Those of you who have taken our financial seminars know
that we encourage actors to step outside of the box when it
comes to determining what things you can be doing to ensure
continued financial stability while you pursue your acting
career. I know that, when I arrived in Los Angeles, I
assumed that I would wait tables, bartend, register with temp
agencies – I mean, this is what aspiring actors do, right?
It isn’t that there is anything necessarily wrong with those
jobs. What I would like to suggest, however, is that those of
you who are doing them take a moment to be really honest
with yourself, and ask whether your “survival” job is really
fulfilling the task you had hoped and expected it to.
Seven years ago I could have won a prize for the number of
different jobs I did to make ends meet. I was really
struggling to find a balance between the need to pay my bills
and the freedom and flexibility I needed to pursue my acting
career. But, in spite of all of these “dead end” jobs, I was
still broke, miserable and, ironically, too busy to really
pursue my acting goals.
What I was fortunate enough to learn, and now what I hope
to share with fellow artists, is that the choices we have with
regards to how to make money are actually much wider and
more varied than we often make them out to be. It is
actually okay for us to set our sights higher than “just getting
by”. What I know is that we can build financial security, and
even wealth, while simultaneously building our acting
careers. Actors are among the smartest, most creative
people in the world. We are not afraid to work hard. It is
simply a matter of re-directing some of the energy we are
currently giving to jobs we hate, and putting it into
alternative ventures that can genuinely satisfy us emotionally
and financially.
The one thing that continually sets most people back is fear,
primarily of other people’s opinions, and of failure. When it
comes to fulfilling our deepest dreams it can be a debilitating
force. Fear is not the same thing as caution. Setting up a
strategic plan is right and proper and tips its hat to caution.
But fear is what you need to conquer, or you will forever
dream and never live that dream in reality. Which would feel
better to you - living with fear and not taking the chance, or
taking the chance and living the dream? At first, taking the
comfort level of not stepping outside of your current
boundaries might feel the best. But then why do those
dreams still exist in your mind, if living in your comfort zone
is really so rewarding?
One of the most rewarding scenarios that we witness from
our clients is when someone decides that they are going to
do it - they are going to step outside of their own personal
boundaries, and they are going to reach for their dreams.
Maybe it’s starting their own small business outside of acting.
Something that, with the right amount of planning and work
ethic, can ultimately give them the freedom and money they
need to really build the acting career they want. Wouldn’t
any of us feel more than a little nervous doing that? You can
actually see it - the hope in their eyes, and the fear that
tinges that hope. What happens is that the fear is told to sit
back for a little while, to just go along for the ride, and who
knows where it will all end up?
The reward? When the first goal is met, when the strategic
plan has been set up, when the steps are being taken. The
fear-tinged hope begins to change to a confidence, and the
can-do attitude that brought the person to the brink of their
dreams is now carrying them firmly into living those dreams.
There is nothing more amazing!
Fear is usually fear of the unknown. So, educate yourself
further on what it is you need to do. Say out loud what it is
that you want for your own life, then write it down, and then
begin exploring. What classes are being offered – at
Abundance Bound, and also through other resources in your
community? Who can you talk to (not just fellow actors) to
find out what things they are doing to develop financial
independence? What books can you read that will help you
start to develop the skills you need to have success. All of
these things will help ease the fear a little, replacing inaction
with action.
This month, what will YOU do to ask fear to sit back for a
little while?
The financial technology being shared with you in the
Abundance Bound newsletters and seminars, was created by
Loral Langemeier, founder of Live Out Loud, Inc. She has
been heralded as “the best-kept secret in the financial
industry,” and her pioneering efforts as a financial coach and
strategist have won her the attention and praise of many of
today’s business, financial, and personal development
leaders. For more information on Loral’s products, services
and events, visit our website or call Abundance Bound at 1-
800-768-0281.
