough, I was stuck again - but this time at my new distance. I knew I had to simply keep going, and eventually, I will be able to ride it for as long as I needed to in the play.

5.Make Sure To Live In Excitement, Not Fear

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As I began to make visible progress in rehearsals, I received the same comments from my castmates. Most of them kept saying they knew I would be able to do it in the play but knew that if they had to learn it that they would be too afraid to do so.

I began to ponder about this because I too initially felt that way when I first started learning the Unicycle.

Why was it now that I no longer feared the outcome? For some reason, I was confident that the play will go fine, even though there was a real possibility that I would stumble and fall from the Unicycle in front of a large audience.

Should I be scared?

These thoughts began to circulate in my mind. I realized then a profound fact - that both fear and excitement are two sides of the same coin. Funnily enough, Little Buddha , a useful self-help site also talked about this.

Both feelings are in reference to an unknown future - to some unknown outcome. The only difference lies in some inner foundational belief of how we can or cannot create that future reality.

The more I thought about falling during the show - the more I started thinking that the lack of progress meant that I just wasn't going to be able to achieve this in time - the more I began to fear the show and fear falling each time I got on the Unicycle.

But once I had begun to believe that I could indeed ride the Unicycle - that I had it in me and I was only waiting for it to manifest - I began to become excited to see progress.

I began to then enjoy the process and have fun - and that's when results began to show.

6.Other's May Achieve Your Goals With Ease - Use This As Inspiration

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I arrived early for one of my rehearsals and was practicing on my own when a stage manager of another show and dear friend of mine showed up. She was intrigued by the Unicycle and decided to give it a try.

It was the most painful and exciting thing to watch because the first time she got on it, she rode it around the huge rehearsal room - twice.

She didn't know how she did. She simply did.

What was I supposed to feel in that moment? I was trying for weeks and believing that eventually, it will show and yet there she was having just mastered it on her first try.

Life's unfair right?

Yes, the fact is it is. She had a background in dance, and I think dancers as people are the most in-tuned with their bodies. She instinctively knew how to balance.

I knew I should've danced as a kid!

But by God, I was so inspired! She was having fun trying it out and she succeeded. The more I saw her do it, the more I realized I had 2 options on what I wanted to feel. I could either feel demoralized for not being fast enough by comparing my progress to hers, or I could feel excited to see myself ride the Unicycle like her one day.

I chose the latter and let me tell you - on the day of the show when I rode confidently and successfully across that stage - I felt ecstatic.

Everyone has different starting points and abilities and different struggles in life. Comparing yourself to another is pointless. Instead, be inspired by the progress others make and be excited to see the progress in you.

7. Challenge Your Inner Limiting Beliefs Constantly

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Closer to the production, I was able to ride the Unicycle for the distance I needed to in the play. The only problem was that for some reason I was unintentionally turning left for the whole distance. Instead of riding in a straight line, I rode in a leftward semi-circle.

There must've been a reason for this. According to Ursula, it was simply a reflection of me subconsciously leaning left as I rode. For some reason, I was not putting my full weight directly on top of the seat in order to center myself.

As I pondered this, I realized that deep down I was afraid. I was afraid to lean my full weight on the seat.

It was counter-intuitive to lean my full weight on a seat attached directly to a single wheel! Deep down I believed that if I did so that the wheel would go out of control and I would fall on my back.

This was a fantastic metaphor for life. Often times, we have a goal (riding the distance in a straight line) but for some reason, we keep failing to achieve it (riding in a curve), even though it is clear that we have everything it takes (still managing to ride for that long of a distance). It is our deeply held beliefs about what we are trying to achieve, our abilities and consequences of actions we are afraid to take that hinder us from getting to where we want or push us in a different direction than the one we want to go in.

All it takes is a simple recognition of that belief and the willingness to challenge it.

Once I saw this in myself, I stopped and told myself that leaning on the seat completely was going to be okay, that I was going to ride in that straight line to the point I wanted to get to and that even if I began to turn that I would have the ability to reroute my course.

I decided to try again.

Once I began to pedal, I began to turn, as usual, but instead of telling myself "I told you so, you simply can't do it", I decided to challenge my beliefs. I told myself "I can turn back". I put my weight on the seat and leaned right and slowly but surely began to turn.

It was a wobbly straight line, but I made it to where I wanted.

It was then that I knew that it was always going to be up to me to challenge my own inner beliefs and that life is nothing but a constant process of removing our own limiting beliefs - clearing the path to success.

8. Trust In The New You

Eventually, the performance nights came. I had 5 shows to do. I had practiced up to this point and I had made progress. I knew that the newfound ability was in me.

But the creeping little thought - what if I fell onstage? - was right around the corner.

It was in my choice - I realized - to entertain that thought. I could choose to give it credibility and a real possibility or I could choose to leave it to my subconscious to figure it out and to trust that I could indeed Unicycle well enough for an audience.

That is what I did.

5 nights, 5 times entering the stage on a Unicycle, 5 times a success.

All it took was faith and leaving it to my muscle memory or subconscious - whatever you choose to call it.

When we learn something new, or when we make a significant change in life - it is easy to revert to our old beliefs of ourselves and question our success. It is easy to doubt and really consider failure as a reality.

We do not give ourselves enough credit sometimes.

When we've worked hard and seen results, the last step is simply to trust the change in us. Whether it is learning the Unicycle or making a positive change to eliminate a bad habit or to reorganize your career - the fact is that once we trust that change is embedded within us and that our new selves will undoubtedly take control when the time requires it, it is then that we will definitely succeed.

Self-love and belief in our own abilities is key to being able to achieve whatever we so desire in this short lives we lead. Do not let doubt cripple you. Instead work hard and believe fiercely that you are making considerable changes. You will make it happen.

I never thought that learning to ride a Unicycle would push me to ponder on these profound life lessons. I am happy that I did and I hope these have helped you in some way too.

So what are you waiting for - sell that bike or car and buy yourself a Unicycle!