The Courage to Start
Dreaming is wonderful and important work. But the dream doesn’t show up if you don’t. You must make a start. You would be astonished to know how many parents tell me that their child dreams of becoming an actor but they don’t feel confident enough to come to their first class. Let me say, you don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great. Dreams are wonderful, but we get rewarded for action not ideas.
Blank pages. Empty stages. That’s where we all begin. No exceptions. Every screen play began with a single word. Every actor had their first class and their first audition, their first role, their first lead and their first award. Life is just a series of first times.
Well. I know our students have the courage to start because they’ve already stepped ‘into the arena.’ They’re already doing classes, creating films and producing shows. But for every child who is ‘in the arena’ learning new skills, finding their confidence, their voice and their passion, there are thousands still sitting in the stands wondering if it’s really for them, plagued with thoughts like:
“Will I be any good?”
“Will people like me?”
“Is it really my thing?”
Well, my advice for what it’s worth is. There’s only one way to truly find out!
“Give it a go!”
Will you be any good?
Who cares? You don’t have to be good at everything you try. You will most certainly be better in your second week then your first week. And you’ll most definitely be better in your second year than your first year. AND now you’ve got me started, what’s so damn important about being the best at everything anyway? Can’t you just do something because you enjoy it anymore? And BTW who gets to decide who’s good and who’s not anyway?
Next, “will people like me?” Yes, they will! But that’s irrelevant too. You’re not following your passions and interests so that other people will like you. You’re following your passions and interests so that YOU will like you! BUT, let me tell you a life hack if you haven’t found your tribe YET – the tribe you are looking for does exist. And they are all hanging out in the rooms that you secretly wish you had the courage to enter. So get yourself in those rooms, quick-sticks and find your peeps.
Finally, is it my thing?
I honestly don’t know. I do, however know that the only way you will find out is by engaging in the five seconds of madness it takes to walk through a door for the first time. After that, trust me, you will know if it’s for you or not. But it’s not just about whether ‘acting’ is for you. That’s just one door of many. It’s about whether you are in the business of opening doors for yourself or closing them on yourself.
Remember, you can’t finish something you didn’t start. Every black belt was once a white belt. Every professional actor was once an amateur.
Starting can be scary because we don’t know what will happen next. Please try to reframe this as an exciting part of the adventure. You need to walk a mile to see a mile. Imagine going on an adventure from The Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast and deciding that you’re not going to leave until all the lights on the way are green. You can always start where you are, with what you’ve got. That is always enough. You are always enough to make a start. You might not be enough to walk straight into a lead in a major motion picture, but you are enough to take a first step, like taking a class.
Start as small as you like but make a start!
Starting is the only way anything ever gets done.
What are you waiting for?
Andrew “Five Seconds of Madness” Wright