16 Jun 5 Tips to Securing Your Sanity While Pursuing Your Dreams
When you choose to take the leap to pursue your dreams, it can be a fulfilling risk of faith. There’s so great potential and joy that goes along with rooting your life in the entertainment industry, and the experiences are well worth their weight in gold, but few people discuss the amount of juggling necessary to keep your lives balanced and healthy.
We here at BunkerLA not only want to give you the headshot prints, postcards, and business tools to make your career life a success, but we want your well-being intact as we travel down this exciting road with you.
Here are five tips to staying sane as you live the life of your dreams.
- Limit your partying to a minimum.
Parties are one thing. Partying is another. It’s easy to get caught up in the lifestyle of the Hollywood scene. It’s good business practice in every industry to socialize, meet people, and build a network, but that couldn’t be more true than in Hollywood. Events, shows, and gigs abound and with them, the flow of cocktails and after hour opportunities. Get out there! Meet people, but always stay focused on the end goal – your career. It’s hard to keep a model/actor zany schedule flowing with a hangover or do your best at that last minute audition when you’ve been out until 5 am. - Keep in contact with your close friends and family.
Whether you’re a transplant or an LA native, getting caught up in work, auditioning, shoots, and classes can easily take over your entire existence. This can be a necessity to getting ahead in the industry, but staying grounded and connected with those you love and care for outside the industry can help keep your dreams and well-being in perspective. - Make regular time for outdoor activities.
By outdoor activities, we don’t just mean grabbing your BunkerLA headshot print off your front seat and running a block to a casting call. Though much of being in LA appears concrete jungle, there are incredible opportunities to explore a hiking trail or park in your down time. Griffith, Runyon, Franklin Canyon, and even Malibu offer excellent opportunities to give yourself a change of scene and change of pace. It’s good to give yourself a little free time and fresh air outdoors on a regular basis. - Get a job you enjoy.
Few folks walk into their dreams with a suitcase full of cash. That means getting a side job until you hit it big. Everyone likes to think these jobs are only short term, and they very well may be, but if you’re building a long term career, it may take longer than you hope. That makes it imperative that you have employment that doesn’t drive you nuts. Paying your bills keeps you sane, but so does being in a healthy work environment with people you enjoy. If you’re slaving away in a job that makes you miserable, that energy will carry into your daily life. Don’t let negativity like that affect your career. - Keep the big picture in mind.
Why are you doing what you do? Think about this every day. Do something for your career and your well-being daily. It’s a great reminder. Keep the machine running. Send out postcards, submit those headshots, and think about the long game, not just today. Staying active in your career and focused on your path will create a dynamic force in your life.