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Episode 298: The Importance of Being Decisive as an Actor

Acting Business Boot Camp

Release Date: 08/21/2024

Episode 374: Stop Lying To Yourself show art Episode 374: Stop Lying To Yourself

Acting Business Boot Camp

Self-Perception and the Stories We Call “Logic” Most actors don’t think they’re afraid. They think they’re being responsible. They say things like: It’s not the right time I need to be more prepared I don’t want to do it halfway I’ll reach out once things settle down Those sentences sound calm. Thoughtful. Adult. They also quietly keep you from moving. Fear doesn’t usually sound dramatic. It sounds reasonable. And that’s why it’s so effective. Why This Matters So Much Creative entrepreneurs live in nuance. Actors are trained to consider context, timing,...

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Episode 373: Interview with James Robbins show art Episode 373: Interview with James Robbins

Acting Business Boot Camp

In this episode of the Acting Business Bootcamp Podcast, I sit down with James Robbins to talk about listening to your inner voice, building resilience, and what happens when you stop ignoring the signals that something needs to change. James shares stories from his life as a climber and leadership coach, including what he’s learned from climbing mountains, facing fear, and doing hard things repeatedly. We talk about burnout, discernment, anxiety, and how these lessons apply directly to actors navigating uncertainty in their careers. This episode is about courage, self-trust, and...

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Episode 372: Underestimation, Overestimation, and Grounded Confidence show art Episode 372: Underestimation, Overestimation, and Grounded Confidence

Acting Business Boot Camp

Self-Perception and Where We Decide We Belong I want to talk about something we reference a lot in acting, but usually only vaguely. Self-perception. It sits at the center of almost every actor’s journey. It shapes how you talk about yourself, who you reach out to, what rooms you think you belong in, and how far you let yourself go. Most of the time, we don’t even notice it happening. Why This Matters So Much I was thinking about 10 Things I Hate About You and that line about being overwhelmed and underwhelmed, and asking if you can ever just be whelmed. It made me think about actors. We...

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Episode 371: Episode 371: "There is Nothing Going on in My Career"

Acting Business Boot Camp

I hear actors say this phrase all the time: “There’s nothing going on in my career.” And I want to be very clear, that idea is almost never true. In this episode of the Acting Business Bootcamp Podcast, I talk about why that belief shows up, how it distorts your perception, and what you should be measuring instead when things feel quiet. I also share why I reshaped my Weekly Accountability Group to focus just as much on time management as accountability. This episode is about structure, consistency, and staying engaged in your acting career even when results aren’t obvious yet....

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Episode 370: You Can’t Call Yourself a Professional Actor If Your Business Is Running Like a Hobby show art Episode 370: You Can’t Call Yourself a Professional Actor If Your Business Is Running Like a Hobby

Acting Business Boot Camp

The Part of the Business We Avoid I don’t know many actors who got into this work because they love paperwork. Money. Invoices. Contracts. Admin. I avoid this side of the business not because I think it’s beneath me, but because it makes me uncomfortable. It forces me to look closely. At numbers. At patterns. At choices I’ve postponed. And lately, I’ve been reminded how common that is. Why Admin Creates So Much Anxiety I’ve had several conversations recently with actors who are genuinely scared of the financial side of their career. Taxes coming up. Receipts scattered. Invoices...

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Episode 369: How Actors Actually Change Their Year show art Episode 369: How Actors Actually Change Their Year

Acting Business Boot Camp

Actors often think a new year will change things. New calendar, new energy, new motivation. But real change doesn’t come from dates. It comes from how you structure your choices, your habits, and your expectations. In this episode of the Acting Business Boot Camp Podcast, Peter Pamela Rose breaks down the five shifts that actually help actors change their year, not in a dramatic, overnight way, but in a grounded, sustainable way that builds real momentum. This conversation is about business, nervous system regulation, consistency, and self leadership. It’s about how actors move out of...

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Episode 368: Two Tabs, One Artist- Keeping Your Spicy Work Separate (and Safe) show art Episode 368: Two Tabs, One Artist- Keeping Your Spicy Work Separate (and Safe)

Acting Business Boot Camp

The Art of Keeping Things Separate This topic comes up more than people admit. Usually in a whisper. Or an email that starts with, “This might be a weird question…” It’s not weird. It’s just complicated. A lot of actors are working in NSFW or spicy spaces. Erotica audiobooks. Adult games. ASMR. OnlyFans. Patreon. Sensual storytelling. And at the same time, they’re booking e-learning, commercials, family-friendly narration, children’s content. The work itself isn’t the problem. The overlap is. So I want to talk about how to keep those worlds separate in a way that’s...

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Episode 367: Utilize Invisible Guidance show art Episode 367: Utilize Invisible Guidance

Acting Business Boot Camp

Listening to Invisible Guidance I’ve been thinking a lot about how guidance shows up. Not in big dramatic flashes, but in the tiny whispers. The quiet nudges you feel before anything becomes a full blown lesson. And honestly, the more I look back on my own life, the more I see how often I missed the first whisper. When the Whisper Becomes a Shove I cannot tell you how many times I’ve thought, oh, I already learned this. Except I didn’t. Because the message comes back. And when I still don’t listen, it comes back again, a little louder each time. It’s not punishment. It’s just the...

