Are Success and Happiness the Same?

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I don’t hear many actors talk specifically about happiness. I hear a lot of folks wanting success…but isn’t happiness what success is supposed to bring? Let’s take a good look at actors and happiness.

When you were young your parents taught you a lot. You had many conversations that shaped your upbringing, your values and beliefs. All parents want their children to be happy (of course!) but few parents actually talk about happiness or know how to teach it. Also, judging from our day to day conversations in our community with fellow actors on the set, in a class or workshop, at auditions, etc. it seems not many actors are “happy” with their career.  This is even more true when speaking about your talent agent.  Rarely do I hear how happy an actor is with their rep.

Their agent/manager isn’t getting them enough auditions; they didn’t get a call back; the director of the show picked someone else for the solo; the subway/bus/plane/traffic caused you to be late…and on and on and on.

“How are you?” we ask and are asked all day long when we greet one another. There could be 20 great things that happened to you that day and two “bad” things and yet what seems to get the air time? The complaints. It’s, dare I say it, normal. And that’s sad.

Even folks hoping to stay positive use phrases like “oh it could be worse”, “I’m still in it”, “okay”, “can’t complain” and the like. So what’s the point Lisa, you ask?

The point is this: You have the ability at every moment in time to have the words you use directly reflect AND shape your happiness. You were BORN to be happy. Happiness is natural. As a creative person, it suits you completely. You look good and you feel good when you allow your natural state of being to pour through you. Your step is light, your mind is free, and your spirit soars when you let happiness simply happen. The entire world responds to your happiness.

When you are truly happy you are radiant and highly functioning in life. And most of all you are loving, which is the essence of true happiness. You’re naturally kind, generous, open, warm, and friendly. The best part of BEING HAPPY is that there is no fear, no anxiety and no doubt. ALL things necessary for this career…and indeed your life!

When you’re happy you’re on point and on purpose. And you’re also very REAL. Authenticity is key for actors right? After all it’s impossible to be happy and play small, hide, or be defensive. It feels good. Happiness is also very attractive in that it literally attracts great things, people and projects to you!  That’s the LAW of Attraction, one of my favorite subjects! (more on the LOA in future posts…)

What are your thoughts?  Seem to good to be true?  What’s your opinion around having your speaking creating your happiness? Or what about drawing aligned people and projects to you simply because you are happy?  Feel free to respond and share.

 

Are You a Happy Artist?

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“The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.” Allen K. Chalmers

This quote sums up my personal prescription for happiness! The activities I participate in, from hanging out with my friends, to feeding my dogs, eating fine food, to writing these blog posts, are ALL the things that make up feeling good in my life. My hope for the coming weeks and the rest of this year is that I continue to build a community and a lifestyle that reflects my passions – working with creatives, playing with animals, building businesses and relationships and oh yeah, having F-U-N! The stuff I LOVE!

It is my greatest desire that in this and the next several posts on the subjects of happiness, success, feeling good and more, inform the more content filled “here’s what to do next” kind of posts I also enjoy writing.  To me, the WHY and the feelings behind doing what we’re doing is just as important, if not more, than the WHAT we accomplish, get, or manifest.  (Although I totally still want that stuff too!)

In this life and in particular, this career you’ve chosen, you’ll never have any lack of something to do. That’s what being creative is all about. When you combine your love of creating/acting/singing or what have you with a nice healthy dose of hope, I’m certain the months ahead will have you jumping for joy as you experience a new ease and flow around your pursuits.

One of the ways to have this happen is to practice observing your thoughts and feelings around the activities you’re engaging in.  Although I’d love to tell you to only do the things you “like”, there are often aspects of this business that are unlikeable.  The process here is to “check in” to see if you can create “liking” the things you do. This way some of the activities like auditioning, practicing, working on your website and the seemingly mundane tasks you know you need to do, the “to do” list…will begin to get done. HERE is the only place you actually have control. Your thinking is what creates your feelings and how you feel will determine your actions.  Do some of the things on your list, check in with how you feel, see that it’s better/easier/faster than you “thought” it was going to be, and then the next time you do these new things it WILL be better/easier and faster. For me things shifted greatly when I took my “to do” list and converted it to a “to feel” list!

