What I’m sharing with you today, may just allow you to breathe a sigh of relief. However, if you were to mention it to your industry friends, they would probably steer you in another direction.
Why?
I’ll come back to that in a sec.
See, because I work with so many actors and industry decision makers on a daily basis, I have a broad and unique vantage point on the industry.
I can tell you that there is one big thing that almost everyone in the industry is afraid to admit, and they rarely ever discuss with anyone besides their truest confidants.
It’s something that holds true for most actors, directors, writers, casting directors and nearly every position at every level in the industry.
Unraveling this is actually what decides whether someone will be successful as an actor, or whether they will spin their wheels for a few years and leave the industry burned out and empty handed.
This is something that anyone who truly wants to be a successful actor needs to do...
Let me be clear, I’m not one to go on about esoteric topics very often. I do think they have a time and a place, but I like to keep things focused on what you can do today to move forward in your acting career.
So, everything we’ll talk about today is rooted in a practical application of what it takes to succeed as an actor.
That said, most actors start down the road of becoming a successful actor without defining the end goal.
That’s kind of like getting in the driver's seat of a car, closing your eyes, and stepping on the gas pedal. Sure, you might make forward progress for a little while but you will probably hit a brick wall before long.
And, without a destination, how will you know when you’ve arrived at wherever it is you thought you would get to?
Instead you have to define what success means to you and measure your progress on your way there.
Don't let anyone else's opinion cloud your judgement on this. Stick with me for a sec...
See something I've come to learn as I've worked with countless actors and industry decision makers over the years is that we are all taught to “shoot for the moon” and set our sights extremely high.
There is some validity in that but it ignores much of what is required to succeed. In a moment, we’ll talk about the correct way to “aim high.”
To succeed as an actor, you can’t go from 0 to 100 overnight. You have to prove yourself in multiple ways.
Typically an actor that has a long and rewarding career will work their way up from one liners to featured roles, then leads.
Success as an actor, as in any other endeavour, is kind of like riding an elevator. You get to decide when you have reached your destination and when to get off.
Just because there are 50 floors in the building doesn’t mean you have to make it to the top floor. Are the views better on the 50th floor, compared to the 5th?
There’s not a single right answer on that because it’s subjective.
Maybe you’re the type of person who likes your feet planted firmly on the ground and have no desire to ride the elevator at all.
That’s your choice.
Here’s what I’m getting at...
Actors are told that it’s the 50th floor or bust. All or nothing. Your name in lights, do or die. If that’s what you want, great! Go for it.
However, what I’ve found over the years is that most actors don’t really want to make it all the way up to the 50th floor.
In reality, all they want is to be able to make a good living doing what they love, flexing their creative muscles, and never having to worry about where their next acting job is going to come from.
That’s it. That’s the holy grail for nearly every actor I’ve ever met. Really, that’s what everyone’s first goal should be.
If you want to go beyond that and seek superstardom, it’s only a matter of continuing your ride on the success elevator.
Most actors never get on the right path and they never achieve that first level of success. Still, they keep shooting for the moon, even though they have yet to get off the ground.
Whatever level of success you’re striving to achieve, your arrival will come through a progression of achieving previous successes.
So, let’s start with the first big milestone, since it will be the springboard to bigger things.
As an actor you first have to prove you have what it takes to build a character that jumps off the screen and comes to life.
That’s what will have people wanting to work with you over and over again.
If you want to continue to grow in your career and achieve higher levels of success, you also have to prove that you are marketable.
The industry is made up of two parts: the artistic side and the business side. Unfortunately they’re not equally weighted.
At the end of the day, an actor that is marketable and that can attract attention to a project will always win over an actor that is equally as talented but more marketable.
Putting yourself in a position to capitalize on that is the key difference maker that will help you move to higher levels within the industry.
Actors that make it to the top, force the industry to notice them. They refuse to be ignored and passed over. Here’s a powerful way for you to do it too.
Regardless of what level of the industry you wish to make it to, you have to put some focus on it.
See, there is something to be said about aiming for over achievement. Here’s what I mean...
If you want to achieve something, it will typically serve you to aim a bit higher than whatever your goal is. The key to having this work for you, instead of against you, is to aim a bit higher, not exponentially higher.
Then, everytime you move up to the next level, aim a level higher from there. Once you reach that, aim another level higher. So on and so forth, until you get to the level you want to get to.
Remember, it all starts with achieving that first benchmark and I built this to help get you started on that.
If you have been struggling to make progress, take a moment to evaluate what you have been doing thus far.
No matter what level of success you have been trying to achieve, ask yourself if you have been aiming at the target, just above it, or way too high.
Even if you do want to make it to the very top levels of the industry and become a world class, marquee actor, you still have to let your success compound.
Do “overnight sensations” happen and take the industry by storm? Of course!
But trying to achieve that carries odds that are worse than hitting a lottery jackpot. So, instead focus on strategies that you can duplicate and give yourself every advantage to succeed.
Shoot me an email or leave a comment down below. Let me know how I can help along the way and keep me posted on your progress, because I truly want to...
See you at the top,
Scott