ActorSelfCoach

What can you do now that will make your next job, the one you have booked, so much better?  Focused effort today will pay off soon. The Production Lane, when we are actively rehearsing and performing, has the least amount of discretionary time. Use your time now, in the Booked Lane,  to free up your mind for the work you love to do. This is personal work, professional work, aspirational work.  But all of it is for You, Your Growth, Your Life.

The Booked Lane is one of the best times for actors to work on our mindsets. We have the energy and the motivation to cultivate our next job, which we just booked, into a great experience. The Booked Lane is a transitional period, between Ready Lane and Production Lane. Basketball players of excellence know how important the Transition is - how they navigate the court between Offense and Defense is everything. The game can hinge on how prepared the players are to handle the transition. The same goes for actors. The more we become comfortable 'in the transition', the more we will enjoy and find rewards over the span of our careers. Worth it.

Your minds will determine so much about your next job. When you are in the Booked Lane, when you have some time before your next job starts, how you Approach the job will affect how you Experience the job. We all can get stuck thinking So Much is out of our control. But our Thoughts, our super power, are almost totally in our control. Let's use this to make this next job meaningful and possibly even Career Changing.

Actors have more control than we think. We can shape the experience of our next job, our next Booked Contract, with the power of our thinking. If your brain keeps circling to thoughts of nerves, self doubt and unworthiness instead of joy, abundance and Let's Go... Here are some ways to align your thoughts with your emotional health. Let's make this next job as amazing as you are.

The Booked Work Flow Lane for Actors is a time of transition. You are moving from the Ready Lane, where you are available to work, to the Production Lane, where you are under contract. No matter the length of time between accepting the offer and starting work, and no matter the length of time of the contract, you will thank yourself many times over if you make some decisions now... And answer the question: You booked the job. What do I Want Now?

Amazing! You have accepted an offer for work. You are officially in The Booked Lane, one of the 3 Work Flow Lanes for Professional Actors. Ready. Booked. Production. This lane is High Energy. We get a natural dopamine hit, a beautiful energy surge, when we get an offer, and again when we accept it. These next podcasts are to support you as you travel in this lane, en route to Production. A beautiful place to be, where Everything is Possible.  

We can treat our memories as facts. But they are truly creative layerings, painted each time we revisit a particular memory. Different every single time. How can we use this for our emotional wellbeing? For starters, we can stop beating ourselves up for anything we did in the past. Think of these memories, the good and the bad and the boring, as the library of us.  Each volume open to interpretation by the reader, or the viewer.  That is very freeing.  And healthy.  We can be onto our primitive brains, when it returns again and again to the same memory. What is it telling us?  And...when we use our higher brain... What do we want to make that mean?  

This is the 5th Podcast in a 5 Part Series about The Ready Lane - the work flow lane for professional actors who are Available for Offers. You are familiar with the 90 day Idea as well as some emotional tools and decisions you can choose to use if you want some support and guidance as you navigate this time in your career and life. The Horizon Line is still there. Whether you are in the Ready Lane for a hot minute, or for months and months, the Horizon Line is beautiful and available. Celebrate yourself, seek some beauty, check in with your CEO (that's you) and then Get to work on your next 90 Day idea. You are never alone. We have all been there, and if you are committed to this work, you will be in the Ready Lane again and again. Nothing is owed us. Nothing is fair about the Actor Life. But. Everyday brings the possibilities that weren't there yesterday. Thank yourself for what you have done to get here. Get coaching or coach yourself. Your Future Self is Waiting to Thank You.

This is the 4th podcast in a series of 5 for Ready Lane Actors. Here we dive into some ideas for those days where you seek more focus. And some of them, you won't want to do. That's where tenacity comes in. We do them anyway. Or at least, some of them. We will thank ourselves later. Possibly, you will find your time more rewarding, your days more structured, your calendar more focused. Possibly, none of the above. All is available to you if you want to explore. One of these ideas might serve you in this work flow lane, if you would like more organization, or ideas on what to do when you have the abundance of time. Because without a production, a stage manager, a scheduler, telling us what to do and when, we can drift. And that can feel comforting. But for career longevity, we can stop the drift When We Choose To. Just good to know.

There are stretches in our Ready Lane lives when we feel a bit (or a lot) lost. If we are not auditioning, or are auditioning and not booking, for an extended period of time, our primitive brain wants to ring all of the alarm bells. Not helpful. What is helpful: Separating the facts from our 'story' about our work. Reaching out for help. And recognizing that we are the CEO of us. Most of the time. This works in two distinct ways. We run the business of us. That kind of CEO.  And. We generate being and staying Creative, Energized, and Open. Because the Good News is that any day, any moment, Almost Anything is Possible.

This is the second in a five part series on the Ready Lane for Actors. This lane is one of three, Ready, Booked and Production, that all professional actors are in at some point. For actors that want a bit of structure to their Ready lane time - when Time is so abundant, and can get taken for granted - here are 2 steps to take that can give dimension and focus to your 90 days.   Your mind can go wild when you are looking for work, auditioning for work, waiting for work, as an actor.  Let's give it some love.  That might take a little work too.

