The uphill battle of achieving one’s dream can be discouraging. I won't lie to you – my life as a reggae artist hasn't turned out exactly as planned.Here’s a recent question I received from an aspiring actor: “Hey I see you had a post about jobs. What if the only job you were able to get was 9 to 5, what’s your advice?”
It’s a question actors have been struggling with since the Earth cooled. Tending bar or waiting tables isn’t for everyone, so what to do?
While a part-time job frees up your schedule to attend auditions, full-time has its pluses as well, like a regular paycheck and benefits, with enough money to pay for several classes and headshots and marketing yourself. And it’s important in our very challenging pursuit to have fun in our free time, and working scattered hours for day-laborer wages will leave your social life as limited as Mongolian cuisine.
So if a full-time job is your only option, then absolutely go for it. If you’re lucky, you’ll have a boss that’s pulling for you and will allow you to leave for auditions, but mostly likely you won’t, so take a deep breath and sneak out. I’ve done it myself during my occasional writing assignments, and I’ve turned it into a real science.
Whatever way you wind up funding yourself is going to have its share of both pleasantries and dogshit. But remember: you choose to come here and sacrifice, so step up and do whatever it takes. And remember this as well: obstacles are there to help you decide whether you really want something, or just think you did.
See you soon.
