It was one of the finest performances of Sir Laurence Olivier’s life. And it was as Hamlet, his signature role. So his friends were amazed, when they rushed backstage, to find him in tears, rhythmically pounding his fist into his thigh.

“Larry,” one of his friends asked, “What’s wrong? That was the finest performance of your life!”

“Yes,” replied Olivier, “but I don’t know why.”

Andrew Garcia, a contestant on this year’s version of American Idol, knows that feeling. For a while, he was the darling of the judges.

Andrew had a compelling story. And he had developed quite a following on YouTube even before the competition began. His fans liked his covers of a variety of songs.

Then Andrew wowed the judges with a version of Paula Abdul’s 1989 hit “Straight Up.” The judges loved it and pegged Andrew as a potential contest winner.

Since then, things have been tough for Andrew. He’s tried to re-capture the magic of that performance. So far, it hasn’t worked.

We like to think that our best performance is the measure of our ability, but that can be dangerous. It’s easy to confuse good luck with great skill. As Steve Martin says:

“Every entertainer has a night when everything is clicking. Those nights are accidental and statistical. Like lucky cards in poker, you can count on them occurring over time.”

Whether you’re on the Idol stage, toiling away in a cubicle, or out on the road, your value doesn’t come from the occasional, unpredictable, great performance. It comes from what other people can count on from you. Steve Martin, again.

“What is hard is to be good, consistently good, night after night, no matter what the abominable circumstances.”

The rule is simple. If you can’t re-create it, you’re not there yet.

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