Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Start BEING it NOW!

I just heard from a friend of mine who FINALLY booked a co-starring role on a prime time NBC show...

I have been coaching him in his career for quite some time, and for the last few months, I had been asking him what would be different when he finally "made it"?

The one point that came up again and again (other than to simply focus all of his attention on the ONE career aspiration of acting rather than scatter his energy with multiple career possibilities) was that he needed to be a member of SAG. He had almost every excuse in the book for why he wasn't yet a member, even though he finally became eligible well over a year ago. "...It's too expensive! ...I can't afford it until I book a big job! ...I might not get as many auditions if I am limited to SAG auditions! ...What if I join, and then never book anything? ...If a director really wants me, but needs me to be SAG, then I'll join!" And on, and on, and on...

I tried to explain to him that FOR HIM joining SAG was going to have to be a pre-requisite to his success, rather than something he would do after said success! Because the SAG membership was so important to him, in order to ATTRACT "the holy grail" of his goal (the SAG membership), he was going to have to start BEING it (a SAG actor) BEFORE it could find him. In other words, he had to take the leap of faith and assert to the Universe that he believed in his own heart that he was ALREADY a SAG caliber actor, and join, on his own, before the Universe could reward him with the benefits of that membership. ...He had to BE a member in his OWN belief system (and for him that meant taking the leap of faith and paying for the membership himself for it to be official) before the Universe could then say "YES! You are a SAG actor, and now you will receive SAG parts!"

Who or what are you waiting to anoint you as "ready and qualified" to BE the person you want to be or to be having the experience you want to have?

What can you do to "take a leap of faith" and start BEING it NOW?