How to Make Acting Your Career, Not Your Hobby

[Reyed Mia (Apprentice, DIU)]

How to Make Acting Your Career, Not Your Hobby

"I have to wake up around 8, get coffee or tea, and knit for hours and hours and hours and hours... like an old lady in a chair, catching up on podcasts, watching old Hitchcock shows. I will do it for 13 hours a day." And even after all those hours knitting, she is constantly sketching new designs or trading e-mail messages with 50 or more customers a day.

And this, about artist Caroline Colom Vasquez:

Working from home, people think it's so easy and great [but] there's nobody there to tell you to take a break, or take a vacation. This year, she expects her business to have $250,000 in sales, but she will have to divide that with the three employees she just hired because Ms. Vasquez, who has a young daughter, could no longer handle the strain.

"I physically could just not do it in 24 hours," she said. "My husband and I used to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning before the baby, then stay up till 1 or 2, stamping boxes, making shipping labels."

As you read these quotes, calculate for yourself: How many hours per day do each of these artists spend on their businesses? Eight hours? 12 hours? More? Let's be conservative and suggest that these folks average about eight hours per day focusing on their business. Now, take a moment and count up how many concentrated hours YOU spend on your acting career daily.

Wow, that was fast. My guess? Far less than eight.

Why do we, as actors, think that anything less than full commitment will somehow be enough? And why do we often stuff the hours we do dedicate in between all of the other things in our lives (rather than putting acting first and bending all others to fit)? Perhaps it's because we were told somewhere along the line that we needed to "think more seriously about our future." Perhaps we get too frustrated with the lack of tangible results in our career. Perhaps we just don't believe in our talent, or we are too scared of success? Perhaps. Perhaps. Perhaps.

As we move forward into 2014, let's recommit ourselves to addressing this issue. To get started, consider three things:

1. How do you define success? (Meaning, what needs to happen in your career that will lead you to say, "NOW I am successful.")

2. To achieve this success, how many hours per day/week/month will you need to work?

3. (And this is the hard part.): Make it happen.

If there is anything standing in your way, work through it. Remember that people make this career happen every day, even those with children, student loans, unsupportive parents, temporary housing, etc. Don't let your circumstances define who you are or where you'll end up.

https://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/backstage-experts/how-make-acting-your-career-not-your-hobby/