What kinds of things could you do today for your career?  How about one or more of these? —

  • Add a credit or upload new pictures to your personal website and/or submission platform(s).
  • Begin learning a new monologue, song or other material for upcoming auditions.
  • Set a 30 minute timer and work on your accent reduction, dialects, cold-reading skill or other “tool” you need to work on.
  • Research a tv show, director, agency, or casting office to gain valuable insight/info for your database.
  • Enter information you’ve learned from your research into you contact database.
  • Look at your audition record, statistics and begin a plan to increase your numbers.
  • Discover and learn some of the technology you know you need to master to compete in the digital world
  • Make a list of contacts you’ve been wanting to reach out to.  From that list, begin writing to one, drafting your cover note.
  • Create a plan of action around your marketing list.

…and those are just a few examples of doing something around your career today that will impact your forward progress and results in the future.  Remember —

Thoughts = Feelings = Actions = Results

Staying positive and engaging in activities that make you FEEL happy and successful is KEY.  Tell me your thoughts on this post in the comments!

Your Career MINDSET – Set up? Or Up-set?

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I’ve used the term “Success” in a few of my recent posts.  I’d like to clarify what I mean by success.  To me, success is in your THINKING.

While most people look at their bank accounts, homes, clothes, awards and acknowledgements, having an agent or other “outward” symbols or signs that show they are a success, I have a personal experience of success defined by the way I feel on a daily and on-going basis.

I know many people, actors and others, who have an abundance of the aforementioned things in their lives, who are extremely unhappy, have struggles in their relationships and are on Prozac or other anit-depressants.  Conversely, I also know folks who live paycheck to paycheck, share an apartment with 4 other people, no car, no savings, no agent, no visible “stuff” to be admired and yet they are happy and know and believe that what they are working on or towards is inevitable.  Hummmmm.

Success is in your thinking.  And what you think is what informs how you feel.

It’s my humble opinion that the outward signs of success (that “stuff” again) are wanted only for the simple reason that once they are obtained, you’ll FEEL good!  And that feeling is success.  Hummmmm?

Well here’s the good news.  You can feel successful right NOW, without the stuff… and you know what?  Once you’ve figured out how to do that, the “stuff” will come faster!  How’s that for a mind-bender?

Here’s my list of the 7 Habits of Highly Successful Actors…and in my next several posts, I hope you’ll continue to read more and take a closer look with me into how your mindset will make or break you in this biz.

SUCCESSFUL ACTORS NEVER STOP MARKETING

Be consistent and mechanical = no stop and start
(Out of site out of mind…it’s TRUE)

SUCCESSFUL ACTORS ARE ALWAYS NETWORKING

Hang out with other enthusiastic actors, participate in positivity
(Get out of your house, move away from the computer!)

SUCCESSFUL ACTORS ARE ALWAYS IN AN ACTING CLASS

Have a continued appreciation for the craft and other actor’s work
(If you’re not growing, you’re dying – there’s no in between)

SUCCESSFUL ACTORS DO THEIR HOMEWORK

Study, research and KNOW who the players are in this industry
(Names of people and projects, box office gross, deals and more)

SUCCESSFUL ACTORS KEEP A POSITIVE MINDSET

Speak and think WELL of yourself and others ALWAYS
(Kill off the negative little voice in your head)

SUCCESSFUL ACTORS ARE ORGANIZED, ON TIME, AND RESPECTFUL OF OTHERS

Have integrity in EVERYTHING you do
(Not the moral kind, the NOT cutting corners kind)

SUCCESSFUL ACTORS HAVE BOTH ARTISTIC AND FINANCIAL GOALS

Have a PLAN for your day, week, month, and year in advance
– with room for adjustments, but committing to accomplishing them
(Most actors don’t plan to fail – they fail to plan)

If some of the above sounds repetitive, GOOD!  It’s meant to be.  I’ll keep on saying the same things over and over and over and over again until it sinks in.  If it’s already in, then it’s time to apply it.  If you’ve already applied it, it’s time to keep consistent with what works.  And rinse and repeat and never give up!

