“Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.” –Samuel Johnson
Pursue, prepare, persist and promote. These four elements are absolutely vital to succeed at ANYTHING. They are required of you as a talent regardless of your experience or skill level. They simply never go away if you expect to continue your career—It’s up to you to ensure these balls are continually in play.
Whatever it is you may end up doing in this business, success will occur only if you pursue it. It won’t come to you no matter how much talent you may have and regardless of how much nepotism you may have at your access. Ultimately it falls to YOU. So set your sights on what you intend to accomplish and then persist upon your pursuits.
If you’re easily frustrated, don’t apply yourself consistently, or you simply give up, you’ll never know for yourself what could have been created without some persistence on your part, and very often with that, patience. That said, there are times when you should not wait idly by and be patient. That’s why patience isn’t included in our little alliteration here.
Preparation is continually required of you as a talent on a variety of levels. Your own skills will develop as you continue to work them, so keep on it. The moment they lay dormant, your professionalism will be shaken. And with that, so will your confidence. And with that, your integrity (something no one can afford to lose, especially in this business!) So continue to prepare. It’s vital to keep your skills sharp.
Then there’s promotion. Frankly, so many artists repel this puppy that many fall into oblivion without ever even giving self-promotion a fair shot. I think it was Charles Grodin who said, “It doesn’t take one big break, it takes about fifty.” He’s right. But that doesn’t occur left to its own devices.
If you leave your career alone, I promise you, nothing will happen.
If it’s some sort of ‘humility’ thing that keeps you from promoting yourself, consider this: there are a great many talent who, at the onset of their careers have minimal skills, yet have miles and miles of promotional chutzpah who end up on top, while scores of ‘creative geniuses’ end up in their dust. Believe me, there is nothing more humbling than that! Concentrating on all that ‘humility’ will only accomplish the ultimate of all humbling experiences—complete and utter failure. (Perish the thought.)
The fact remains: people who persist at promotion inevitably succeed. Granted, they may be something of a one-trick pony at the start, but through perseverance and proper promotion, these folks gain experience after becoming known to those most likely to hire them. And all this, often to the chagrin of those ‘creative geniuses’ who’ve always known perfectly well they could (and should) be working twice as much as they are, if it weren’t for their Achilles’ Heel: they’re above self-promotion.
The sad fact is there are far more ‘creative geniuses’ out there who end up falling between the cracks leaving their remarkable talent to die on the vine because they don’t know how nor want to face promoting themselves. They ‘only wanted to act’. These actors secretly hope someone will come along and do it for them, rather than taking any responsibility for their careers themselves.
So, while these ‘creative geniuses’ are off doing nothing to make themselves known, gradually those ‘less-talented’ promotional hotshots are gaining experience and becoming more and more valuable to their agents and to producers and directors that enjoy working with them. And, if they continue to stay with it, they will eventually become consummate professionals, often completely bypassing those ‘creative geniuses’ who will never fully understand the importance promotion truly is to realizing their dreams.
It’s a tale as old as the industry itself.
So, when you find yourself up against it, keep your eye on the ball in play by considering the following:
• Determine what it is you’re trying to accomplish as a talent.
• Keep your skills sharp by working them DAILY. Do something each day that drives you closer to your overall goals.
• Find out what it is you need to know to get you closer to your aims. Discover who knows what you need to know to PURSUE, PREPARE AND PROMOTE… and then apply yourself!
• You need to create momentum to propel a career… and that starts NOW.
• Elevate your standards. Keep them high. But get on with it. Quantity precedes quality. Again, keep the ball in play. Keep the mule train moving forward.
Acting is your small business. Run it well. But RUN it!
