Alright, I will give you the secret to success right now, right here. The secret is that there is no secret. There is no one right way and all ways take hard work, discipline, focus and flexibility. There is no such thing as a get rich quick and there is no overnight success. The long way is the short way. This is all good news. This is why they say "if at first you don't succeed, try try again". You must become a collector of "No" and fail more than you succeed. For in the journey towards success, is not only a means to an end, but an end in itself. If that's not meta, I don't know what is. Here are 5 things to consider:
1. Do it when you don't feel like it.
If you keep waiting for it to feel right before you start, you will die waiting. Yes, die. No matter what you are trying to achieve, you must just start. It will feel awful. You might complain like a teenager having to hang out with her parents. In public. The more you do this the more you will feel like doing it. Its true. We are creatures of habit, so the more your efforts become habit, the more you will crave doing it. Go to the gym at 6 am for 30 days and I swear you'll start looking down at people who sleep in.
1. Do it when you don't feel like it.
If you keep waiting for it to feel right before you start, you will die waiting. Yes, die. No matter what you are trying to achieve, you must just start. It will feel awful. You might complain like a teenager having to hang out with her parents. In public. The more you do this the more you will feel like doing it. Its true. We are creatures of habit, so the more your efforts become habit, the more you will crave doing it. Go to the gym at 6 am for 30 days and I swear you'll start looking down at people who sleep in.
2. Surround yourself with people more successful than you.
Some people love hanging out with unattractive people. It makes them feel pretty. The problem is the more they hang out with the unattractive, the more they pick up their habits, the more they start to blend right in with them. You cannot soar like an eagle whilst you are surrounded by turkeys. All around you there are people who are achieving more, booking more jobs, getting in better shape. Be around them. Listen to what they say. Sitting at the pub listening to your unemployed friend's theory on how the credit card companies are out to control him will not make you richer. If you can't find any real live people, there are many teachers and mentors who have written books and talk about success all the time. Pop some popcorn and have a drink with one of these videos.
Some people love hanging out with unattractive people. It makes them feel pretty. The problem is the more they hang out with the unattractive, the more they pick up their habits, the more they start to blend right in with them. You cannot soar like an eagle whilst you are surrounded by turkeys. All around you there are people who are achieving more, booking more jobs, getting in better shape. Be around them. Listen to what they say. Sitting at the pub listening to your unemployed friend's theory on how the credit card companies are out to control him will not make you richer. If you can't find any real live people, there are many teachers and mentors who have written books and talk about success all the time. Pop some popcorn and have a drink with one of these videos.
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3. Constant training
Get to class. I cant stress this enough. Actors need to be in class all the time. You need to be growing, you need to be pushed by a coach who will not just tell you how great you are. You must learn to express and allow your emotions truthfully and fully. In any industry you are in, you must be learning new things on a daily basis. The world is changing at an alarming rate. What worked 5 years ago will not work today. If you don't think that is so, you must be still writing in Grafitti on your palm pilot and calling people you met off Myspace on your shiny new Razr. If you cannot find the right coach there are resources online www.tedtalks.com.
Get to class. I cant stress this enough. Actors need to be in class all the time. You need to be growing, you need to be pushed by a coach who will not just tell you how great you are. You must learn to express and allow your emotions truthfully and fully. In any industry you are in, you must be learning new things on a daily basis. The world is changing at an alarming rate. What worked 5 years ago will not work today. If you don't think that is so, you must be still writing in Grafitti on your palm pilot and calling people you met off Myspace on your shiny new Razr. If you cannot find the right coach there are resources online www.tedtalks.com.
4. Be uncomfortable
Any or all of the things on this list will make you feel uncomfortable if you do them right. You must push out of your comfort zone to start achieving things that you never have before. Actors must push to sit in the uncomfortable space where they are being emotionally affected by another human being. At the gym you must lift weights that feel uncomfortable in order to build muscle. In your daily life you must constantly take risks to stay young and feel alive. Talk to a stranger, call in to a radio station, go to an open mic and sing something acapella. Risk looking bad. The rewards will blow your mind.
Any or all of the things on this list will make you feel uncomfortable if you do them right. You must push out of your comfort zone to start achieving things that you never have before. Actors must push to sit in the uncomfortable space where they are being emotionally affected by another human being. At the gym you must lift weights that feel uncomfortable in order to build muscle. In your daily life you must constantly take risks to stay young and feel alive. Talk to a stranger, call in to a radio station, go to an open mic and sing something acapella. Risk looking bad. The rewards will blow your mind.
5. Don't make it personal
Life is about something bigger than you. People will tell you all sorts of things to bring you down or lift you up, depending on what they need from you. Whatever they say says more about them than you! That is very important to know if you wish to be successful. Whether feedback is positive or negative, take what you are getting without making it mean anything about you. Consider criticism and think it through to see if it may help your work. Accept compliments but go home and work harder. Your pursuits are a constant process and nobody is responsible for your success but you.
Life is about something bigger than you. People will tell you all sorts of things to bring you down or lift you up, depending on what they need from you. Whatever they say says more about them than you! That is very important to know if you wish to be successful. Whether feedback is positive or negative, take what you are getting without making it mean anything about you. Consider criticism and think it through to see if it may help your work. Accept compliments but go home and work harder. Your pursuits are a constant process and nobody is responsible for your success but you.
Robyn Kay is an acting coach and founder of the Robyn Kay Studio in downtown Toronto. Meisner Technique classes run continuously with drop ins every Sunday night. For more info please contact Robyn Kay at
416-312-9188 or [email protected]
416-312-9188 or [email protected]
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