I’d love to hear your comments on what success means to you!

What to Know When Working with a New Rep…

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Getting an agent is just the entree into your new experience as a represented actor.  If you’ve followed the steps laid out in the last two posts(1) and successfully secured a rep(2), you now have new responsibilities.

I know a lot of actors who unfortunately leave their career in the hands of their agent thinking that they can rest, and other than a quick “touch base” here and there to remind their rep that they are around, do, well, nothing.  Your job in marketing your actor services never ends and now is the time to ramp up your own efforts because you are represented and part of a team.

Here are some guidelines to help you stay top of mind in your rep’s thinking and assist them in getting you in the door for more opportunities. Your goal is to have them happy to work with you over the long term and you them:

COMMUNICATION

  • Ask how often and the best method to be in touch – then do it. When you haven’t had an audition in a while, don’t assume anything.  Have a way of being in touch that works for both of you. Email?  Text?  Call?  When?
  • Respond to calls/emails for auditions immediately. This is PARAMOUNT.  Even an hour’s delay is too long. Confirm or ask for a reschedule if needed.
  • Be as available for auditions as humanly possible.  Tell them (book out) when unavailable. A huge pet peeve (that’s putting it lightly) is when you’ve finally been called in by the CD for an audition and you forgot to tell your rep you’re on vacation this week.  Booking out, even for a day, is necessary, as cancelling auditions makes both you and your rep look unprofessional in the CD’s eyes.

EXPAND AND GROW

  • Network and meet casting directors, directors, writers and producers every way you can. This is a continuing process and includes you announcing to your list of these industry contacts that you have new representation through email, postcards, social media or all of the above.
  • Inform your agent and/or manager who you’ve already met in the industry who knows you, your name, your skill, etc. for more leverage. Make sure they know who you are already connected to.
  • Be engaged in education, training, research and development for your business constantly. Every business person who is in business (that’s you if you haven’t figured it out by now) is always learning what’s new in their market to stay with or ahead of the curve.

INVEST IN YOURSELF

  • Become a wealthy artist instead of a starving artist or a “just getting by” artist by putting 10% of all income aside to consistently invest in your show business career.
  • Create a budget for your show (craft training) and another for your business (marketing expenses).  Then stick to it come hell or high water!  No money, no marketing, no business. Game over.
  • Spend your time, energy, effort and money on result producing products and services. Classes, marketing tools, online submission profiles and more are essential and keeping track of what you spend money on that works is too.

HAVE A PLAN/STRATEGY

  • Failure to plan = Planning to fail. When choosing to become an actor for a living, you weren’t thinking of it not working out.  Having a plan will create a path to your dream career.  Not having a plan keeps it a dream.
  • Make long term and short term goals with specific with dates and numbers. Measuring and monitoring your efforts and seeing what you’re doing that is effective and what is not will show you what and where to correct…and when to stop or continue.
  • Create quarterly written business plans with benchmarks in time.  Review weekly. Take out the mystery of your career progress.  What you focus on expands (The Law of Attraction).

Working well and in tandem with your rep will propel your further faster when you employ the things laid out above.  You want that right?  I enjoy your comments on my posts and would love to hear you share your thoughts, especially if you are currently represented.  Did you learn something new?  What will you begin today?

Interviewing with Your (Potential) Talent Agent – What to Prepare Before your Meeting

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Securing representation during the interview process should be your goal.  “Of course it is” you’d say to me, but I can’t tell you how many actors I’ve met, either interviewing with me or being coached by me, that have no idea if they have a rep by the time the meeting is over.  So here are some more steps to consider before, during, and at the end of interview process to be sure.  And to secure that YES!

