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So You Caught a Big Break. Now What?
There is no doubt that some artists move from obscure to celebrated in a matter of weeks, but it’s not a future most of us will take up. And for those who do, it usually comes with more pain and disappointment than the glamor of overnight success initially promises.
A Career of Consequence Needs…Consequences
One reason so many creative entrepreneurs fail to break through is not a lack of passion, but a lack of well-defined consequences and accountability measures. Instead of sheer will, which is bound to prove unsatisfactory as a consistent resource, artists need to develop a steady work habit built on routine, incentives, goals, and consequences.
If You Don’t Know Me By Now
There’s no shortage of acting coaches who claim to provide their clients with cutting-edge industry knowledge—and a lot of it—as part of their value proposition. But knowledge today, with the proliferation of social channels and cheap digital publishing, is easier to come by than ever before.
Now that’s not to say industry tips aren’t useful at all. They certainly can be if distilled to their essence and made as actionable as possible. If you feel like you’re drowning in a deluge of hot tips, best practices, and insider intel, let me make your life easier and give you the spark notes: The only thing you need is other people.
Why Your Goals Are Getting in Your Way
Our hustle culture teaches us that success is measured by how many tasks we check off our to-do list or how many goals we can reach in a given week or month. But what happens when we don’t hit one of those goals? It’s easy to fall off the work wagon, even after a solid streak of success. After all, life happens: Weddings, sickness, moments of inspiration followed by moments of anything but. Auditions, rehearsals, and new career opportunities all have the power to veer us away from our immediate plans and—often rightfully—shift our attention to new and often unexpected priorities. We need a different and more reliable framework for consistent and sustainable motivation. This is where the power of simple directionality comes in.
Go Ahead, Give Yourself Some Credit
The proverbial wisdom tells us that debt in all its forms is an evil that must be avoided. And if for some reason we can’t avoid it, it should be eliminated as quickly as possible. We certainly agree that carrying burdensome debt is not a good thing for your business or mental health, but sometimes borrowing capital is a necessary and even helpful tool to jumpstart our business in the very beginning.
Why the Best Self-Producers Live to Multi-Task
We all know making our own work is essential as actors, but limiting ourselves to one self-produced project at a time deprives us of so many of the amazing benefits that come from being one’s own boss in the first place. Now you are probably asking, “How, Joshua? How can we possibly add even more to our plates? We can’t all be the next Shonda Rhimes like you are.”
OK, so maybe I took some liberties with the Shonda comparison, but the part about you asking me “how?” is almost certainly accurate. And, so, I will tell you how.
Selling your Swag - With Swagger
Let’s first dispel the myth that as an up-and-coming artist you have no business selling branded merchandise of your own. Just about every business—and don't forget, you are a business—proudly cultivates its brand through memorable, physical keepsakes. Whether you’re Elizabeth Warren selling “Nevertheless, She Persisted!” mugs or the real estate broker whose face has been frozen as a magnet on your refrigerator for years, merchandise is yet another way for a brand to make a personal connection with audiences and to ensure the experience is memorable and top-of-mind.
Don’t Get Knocked Over by the Wave of Priorities
Like a series of giant waves, our industry can pull us in directions we don't always see coming. Sometimes we think we can brace for it, telling ourselves we've got everything under control, but the tide proves too strong to resist. So what's the solution to these ever-shifting objectives? To not resist, to accept the undulating waves of priorities that will threaten—and often succeed—to throw us off our game.
Acting is Just a Job. Here’s Why That’s Empowering.
In my 10 years in this industry, I have learned (the very hard way) to treat what I do as a profession, not as some nebulous or mystical calling that I must abandon the moment inspiration runs dry. And rather than discouraging me, this realization that I am running a money-making creative enterprise, with good days and bad, has only made me work harder.
The Art of Managing Your Manager (and Agent)
When driven by this scarcity mindset, it’s easy to forget an important thing: Your reps are representing you. But once again, as actors, we're held to a different standard than our peers in other industries. Job interviews in the corporate world, for instance, have long been described as two-way streets: The employer seeks to determine if you're a good fit for the company, and you're sizing up the employer to suss out if they're someone you want to spend years working for. The proceedings are understood to be mutual, and working with talent reps should be no different.
Why “Networking” Isn’t the Dirty Word it’s Made Out to Be
if you’re an actor I know you’ve heard (or perhaps partaken in) the bemoaning of the truest observation about the entertainment industry: it’s about who you know. Oftentimes when this is said it carries the injustice and despair of a NATO human-rights violation.
Want to be a Working Actor? Just Do this One Thing
Forget about all those expensive courses, activating frameworks, inspirational bootcamps, and acting seminars. As somebody who offers many of these resources, I’m here to say there’s no such thing as a silver bullet to make your acting life easy. There’s really only one thing you need to do in order to become a working actor.