Time and Effort

Changing habits takes time and effort.  Making progress toward goals takes time and effort.  Granted, sometimes changing a habit is the goal, or a step toward achieving the goal.  But  the point is…time and effort.  The two things we put the time and effort in trying to avoid.  How many things in your life have you given up on because it required you to take action outside of your normal routine or step outside your comfort zone?  Better question would be how many things are in limbo or are being sporadically given false starts.  I know I could give a substantial list.  I’ll give two examples, for illustrative purposes.

The first is my effort to lose some poundage.  Something I’ve wanted to do for awhile, but my actions said otherwise.  Truth be told, my actions probably said the opposite.  Exercise sessions were few and far between.  Soda and candy were common grocery list items.  This past week, I hit the gym Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Candy recently got axed from the grocery list; followed shortly by soda.  What is different?  Before I had the mindset of need to do an hour long and push myself.  A recipe for disaster!  An hour was often not an option scheduling wise, especially since I did not prioritize it, and counterproductive exercise wise.  Now, getting to the gym is a priority.  Even if my exercise for the day is less than 15 minutes.  The idea is to get into the habit of going without burning myself out.  Candy and soda?  I stopped telling myself one won’t derail my hopes to improve my physical self.

The second is joining an FB group that works on developing commercial acting skills.  Each week the participants are given an assignment to put on tape.  The tape part is just for the practical reason of the impossibility of people all over the map physically getting together weekly.  The moderator gives recommendation on making it better for the real thing.  I’ve known about this group for the better part of a year.  And I know the moderator is qualified and has the appropriate temperament.  I finally put my foot down on the excuse making and joined.  And have been taking full advantage of membership.

I could easily undo all of the above.  I could get frustrated because the pounds aren’t melting off like butter left on the counter with the afternoon sun shining through the kitchen window.  I could have my lazy tendency creep into my efforts with the FB commercial group.  But I am now putting in the time and effort, which I would have to stop doing.

I couldn’t tell you what clicked to make this change, not that it would be any use to you.  Although, I do know it has to come from me.  In a lot of cases, I’m the only one it could come from because I’m the only one that knows about it.  In other cases, it’s a matter of taking personal ownership.  Always easier to put in time and effort, easier – not easy, when it comes from me.  But beyond this requirement, I’m not aware of any A-Ha moment that got me to finally take action.

The Building Blocks of an Acting Career

Recently, a family member had a medical procedure requiring significant recovery time.  (Procedure was a success and recovery is coming along nicely.)  What he is going through as part of the recovery process is similar to the process of pursuing a career in acting.

• There are no shortcuts.  The body takes time to recover.  Of course, it is possible to give a time frame for when bones will be mended, but not when you will score that one role skyrocketing your career.  It will definitely not be “overnight”.  Building your career takes time.
• It won’t happen if you wait for it.  The recovery process my family member is going through requires physical activity.  He cannot sit around and expect a speedy recovery.  He has to do his exercises.  If you want to succeed in acting, you have to do your acting exercises.  By acting exercises, I mean those things which will give you the tools and skills to have a fighting chance.  Building your career takes effort.
• Growth is not always noticeable.  It has been a lot easier for those helping him see the progress he has made than it has been for him to see how far he has come.  Mainly because he would, understandably, like to be at the end of the recovery.  We would see the small successes; walking five more feet.  He would see his need to still use a walker.  While being nominated for an Oscar within two years of landing in LA is a fantasy of many an actor, it would more like be detrimental if it actually happened.  Why?  No foundation.  It would be like my family member trying to walk without his walker before he is ready.  He would probably be able to take a few steps.  Might even make it to his chair.  But he would be a collapse on the floor waiting to happen.  Building your career takes creating a foundation and adding building blocks.
• It requires the efforts of others.  He has been limited on what he is able to do on his own.  Both due to the recovery instructions and his own physical strength.  Therefore, he has had to rely on our help.  You are limited on how far you can take your career on your own due to how the industry works and your acting knowledge.  You need a team to put you in front of the decision makers of major projects.  You need a team to impart that which will improve your odds when you get in front of the aforementioned.  Building your career takes a team effort.

Building an acting career is hard work.  Maybe it happened frequently in the Golden Age of Hollywood, but don’t expect to be “discovered” while getting an ice cream cone.  Today, it takes action specific to acting to be discovered.  One might, there are no guarantees, get discovered performing in a  play or starring in an independent film.  But getting a role in either of these took more effort than simply going to the audition.  Even if you cast yourself, having something to cast yourself in requires effort.  Those that have been discovered because their footage got in front of the right people were definitely not giving a mediocre, phoned in performance.  They took the time and effort to create a foundation and add brick by brick to their career.  And they had help.