Television production is a high-stress, fast-paced industry that demands laser focus and calm under pressure. For veteran TV executive Randy Douthit, director and producer of the Emmy Award-winning reality court show “Judy Justice,” a lifelong practice of meditation has been key to not just surviving but thriving amid the glitz, glamour, and grinding work of showbiz.
Randy Douthit Discovers the Teachings of Walter Russell
In college, a young Randy Douthit was searching for ways to improve his mental focus and get better grades. This led him to the philosophical teachings of Walter Russell, an early 20th-century American artist and proponent of the New Thought movement.
Russell believed that all knowledge already exists within our minds – we just need to “plug in” to it through quiet contemplation and by getting in touch with the creative forces of the universe. As Russell wrote: “You have but to plug into it. You do not have to learn anything; in fact, all you have to do is recollect it or recognize it, for you already have it as your inheritance.”
However, Russell stressed that each person must find their own path through solitary reflection. “The only way you can find it is through being alone with your thoughts at sufficiently long intervals to give that inner voice within you a chance to cry out in distinguishable language to you, ‘Here I am within you.’ That is the silent voice, the voice of nature, which speaks to everyone who will listen…” he wrote.
These teachings resonated strongly with Douthit and sparked a lifelong interest in meditation.
Meditation Helps Randy Douthit Find Calm Amid Chaos
Today, Douthit credits his daily meditation practice with enabling him to stay focused and grounded even amid the relentless pressures of television production.
For Season 2 of Judy Justice, Douthit, and his team produced a staggering 120 episodes in just three months. “It was a lot,” he admits. “A lot.”
To maintain equilibrium, Douthit starts each day with a 15-minute meditation session. This helps calm his mind, reduce anxiety, and reconnect with his creative muse.
“I like to meditate early in the morning just to kind of make sure everything goes smoothly,” he explains. “You open up your mind and relax and just let things happen. You don’t want to force your thoughts. You just want to be able to think of good things and then stop thinking totally. Just open up and relax. Relax.”
Randy Douthit Uses Mind-Body Awareness for Peak Performance
In addition to his TV work, Randy Douthit is an avid auto racer. Here, too, he leverages mind-body awareness techniques learned through meditation to maximize performance.
When driving on a new track, Douthit always takes a few slow initial laps to carefully observe each turn and gauge how fast he can take the corners. “It’s not good for you, nor is it good for your body, so we take it easy. We figure out what the track is like. We see how fast we need to turn corners or not,” he explains.
This mental preparation allows him to build up speed smoothly while minimizing risk. The same approach serves Douthit well in television production, where he must remain intensely focused amidst constant sensory stimuli and split-second decisions.
“Not only do I produce the shows, I’m also the director. I’ve got to make sure the cameras are covering the right thing at the right time,” he says. Just like in auto racing, one mental lapse could spell disaster.
For Randy Douthit, meditation provides a competitive edge on screen and on the track. Though he may never attain the “omnipotence and omniscience” that Walter Russell spoke of, Douthit is perfectly content simply creating great television – and racking up the occasional Emmy Award along the way.
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