Too funny we are just back in the office after having spoken to some wonderful performers at SAG Conservatory who are in the reinvention process. Meaning sometimes they have held on to headshots, agents, managers, monologues for far too long and now it’s time for a fresh update. This is an incredible realization and an action that is very necessary. Why hold on to something that is not working?

I know when I first came to LA my headshots albeit beautiful in my mind were just that but too glamorous for the market. After a heart-to-heart talk with my agent we were able to zero in on looks that would work and I was off to shoot new headshots with a DP friend of mine. I retired the beloved photo and hung it on the wall and then successfully armed myself with new headshots that were workable.

This shift I just simply trusted, felt weird, but I made it and many, many bookings later I am so very happy.

Thanks again John for writing this. As performers we are already taking a risk from the mindset of hobbyist to professional and with that risk if we decide to run our business like a business we can no doubt move forward to realize incredible successes.

Be BOLD,
Kristina
KristinaHughes.com
PerformerTrack.com

“what, on my deathbed, would I regret not having tried, regardless of the ‘riskiness’ involved?”

This is my new philosophy for life. Thanks! ;)

A few times in my career I’ve owned up to discovering I no longer wanted to continue with something in which I’d invested years of my life. It’s not so much about having made a mistake as about my own changing goals and desires.

I’m going through another one of those right now. I’m hoping to have the courage to make a huge shift, while retaining enough of my current circumstances to pay the rent.

We’ll see.

The question many people ask during reinvention is, “what’s the least risky course of action?” They seem to believe this is a useful question (I’m not convinced). And they often define risk as “not making a certain income with a certain likelihood.”

The question I’m playing with is: “what, on my deathbed, would I regret not having tried, regardless of the ‘riskiness’ involved?”

It’s a question with a very different answer.

Regarding the reinvention you’re talking about, reinvention after failure, my friend Michael Neill (www.geniuscatalyst.com) gave me a great way of thinking about that: think of life as a series of experiments, NOT as a series of destinations. Then success or failure all just becomes part of the normal scheme of things. “Oops. My hypothesis was wrong. I don’t like grooming platypuses professionally after all.”