12. “Let’s talk about sex baby”…. I mean goals

“If we aim at nothing, we will surely hit it”  – Anon

***Warning – this blog contains the s word noted in the title***

Sex, goals.  Same thing? 

Oh that’s right, they aren’t…. and yet we make sure we set aside some time to take a check on dating, meeting new potential bf’s and gf’s and all the other fun stuff that relates to getting to the good bits, but we don’t always set goals for ourselves professionally.  Maybe I am being a little extreme. Okay, so perhaps you don’t actually sit down and say I plan on dating 5 people in 2011 and going on 15 dates by April.  But I bet if you are single you do imagine in your mind what your perfect guy or girl looks like, how fit they are, how they make you giggle, and how their smile lights up a room.

Am I right?  Of course I’m right.  And I further bet you don’t always sit down and spend the same amount of time daydreaming about what that perfect acting job looks and feels like, what you are wearing, what the studio looks like, who you are talking to, how it feels as you are learning the lines or getting ready for that next take.

If we did that, if we actually set aside some time to imagine and realise our perfect “acting date“, I think we would be in a far stronger position in our professional careers.

An acting friend of mine was recently struggling.  She called me the very next day to share this wonderful moment she had had.  She had spent a week humming and harring about how tough it all seemed and how she wasn’t having any luck in the industry (check out The Struggle for more on this).
Then suddenly it had dawned on her like a shark hitting Bondi Beach that she was no longer taking the time to visualise success in her head.  Instead she was copping out by thinking about all the negative things that were going on.  That night she sat down and did a breathing exercise and spent 20 minutes in her bedroom quietly and in the dark and really imagined all the things she wanted.  She booked an audition the very next day.  Because that’s how the world works.

Navigate your way back to success

Maybe you aren’t into visual exercises in your room with a little candle action and happy thoughts so let us take this back to goals.  It has been suggested numerous times that only 20% of people set goals (well actually it’s predicted to be even less), but of those who do set goals, 80%+ of them will achieve them.  Now these are big statistics that have been shown to be correct time and time again. I know for a fact that goal setting works for me year after year.

A wise anonymous person once said “If we aim at nothing, we will surely hit it”.

So if you aren’t into visual exercises then why not buy yourself a moleskin diary and a little HB pencil and start writing down your goals instead.  It will only take you 20 – 30 minutes maximum but the rewards will be far greater.  Ask yourself what you ACTUALLY want from 2011:

• Where will you be by March, June, Sept and Dec? 
• What will you have achieved? 
• How much money will you have made?
• Who will you be working with?
• What will you be doing differently to get new results?

If you are willing to do that, it’s all rock and roll for 2011, with or without any sex.

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Some tools to get you started: Mindtools

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What I would really love this post is for some brave actors to share what their 2011 goals will be!  Sharing is caring, and it also makes us accountable.  So if you are game please post a comment below so we can all read one anothers’ 2011 goals (even if it is just one each) and take a check on where we will be next year.