Television, here I come! Week 10. 'The Teacher'

The teacher in you.

What a great way to wake up this morning and feel aligned and taken care of.  I read TheDailyLove.com every morning to help me get my day started and today's featured blog was by Mariel Hemingway...and I thought, "Oh wow, this is exactly what I was thinking about this week!"  Collective consciousness.  But, it's an 'inspiring' blog, give it a read.

Mariel's blog is titled "Inspiration from Within".  I've been out of acting class for almost a year now.  It was a difficult decision after 6 years but, it no longer served its purpose for me...no longer was I experiencing growth but, I found myself just...hiding away and passing time.  Not because of the school..because of me.  I was using it as a crutch to stay in my comfort zone.  I was an active student at the school but, I wasn't an active working actor in Los Angeles.  And, I wanted to work.  I kept telling myself, "I can't stop training, I can't stop training", "I won't book jobs if I stop training", "I need coaching", "I can't do this on my own", yada yada yada.  Talk about fear and excuses.  I constantly felt this tug of war...I knew I needed to make some changes but, the other part of me was scared to leave.  Plus, it was such a community...I met most of my friends there...how can I leave my home away from home? 

Deep down, I knew.  And as scared as I was to leave 'home', I had to.  I needed to finally trust my heart and give up something to make room for something else.  Here's the irony or, what I'd like to call MAGIC...I began booking.  Why?  Because I freed up that time of fighting myself and instead figured out ways to make me happy.  I asked myself what I really wanted, and how I was going to get it.  I wanted to book jobs...ok, what do I have to do?  Take new headshots, do daily submissions, and take some workshops.  Of course this didn't take overnight, but, it happened...I look back now and it happened.   Here's an Oprah Winfrey quote..."You CAN have it all, you just can't have it all at once".

Once I get back from Korea, I'll be getting back to my grind as an actor..I want to train again.  I have audited some schools and I feel there are two coaches that are right for me, right now.  Larry Moss for Scene Study, and Billy O'Leary for On-Camera.  I got excited when I audited their classes, that was my sign.  So, I can't wait to take the best vacation, and come back recharged.  I know time away from acting will help me reassess what my next steps will be.  Sometimes you just gotta walk away to gain a more clear and direct perspective.  Even this blog, I've been sitting in front of the computer for some time now but, I walked away to eat...and not eat in front of my computer while writing but, eat sitting at my dining table and just eating.  Now, I'm back to write again.

I thought I chose this career for the fame and fortune but, I think I really chose it because I wanted to live a purposeful life.  It goes deeper than money and fame...if it was, there's no way I'd still be doing it.  The ART of acting has taught me to live more consciously...and you know what's cool..when you're conscious, you become the observer rather than the person in a situation...you begin to see why you say and do things, how you say and do things, and this can be the greatest acting lesson of your life.  Then you compile all these true things about yourself and put it into your craft.  And this way, you are best at what you do, because it's simply you. 

Try this with me this week, whatever you're doing, try to become the observer for a bit.  For example, when you're talking to your friends, observe yourself..your body language, the words you choose to use, your feelings.  But, don't judge.  Just observe.  You'll see how dynamic and interesting you are.  Whenever I can do this, I learn about human behavior and relationship...and that's what acting's all about, right? 

Above all else, trust that you have that inner compass, inner guide, inner teacher.  Yes, it's important to have a great teacher in your life but, the greatest teacher is yourself.  As the actor, it's important to study the craft but, as the artist, it's important to live the life you are meant to live.


Last Week's Goal:  Daily submissions, hanging out and working out.

Update:  Done!

This Week's Goal:  Same thing.  I'm relaxing until I go on my trip.  :)



Have a conscious week!


with LOVE,

Alex


I've been obsessed with this song for some time now.  "Marchin On" by OneRepublic.