The Importance of Perspective for Actors and Creators

It’s easy to bash yourself as an entertainer and to blame yourself as the main reason for not reaching your goals. That feeling especially grows and festers when you feel like you’re “stuck.” Though it sounds like a cliché, that mode of thinking can become the anchor that keeps your ship from discovering islands of opportunity. In this article, we break down those feelings and take on perspective in a healthy way to keep you moving forward.

In the book, Now You Tell Me! 12 Actors Give the Best Advice They Never Got, David Oyelowo states, “No matter how balanced you are as an individual, being an actor does produce a particular brand of neurosis that is born out of rejection, born out of anxiety about where your next job is going to come from and born out of being a very social animal because that’s part of your job.”

Everyone within online media and entertainment has gone through the feelings of distress and failure, no matter their career highlights. That is when perspective needs to come in. Sure, there’s always room for improvement. But we must learn about, and accept that there are, external factors that are out of our control. Understanding these factors will not only help your creative journey but also your overall mental health.

Breaking Down The Industry

The market for online media and entertainment is constantly changing and becoming incredibly saturated. When it comes to online content, technology has become more affordable and accessible. People are able to easily access what they need to create and share their own forms of entertainment to the world. The obstacle in finding and keeping an audience comes from this “boom” — where more creators enter into the market, while at the same time, newly inspired media corporations also take the plunge from TV to online streaming content. This thins-out the potential of audiences, as they’re pulled to different entertainment destinations, and spread thin across online content.

When it comes to acting, technology and evolving processes have made it easier to receive updates on opportunities. You’re also able to connect and respond directly to the right people much quicker. Unfortunately, it has also made it more difficult as more people have that same access and reach as you. There are many more faces and names that you have to work your way through, in order to be seen. Also, the time taken for the decision-making process has become drastically shorter. This makes actors be on constant alert for new gigs so they can respond in mere minutes of a posting.

These are just a few of the larger changes but many more exist out there. Consider what the industry was like when you first started, and then look at how it is today. What aspects have changed? How do people engage with content now? How has marketing adapted for different forms of content? Are there new expectations from the consumers of entertainment?

Invest the time to discover the answers to these questions. From there, figure out how you can implement that information into your current process. For example, perhaps you land on a new trending platform where you can share your content. You can now take actions that help you get your self established on that platform. If you’re an actor, maybe you learn about a shift in expectations of how actors portray characters. Based on this discovery, you can create new acting clips that showcase what you’ve learned and place them on your online profiles for casting agents.

Gaining Perspective

Does this process guarantee instant success in your creative endeavors? No, but it will give you a new healthy appreciation for all of the work you’ve done, and provide some of the next steps that you can take in your career. It’s about getting rid of the inner voice that says “I suck”, “I’m slipping”, or “I’m not working hard enough.” Getting beyond these statements, with the right perspective, you’re more readily able to evolve in a logical manner that keeps you moving forward.

Make it a goal, whether tonight or over a weekend, to track the path you’ve taken. Review where your industry has moved toward and how it’s changed. Start planning how you can adapt to those changes. Don’t put so much weight on the past, which doesn’t exist anymore. Don’t place too much weight on the future, which isn’t here yet. Give yourself some credit and some perspective.

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