Seriously.  Check it out here: And The Winner Is…

That’s right I did not fall for Tim Brownson’s shenanigans!  And as a result I am going to get coached.  Can’t wait.  I’ll be keeping everyone posted on how it goes.  So expect to be hearing more about this soon.

I created this blog to be a tool for myself and others who are looking to pursue a similar path.  I set a posting schedule because I knew that it would help me to be consistent in showing up here.  And I take it seriously, which is why I am writing this post even though it will be an hour or so “late”.  This is okay for a few reasons.

1. I am writing this post now.  Which is to say I am showing up for this blog and my commitment to it.  It is late, which I try to avoid in life, but sometimes late happens.  Better to show up and demonstrate your commitment late than not at all.  Showing up late won’t save your ass if you’re always late (and/or flaky), but if you show up and own it and don’t let it happen again, showing up is the right thing to do by far.
2. This is an effective reminder of the importance of taking certain steps.  Such as creating a back log of posts that can be used in situations like this.  Or just sitting down and pushing myself to get a blog post done a day or two early.
3. My posting schedule is arbitrary.  No one is truly hurt if I don’t post.  Which is a really good thing because I’m doing this to grow and learn and have fun.  If I can do those things and share them with my readers it really doesn’t matter what the schedule is.  The schedule is really only a tool for helping me get better at certain things.  Like the discipline of sitting down to write for my blog on a consistent basis.

But what does all of this have to do with acting?  Good question.  What I want you to see is how tired I am…. Okay, maybe not (even if it’s true).  The point is that in order to succeed you have to show up, consistently.  You have to have discipline and learn from your mistakes.  You have to find tools that support you in pursuing your goals.  And most importantly you have to be kind to yourself because you will make mistakes and things will get in the way.  And that’s okay, you roll with it.  And write only half way coherent posts at the end of a long day if that’s what it takes.  These things are true in life and they are true in acting.  Give yourself the kindness you need to grow.

I was introduced to this video at a workshop called “Acting Success Now”.  The workshop is a wonderful three day event that is filled with tools and techniques for getting out of you head and out of your own way.  Many ways to help you achieve the very to the point advice Bob gives his client in this video.

After so many years, I’ve learned that being creative is a full-time job with it’s own daily patterns.  That’s why writers, for example, like to establish routines for themselves.  The most productive ones get started early in the morning, when the world is quiet, the phones aren’t ringing, and their minds are rested, alert, and not yet polluted by other people’s words.  They might set a goal for themselves – write fifteen hundred words, or stay at their desk until noon-but the real secret is that they do this every day.  In other words, they are disciplined.  Over time, as the daily routines become second nature, discipline morphs into habit.