This is the first in a series of 5 podcasts for Actors who are in the Ready Lane. Actors who are Available to accept Offers. If we have longevity in our careers, we will glide in and out of the 3 Actor Work Lanes.  Many, many times.  Never feel you are alone in this. We, all of us professionals, know the feelings of each lane. Ready.       Booked.         Production. For those of us who may feel a little lost in the Ready Lane, or just want some reassurance, or another point of view, or a bit of structure, the next 5 podcasts are for you. The Ready Lane is a great place to Reconnect, Restore, and Enjoy the Currency of Time. Let's Go.

We are in the Ready Lane as Actors when we are Available for any offer or contract. This can feel freeing, open, exciting. It can also feel overwhelming, fearful, scarce. There is help at hand in knowing that how we Think About our work in this Lane changes Everything. We need to ensure we feel Secure. Then we can lean into feeling Stable. And that leads to Sustained Longevity as an Artist. Which is what most of us want. A Long Career, doing what we love. If you are in this business for any period of time, you will experience All the Lanes. That is how it works. So never feel you are alone. When feelings arise that you are stuck, misunderstood, never going to be cast, not the 'right' type.... that is your Primitive Brain sounding the alarm because that is what it has evolved to do. And just like we would handle a toddler throwing a fit because they didn't get What They Wanted at the Exact Right Moment, say to your Primitive brain... I hear you. Relax. This is the Actor's Life I signed up for. Jobs are coming. So what do I want to do with my Beautiful, Available Time?

This is a tense time in the world. You may feel incredibly impacted by events in your days, and by those far away. Many of us, we humans, are hurting. And the hurt is valid and real and must be honored. But people who are hurting and cannot find a way to allow the feelings, the incredibly difficult feelings, can act out in ways that cause others to suffer. And create even more suffering for themselves. This podcast offers some thoughts for those of us who want to examine why we are acting the way we do when we feel emotional pain. Because Hurting can spread like a virus. And that may not be what we intend to do. We can connect. To others who are hurting. To others just wanting to be heard. And, with love, we can make our own decisions. Hurt People Hurt People.  Even Ourselves.

You know the times... and so often it can happen just when you've been lulled into thinking... I have lots of time...when Everything. Happens. At. Once. This episode features a few stories and a few strategies for you when this feels true.  We tell ourselves... There is too much to get ready... I don't have enough time... I don't know where to start... And sometimes. We even avoid starting. Take a breath and know you have the time you Need.  When time feels short, or you feel pressure, what you tell yourself matters.

We know we want to get somewhere. We know there is the way everyone thinks is 'the best'. There's the way we've done it before. There's the way the algorithm or... the world seems to think we should go. But what about the times we want to check in with ourselves. Go Our Own Way... This podcast invites you to explore the 90 Day Idea. A way of framing out the next several months in whichever Work Flow Lane you are in; Ready, Booked, or Production. A map is an open invitation to go. And an idea is different from a plan. A plan can be Great.  If you are Ready for that. Because there are times when you want an Idea, a 90 day idea.  An IDEA is Open. Creative. The opposite of rigid. Maybe that's what you need right now. MAPs. Mindful Actor Paths.

We are still in multiple strike situations as of this recording. Whatever your mind is telling you, remember this is temporary. Although this situation (as do many difficult experiences) feels LONG, we are not helpless here. Get Ready for Coming Back to work. Get Ready for Different Work. And if you cannot bring yourself to Get Ready... You Can.. Get Ready To Get Ready.

Pride can be a beautiful thing, but sends us soaring high and doesn't really support us Every Day. Self Esteem. That's what is there for us Every Day.  And we should not take it for granted.  Like so many things that are valuable in life, nurturing our Self Esteem takes a little work. Some intention.  We are, All of the Humans, born Worthy.  But when we tie our self esteem to circumstances in our past, or ones out of our control, or what someone just said, or our status in the strikes, we lose a vital part of our Emotional Health.  Your regard for yourself is vitally important.  Your self esteem is one of the most important tools you have for strength in any storm.  Let's Go.

Of course All The Humans Matter. But the family of artists who primarily work in the theatre Know Some Things. This podcast is a short reminder that as our culture, our political climate, our very planet changes, erupts, evolves, what we do matters very much. Theatre Folk. We know what we do. Here's to Us.

There are things, people we love and have loved, places and more that we have acquired in our Actor and Human Lives.  Or invited in.  Or sought. We have spent for them, and certainly on them. Our time, energy, money.... did I mention Time? This podcast goes into When It May Be Enough Already. Actors, check the parts of your life that may be on auto renew. And Ask. Do I want this thing, this person, this place... Today? If you do, ask yourself if your reason is better than... because it cost so much already. Not about Quitting.  About Choosing.