Just a Few Tiny Adjustments is All it May Take

I once heard the difference between hitting a golf ball on the fairway versus in the sand pit is a matter of millimeters. Similarly, in Darren Hardy's bestselling book The Compound Effect he shares the following:

“If the nose of the plane is pointed only 1 percent off course – almost an invisible adjustment when the plane’s sitting on the tarmac in Los Angeles – it will ultimately end up about 150 miles off course, arriving either upstate in Albany or in Dover, Delaware.

The point is, establishing productive habits that will inch you closer to your goals and highest aspirations is not as dramatic as you may think. Hard work and consistency are staples for any endeavor worth pursuing, but far too many people believe that in order to be great their lives need to head in a completely different direction.

Take inventory of your habits. You may be just a few tiny adjustments, which compounded over time, will lead you to where you want to be.

One

Everyone can agree pursuing a career in the entertainment industry is incredibly challenging. It is perhaps the least meritocratic line of work on the planet. In so many other professional endeavors hard work, expertise, and kindness will eventually offer the opportunity to advance. That formula is less flexible when it comes to being an actor.

Still, I've tried to nudge my actor and artist friends to empower themselves in the few ways they can: 

-- by creating their own work and thus opportunities

-- building a community of like-minded artists

-- and defining success on your own terms.

Understandably, there are other hurdles to getting a serious look from industry movers and shakers. As Viola Davis recently noted in an award acceptance speech, "The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.” 

I've had my own hurdles as an actor of color. This certainly doesn't make me unique as many of my talented and hardworking friends have to.

But, I've observed that each group that feels marginalized or underrepresented in the entertainment industry speaks up passionately for their own cause. And understandably so. We tend to talk about what we know and directly affects us. It's human nature.

But what if instead of an Asian American actor advocating solely for his own opportunities he spoke up equally loud for more female filmmakers? Or if female filmmakers voiced their concerns with how Arab Americans are so frequently misrepresented in film and media.

Can you imagine the influence we could have if we all stuck up for one another? The movement to make an "unfair" industry "equally unfair" would be less fragmented, easier to mobilize, and create unbreakable bonds in the process.

And if it could work in the entertainment industry the possibilities beyond a film set would be limitless.