Hi, Reader -

Happy New Year. I know, I know - it's the 10th. And yet, we're still in the thick of the New Year's promises. AND its disappointments.

You know it's true.

Who among us hasn't felt the sting by now of grand plans gone awry?

For my part, I have felt all the feels in just these 10 days- hopeful to have a plan (I got an accountability partner!), proud of doing some things I wanted to do (I meditated!), confused about not doing other things (I tried to exercise, but no...), and then upset and embarrassed because I keep ghosting my accountability partner (I gotta text her!).

Happy New Year indeed.

What do you want your 2023 to look like? And how far along are you in making that a reality?

The best part for me - and maybe for you! - is that I started off the year with a Vision Board workshop that I'm presenting via Zoom.

I did one on January 3rd and the next one is January 17th. In this workshop I'll show you how to make a vision board on Canva, which is fun and inspiring and not messy at all (no glue, no scissors, no tiny magazine slivers!). Sign up here or click the image below.

In the meantime, I wanted to touch on the New Year's practice I'm noticing of people quantifying their successes and failures. And while I'm all for examining your actions and results, I'm not sure I love this. I'd love to hear what you think.

Have an awesome week and hope to see you next week.

Gladys

​

How do you measure a year?

525,600 minutes. That’s a phrase most people know, even if they’re not sure where it's from. It’s the opening phrase of the song Seasons of Love from RENT. 525,600 is the amount of minutes in a year. Seems like a lot, right? And yet, the older we get, the more they whiz by us.

I like using the New Year as a time to take stock. You can see how you spent your time, what you accomplished, what you might do better, all those things.

A New Year's trend among actors that I’ve noticed recently on social media is listing the number of auditions in the past year along with “stats.” These include bookings, callbacks, avail checks (exactly what they sound like – checking on your availability during shooting dates), or being sent to producers or director (casting sends your audition tape because you’re in the running!).

Obviously everyone prefers bookings, right?

But the other results are nothing to sneeze at, not at all! They are all manifestations of getting close.

Getting close counts in acting. Getting close often means they want you to book, that you have fans in the casting office.

In other areas, it doesn’t necessarily work that way. You can go through a convoluted interview process at JP Morgan Chase and yes, while it means they liked you, it’s not like you’re going to be in front of those recruiters all the time for the next jobs they need to fill. Eventually you’ll get a job, most likely somewhere else. In this corporate case, it's close... but no cigar.

BUT, actors can go into casting offices multiple times and for multiple projects. And we never find out why we didn’t book, only that – same as in corporate America – “they went another way.”

What am I talking about here, then?

First off, this applies to everyone, whether you're an auditioning actor or a Project Manager.

I’m concerned about this trend to overfocus on bookings, to quantify the process to the extent that an actor might feel shame or just plain bad about the lack of booking or callbacks or avail checks. Especially when the real story is that it's so much more nuanced than what the numbers may tell you.

You can apply to jobs on LinkedIn or Backstage and the truth is, you never really know why they don’t call you or, if they do and don't hire you, why they go another way.

And it’s so easy to come up with reasons why, isn’t it? Imagine a journal entry called, “Reasons why I’m not good enough…?”

Uhhh, no.

Feeling bad is easy. Don't go for easy. Understanding your results is messy. Go for messy.

Go for understanding. For knowing yourself better.

If you really want to quantify your results from last year, qualify them, too. Look over your submissions, be they self tapes or resumes and cover letters. Or both.

Look at your stuff with a dispassionate eye. How would you respond to this submission?

Don't get me wrong now - I've hired people whose resumes I hated. It happens. But in my case, it was only because I wasn’t the only one doing the hiring. My colleague advocated for the person because he was a fan.

So, look. Do the numbers. But when you do, set your mind on the RESEARCH.

Examine your last year and make a plan to do better, be better in this new year. If you do this in the spirit of knowing more, of gathering data and improving, then you are setting yourself up to have a bigger and better year.

But if you just go by the numbers, you might be disappointed. Sad. Or even discouraged.

It’s January, it’s cold and dark out and we’re all hung over from all that December energy.

BUT we can all be better. I can. You can.

Look at this practice of measuring as a signpost of where our skills can improve. Because they always can. And if you must, go ahead and post your findings, but ONLY if you feel good about doing so.

An idea for you:

Parse out your year into quarters and then work toward a 10% improvement of things you can control in each quarter. What are those things? How will you measure "10% better?"

A 10% gain over 4 quarters will yield you a gain of 68%!! That's bonkers, right, because it means you have 12 weeks to get 10% better. Tiny steps to greatness will get you there.

Have fun with this because when we’re just working toward results, we run the risk of losing the joy in the journey. And there’s too much joy to be had in life to run that risk.

About Me

I help professionals who are experiencing dissatisfaction in their careers by guiding them to create the career change they want, or by helping them to make changes and find more satisfaction in their current jobs. I often work with executives and professionals who want to change jobs, careers and their lives. I also work with many adults returning to or trying their hand for the first time at acting and other creative careers.

​

If you keep doing a job that drains you, for an organization that doesn't value you, because you are scared or worried that you can't find something else, you're missing out on the most vital opportunity to create amazing flow and connections in your life. I believe if something about your professional situation just doesn't feel right, it’s worth exploring further and finding the answer or seeking a better situation. The way I work includes potent practices to generate clarity and a greater sense of agency and empowerment in order to facilitate a complete career and lifestyle change.

​

As a career coach and working actor, I am passionate about helping my clients get clear about what they want and go after it, and after working together, they come away with renewed enthusiasm for their careers and jobs as well as more ease in their lives.

​

I invite you to reach out and book a no obligation call with me to explore options for going from overwhelmed to thriving in your career.

​