You don’t have to love or even understand college football to enjoy this week’s column, but it’ll help. See, I went to a party school, a football school, a school that also happened to have a kick-ass journalism college and one of the top college radio stations in the country. I was one of those students who begrudgingly accepted the University of Georgia’s reputation for partying and footballing because there were other reasons I was there. But I knew, as soon as I graduated, that I was going to become one of those annoyingly rabid football fans we lovingly refer to as “alumni.” And it’s true. I’m a bigger UGA football fan every season.

So, what does this have to do with acting? Well, this weekend was huge in college football. Upsets in the SEC, Pac-10, and ACC — along with a big win in the Big Ten — caused a major shakeup in the rankings. And as I watched LSU beat Florida and then Stanford beat USC at a sports bar, even though neither of those were upsets, I realized other teams were going to feel the effects of those games. Just like actors experience a ripple effect in Hollywood, whenever the unexpected happens in several “big games.”

Here’s what I mean: A celebrity goes to rehab. That pulls her name off the “stars to consider” list at a studio. It’s only temporary, but it’s a change. And it affects a namey actor who isn’t yet a celeb, because now that actor moves onto the list. A namey actor who used to only do films decides to be a series regular on a new show. That shuffles up the list of actors now available for the next studio feature film for which that actor’s name was on a list as well as the rankings of actors on the series regular list at several networks simultaneously.

Just like this week in college football, perhaps things that have nothing to do with your career, directly, put you ON a list you weren’t on before. Two unranked teams joined the Top 25 this weekend. And with every shift, every shuffle, every upset that happens in Hollywood (and there are possibly many more than what we see in sports, if you think about it), your name might pop on a list without you even realizing it.

Or, just like the former #18, Michigan, you could lose so badly to the team that was ranked just one slot above you (former #17, Michigan State), that while the winning team bumps up to #13, you find yourself off the list entirely. You could tank a read. You could get fired from a project after a misstep on set. You could unknowingly talk smack about a producer’s wife and get on a shit list. And even though you were high-ranking the week before, you could go cold, as lists go, for the next few weeks. (Until you earn your way back on.)

So, how do you stay at the top of the list — whatever list you’re on — when there are factors outside your control that absolutely influence your position sometimes? Just like these athletes, you train, you research each new encounter you’ll have, and prepare for what you best moves will be once faced with each opportunity. Athletes are constantly training, studying a playbook, researching their opponents, and watching footage from previous games. The parallel for actors is clear: Control the things you do control like training constantly so that when you get your shot, you are awesome; doing your research on the buyers you are targeting so that you know as much as possible about every project and every person you encounter in this industry; and staying focused not only on your “big” goals but the little steps along the way that help you get there.

By keeping your energy and focus on the things you can do to be in the best possible condition to tackle every awesome opportunity you may be exposed to, in this industry, you increase the odds that you will rise in the ranks thanks to your own hard work and patience. But keep in mind that there will always be shuffles in the rankings that have nothing to do with the work you do. That’s the part of the industry that really is based on the “it” factor, star quality, luck, and all the other unexpected turns that make someone go from praying for that first network co-star to the cover of Us Magazine in a week. Since we can’t predict those things too much, we control the things we can: Training, practice, research, professionalism, and consistency.

It makes a difference in sports; it makes a difference in the entertainment industry.

Oh, and GO DAWGS! 😉

Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!

Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001249.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.