We are officially in the last quarter of the year and it's time to be a little bit introspective.

Have you achieved what you set out to achieve so far this year? Take a moment to think about that and reflect on your career progress honestly.

That’s something we have been doing over the last few weeks.

If you're an actor, especially given the things that have thrown the industry into chaos over the last few months, you have likely found that you are falling short of your initial goals.

Even with many things left unresolved, it's not too late, but you do have to make a detailed plan for getting your career to the next level.

That involves two things that most actors don’t think about very often.

However, professional actors rely on those two things, especially when they are in the early stages of building their career.

Those two things are problem solving and goal setting. I know that sounds simple and many actors think they do some form of this somewhat often, but over the years I have seen that most actors don’t do it properly.

That leads to many of them getting stuck in their careers, so if you want to build your career as a professional actor, this is something you should want to get right. Here’s where to start...

If you have been around Boost My Star for any length of time you know that the industry has taken a giant leap forward.

Changes that were supposed to take 10 years to implement were made in just under one year.

Even advances in production technology are happening at an unprecedented rate. For an industry that was already changing rapidly, the state of the industry can be somewhat intimidating.

Actors who are not fully keeping up with the changes often find themselves at a loss, not knowing why they are not making the kind of progress they should be making.

On the other hand, there is always a small group of actors that are always in the know and at the forefront of those changes, anticipating things before everyone else.

That gives them a huge advantage because it leaves everyone else trying to catch up to the things they are already aware of.

The actors in that group tend to be the ones that build careers as professional actors. Most actors are constantly working on perfecting their skill set and so they can be ready when the opportunity comes.

However, professional actors are just as focused on creating those opportunities. If you want to build your career as a professional actor, that is something you should focus on too. Here’s how...

Over the last few weeks we have been putting together the building blocks of your career. With those in place, now it is time to focus on how to successfully complete auditions, and have casting directors looking forward to having you read.

This is the place where most actors start but as you have seen over the last few weeks there's a lot of work that must be done first.

Professional actors know this and they focus on building their career on a solid foundation because otherwise actors are much more likely to end up on the audition hamster wheel.

Most actors simply go from one audition to the next without putting much thought into the process, simply because it is the “fun” part of the industry.

It's the part where you get to display your talent and creativity but in order to differentiate yourself from everyone else and give yourself the best chance of booking the projects you are reading for, you have to rely on more than talent alone.

That’s why we put the foundation of your career in place first.

Now, it’s time to focus on the way in which you approach auditions so you can have the best chance of booking.

All the talent in the world will not guarantee an actor’s success in the industry.

Over the years I have seen incredibly talented actors fail to live up to their potential simply because they relied on talent alone to get their career on track.

While talent is important it’s not the only thing that is required to succeed. In a perfect world it would be and the “best actor” would book the job.

Unfortunately the industry is far from perfect.

Some actors agree with it, others don’t. Where you stand on the issue doesn’t really matter because it is not going to change anytime soon.

I know that sounds harsh but I have seen way too many actors get stuck in their careers for believing things that ultimately don’t serve them.

Professional actors are able to build their careers largely because they are able to get past the emotions and stop wishing that things were different.

They embrace the industry, even with all its flaws, and they learn how to work within it to build their careers.

If you want to build your own career as a professional actor, especially in these changing times, this is something you should do too.

Here’s where to start...

A full week of the strike has come and gone. So far I have heard from several actors who are rightfully concerned about the developments, mostly because of the media blackout surrounding the negotiations.

In many cases even bad news is better than no news so many actors have been feeling anxious and uncertain about how this strike will affect the industry in the short term and ultimately how it will affect their careers.

Everyone involved has expressed their desire to come to an agreement that would put this saga behind us but so far that hasn’t happened and there doesn’t seem to be any developments to suggest that an agreement might be close.

Unless you look at the big picture...

It’s easy to look at what’s happening as involving only two dueling parties. On one side there is SAG-AFTRA and its members. On the other is AMPTP and its members.

The truth is the strike has far reaching implications that affect more than just the members of those two organizations.

Nearly everyone that has anything to do with the entertainment industry is being affected somehow, with very few exceptions. The good news is that many of them also carry a lot of influence particularly because they do not support one side over the other.

Instead of just waiting for this ordeal to end, they are actively lobbying both sides and acting as a neutral third party, helping to move the conversations in a productive way.

Whether the strike continues and for how long is something most actors have very little control over. What you can control is whether to spend this time being productive or just waiting it out.

If you would rather be productive instead, here’s a great place to start...

Most of us saw it coming and on Thursday the 13th it became official. SAG-AFTRA is officially on strike.

Negotiations with AMPTP were unproductive and the deadline to reach a deal expired.

No one wanted this to happen. The best scenario would have been for both sides to reach an equitable compromise that was satisfactory for everyone so that the industry could continue to operate as usual.

Before we dive into the details, I want to be clear. It does not matter which side of the line you stand with. It doesn’t matter whether you agree with the strike or not.

It’s where we find ourselves now and it will affect every actor in many ways, even those who do not yet belong to the union.

The strike is over a number of issues, including pay, residuals, and developing technology in film and television.

That’s the simplified version we have all heard, but things are far more complicated than that.

The strike is already having a significant impact on the industry, with many productions being delayed, some of them for an indefinite amount of time.

It is unclear how long the strike will last, but it will have a major impact on the industry, regardless of the outcome. That’s why you should follow the developments closely, even if you are not a member of the union yet.

In fact, for many actors, the strike could position them to make huge career progress, but not in the way you might think. Here’s what I mean...

For many actors pilot season has the most opportunities they will have all year, and they start to realize it around this time of year.

They find themselves busy during pilot season and spend the rest of the year preparing for the next one.

They do it subconsciously, hoping that something else will come along before then. They even attempt to continue building their career by going to workshops, taking classes, and by filling the rest of their free time by doing some kind of networking.

While that may seem like a sound plan, there is a huge problem...

They never stop to see just how reliant they were on pilot season. Relying solely on pilot season to book enough to keep you busy all year is how many actors get stuck in their careers, even when they do have a great pilot season.

To build a successful acting career, actors must pursue opportunities relentlessly and consistently.

What happens when actors rely on pilot season to make their year is that they will end up doing little more than passing time until the next one.

They will never admit to it, because most actors don’t exactly see it that way. However, when you start to look at the things they focus on in between seasons, it becomes clear.

Professional actors don’t do that.
They don’t rely on a single event to generate enough opportunities, because a lot can happen.

Instead they focus on creating opportunities for themselves, regardless of what’s going on in the industry.

If you want to build your career as a professional actor, that is a skill you should master. Here’s where to start.

Building an acting career is not something that is suitable for most people. It’s a challenging road filled with uncertainty, rejection, and a lot more that most people are not well prepared to handle.

In fact, over the years I have realized that even actors who knowingly chose to get into the industry were not fully prepared to deal with what came their way.

The reason is that most of them do not fully understand what it really takes to be a professional actor and build a career.

There are skills you need to perfect, people you need to meet, and obstacles you need to overcome.

Most actors have a very narrow view of what they need to accomplish and that leaves many things undone.

It’s why so many talented actors end up getting stuck in their careers, unable to make the kind of progress they should be making.

Professional actors are the ones that are able to focus on multiple areas simultaneously. They build a wide range of skills that many actors ignore, choosing instead to focus a very narrow skillset.

If you want to build your career as a professional actor, you will need to develop important skills and talents. Here’s where to start...