FIRST BUSINESS, THEN SHOW

  • Do extensive research on both the agent and the agency (or management co.) before the meeting. I often asked actors I met while working at 90210 Talent if they did any research on me before the meeting. 95% said no. The few that did had my immediate and full attention.  Not because of ego, but because I was looking for someone who was business minded like me who would take their time to see if we were aligned.
  • Treat the interview like finding a life partner. Ask the most important questions first. Ask questions about some of the things you found out about them in your research.  Be more interested than you are interesting.  Trust me, this works!
  • Have basic knowledge of the shows and projects their current clients are in.

DISCUSS MUTUAL GOALS

  • Know in advance the answer to “so where do you see yourself a year from now?” Be sure, clear and concise.
  • Make sure you know the medium you’ll mostly likely make money in quickly (i.e. commercials, theater, independent film)
  • Talk just as much about financial goals as artistic goals.

WHAT YOU OFFER VS WHAT YOU WANT

  • Let your potential new rep know what you are doing on your own to make money acting. The thought that you can’t make money until you get a rep is backwards, especially in today’s open and internet driven marketplace.
  • Have your speaking illustrate what your acting provides other people’s projects.
  • Be confident in your value, artistically, financially and as a creator.

TEAM MENTALITY

  • Realize they need you as much as you need them. You’ll be working together.  A rep doesn’t work for you and you don’t work for them.  There is no “I” in team.  So cliché but so true.
  • Let them know that will be continuing to do your own work for audition opportunities. This is more than simply taking classes in your craft. They want to know what you’ll be doing to continue to market yourself via networking and meetings.
  • Relate to them as your equal and ASK them to be your representative.

This last part is the missing link – the ASK. There’s a lot of fear around this and I want to alleviate it by saying that if you think and feel it was a great meeting and that you are mutually aligned on most if not all aspects, the rep will feel it too! If they haven’t already offered to represent you, do NOT walk out of the door without asking this question.  Instant respect, whether it’s a yes or a no.

If during the interview process you know in your gut that something isn’t aligned and that you have missing pieces to fill in or that you and the potential rep don’t have the same perception of what you offer or what’s possible for your career to mutual benefit, you’ll know this too.  TRUST your GUT!

In my next post I’ll offer even more things to consider while working with your NEW REP to keep you top of mind, in step with your rep, all the while keeping inspired enthusiasm for your new partnership, even though they will have moved on to find their next great client.

Comments?  Care to share?  Please do!

To be a SUCCESSFUL Actor with an Agent – Consider This

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I know plenty of actors with agents and managers who are not successful.  Whether you’re looking for a rep for the first time (and feel you’re ready for one) or you’ve been with an agent/manager and aren’t feeling successful, consider these first steps.  You may feel like you’ve taken some of them, but ALL of them are required to be a SUCCESSFUL actor with a rep…

MAKE THE CHOICE TO MAKE ACTING YOUR BUSINESS

  • Target the agents that represent your type/level of experience.
  • Research something about the representative that you can include in your message that acknowledges them. Don’t make it all about you.
  • Invest in quality marketing materials that include great headshots and a properly formatted resume with “tricked out” online casting profiles to stand out from your competition and make the best first impression.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY

  • Have a written marketing plan in place before you begin your agent campaign. This includes dates and how you will contact them…what you’ll say in the first submission and the follow ups if you haven’t heard back.
  • Create your target list – between 6 and 10 agencies/mgmt. firms ONLY. Too many reps at once become unmanageable in your plan.  No mass mailings.
  • Contact each one at least 3 times within one month of the first submission.

RECOGNIZE YOUR TALENT HAS VALUE

  • Cover notes should say what you provide besides talent.  Why you?  What is your particular value to that particular rep?
  • Know your specific archetype and why it sells.
  • Know and point to what a particular agency is looking for when considering you for representation. Speak to that.

$$ MONEY $$

  • Consider they have kids in college and a mortgage to pay and that they are looking at you through green colored glasses. (and also that that is OK because it’s their business!)
  • Position your commissionable credits first – paid work vs. chronology.
  • Can they sell you to casting directors with your current materials?

