21 years ago today, I moved (back) to LA.

(I had done the LA thing after college… just in time for the Northridge Quake to welcome me to Hollywood for real… then send me back east for grad school because EFF THAT, THE GROUND MOVES IN LA.)

But this time, I knew it was gonna stick. I knew *I* was gonna make it in LA. And no seismic activity was gonna scare me off from living out my showbiz dreams, dammit.

How did I know?

I had just spent 100 days engineering my life to make that true.

Bonnie Gillespie, 1999

Yup. My first-ever 100-day challenge took place in 1998, when I declared, "I don't want to wake up 40 wondering WHAT IF. I’m giving Hollywood one more shot."

I noticed on that day that there were just over 100 days left in 1998 and made it a goal to have everything I needed to KNOW I could succeed in LA this time all laid out for me in those 100 days.

~ I was gonna lose weight.
~ I was gonna sell all my stuff.
~ I was gonna drop out on my PhD.
~ I was gonna end my relationship.
~ I was gonna connect with my LA-based friends to have a place ready to live, a job ready to work, and an acting class ready to start up when I arrived.

Most of all, I spent those 100 days preparing for my success in Hollywood, yes, but also in *life*.

I didn't rush the changes I wanted to make (100 days felt like forever) but I knew putting a timeline out there would make sure I'd get outside my comfort zone and really make the move.

I put a giant quarterly calendar on the wall of my apartment with the 100-day countdown marked off, taped up a sheet of paper with my goal weight on it next to that calendar, and methodically moved through every day knowing that even if I didn't get *everything* done that I wanted to, I was still moving toward my goal.

Interestingly, this first 100-day challenge of my life set the stage for something that would become very much a part of Self-Management for Actors and The Enoughness Journey I get to coach creative storytellers through every day.

Because in late 2016, after being reminded in my personal life how *vitally* important DAILY support can be (when I chose sobriety, I also chose the support of a sober coach and her online program that opened up daily tools for success as a part of its structure), I began building what has now transformed the lives of hundreds of phenomenal human beings around the world: Get in Gear for the Next Tier.

100 straight days of tools and mindset — laid out in an "I can't believe you knew *exactly* what I would need today" way — for making ANY goal a reality.

Because the work is showing up for yourself, plain and simple.

You don't *get* to meet future you without showing up and putting in the work to get there every day.

And sometimes the work is confronting, sometimes it's boring, and sometimes it's rocking-me-to-the-core-level good in all the scariest ways.

Bonnie Gillespie in 1999.

There's a saying that the definition of Hell is meeting the version of yourself that you could've been.

I had a day 21 years ago that was proof that I wasn't going to wake up in my life someday wondering WHAT IF. I proved to myself that I could do all the hard things and tedious things and even yes the fun things involved in executing a gameplan as big as mine because I showed up for myself every day leading up to December 29, 1998.

And THAT is the secret. There's no one way to meet a goal, but there's a never-fail way to NOT meet a goal and that's to stop showing up.

Future Me Is a Badass At This

So we've restructured the 100 days of Get in Gear for the Next Tier to include regular Zoom meetings for support of you, your workout, and your goals. We're now only enrolling new members until Monday night. And I'm hopping on for a livestream at noon pacific today (yes, like in just over an hour) to take your questions, help you set some goals for your next 100 days (whether you're joining me in the dojo or not), and of course to celebrate the end of *my* first 100-day challenge 21 years ago.

Join me, won't you?

It'll be fun! You can ask me anything (ooh, this is such a great time to get clarity on so many things about this crazy-but-beloved business of ours). And of course, I'll share my top tips about HOW to reach your goals in life while having a blast along the way.

(Because, honey, if we're not having fun along the way, what is the POINT?!?)

I'll go live at noon pacific at Facebook, YouTube, and Periscope/Twitter. Take your pick! You'll be able to join in the convo at any of those spaces and I'm excited to get to jam with you, as always! All questions are fair game! (Yes, really!)

See you soon, lovely.

Thank you for celebrating my LAversary with me!

Bonnie Gillespie autographed the internet


Enoughness is an inside job… and sometimes you need a guide to find your way there. Let Bonnie Gillespie get you started.

(Visited 176 times, 1 visits today)

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.