TEDx Talk Recap: 6 Ways Actors and Artists Can Empower Themselves

Last Tuesday, I had the great fortune of speaking at a TEDx Event at Bergen Community College in New Jersey. The title of the talk was, 6 Ways Actors and Artists Can Empower themselves.

The principles of the speech are largely drawn from my book, To the Prospective Artist: Lessons from an Unknown Actor and I hope you find them of value regardless of your passion or pursuit. Here's a quick run down of the six points:

1. Continual Learning - Your education never stops. Read everything you can get your hands on, take classes, meet new people. For years I was a 1-dimensional person who could talk all day about theater and great storytelling, but soon realized I needed to know a little about a lot more. Acting eventually became what I did, but no longer defined who I was.

2. Travel - You don't have to go far. For example, you don't need your passport to wander the botanic gardens in Brooklyn, or catch the bus to City Island. Each place, near or far gives you an opportunity to meet new people and challenge the assumptions you have about them.

3. Service to Others - For anyone looking for a crash course in understanding "The Bigger Picture" service to others is your answer. Brief service stints in countries like Nepal, Haiti, and South Africa taught me there will always be someone in the world having a tougher time than you. Service to others is a great way to discover new things about yourself. Happiness, to a large degree, is a choice. And helping people help themselves gives integrity to your ambition.

4. Define Success on Your Own Terms - This means letting go of other people's definition of success. My heroes were ordinary people who worked day jobs, but still found the time to sing, write, act, or play. They taught me success is becoming great and something you love to do and attainment of your goal is not the point, but rather who you become in the process.

5. Create Your Own Opportunities - Admittedly, this one took me a LONG time to figure out. But it's very likely that phone call for the perfect part, or opportunity will never arrive so YOU need to create it. Today, all you need is a smartphone and idea. Start writing your story today through blogs, plays, films, or one-person shows. Start that business or write that book. You have more control over getting your voice out into the world than you've been led to believe. And remember, your success does not need to come at the expense of someone else's failure.

6. Dreams Change and that's Okay - What you want at 25 will be different than what you want at 45. It doesn't mean you've quit a dream. It just means you've evolved and what you value most in life is now different. I learned that all those years in voice, movement, and acting class had little to do with being an actor and more to do with living a life and not just a career. If we were fortunate we might become great actors in the process. The point was to be open to where life might take you.

I'll be sure to post the TEDx Talk in it's entirety when I can. Look for it on www.nickmaccarone.com or on YouTube. I hope you find it of value!