I was 8 when my brother was born.
I’m pretty sure I thought my parents had him because I’d asked them to. And this *might* actually be true.
Every Christmas I asked for two things. A miniature, real car (why??) and a Baby Alive doll.
I never got either.
I was a determined little person, so one year I decided to one-up myself and ask for the real thing: A real baby, that is. So I got to work leaving notes all around the house – in drawers, under pillows, on desks – begging my parents to have a baby.
I wrote that I would change its diaper, feed it and let it sleep with me.
I wanted a baby so badly that when I told my first-grade teacher that my mom was pregnant, she didn’t believe me! I remember her response so vividly. She said, “You know, Heather, sometimes when we want things so badly, we actually believe they’re true.
Harrumph! I’m sure I stamped my smug little foot when she found out I was telling the truth
Well, they did have a baby. And true to my word, I took care of him.
I fed him, changed his diaper, put him to sleep, let him crawl into my teeny twin bed if he got scared in the middle of the night, and I was in heaven.
I even loved it when he wanted to tell me about a movie he just saw. He would come home and say, “I just saw He-Man and the battle of Thor” [or whatever]...can I tell you about it?”
I always said yes, even though I knew this would not be a synopsis of said movie. I knew he would literally give me the blow-by-blow.
For two hours.
You’d think, as a teenager who listened to Yaz on repeat, I wouldn’t have had time for that. But I made time. Because I was obsessed with him.
Obviously, I’m not talking about the creepy kind of obsession, like Edward Cullen watching Bella sleep every night (yes, it counts, despite his chiseled everything), Amy from Gone Girl, or Fatal Attraction.
I’m talking about the effervescent, bouncy kind of obsession you may have for Game of Thrones, Lush bath bombs, jalapeno margaritas This is Us or Ryan Gosling.
TOTALLY different things.
Today, I want to talk about your obsession with being an actor.
You know the feeling.
It’s that fire in your belly that keeps you going for it, even though your mom always calls and says:
“You should just come home and go to work for your dad. You’ll get benefits! And a lunch hour! Oh! I forgot to tell that Timmy Parker (remember he had a crush on you in sixth grade?) moved home and now is a golf caddy at the club. What a sweet young man. And so cute, too.”
No.
You’re going to continue to make waves right where you are because you are obsessed with acting.
So here’s what I want for you.
I want your obsession with acting to become a marked and intense curiosity about yourself and the way you move through the world.
The ‘why you do what you do’ kind of curiosity.
And let’s sharpen it even further and make it about getting curious about your feelings, especially as they relate to limiting self-beliefs, your nerves before an audition or your fears of not being enough.
What is all that about?
Be obsessively curious about what’s happening in your body when those thoughts come up.
Is it that you’re freaked out that you didn’t put in the work? If so, why didn’t you? Why aren’t you preparing for this opportunity like your dreams depend on it? Does it feel too hard? Where are you feeling the fear? Your heart, head or gut?
If you want to think about your acting career from a strengths-based perspective – using your natural talents to dispel fear in the room and more fully embody your character – then you need to get curious, and ask yourself the hard questions.
Become obsessed with why you do what you do.
Keep digging.
And be honest with yourself.
Nothing will change unless you have an awareness that “a problem” exists in the first place.
And then, get obsessed with figuring out how to quiet the noise in your head so you can get out of your own way and kick some audition ass.
Maybe follow my lead and leave little notes around the house for yourself reminding you of your natural talents and how they serve you.
If you’ve taken my Mini-Course, then maybe it’s one of your favorite Power Statements taped to your steering wheel so you’ll see it on your way to your next audition.
At the very least, the notes will make smile at the ridiculousness of hiding notes for yourself. But what if this one action is like the “butterfly effect” and stirs up some real-life magical manifestation?
What if?
Are you curious enough to try it, just to see what happens?
Hey, it worked for me.
Turns out my parents saw my notes and thought to themselves, “Why not?”
Imagine what could happen for you.
p.s. Come join us in the Magnetic Actor Method Facebook group! (see how I'm asking for what I want? 😉)