Don’t Lose Yourself in the Limelight
“Being true to yourself means you don’t worry about pleasing other people; living by someone else’s standards or rules. You don’t care what people think of you. You live as your natural self. Without compromise. No one can tell you how to be true to yourself except you.” – Michael Feeley, The Huffington Post
As you get more ingrained in the entertainment industry, you may find you come across a million different people with a million different plans for you. Chances are you will encounter a multitude of professionals who are hoping to partner with you on your way to the top. This includes agents, managers, other creatives, colleagues, and like-minded talent who all want to share in your success.
One of the most important things you’ll need to learn as you become “known” in the industry is to always stay true to yourself and the goals you set for yourself. This means you maintain a solid understanding of what makes you happy and what you hope to accomplish even if your goals don’t align with someone else’s.
Pleasing others at the expense of yourself is one of the biggest mistakes you can make, especially in entertainment – and it’s easy to do. After all, it’s much easier to go with the flow and fit in with the crowd than take a risk and stand out. But, in order to truly be successful, you must take those risks and carve your own path.
Being true to yourself starts with understanding who you are as a person – your own unique strengthens, weaknesses, ambitions, desires. Once you have a clear understanding of what you want out of your career, you can focus on exactly what you’ll need to do to get there.
If you’ve done this internal work, you’ll be far less likely to lose yourself in the limelight. This means you’ll be less likely to fall for someone else’s pie-in-the-sky promises of fame and fortune. You’ll be less likely to dye your hair a certain color, wear certain clothes, pursue certain opportunities because “everyone’s doing it”.
Remember, you want to stand apart from the competition, not blend into the background. In order to get entertainment experts to remember who you are, you can’t look like, act like, or pursue exactly the same opportunities as the person sitting next to you.
Never give up. Never let go of your dream. And, above all, never compromise who you are.