TRAINING

  • Choose acting teachers who have name/reputation value on your resume.  And of course, are also great teachers!
  • Consider the kinds of acting classes that support you making money. Who are their working alumni? Does that teacher have great industry relationships?
  • Research the best class, teacher, school by Googling “best in your city” (need to put the quotes in when searching)

WHO THEY’LL KNOW

  • Put names of teachers/directors/CDs who have great reputations on your resume.
  • Name production companies and theater companies instead of unknown directors.
  • Recognizable titles of plays, films, and TV shows go first.

If you’ve taken these first steps, the next most likely step will be a meeting.  In my next post I’ll share what you’ve got to have prepared for a face to face.  Feel free to share your comments and questions and I’m happy to answer!

Why Does an Agent Want YOU?

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Yep as an agent, we know we need wonderfully talented and creative actors to represent, but what’s the real reason behind choosing a particular person to work with?

You get to be one of the people responsible for finding the “new face” everyone is talking about.  You are the discoverer of the diamond in the rough.

You’ll gain access to those awesome projects, producers, casting directors and auditions that define your status as an agent or manager. Stepping up a few rungs on the ladder to reach your dreams happens quicker because you’re part of a team.

The feeling of success that comes from working side by side with your talent towards a common vision – your vision – is realized.  The right actors are a faster track to you making a living doing what you love, buying a vacation home and sending your kids to college.

Your resources and relationships will grow.  Your new actor will bring on board their historical experience and network of influence. With your entire stable of actors continuing to create personal relationships of their own, your combined efforts will have you experience the “whole being greater than the sum of its parts”.

Your opportunities for roles that you can leverage for your actors will increase. The talent getting auditions at the co-star level, once booked, can be turned into guest star auditions and so on. Watching your actors progress is not a guessing game but simply a climb on the inevitable ladder to success.  You and your talent will have discussed and targeted the roles they’re most likely to book and are appropriate for.

You’ll be excited to “push” for your actors when needed and get “feedback” on why it didn’t work out when it doesn’t.  Not all the time, but certainly when it counts the most.  This will speed your ability to correct and continue and learn how to make things better for the next audition.

As you add more talented people to your roster to fill out “everything needed on the grocery store shelf” you become the “go to” agent for polished, professional, business-minded, easy-to-work-with actors.  A true win-win for all involved.

Yep, the benefits of having an amazing stable of actors is plentiful.  Keep your eye on the prize and go after the kind of talent that you deserve!  Study them and choose wisely…they are not “one size fits all”.  Remember a pro-fit means PROFIT!

****There’s a reason this post is almost the same as the one before it…and that’s so that you can see that YOU are equal in desire to what an agent wants.  Your job is now to BE what an agent wants, as in attractive to them.  Knowing that their desire in working with you and finding a fit is just as strong as yours can be the FLIP of the switch in your thought process that makes this game so much easier!

Does it feel better knowing that agents have very similar feelings and goals as you?  Share your feelings on this subject please.

Why Do You Want an Agent?

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We all know we want and need one, but what’s the real reason behind having someone in your court, fighting for you too?

You get to be one of the talented actors that has a committed partner in your career.  You won’t be on your own anymore.

You’ll gain access to those awesome casting directors and auditions that you otherwise wouldn’t. Stepping up a few rungs on the ladder to reach your dreams happens quicker because you’re part of a team.

The feeling of success that comes from working side by side with your agent towards a common vision – your vision – is realized.  The right agent is a faster track to you making a living with your passion and art.

Your resources and relationships will instantly expand.  With your combined network of influence you’ll experience the “whole being greater than the sum of its parts”.

Generally your casting opportunities for roles that are a pro-fit will increase. No guessing or submitting to any/every audition possibility on every on-line casting site.  You and your agent will have discussed and targeted the roles you’re most likely to book and are appropriate for.

Your agent will “push” for you when needed and get “feedback” on why it didn’t work out when it doesn’t.  Not all the time, but certainly when it counts the most.  This will speed your career up because you can correct and continue and learn how to make it better for the next audition.

Yep, the benefits of having an agent are plentiful.  Keep your eye on the prize and go after the kind of agent that you deserve!  Study them and choose wisely…they are not “one size fits all”.  Remember a pro-fit means PROFIT!

