I was having a conversation with some actor friends recently and one posed the following question:

Is it selfish to pursue a career as an actor?

What led up to this was talk about leaving work at the survival job early in order to shoot a short film, about living thousands of miles away from family during times of crisis, about missing an acting class to attend a networking function, about cancelling a date due to an audition.

Are we selfish people, we artists?

Here’s the bottom line I came up with: It’s selfish to pursue ANY career, ANY life, any anything that isn’t focused entirely on others at all times.

But then I thought about who we really are, at our core, most of us who choose this industry. We’re storytellers. And most storytellers tend to pursue storytelling careers not only for what they can do for themselves but (and maybe even more so) for what they can do for others, by being storytellers, by bringing stories to life that help others heal, feel, connect.

I mean, we may not be curing cancer, but we can make someone laugh while they’re going through chemo. We’re not solving the health care crisis, but maybe we can help someone who is working at that find a little perspective through a character we portray. Perhaps in our storytelling, we are making a difference.

So, I guess the question about whether pursuing acting is selfish is a “big picture vs. small picture” one. Ask yourself if you are on this planet to please your family, your boss, your friends… or if you are here to maybe heal millions, should you land that big role? Heck, or even tens of viewers, should the role be one of the little ones? While that reach may happen at the sacrifice of the “few” closest to you, early on, perhaps in the end they will all be better for what you can share through your art, through your gifts.

Or not.

Some people choose to serve the fam, the boss, the friends. And that’s totally OKAY. It’s just a different level of service. Perhaps the person who spoons out soup at the local shelter daily is just as valuable as the person who depicts a character on film that changes lives, by giving viewers something to believe in.

It’s all a matter of how important the big picture vs. the small picture is to you. And that may change, the more successful you get, because the more people you reach, the more value you realize your reach has. Until then, it’s sometimes hard to convince yourself or others that your reach has value.

Just know that it’s only because they want you to make good decisions that the folks around you register an opinion about anything you do. Know that comes from a place of love. Thank them for that. And then choose for YOU. It’s all about finding balance. And remembering that those who call storytellers selfish just aren’t considering the true power of that performance that changes lives. They’re watching your pursuit, which may look selfish sometimes. But the WHY behind your pursuit, that is something so powerful, so very big, so potentially life-changing for so many who consume your work.

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/001241.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.