Seven Steps of Being in Alignment to Book

If alignment is defined as the act of adjusting parts so they work relative to one another, being in alignment to book means that everything required for your success as an actor is working together to help you achieve your goals. In this article, I'll discuss internal and external factors that influence your ability to book consistently. Whether you're a young actor or a veteran, considering how these elements apply to you will show you where you need to focus. Small shifts can reap great rewards.

Raise Your Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is the confidence in your ability to think and make choices. It's the confirmed belief in your right to be successful and happy, in being worthy and deserving. Understanding the connection between your level of self-esteem and your capacity to achieve success as an actor is critical.

In this business it's impossible to thrive if you're in an adversarial position with yourself. Through ups and downs, you must maintain confidence and trust in your ability. When people with high self-esteem suffer setbacks, they're apt to recover more quickly than those with low self-esteem. Looking to yourself for validation instead of relying on others will keep you strong and capable. You alone determine your worth and the value of your contribution.

In Nathaniel Branden's book The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, he explores the importance of self-esteem in various aspects of personal achievement. He prescribes living consciously and purposefully, practicing self-acceptance, self-responsibility, self-assertiveness, and personal integrity. When your self-esteem is high, you have a constant supply of inspiration and motivation: You're confident that you can handle the challenges of this business.

Become Proactive

Being proactive means taking action and being responsible for those things over which you have influence, both supporting and increasing your self-esteem. In a reactive state, you empower things you have no influence over and often feel frustrated, fatigued, and powerless. To shift to a proactive state involves three actions:

1) Raising your energy level so you have the strength to overcome any frustrated feelings, which tend to put you in a state of resistance.

2) Bringing awareness to your goals after you define them and taking a realistic view of where you are relative to achieving them. List your concerns (money, getting an agent, etc.) to see how you're spending most of your time, thoughts, and energy. Determine which concerns you have influence over and which you don't. Decide what actions will help you attain your goals and bring order to your life.

3) Making a contract with yourself and committing to doing whatever it takes to be successful. When you take control of your life and career, you come from a place of power.

Be Consistent, Follow Through

Without consistency and follow-through, you neither see the effects of your actions nor have an accurate assessment of what's working for you and what isn't. Whereas being proactive defines your intentions, being consistent and following through is the constant attention you give to achieving your goals.

Look at projects or efforts you may have started but not finished. Think about the contract you made with yourself to be proactive. To fully honor that contract, you must be vigilant with your word, finish what you start, and take the matter of your integrity seriously.

When you stay consistent, you reinforce your commitment to yourself and your goals.

Know the Business

Knowledge is power. If you expand your knowledge of the business and act on it -- discovering what's expected of you by agents, managers, casting directors, etc., and what you can expect of them -- the business of booking will no longer be a mystery.

Talk to friends and acquaintances in the business. Find a mentor -- someone who is knowledgeable, who understands your goals and can guide you. Network with actors via support groups and online forums. Attend industry events. Explore internships at casting or production companies.

When you know the business, you can formulate an effective plan of action -- one that includes the right tools and enables you to best market yourself.

Project Both Type and Quality

Type and quality are related parts of what you project. They're reflected in what people see, hear, and watch you do, and both should be easily recognizable from your headshot.

Your type is who you are physically -- aspects that will remind people (CDs, directors, etc.) of a particular stereotype. Without saying a word, you may remind people of a cop, a mom, a retail clerk. Figuring out your type isn't difficult, but accepting it can be. Your quality, meanwhile, is the unique behavior you apply to your type. This comes from within and is your manifested essence -- flirtatious, warm, arrogant. Your type and quality together are what make you a warm mom or an arrogant businessperson.

You must define your type and quality as specifically as possible. Resolve any conflicts between how you view yourself and how the industry views you. Then get headshots with the sole intention of conveying your type and quality.

When you're clear about what you project, you tell the business who you are and where you fit in.

Lift Your Skill Level

Your ability to make and execute choices determines your level of skill. This means having the capacity to look at material, understand it, and take action to create a personal interpretation. You have to do this unhesitatingly and in a relaxed, credible, dynamic way, resulting in a fluid mind-body connection. To get there, however, you need sufficient consciousness about your skill level. When you're out of alignment, you might be in a state of denial or grandiosity, prone to rejecting professional criticism or blaming your lack of results on external factors.

Do you feel confident breaking down sides or copy? Are your choices always well-executed? Are your audition skills truly sharp? Do you take and follow direction well? Answering these questions will help bring a higher level of consciousness to your level of skill.

When you're secure in your skill level, you walk into auditions with confidence.

Expand Your Creativity

Creativity is using your imagination to develop new and original ideas -- and channeling them into dynamic and interesting forms. If you fail to attend to your creativity, you're laying the groundwork for boredom and frustration, which lead to repetitive actions and stagnant work, thus pulling you out of alignment.

To get in alignment, you must expand your creativity -- feeding your imagination with experiences and observations. Try writing, painting, sculpting, dancing, traveling, visiting galleries, attending cultural events, or playing music.

When you expand your creativity, you fortify your artistic voice, allowing you to stand out with a more unique, imaginative interpretation of whatever material you are working with.

Conclusion

These seven elements are interrelated, but more important, they're interdependent. One positive shift can create many positive results. Consider being proactive and sending out your headshot. If it doesn't accurately portray who you are, you won't be called in for the right roles, and you probably won't book, affecting your self-esteem and causing you to lose your drive to be proactive. It's a domino effect, up or down.

Alignment is also a question of power. It's not about doing everything but about finding the right things to do and doing them. Developing and maintaining each element will create a flow of opportunity and the confidence of being prepared, increasing your likelihood of booking as well as giving you more control over your life and career.