Do You Know Who You Are?

Please understand that I love what I do.  I absolutely love that I’m a dream-chaser.  I love performing.  I love writing and entertaining.  I really do.  I love that I am a believer.  I love knowing that the sky is my only limit.  Whew!  What a feeling!

But last night I was taken to a place.  I was taken to a place that made me want to act a straight up fool.  I attended a casting panel discussion, and as always at those kinds of things there are more than a couple wide-eyed newbies hoping to get the secret to success.  Hoping and praying to God that mega knowledge will get dropped and they will leave the event ten steps closer to superstardom.  Is it possible?  Absolutely, because I believe anything is possible.  But to the wide-eyed hopefuls I would first say, “Know who you are and know your worth.”

As opposed to being concerned with:

-- Do I join SAG or don’t I?

-- Is my hair the right length?

-- I have a lot of story ideas but I’m not sure how to proceed.

-- I don’t want to be type-cast.

Can I just please ask you to stop?  Please.  Here’s my advice to you:  figure out what you want, and get very specific with your answer.  “I want to be famous,” won’t suffice.  What do you WANT?  To get a novel published?  To land a spot on a sitcom?  To land a national commercial?  To land a Broadway role?  To become a staff writer for network or cable TV?  To have your music featured in a major film?  What do you WANT?  And take some time to figure it out because I want you to get needle-point specific with this thing.  Yes – split hairs.  Yes – get down to the minute details of it.  Be able to declare it in a single sentence and make certain that’s a sentence that speaks clearly to all – even those that don’t work in your field.  Get specific.

Once you know exactly what you want, I need to know who you are and what you’re bringing to the table.  And it’s not so much that I have to know; more so that I need YOU to know.  Get very clear here.  Who are you as it relates to the “what” that you want?  If you want to be a master painter are you at least a so-so painter right now?  If you aim to be a restaurateur are you bringing to the table an impeccable palate?  Who are you and what are you bringing to the table – as it relates to your ultimate goal?  Define those things and again, get very specific.  Go ahead and put pen to paper and make a list that you can see with your own eyes.  Study that list.  Highlight your strengths and take note of the areas where you need improvement.  And then get excited because no matter how much improvement you need, you’re now closer than you think.  You can now have an intelligent conversation with anyone about what you’re trying to accomplish and you will sound much more learned and confident now that you’ve defined these things for yourself.  They may or may not be able to directly assist you on your journey, but you will leave a positive impact as opposed to being a passing thought.  And at the end of the day that’s what we all want…to be remembered – positively.  And that’s an energy you have the power to create for yourself.

Take this post for nothing.  Take it for everything.  But you will never get anywhere without first knowing who you are and what exactly you’re bringing to the table.  Trust me; they can all smell your fear and desperation a mile away.  If you do nothing else you had better stand up straight and “act as if,” because nobody wants to help someone that appears to not know where they’re going.

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES. 

photo:  www.stockfreeimages.com