The Process and Factor of Fear

It is important to take actions based on knowledge. Through repetition that knowledge is then turned into talent. The formula for Talent is knowledge + physical repetition. This is a physiological process that is only effective if you understand it and take advantage of it. You should practice the process of talent on a daily basis with the talents that you have defined from a physical position. If you are clear about your product, clear about your package, clear about your personal position of play, and clear about the odds being in your favor, then you have the right equation. However, many people who claim to want an acting career, get virtually nowhere because they are missing part of the equation. They are avoiding something and the answer is always the same. It is fear. It may be fear of success, fear of failure, fear of exposure, or fear of denial. But, they all have one thing in common. It is fear. Therefore, the process of fear needs to be addressed and understood.

Fear is the opposite of talent and it can be eliminated the same way talent can be achieved… knowledge plus physical repetition. Regardless of what you fear it can still be eliminated once it’s acknowledged. This is something your creature is instinctively trying to avoid. As you know, your creature will do anything to keep you from achieving your goals and acknowledging the fears that are standing in the way of your actions. The creature maintains the ability to cause physical discomfort whenever you begin the process of control. The discomfort comes from the duality of purpose between the physical body and the spiritual self. They each have an agenda for your life energy, which you have been entrusted with.

The obstacles in your life are empowered by your perception. Your perception is either controlled by your creature’s fight or flight survival agenda or by your spiritual need to explore the consequences of your life choices. Your spiritual energy empowers you through the use of positive perceptions and allows for the creation of actions toward resolve. However, if you’re creating pain by undermining your path to be a successful professional actor, you need to acknowledge that your creature’s apparent instinctive needs are at work. Fear is in your way. There is no doubt about it. The excuse for not being where you want to be could be based on fear. Fears may manifest themselves differently but, in truth, they are all the same. It may be difficult to realize that the things standing in the way to your becoming a professional actor are the things you do to yourself. And, these things are supported by the fears that you harbor. It could be your lack of action. It could be your refusal to take stock of your talents. It could be your avoidance of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of your abilities in relation to the competitive market. Your fears, once recognized however, can be made powerful and competitive.

In order to create actions that lead to positive results, you need to also understand what actions will work based on the business itself. One reason you may have difficulty in creating effective actions is the fear of what the business expects of you. There is a belief that anyone can act because it appears to require no special training. This myth allows many aspiring actors to avoid seriously evaluating their abilities. On the other hand, many believe that making it requires luck, of which, the majority do not believe they have. The irony is that they are correct because luck can only happen when preparation meets opportunity. If the preparation is not there due to in-action, then the opportunity would be missed even if it appeared.

Your life is also controlled by the meaning you give to a situation. Bitterness is a powerful meaning to associate with getting an agent, securing a union card, making the right connections. The bitterness comes from fear. The part of you that is the creature will take advantage of any emotion that seems to bring out the worst in you. That creature is your constant companion, your mate for life. It is that part of you that, during the course of your growth and development, has collected fears in order to maintain the safety and supposed well being of your vessel, your physical body. You may have intellectually matured. You may have made efforts to become emotionally healthy. Meanwhile, this creature continues to respond on an emotional and childlike level.

Your emotional system is at the creature’s disposal. It controls the keys to the buttons that, once pushed, result in your responses based on fear. Changing this automatic system requires acknowledging and becoming conscious that this creature exists in you. Ironically, it has no desire to hurt you. How could it? It is you. Talent is the only sure-fire way to give your creature a sense of comfort so it trusts that you will protect his or her being. In Talent the creature no longer feels a need to protect you!

Address those things in your life that make you angry. Pay attention to your internal dialogue. The things you fear are topics of that internal dialogue. Have a wonderfu week. Enjoy the journey.

I wish you well.
Russ