When I was a kid, Santa gave me an ant farm. It was an unexpected surprise. I remember staring at it in wonder, watching the little creatures scurry back and forth, creating tunnels that would overlap in endless patterns.
And then the ants died.
Kids move on quickly, so the farm ended up in the trash and I shifted my attention to the next toy. But now that I’m an adult, I have a deeper understanding of how that gift worked and what a horrible world it contained.
You see, those ants were trapped in there without a monarch because federal law prohibits the sale of queens. So the poor bastards spent their lives tunneling back and forth without real purpose. They had no hope of propagating. It was just mindless labor that would lead to an early grave.
Now here comes the analogy that will make you cringe.
It’s been my experience that a lot of actors live their lives the same way. They struggle in their careers, mistaking pointless activity for real movement. And just like those ants, they waste their time and never get anything done.
Sorry. Did I just ruin your holiday spirit? Well, don’t sweat it. My Christmas gift to you is a course correction that will help you start 2015 with purpose.
First, I want you to put your career on hold for the next few weeks. That means no more submissions or workshops. And I don’t want you thinking about getting new pictures, reformatting your résumé, editing a reel, or performing any other mindless labor. Instead, I want you to enjoy the holidays. Spend time with your loved ones. Check out a local charity. Eat plenty of good food. And suck in all the Christmas spirit you can handle.
But in the back of your mind, I want you to start mulling over what you really want to accomplish next year. And I’m not talking about vague goals like “start working” or “become successful”—that’s too general. I want you to be specific. And I want you to write down those goals.
In 1979, a study was conducted on the Harvard MBA program. Graduate students were asked if they had set clear, written goals for the future. The result was that 3 percent had written goals, 13 percent had goals that weren’t in writing, and 84 percent had no goals.
Ten years later, the same group was interviewed and the results are telling. The 13 percent who had goals but did not record them were earning double the amount of the 84 percent who had no goals. And the 3 percent who had clear, written goals were making 10 times as much as the other 97 percent combined.
So between my doomed ants and those Harvard grads, there are two lessons to be learned here: First, you need specific goals if you want to succeed. And second, writing down those goals will help keep you focused.
Now, it’s not for me to tell you what those goals should be. That’s up to you. Just be honest and realistic.
It might be fun to work on this exercise with some of your actor friends, but it could be just as effective on your own. The trick is to start the New Year with a clear understanding of what you want to get done. And if you can at least do that, your future will be brighter than Rudolph’s nose.
Like this advice? Check out more from Secret Agent Man!
