I keep seeing a common thread in people I admire...people I consider successful.
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." -Seneca
"Success is something which as to be planned and success is something which as to be earned in advanced." -Napoleon Hill
I've always said "I'm a lucky girl"....always. And if anything, I'll only get luckier because now I'm preparing for opportunities.
I've been hanging with Mrs. Lee. Mrs. Lee is a family friend who checks on me to make sure I'm okay...since I don't have family out here. She's like an aunt. Mrs. Lee is extremely successful....she owns properties all around Koreatown, has a wonderful relationship with her husband and two sons, lives in a humongous house in La Canada, has a deep spiritual life, and she smiles and laughs a lot. This lady is one happy person and it's infectious.
Whenever I meet, read, or hear about someone who is successful, I get curious. So curious. So intrigued. How did he/she do it? How long did it take? How did he/she grow up? Did he/she know it was their dream? Did he/she avoid it? Did he/she stumble upon it? Were there a lot of obstacles or was it just easy? What was going on in his/her life just before inspiration hit? What is his/her astrological sign? Were there others he/she teamed up with? How did God line up events, people, places, and things for him/her? I know it's part magic/blessing but, there's also a logical, scientific, mathematical explanation to it. It's like I have to get to the bottom of it....because there's got to be a formula.
Mrs. Lee had no idea she had a knack for real estate. In fact, she was content with her new role as a wife and stay-at-home mom. Just before her first son was born, she developed a new hobby. She would wake up in the morning and look through the newspaper for new properties listed for sale that day. Then, she would just drive around and check them out....not because she was interested in buying but, because it was just fun. She admitted that it started out as fun but she became almost obsessed with it. She did this for a year....every single day. Still no desire to pursue it professionally. Then one day, she came across a property. She said she just knew. She somehow persuaded her husband to consider investing in properties and they bought the place. Now, years later, still with no license or degree in real estate, Mrs. Lee owns much of Koreatown.
In Malcolm Gladwell's book, Outliers, this is what he talks about. All successful people have something in common...they put in the work.....they were prepared for opportunities. Have you heard of the 10,000 hours rule?? In order to become an expert at anything, you must put in 10,000 hours. Gladwell uses Bill Gates as one of his examples. When Bill Gates was in high school, his school was one of the first in the country to get computers. Bill Gates became obsessed with it. He spent all his waking hours in that computer lab...he would lose sleep just so he had more waking hours in front of the computer. Mrs. Lee was the same way, she became so entranced with real estate that she couldn't wait to wake up the next day to see what else she would discover. Neither expected or wanted anything out of it...they were just having too much fun. 'They were in their element', 'They were in the Vortex', 'Time flies when you're having fun', 'They were in the zone', 'They were using their genius/talent', 'They were flowing downstream', 'Feels like heaven'. Some expressions we hear when someone's in alignment. And they were both putting in their 10,000 hours....preparing.
Now that preparation is underway, Part 2 of the equation is opportunity. Because Bill Gates spent so much time on computers, naturally he became an expert. His expertise became so indispensable that golden opportunities specifically came his way...because no one else was able to do the job but him. Some people may say Bill Gates was 'lucky' first because his school got computers before other schools but how many other students could have taken advantage like Bill Gates did? Hundreds but, in the end, it was just Bill Gates. For Mrs. Lee, it was trusting in her preparation and expertise to see an opportunity, seize it, and turn it into luck.
I believe luck and opportunities come to all of us. Some people believe that they're un-lucky, or opportunities rarely come their way......I disagree. I believe luck and opportunities come so often that we can take them for granted or overlook them. It also has a lot to do with perception...do you choose to see your opportunities and luck? Because they can show up in unexpected ways and you may not recognize them. I think a prepared person will have a much easier time recognizing opportunities than someone who isn't as prepared. And the more you do anything, it becomes a habit....and because we are creatures of habit, I want to make a habit out of recognizing luck and opportunities.
So, here's what I'm doing as part of my preparation. I'm a professional actress. I'm a professional. When I'm working, I'm working....when I'm not working, I'm training or working on my craft to get better. This is the way. Stay in the game always, at all times. Whether it's blogging, editing, auditioning, kickboxing, reading a play, writing a script, workshops, helping a friend memorize lines, anything related to my craft, I consider it putting in my 10,000 hours. After training with Larry Moss, I realized....I have talent and I want to nurture it. I want to take my love for it more seriously, fiercely. I just joined Margie Haber's school. They specialize in auditioning techniques. I start my one month intensive at the end of August. I want to get so good at my craft that my unique expression becomes indispensable. I want to be so prepared that when opportunities and luck come my way, I'll OWN that!
But wait! Here's the most important part of the equation! Remember to FEEL good. Just like Mrs. Lee and Bill Gates, you have to enjoy it so much that you lose all sense of time...you don't care about time...in fact, time is the only thing keeping you from feeling happy. But, what happens if you don't get excited and inspired as often as you like? Honestly, I don't walk around smiling all day long...I don't always enjoy taking actions on my dream's behalf. This is when I do kickboxing or kundalini or just go for a walk with my dog. Because, my priority is to feel good.....feeling good doing any activity, whether it's acting related or not. If you don't feel good about doing something...give yourself a break from it and do something else that will make you feel good. Because in the grand scheme of things...as long as you feel good, it will all come full circle and take you to where you belong.
How cool is this? As I 'obsessed' over writing this post, I checked my email.....got a commercial callback. :)
All in all, here's the formula for success......do the work. God/Universe wants to give me everything I want and ask for. So the question isn't 'Will God/Universe give this to me?' but, 'Am I prepared and ready to receive what I asked for?'.
Have an obsessed and successful week!
Last Week's Goals: meetings, audits, administrative things.
Update: Done! I felt excited and scared at Margie Haber's orientation. That was a good sign for me so I signed up. I'm so stoked because I'll be studying with Courtney Burr first. Heard he's noooo joke. Our class starts at 6pm and I heard that he keeps you til 1 or 2 am sometimes...because he's so passionate about the work. So, bring pillows they said. Hahaha. Gulp.
This Week's Goals: I'm doing 3 workshops this month. They are all with television show casting directors. Bob Lambert for All My Children, Scott David for Criminal Minds, and Lindsay Jameson for Hawaii 5-0 and CSI NY. I have to bring in prepared scenes. So, I've started researching for scenes that really 'sell' me. And kickboxing and kundalini. :)
Will Smith! One inspiring video.
Obsessed!!!!
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