Double Down
Intransitive verb
1: to double the original bid in blackjack in exchange for only one more card
2: to become more tenacious, zealous, or resolute in a position or undertaking.
As I’ve said many times – This job is hard work.
The other day, I had a student tell me that sometimes she doesn’t believe she can make acting into a full time career.
This upset me because I feel like I keep telling my students tips on how to get on the path to becoming a working actor in this market and they either aren’t being heard, or applied or worse yet believed.
So today I want to talk about THE DOUBLE DOWN.
I had a moment once when I was younger where I almost left the film industry and went into media sales. I had a great in at this big company and the job was tailor made for me.
INTERVIEWER: Can you sell yourself?
ME: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: Can you handle a lot of rejection?
ME: Yes.
I was in the second interview and the interviewer said “Listen, if you do this job I’m gonna push you hard, make you take courses and really learn this trade. We don’t do things half-ass here.”
Boom. A light went on. I realized I wasn’t doing that with my own acting career.
I walked out of that interview and decided to take that approach with acting. I was going to really push myself. I looked at what I was currently putting into my career and decided to double down. As a result of this new level of commitment things began to happen.
It’s a lesson I held onto and now anytime I waiver or come up against a challenging obstacle instead for backing off – I double down. If something isn’t going the way I want it to in my career I find a way to push myself and work harder to get past it.
If you doubt yourself, you’re challenging yourself. It’s a test of how bad you really want it. If you want it… you will dig deep and double down every time.
You want your auditions to improve? Double down. Create a peer group and run auditions 3 nights a week. Your agent isn’t getting you auditions? Double down. Find ways to be specific about what you want from them and give them all the tools you can to achieve your goals. You don’t have an agent? Double down. Get new headshots, make a demo tape, produce a short film and create a package an agent will be excited about. That is how you will see gains. When in doubt… Double Down.
This is not an easy business. I don’t understand why people think they don’t need to work their asses off to succeed. It’s simple. You get out what you put in. Period.
Everyone can do this job. You just have to believe you can do it and then put that belief into action.
Look at what you are putting into your acting career today – right this minute… and if you really really want it – find a way to Double Down.
I guarantee you will see forward movement and change.