I have just started reading, straight through, Self-Management for Actors. While there is a lot of great information in there, the one part that really stuck out to me in the first section, about mindset, is the recommendation to take short weekends to recharge.
In addition to beginning my acting career (an older actor, like your husband was when he first started), I also run my own travel agency (great because it is appointment based) as a survival job. I realized there is a lot of parallels between my survival job and acting when it comes to how you have to sell yourself (your unique selling proposition), and how often both are stressful.
I decided to take some of your concepts in how to manage an acting career and apply it to my survival job as well, especially the part about recharge weekends. Thank you for writing the book and giving great suggestions on how to keep my sanity as I pursue my dream.
I will be starting my training very soon by taking part-time classes at a studio, yet to be determined, in New York City, in spite of it being an eight-hour commute each way. I decided I need to commit to getting the best training I can find that works for me, and since I am one of those one-cow towns (actually, we have more cows than horses, but that is another story), it means I do have to commute to get any kind of decent training.
Again, thank you for writing your eye-opening book.
Brad Olinger
Brad, thank you for this. I so love hearing from actors starting out, who’ve found my book helpful as they get headed in the right direction. There’s a reason the MINDSET section is first in that book! Getting your head in the right place is the number-one factor to success in this industry (and in life).
I’m thrilled to hear you’re going into New York for some training. That eight-hour commute each way will be a great time to listen to the many fabulous podcasts out there geared toward actors (might I recommend you start with my recently updated RSS feed of MP3s to keep you motivated and focused), books on tape about the craft and this business, and anything else that motivates you (perhaps biographies of successful actors, to learn from them everything you possibly can).
Keep me posted on how it goes for you. And definitely keep those “breaks” built in. If you don’t take time to recharge, your creative muscles will suffer. Good for you, setting good practices into place from the very beginning. I can’t wait to hear how your journey progresses!
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/001620.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.