And up next – What’s in it for them?…YES, you want to know this too!

Feel free to comment and let me know personally WHY you want an agent!

What Does it Take to Get and Keep an Agent?

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When I was doing my live version of my most popular seminar on “How to Get and Keep an Agent”, I’d open with these questions:

“How many of you are currently looking for an agent?” and 70% to 80% of the actors would raise their hands. Then I’d ask “How many of you have an agent, but you’re looking for a better agent?” and most of the remaining hands would go up.

THEN I’d ask “How many of you are here for the ‘how to keep’ part?” And usually one person would raise their hand and often no one at all.

You know what that tells me?  You have an agent problem.

At 90210 Talent I worked with actors that I had never seen perform live in anything.  Yes I watched some demos to get a sense of what their talents were but for the most part I was looking at marketability (more on that later). Talent is in the eye of the beholder and very subjective.  We all have different points of view.  So if you think your talent is what is going to get you an agent, that’s a mistake. But I digress…

I’m simply making the bold statement here that what you think you know about getting (and keeping) an agent isn’t true.  It’s just what you think is true.

This is the part of the process I love to teach the most!  Your breakthrough in securing the right representation for you has less to do with your talent and more to do with your thoughts around what it takes to get one.

I’ve discovered a pretty pervasive scarcity mentality, an adversarial mentality, and worst of all, a hopeless mentality with regard to pursuing agency and/or management representation. This isn’t true for everyone of course, but if you have any negative emotion around gaining a rep or working with your present one, then keep reading this blog on what it’s gonna take for you to flip that switch.  What switch?  The thought process you have around what they’re looking for, your approach and responsibilities, and what it costs in terms of time and money.  Trust me, it’s a LOT easier than you’re making it!

After almost a decade of delivering this course in many formats the problem I’ve determined that most actors have is NOT how to get an agent but how to ATTRACT the right agent for them.

So how do you attract one? Stay tuned!

Your Agent Has Feelings Too.

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Remember how crushed you were when you had 3 callbacks for that pilot, were the first choice of the CD and the director, but lost the part to that name actor at the last minute? Sooooo crushed. Well your agent was crushed, too and that was the fourth time that same thing happened to one of her clients this week.  

And then it was that Network National commercial that she had two clients on “avail” for and they both got released, losing the booking. She talked each of those clients off the ledge, just like she did for you, while at the same time submitting on the breakdowns, closing deals for other clients who did book, and saw 8 new prospective clients at interviews.  She’s holding it together, but she’s ready to crack. Cut her some slack and know that she’s doing her best.

The greatest feeling for any representative is when you book a job. My highest highs when working at the agency were when the call came from casting with an “avail” for one of our actors, then waiting with great excitement and anticipation for the booking call to come. However, when I got “release” emails, or if casting actually took the time to call (rare), my lowest lows were when they didn’t book it.  I felt every bit of it, and then I also felt it again when I had to tell the actor. Talk about a roller coaster.  

I believe everyone is always doing their best and I want you to believe that about your agent too. Your agent is a person. There are emotional, financial, organizational and scheduling aspects to her biz that inform how she operates. She’s got a boss and co-workers, and then at home, her kids and dogs and a husband and, oh yeah, the gym and the book club.  Who am I kidding? There’s no time for a book club or even a book for that matter!  Again, being a representative is hard.

I know you want your rep to believe in you, take care of you and be interested in your dreams. But you believing that an agent lives to make your dreams come true is just plain stinkin’ thinkin’!  She is not responsible for your happiness or your success.  It’s her job to make her own dreams come true and it’s your job to tirelessly and passionately make yours come true. Choose to believe that the work, the marketing and the mindset is ALL ON YOU!  Taking control of your work (craft/business/networking) and being responsible for your own career happiness will have your agent calling you!  And doing all of these things to begin with, before you’re represented, will most assuredly give you your choice of agents and managers to work with.

Feeling good now?

To Your Success, Lisa