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Episode 366: The Power of Yes show art Episode 366: The Power of Yes

Acting Business Boot Camp

The Word That Changes Everything I’ve been rereading Larry Moss’s The Intent to Live, and there’s a line that stopped me. He calls “yes” the most important word in acting. It sounds simple, but the more I sat with it, the more true it felt. Why We Default to No I notice how quickly I say no in my own mind. No, I’m not ready. No, someone else deserves that more. No, they’d never want me. It feels responsible. Really, it’s fear. Fear of being seen trying. Fear of messing up. Fear of stepping into something bigger than I’m used to. What “Yes” Actually Means I’m not...

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Episode 365: How to Handle Difficult Family Members Over the Holidays show art Episode 365: How to Handle Difficult Family Members Over the Holidays

Acting Business Boot Camp

Family gatherings can be beautiful. They can also feel like emotional landmines, especially when you’re an actor. One minute you’re passing the mashed potatoes. The next you’re answering a pointed question about your career from someone who hasn’t watched a show since 1998. In this week’s episode of the Acting Business Bootcamp Podcast, I talk about how to stay calm, centered, and grounded as you navigate family dynamics. These tools help you protect your energy so you can enjoy the holiday instead of getting swept up in other people’s anxieties. The Question Doesn’t Require a...

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Today I'm going to talk about something that I have found to be extremely helpful. 

And that word is being decisive. 

Now, sometimes when I'm decisive, I make mistakes.

But this is the thing. Everything is fixable. 

And mistakes are how we grow. 

But in my being decisive, what happens is that things get put in order, into motion. 

And the thing is that if I keep doing what I've always done, which can be being wishy-washy about something or procrastinating with something because I just don't know what to do.

By the way, this is why I'm recommending these free consultations with me so we can get you out of that kind of mess. 

What happens is that when I set myself a clear path and I get decisive about things start to happen, big things start to happen. 

And I find that making a decision, and then following through with that decision is sometimes the most valuable thing I do in a day.

So today I'm going to talk, I have five points about decisiveness. 

They are efficiency and time management, confidence, reduce stress and anxiety, opportunity seizing, and clear direction and focus. 

So I'm going to talk about each of those subjects and how being decisive has helped me and how I feel it can help you.

So efficiency and time management, decisiveness helps in making quick decisions. Quick and effective decisions and saving time and increasing productivity. 

So this is the thing. Not making a decision is making a decision and it keeps you stuck as an actor. 

And this is the thing. I don't want to waste any more time in my life.

I've got a finite amount of time on this planet and I want to make sure that I am enjoying it. Every single moment of it, and the things that I'm doing for my life and my career are moving me forward, not backward, and certainly not keeping me stagnant. 

So what happens when I'm more decisive?

I take less time, humming and hawing. And that is, that's why I'm offering the free consultation, because I want you to stop humming and hawing. 

Either decide you're going to work with someone to get your shit in gear, or don't. 

But, for goodness sake, let's make a decision. So what happens is that when you make a decision, chances are, when you leap, the net will appear and the universe will support you.

And that's why that decision will be effective. 

Also when I make a decision, I decide what I'm going to do instead of hemming and hawing about what I should do. What happens is that I save time and that is time that could be spent effectively working on the acting career. 

Also because I'm saving that time, I have increased productivity.

I get more done creating more Opportunities. 

So I'm going to actually jump to opportunities here. Because what happens is that when you do more things, you put yourself more out there, more people know about you, more opportunities can exist. 

And decisiveness allows individuals to capitalize on opportunities quickly before they are lost to hesitation.

See, I want as many agents, casting directors, managers, producers, directors, writers to know about you, but how do you get in touch with them? 

I want to show you how to do that. I want to also encourage you to be decisive in your career, whether you're working with me or not, but even by listening to this, you are working with me a little bit so that you can have opportunity.

Bill Timoney, who is going to be on Broadway with Our Town, he always says, and he's such a friend of Acting Business Boot Camp, he says, “you want to have as much access to opportunity as you can.” 

And that's what I like to help actors to access. access to opportunity. 

The other thing about being decisive is it makes you more confident.

Decisive individuals often exude confidence, which is crucial for effective leadership and inspiring trust. 

So this is the thing. I am a casting director. I hire actors, I audition actors that exude confidence, who are good at their job, and almost more importantly, know they are good at their job.

And that inspires trust in me, the casting director, to either directly hire them for a job or to continue auditioning them so that they have access to opportunity. 

Now I'm going to talk about how being decisive reduces stress and anxiety.

Because making prompt decisions reduces stress and anxiety associated with prolonged uncertainty and indecision. 

That's the thing. The more you procrastinate, the more anxiety and stress you build up. 

It's time to eradicate that from your life. 

The stress and anxiety that is caused by indecision, it doesn't have to be there.

How do I know that? Because I used to be a hand wringer, a pearl clencher, a hyperventilator about making a decision. 

But once I started to get decisive, things started to happen. 

And finally, let's talk about how being decisive in your acting career gives you clear direction and focus. 

It helps you to align your efforts and your resources toward achieving specific goals, which is, hopefully, to be a working actor.

So again, clear direction and focus and being decisive provides clear direction and focus, helping you to align your efforts and resources towards achieving specific goals. 

And that's what I want to help you to do in these consultations, is I want to hear where you are at and where you want to go and how we can align your efforts and your resources and my resources to help you to achieve that goal of becoming a working actor.