How many times have you gone over the worst-cast scenario over and over in your mind? “Casting probably hated my audition, they’ll never call me in again!”
“I don’t even know why I bother submitting, that other actor is probably gonna book it anyway.”
“Even if I book this, I probably won’t be able to perform on set, then everyone will know I’m a fraud and I’ll be ruined!”

Sound familiar? And are you also thinking–“well, it’s kinda’ true.”

Have you ever thought that maybe you’re calling in that negative energy, perhaps even self-sabotaging by playing those scenarios over and over again? And this isn’t just woo-woo, law of attraction stuff I’m talking about. I’m talking legit scientific evidence, that when you replay a scenario over and over in your head, your mind thinks it’s happening, and it creates neurological patterns in your brain so that this then becomes what you are trained to do.

Think about when you were learning to drive. You probably had to pay attention to every little detail, check the mirrors, hold the steering wheel, use the signal–now, you just know what to do on auto-pilot. Why? Because you’ve done it so many times that your brain figured out that this is what you need to do well, so it made it so you can do it automatically. Muscle memory is a crazy thing.

So think about if you’re constantly going over your failed auditions, or going into auditions already defeated–eventually, your brain is gonna think “hey, they is an important pattern to learn, let’s create neurological connections so that we can get this outcome on autopilot!”

Did I just blow your mind a little?

Instead, what would happen if we focus on WHAT WE WANT to happen? Adopt a “winning attitude” as they say? Our brains would figure out that pattern and seek out ways to get us to start winning automatically.

I get it, you’re thinking, “but booking a job is 99% out of our hands”. But putting out great auditions isn’t. When you go at each and every audition as if you’re the right choice, as if you’re the best choice–even if you don’t book the job, you’ll book the room.

You’re gonna create that je ne sais quoi about you that makes casting and production just WANT to give you work. Because lets face it–no one wants to book a loser.

What you need to be doing is getting clear on what you want. Most of us don’t even know what that is. Most of us stop at “I want to be a working actor.” Okay, so what does that look like? How much money are you making? What are you booking: commercials, TV/Film, theatre? What sort of roles do you play: Hero, Actor/Principal, Supporting, Lead?

Then go a step further, how does the rest of your life change as a result of you booking these roles? Are you going to swanky parties, walking red carpets, living in LA, travelling around the world? Pick only the best things, don’t focus on the negative aspects of fame, or be afraid that you’ll lose friends. This is your IDEAL REALITY, there doesn’t need to be anything but the very best.

If you’re not sure, read some biographies, follow some of your favourite actors on social media and see what their lives are like. I personally found my spirit actor to be Amanda Brugel. We are both BIPOC women living in Toronto, moms of two boys, and happily married. I discovered her because she was a recurring actor on three of my favourite shows SIMUTANEOUSLY! I didn’t even know that was a thing. At that moment, it was like she allowed me to dream a little bigger.

And don’t go trolling all the actors that you commonly find yourself in the casting room with. Don’t come from a place of competition or jealousy–this is to inspire you to dream bigger, not perpetuate your sense of lack. There are enough roles out there for us all.

Now that you have that beautiful future all laid out, spend your time using your imagination (we are actors after all), and play out that scene, picture what you’d be wearing, what you’d be hearing, smelling, tasting. Focus on the BEST CASE SCENARIO and see what happens. As Albert Einstein used to say:

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”