From Dream to Reality: Unlocking Your Acting Potential

Your dreams have already created the possibility for the outcome that you desire. It’s quantum physics, people. So all you need to do is step up and be the person that that person would be in the future. I'm going to explain. Hold on.

My Acting Journey: Rediscovery and Revelation

When I restarted my acting career, I was 47 years old. At a time when most people would say, "Give it up. What are you doing?" But for me, I was bound and determined. When I left the acting industry as a young woman, it was very different from my experience as a 47-year-old woman. Firstly, I was living in Germany, where the primary filming language is, of course, German. As an American, language was a big challenge, but I wasn’t going to let anything stop me.

So I Did All the Things:

1. Finding an Agent, check. Let the casting directors know I’m alive; check. After that, I just did what we all do—went to workshops and waited for something to happen. Slowly, they did. I got cast as a co-star in various roles, often as the stereotypical "stupid American." But hey, it's a trope and I had to make the best of it. After four or five years, I realized it wasn’t enough. I was past 50 and still felt like I wasn’t any closer to my dream.

The Big Revelation? Something was missing.

I needed something in my career that I didn't have, and that set me off on a mission to find it. This reminds me of a story from years ago when I accidentally locked my toddler son in the car. It made me realize sometimes we need someone to show us the way.

The Turning Point: A Metaphorical Lesson

Let me elaborate on that locked-in-the-car story because it serves as a powerful metaphor.

Years ago, on a sweltering summer day, I accidentally locked my two-year-old son in the car while juggling keys, a bag, and the door. Panic set in. It was dangerously hot, and I couldn't get to him. Neighbors gathered, offering advice, but none of it worked. Finally, a professional arrived and used a specialized tool to unlock the door and reunite me with my son.

The lesson here? Sometimes in life, we have everything we need right within our reach, but we can't get to it without help. My son, the most precious thing in the world to me, was just inches away, but I couldn’t get to him by myself. I needed someone to create a path for me to reach him.

The Turning Point: Life and Career Coaching

I decided to become a life and career coach to overcome my limiting beliefs about my age and language skills. This helped me realize that the things I thought were holding me back were actually my superpowers. This was a lightning bolt moment for me. I went on an odyssey to upgrade my skills and strategies, which were missing in my acting career.

The ABCs of a Thriving Acting Career

Here’s another epiphany: there are the ABCs of a thriving acting career, right?

• A: Achiever’s Mindset: Developing a mentally strong game, staying positive, confident, and resilient.

• B: Business Savvy: Understanding the business side of acting, marketing yourself, and creating a strong brand.

• C: Craft Mastery: Continuous improvement of your acting skills.

The Five Pillars: Building a Solid Foundation

From understanding the ABCs, I developed the five pillars that are now the foundation of everything I teach:

• 1. Mindset

• 2. Branding

• 3. Marketing

• 4. Networking

• 5. Community

These pillars are imperative, and everything starts with the mindset.

Getting the Right Mindset

Your mindset is everything. An achiever's attitude means staying positive, setting clear goals, and staying motivated. This puts the focus on mental preparation and facing challenges with creativity and resilience.

Understanding the Business Side

Understanding the business side of acting and how to market yourself is crucial. Creating a strong brand and infusing that into all your marketing is essential. It becomes a beacon for your networking efforts, saving you time and effort.

Continuous Learning and Community

You can't stop improving your skills. This includes classes, workshops, and building a community of like-minded actors.

Assessing and Strengthening Your Pillars

To ensure your five pillars are strong, you need to assess them for cracks and then learn how to fix those cracks. Understand that you are a product, and lean into what makes you unique.

Taking Control of Your Career

If you are a trained actor who’s stuck and you resonate with me and my story, I’d love to help you. Find outside perspectives to help with your branding because what got you here won’t get you to where you want to be. Growth is not linear; it's all over the place.

Setting a Course for Success

You need to set a target, have a strategy, and ensure your mindset is rock solid. Without belief in yourself, you won’t take the necessary actions.

The Power of Belief

Your acting career will grow to the level of problems you can recognize and solve. Most actors feel overwhelmed or stuck not because they lack talent but because they don’t know the right steps to take.

Embracing Change

Change is necessary for growth, and it starts within. Think of success as a triangle with layers.

The Triangle of Success

1. Environment: This is the base layer and is directly visible. It includes the number of bookings, auditions, and your presence in the industry—essentially, the tangible results of your efforts.

2. Behaviors: Sitting directly above your environment, behaviors influence the results you see in your environment. If you want to change your environment, start by changing your behaviors. Do you understand what your selling? Are you networking enough? Are you continually honing your craft?

3. Skills and Capabilities: These represent the knowledge and skills necessary to advance. Beyond just acting skills, this includes branding, marketing, and networking. Skills can always be learned and improved.

4. Beliefs: Here's where it gets really powerful. Your beliefs influence the skills and capabilities you pursue. If you don’t believe success is possible, you won’t take the necessary steps to advance your skills.

5. Identity: At the very top, your identity shapes your beliefs. Who you see yourself as, what you believe you're capable of—this is the core from which all other layers manifest.

Change Starts Within

You'll find that everything above behaviors begins within. Your beliefs and identity are foundational layers that influence your skills, behaviors, and ultimately your environment. Positive beliefs about yourself enable you to take actions that lead to more opportunities. It's all interconnected.

The Role of Opportunities

Believing in yourself isn’t just about feeling good; it’s about opening doors. When you genuinely believe in your capabilities, you’re more likely to take risks and seize opportunities. This proactive approach creates a positive feedback loop—more actions, more opportunities, more success.

Layers of Success: A Full Circle

As you embrace change internally, it starts reflecting externally:

• Behaviors directly impact your environment.

• Skills and capabilities are driven by beliefs.

• Positive beliefs arise from a strong sense of identity.

So, if you want to change your external circumstances, start by shifting your internal ones. Think differently to get different results. Whatever you see on social media is only a small part of someone’s effort—usually just the tip of the iceberg.

Acting as If…

Believe in yourself and act as if you already have that belief. Even if you don’t fully believe, take action as if you do. It’s the actions that build confidence. You can achieve immense results by putting the right strategies in place. I hope you got a lot out of this post. If you did, share it with a friend who needs to read it. And until next time, stay bold and beautiful self.

Anne

P.S. Want to work with me? If you are a trained actor who feels stuck, book an appointment, and together, we’ll see if you’re a good fit for my program and if you’re not, we’ll figure out the next steps you need to take to get control over your career.