100 Days til 2015! So, this is not the first time (nor the second time) Ive covered the whole 100-Day Challenge thing. But it is the 100 days til 2014 is over mark and Id love to take one last opportunity to really light a fire under your patootie so that you can map out some really phenomenal goals toward which you can move, purposefully, to get you closer to the next tier. When you think about 2015, what is a big thing youd love to see *different* for your life? Lets start there. Start with things you dont control: booking a top-of-show guest-star on a target show, being flown to location for a studio feature film shoot, landing a talent agent tiers above where you currently are. Obviously, you can work toward these things, but you dont really control whether they will happen even if you get yourself on the threshold of them becoming real. But I do want you to start with these things because listing them gets out of your system anything thats overly ambitious, not up to you, or flat-out unrealistic. Write em down. They serve a purpose. Next, lets start digging in on things that are very specific and within reach, even if you feel right now as if youll never get em taken care of before the ball drops to ring in 2015. Your Headshots: Are they excellent? Are they rockin for your brand? Are they in service of everything youre trying to teach the buyers that you bullseye? Do they make you blissfully happy to submit? Do the members of your team feel theyre awesome? Are you regularly complimented on how much they not only look like you but accurately represent you? If so, let em do their job as the logo for your actor brand and move on to another item on this list (or a list you create independently). But if theyre not all those great things I listed, make it a goal to have excellent, on-brand, bliss-inducing headshots by December 31st. Research photographers. Scour their online galleries (we have our favorites listed at the SMFA Hot Sheet area of our site). Create a Pinterest gallery featuring looks that thrill you and that would work for your brand. Set meetings with photographers. Select the right one for your needs, book the session, and shelve all the excuses you might have had for having headshots that are less than badass. Your Reel: Does it rock? Is it short and sweet? Does every clip teach the buyers how to cast you next? Have you labeled your standalone clips meticulously? Are you ridiculously proud of your work *and* the quality of the clips from a technical perspective? If the answer on any of this is no, you know what to do. If the good folks who participate in all sorts of 48-hour film challenges can churn out finished products with enough focused energy and creativity in just two days, you can certainly pull together inspiration, brand-specific material, a team of folks to help you make the execution of the shoot a joy, and a resulting 30-second clip that fully educates the buyers on what to expect of you on-camera in the next 100 days. Heck, you could do it a dozen times over the next 100 days and have so much risk-reducing footage to showcase your on-brand best in several targeted genres that you could become a booking machine in 2015. Your Website: If you did the whole Peek User Testing thing after reading last weeks Your Turn or the column that spawned it, you already have some items on your to-do list for bringing your website to a better state. If youve not yet put your website to the test, what are you waiting for? Even just surveying your friends and family could start the ball rolling on some improvements you could make. And... that means you should make them, right? Get going! You have 100 beautiful days to get a gloriously gorgeous new website launched for 2015. Or, you may not even have that much you need to change, which means theres seriously no excuse for keeping your website away from a few nips and tucks. Get to it! Your Head: Is it in the game? Are you centered? Is your mind right? Can you handle the ups and downs of this business and keep yourself from falling into the traps of overthinking, of doubting yourself, of believing the hype, of comparing yourself to others, of coveting what others have, of resenting the very pursuit itself? If so, congratulate yourself. This is the biggest of the overhauls you can begin in 100 days. If you have no need to make shifts to your mindset, youre in great shape. Seriously! But if you have anything lurking in the corners of your creative brain that could overturn your success at a most crucial moment, please clean that mess up NOW. Mediate. Practice yoga. Get into therapy. Work out. Surf. Whatever it takes to get yourself into a mental space that is conducive not just to creativity but to SUCCESS in a creative career so that you are ready *before* the opportunity to leap presents itself. The time to clean up your energy, cast out any demons, or fix any negativity is not *after* you hit a higher tier. Write the breakdown for the PERSON you plan to be on January 1st, 2015. Not the characters you want to play (although doing that has its purposes too), but the YOU you hope to be. Make it a reality by taking little steps throughout these next 100 days. Dont be overwhelmed by changes you want to see happen; just start stepping toward this improved version of you by making better choices in all areas of your life every day. If youd like to make your declaration for these next 100 days and share your goals with the readers of The Actors Voice, drop me an email and Ill celebrate you right here in the coming weeks. Heck, Im celebrating you even if youre not going public with your goals and seeking any sort of accountability for moving toward them. Because any teeny bit of progress you make toward a better you is GOOD. You can do this! Cmon! We all can!
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 02:36:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015