Most people spread themselves way too thin, on everything.
I don’t just mean career-wise. We are all pulled in a thousand different directions and have multiple responsibilities.
We have work commitments, families to tend to, significant others, and somewhere in there we have to work on our acting careers too.
There are so many things to take care of…
There are acting classes to attend, agents to hire and fire, headshots and reels to keep updated, audition-day wardrobes to stock, social media to build, and tons more.
It’s no wonder that most actors only book a handful of jobs all year.
With everything that we have to do, that’s all of the opportunity that most actors are able produce.
However, we all know a few actors that are able to keep their schedules completely full and move from one production to the next. They are the ones that have figured out the formula for never ending opportunity.
See, if you can tap into this formula a world of opportunity will open up to you too. It can literally make finding your next job as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Here’s how…
Have you ever wondered how celebrities “make it look so easy?”
They have a system in place to handle all of the demands that are placed on their time and attention.
They have someone that takes care of finding them opportunities, they have someone who takes care of making sure they always look sharp, and personal assistants handle mundane and administrative tasks.
They, in effect, take as much off of their plate as possible.
Why?
So they can work the formula (the one that you are about to learn).
Have you ever watched a “behind the scenes” special and seen a celebrity sitting in a chair while someone does their makeup, someone else brings them a rack of clothes to get dressed from, all while someone is briefing them on their schedule for the rest of the day and snaps a quick photo for the Instagram audience?
That is not pampering just for pampering’s-sake. It is a well thought out system.
Imagine if that same celebrity had to complete all of those tasks themselves, instead of having it done for them simultaneously.
They would be going out to the mall for a couple hours to browse the racks and hope they found something suitable to wear.
Then, they would sit in front of a mirror and do their own hair and makeup for about another hour.
Afterwards, they would snap a selfie for Instagram and review their schedule for the day.
This makes things much harder and everything takes much longer. Also, this does not account for all of the time and effort that went into filling up your calendar.
So how can you operate like the industry’s 1% without an army of people to help?
Simple…
Take as much off of your own plate as possible.
See, to succeed as an actor and book as many roles as you can handle you only need to do 3 things.
- Have a unique angle and create a category for yourself that you can stand out in. You should never be just another fish in the pond. Aim to be the only one there.
- Get visibility. If no one knows about you, they can’t hire you. Most actors think that once they are hired everyone will know them. The truth is, you are hired because you are already known.
- Deliver. When you are on set, don’t hold anything back. Having a long term career depends on whether you can deliver a good performance. The performance itself only has to be good enough. What counts more than that is the heart and effort you put into it. That will make productions want to work with you again.
Judge what you are doing now to move your career forward and compare it to the 3 part formula.
If you are doing anything that doesn’t accomplish one of the 3, stop doing it or at the very least get someone else to do it.
Even after an actor has “made it” they continue to do these 3 things, because their career depends on it.
- The continuously work to reinforce and expand their category. This is why you see certain genres expand quickly (think Vampire craze after Twilight).
- If they are not on set, they are working to stay top of mind and create a buzz that will lead to their next opportunity. This is why you see them doing press junkets and on the talk show circuit whether they just had a baby or just had a ham sandwich. Any reason is a good reason, because the goal is simply to get more visibility and attract more attention.
- The most successful actors are known to have an incredible work ethic. There are a handful of exceptions and the industry has a way of pushing them aside eventually, so don’t follow their lead. Always give it your all.
Here’s what you should do now. Think of how you spend a typical day. List out everything you do (everything!). Don’t hold anything back. Only you will see this list so don’t be shy and don’t sugarcoat things either.
Go through your list, point by point, and write a 1,2, or 3 next to it depending on which one of the three points that task accomplishes.
If it doesn’t accomplish any of them, leave it blank.
After you have finished this, go back through your list and look only at the unmarked tasks. This is what you should eliminate from your day ASAP.
Some of these things can be pushed to an assistant. It doesn’t have to be a fulltime person of course, maybe you can hire a friend for a few bucks an hour to help with things every now and then.
Other tasks might seem a bit tricky to categorize. Think through the entire sequence of what it’s helping you accomplish.
For example, going to the gym would seem like it does not fit any of the 3. However, staying active and healthy will give you the energy that is necessary to push through a long day on set without your performance suffering.
So, it can easily fit into #3 if you think through it that way.
You may have a hard time with some things that you feel are vital to your career so you may try to create an exception for them and force them into one of the categories.
Don’t!
I would rather you shoot me an email and let me help you determine whether it truly fits or help you sort out how to eliminate the task.
And that’s not the only way I can help. If you had to choose only one thing to work on, it should be point 2.
Here’s how I can help with that.
If you can get visibility, it goes a long way to getting your next job especially when that visibility is through a reputable industry source.
Remember anything that you get help with, frees up that much energy for you spend time on other things that will push your career to new heights.
So, don’t hesitate to get help where you need it.
Remember, the top 1% of the industry remove as much from themselves as they can. It’s not out of ego or laziness. It is a well thought out system that enables them to operate at peak capacity and you now have the formula for doing something similar yourself.
It is the formula for booking as many jobs as you can handle so that I can…
See you at the top,
Scott