As some of you may have noticed, I started blogging again last week, after an absence of 10 months. WHAT?! Yes, 10 months without doing what I consider to be UBER important in my business: sharing the good stuff and sharpening my voice as a coach who is committed to actors having access to their limitless and purposeful instrument… I was overwhelmed with work, and I just didn’t have it in me / didn’t find the time / didn’t create the time. You might ask, “How is this - in any way - related to me, Jo?!” Well, now that you asked, let me tell you… You know how, when you train your instrument diligently, it gets so flexible, available, open, free, reliable and authentic for you? It’s like you feed it, and it gives back right away. And yet… How many days per year can you say that you train your instrument? I am talking just a little stretch. Not for a weekly class where you measure yourself against others to treat or insult your ego. Not for auditions. Not cuz you have a juicy part coming up and you wanna make sure you’ll be good enough... No, no, no. None of those results-oriented reasons.
I am talking pure training. By yourself. Daily.
You know, like the gymnast who works on her leg split every day or the singer who works on her voice each morning. The surgeon who attends conferences, practices, write essays outside of the O.R. And the list goes on... Any ambitious professional trains diligently, if not daily.
So where does that leave me, not sharing my coaching (which is all about being selfless and taking a stand for actors to be nothing less than completely free and purposeful) and choosing instead to just work with my current clients? Or more specifically, where does that leave you? Not training your delicious instrument to be open, free and limitless and choosing to instead just focus on the work you are getting... ANSWER: It leaves us in a place that is COSTING us way more energy than if we took the action. WHAT?! Yes, exactly! The constant thinking about it (“I know, I should train/blog. I don’t have time to train/blog. Maybe next week... Shit, I really feel I need to train/blog… it’s impossible to train/blog!”) is sending us in a loop that sucks WAY MORE ENERGY THAN TAKING THE ACTION WHICH WOULD BE SO EMPOWERING.
I feel I need to dive deeper here so that we can get the clear picture... I am saying that not taking the action costs more than taking the action. Scenario 1 - You take the action: as an actor, you train diligently. You train, you connect with your authentic emotions, you know how much energy you have in your instrument, you can go to auditions knowing you can rely on your instrument, it will be there for you, you feel empowered, you can take risks cuz you have your safety net, you are more impulsive and unpredictable when you act, when you meet people or network you are authentic, unique and attractive as an artist because you are full of energy and fulfilled, projects therefore come to you, etc., etc., the list goes on. Scenario 2 - You don't take the action: as an actor, you do not train diligently. You don’t train, you wait for auditions, you think about training but don’t really wanna do it, you are overwhelmed, you carry your bitterness around, you complain about the industry, when the audition comes you are not ready, or you shut down when you are under pressure in the audition room, you panic, your instrument is not really there for you, your blocks are toxic, you are not flexible with direction, you are afraid of not being good enough, you are more concerned by yourself than your character, you are unfulfilled, etc., etc., the list here continues to spiral downward. Do you see it?! Don't train = I go nuts, and I am disempowered. Train = I am jumping around completely empowered! Conclusion: When you start catching yourself having the inner talk about whether you should train, take the action immediately, even if it is a 15 min. exercise. It will give you way more energy than not doing it would suck out of you. It’s just mathematical. ;-)
Back to my blogging. Same exact picture here… If I don't show up in my blog, which is where I stretch as a coach, I go from overwhelmed to feeling guilty, stingy and unfulfilled. Now that I’ve made a promise to get back to it, I feel scared for sure… Will I be able to find the time? Will I be inspiring? Will I have something to say? Will you guys like it? I don’t know that for sure, but I know one thing: I will stretch, show up and grow from making sure I share and take a stand for actors every single week. And just having made that promise, I am already feeling more inspired, fulfilled and empowered. I hope this dirty little secret inspired you to show up for yourself everyday, so you can stretch, grow and accomplish more as an actor.
The Boogie writer ;-)
PS: If you need guidance on how to exercise every day, here’s some free training!