A lot of careers in the acting world begin with a ton of hard work and effort. There aren’t a lot of extremely successful careers that I know of where the person just “stepped into” success. Even the careers that seem like overnight successes usually aren’t that. There is always more than meets the eye when it comes to things like “making it” in the industry. It takes a lot. You have to have the talent, hard work, know the right people, be in the right places, but above all, you need to have the dedication and the ability to keep yourself going no matter what happens. No matter the setback, you need to know that you are going to wake up tomorrow a better person, actor, and artist because of it and that you will keep pushing no matter what. Here are some fun ways to keep yourself motivated and on track for success!
-Keep a journal: write about your good days, your bad days, and the medium days. Make sure that when you have a good day to write about, you get deep into detail. Really write out how excited and happy you were to be doing your art form and to be practicing what makes you the happiest. Write about why you know that acting is your passion. If you have a harder day, go back to your journal and read, in your own words, why you need to keep going and why you must keep pushing.
-Treat “failure” as a game: That’s right! When you don’t book a job, feel like you need to move on from your acting class, agent, or manager, treat it as a game. Put a penny into a “Failure Jar” every time you have something that doesn’t go your way. When the jar is full, treat yourself to something you have wanted for a while! A nice dinner, a new outfit, a haircut, anything to turn this “failure” into a game that doesn’t make you sad and feel like dwelling because that never did any good for anyone!
-Keep track: Make sure you know what works and what doesn’t. If you booked a job after studying the script one hundred times, then keep track of that statistic. Make sure you know what you are doing to prepare for the auditions that you don’t book and change whatever you need to in order to make yourself more right for the part. You want to keep track of these things because if you are doing something that is making you book, KEEP doing it!
-Make friends: Having friends who are also in the industry makes it a lot more fun. You have people who know what the heck you’re talking about when you say that you have a callback, or what the difference is between that and a callback for the producers. They also might have scenes or projects that they need your help on, and there isn’t much more satisfying than seeing a project that you helped make come to life. Help your friends, and they’ll help you.
So there you go, fellow actors and artists. Keep moving and keep working on your craft. Practice makes perfect and there are a million and one routes to success. You never know which one you’re going to get on and when so make sure you are keeping your work ethic in at all times and having fun along the way! Remember why you are doing this whole acting thing in the first place and pick yourself back up! You will make it!