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Follow my journey as I work my way through different several self-help books, as a strategy for getting me closer to my goals and dreams.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading and a lot of listening lately. I’ll start with what I’ve been reading: “The Other 90%: How to Unlock your Vast Untapped Potential for Leadership and Life” by Robert K. Cooper. So far I have found the first few chapters of this book the most insightful, and I’d like to share my favourite quote/idea with you. I’m also want to write this down in my blog so that I can refer back to it for inspiration as I continue my journey forward.

Here’s the phrase that you need to remember: “Excel don’t Compete.” Now here’s a direct quote from the book explaining why (I’ve cited the book on my “Quotes to inspire you & me” page if you’re interested in reading it for yourself)

To compete means to run in the same race, in the same way as everyone else, constantly comparing yourself to others and knowing that, in traditional zero-sum competition, someone else must lose for you to win.

To excel means to reach beyond the best you have ever given because doing so matters to you personally, for its own sake… To excel is to know your greatest strengths and passions, and to emphasize them while honestly admitting and managing your weaknesses. To excel demands a willingness to pay exceptional attention and, paradoxically, to know when and how to think less in order to learn and experience more. To excel requires anticipating and exceeding expectations by fluidly and ingeniously working at the upper edge of your capabilities- not once in a while but hour after hour, frequently in the midst of stress, uncertainty, sudden changes, and high expectations.

Wow! Doesn’t that just fill you with inspiration? Make you want to get up and go? It does for me. When I read that last line about excelling I just felt like pumping my fist into the air and yelling “Yeah.” When you think about excelling versus competing against other people, doesn’t it make your dreams feel so much more accessible and possible? Because you don’t have to beat other people, you just need to excel everyday and work towards becoming better than yourself. When it comes to real success, beating yourself is all that matters. I really believe that personal accomplishment is way more rewarding than “winning” over someone else. Your goal shouldn’t be to win the race so that you can “beat” your opponent. Your goal should be to win the race because it is your dream to win the race, and that’s what you’ve trained to do. There are enough opportunities for those who want it bad enough to achieve their dreams. I’m on my way to getting myself into the mindset of wanting it bad enough.

This quote was particularly helpful to me, because I felt like the acting industry was all about competing against other actors for the lead roles. I found that very stressful and discouraging. When I would go into the waiting area of an audition, I couldn’t help but compare myself to the actors that surrounded me. Often I would give up on myself before I had even had a chance. Giving the role to the tall blond in the corner before I had even stepped foot in front of the director, or whoever was holding the auditions. That is neither healthy nor productive. I shouldn’t be thinking about the other people in the room. They are there to excel through the preparation they have put into this audition in one way, and I am there to excel through the preparation I’ve done in my own way. Everyone can only do their best. Trying to compete against someone else is only going to put you further behind.

Here’s what I’ve been listening to. Oprah.com’s Spirit Channel podcast with Eckhart Tolle. Here is the thought that he has put into my head that is going to be there for a long time (by the way this refers back to the bolded part of the above quote):

“I don’t know what to do with myself”: When telling yourself this statement, who is the “I” and who is the “self?” Mind boggling isn’t it? Before I continue I strongly recommend that everyone listen to this podcast. It is life changing. Basically what Tolle suggests is that the thinking “self” and the present “I” are different. That it is unproductive to define yourself by your thoughts or even your past. You are who you are right now, today. You must live in the present. Be who you feel you are now, and don’t get bogged down with negative comments you have been told in your past, or with your mistakes, or regrets. All that garbage that makes you feel bad is unproductive because all that it does it make you feel bad about who you are. Why does it have to define you? It doesn’t! Isn’t that so liberating! That you can say: so what if I was bullied as a child, or blah blah blah blah. It doesn’t matter. YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE RIGHT NOW! Get out of your head, stop criticizing yourself for past mistakes, and just enjoy life.  Wow. I don’t know if I understood Tolle exactly, but what I got out of it makes me feel amazing. Listen to it, and maybe you’ll catch something that I missed. I would love to hear it.

I hope you are as inspired as I am right now, and because I never know how to end these things… have a good night.

It has been over one week since I first arrived in Vancouver and a lot has happened in that short period of time. On our first day my boyfriend and I were very excited to have finally arrived in the city, and we spent the day doing everything that we could possibly think of. Because of the 4 hours we’d gone back (as a result of moving from New Brunswick to Vancouver) we jumped out of bed at 6:15 am, promptly got dress and walked along the sea wall to watch the sunrise. It was beautiful. Barely anyone was up, and as a result the city was peaceful and calm. The way the sun peeked out behind the mountains and then in a graceful movement appeared in full can only be described as magical. We had moved to a magical city, and we couldn’t wait to put that magic to use.

Our next stop was to the much talked about Granville Island, where we indulged in a hazelnut filled croissant at a French bakery. By this point it was only 8:00am, and I am embarrassed to admit that in New Brunswick we likely would not have even been up yet. The rest of our day included a brunch with a friend, the purchase of several necessities (like a shower curtain), a walk through Stanley Park (where we watched the sunset while sitting on a beach), and a late night movie (Warrior, 2011). I won’t bore you with the details as there are far more important things to discuss.

I wanted first to go back to my very first day in the city because, should everything eventually go as planned, I think that it will likely become a day that I’ll look back on with fondness. This journal’s purpose is to document my journey from where I am now to where I want to be. I want to be a successful working actress. That is the goal. Before you continue reading you must understand the scope of the determination that lives within me. I never just do anything. If someone has come up with one way to do things, I attempt to find a better way. That is not to say that I do not value others’ opinions, and I understand that it makes zero sense to try and reinvent the wheel. The ultimate goal here is to contribute to the world we live in through story.

What have I done so far? Well, I’ve looked into a few acting schools that I might be interested in attending. A major school that interests me is Vancouver Acting School. I’ve actually signed up to audit a workshop, through them, that is led by Larry Moss. I will update any prospective actors on all that I learn in that workshop after I attend it. I also signed up with the Casting Room to work as an extra on upcoming television shows and films that are filmed in the Vancouver area. I will update you on my experiences in that area of the industry as well.

So there you have it. My journey has begun.