Confidence
Confidence is a huge key to success as a performer in any field. If you don’t believe in yourself, you will prevent yourself from doing your very best. You may know you have it in you to be awesome at what you do, but when you are around others, you may lose sight of what you have. This can become a huge block.
How the heck do you build confidence? First of all, stop listening to other people’s opinions. If they are positive and supportive, take it in as a nice but unnecessary confirmation of what you already think. Thank the person and don’t find a way to find something else to criticize about yourself. Obviously, when it is a negative opinion, completely ignore it and spend your time and energy focusing on something else. This is easy to do when you have confidence in yourself.
Oy. I still have not answered the question, how do you build confidence in yourself? The best advice I was given was from a best friend - “If you want to build an esteem, do esteemable things.” If you doubt your acting, work on it. Go take an acting class. If you are poor, work something out with a friend to get some help. If your singing still feels weak, go to a voice teacher. If your dancing doesn’t meet your standards, take classes. Do something about it. The more you learn, the more you’ll grow, and your confidence will naturally grow with it. At this point in my career, my dancing and singing feel incredibly strong. I feel fantastic about both. As for my acting, man, I have not done anything about it while I have been continuing to strengthen myself in the other two. I am a great actor, but it is hard to feel as good about it when I spend so much time focusing on the other two. Ya feel me?
So, what am I going to do about it? Take some private coachings when I am in New York from June 1st through the 15th. That’s it! My goal will be to find a monologue that sells me as an well-rounded actress. This will be THE monologue that shows the world what I can do.
Now think about this regarding yourself as a performer. What can you do for yourself. Remember, you are your own best friend, so take care of yourself. Don’t wait for someone else to do it. Just know you are worth all the time and energy.
