Have you ever said this to yourself? When I get famous, I'll start. That's a lie that keeps you broke and stuck, just so you know. So one of the things uh that I would always say early on in my career was when I get famous, I'm gonna invest in my career. When I book that big role, I'll start taking acting seriously. When I get my break, then I'll start building. I used to say that for years. I said it with confidence, I said it like it made sense, and one day I woke up and I realized something that stopped me cold in my tracks. I didn't know when was coming, and neither do you. Stay with me, because what I'm about to share with you could be the thing that changes everything for you. In case you don't know, my name is Olivia Nicole. I'm a veteran actress, producer, writer, comedian, and the founder of Acting Smarter Now. And if you're new here, I've been in the industry for over 50 years, 45, my acting, and another five in another iteration where I worked in music. I've seen what works, I've seen what doesn't, and I lived on both sides of this conversation personally. So today I'm gonna talk to you about the single most dangerous sentence in an actor's vocabulary and how to break free from it for good. Okay? So it's it's my take on it, right? When I get famous is not a plan, it's an excuse with a pretty bow on it. We dress it up like it's ambition, we call it faith, we call it vision, but most of the time, and I say this with a lot of love because I live there, it's a way of never having to do anything uncomfortable right now. This is a spiritual-sounding procrastination, and it's what we do to ourselves, especially those of us who call ourselves Christians. Well, I'm gonna wait till God brings it, but he's waiting for you to do something, and the industry doesn't know that you're waiting, they're not waiting for you to get ready. The actors booking work today, it is about you moving. You can't be well, you know, if you want to book today, what are you doing for today? How are you making it happen? You know, the industry doesn't wait for your break. And you shouldn't wait for your break to start showing up like a professional. You gotta be ready for it now. You gotta get ready now. So I want to get personal just for a minute because this isn't just theory for me. I've spent years, real years of my career operating from this mindset. I told myself, when I get to the next level, I'll start doing this. When I have more money, I'll invest in that. When I book a series regular, then I will do this. I finally started to take my brand seriously. Meanwhile, time kept moving, the industry kept shifting, and I kept waiting for the starting line that nobody else was going to draw for me. Your career starts now. Things happen now. So, what are you doing for yourself now? That's the question you need to be asking yourself. See, what I didn't understand then was that, and what took me a long time to see, was that the work you do in the waiting is what determines if you're ever gonna stop waiting. Does that make sense? It's it's in the moment you have to decide, okay, what am I gonna work on today? How am I moving my ball forward today? You know, I remember the moment I woke up and everything changed for me. I used to have um a fantastic um pastor's wife who would have these uh Bible studies, and every time in the Bible study she would say, Where's the fruit? You know, if you're doing something, you should be seeing fruit. And I used to go, Oh God, oh Lord, I don't want to hear nothing about no fruit. But one morning I woke up and I realized, where is the fruit in my life? If if I want to be an actor and I want to be taken seriously, what is it that I am doing for that? How am I moving that forward? And literally everything changed that morning. I said, I'm not gonna wait till I get into another place to make it pretty. I'm gonna start now. And it started with a can of paint. I went, I went to um Kmart, I bought some bright yellow paint for my dingy beige walls. I painted it. I said, okay, I'm gonna paint that. And then I went, I got some plants. I was a plant serial killer, y'all. I had to learn. I had to learn how to take care of plants. So I got plants, I got some seeds, I got some dirt, I started to put together what it was that I wanted that I said I wanted in the future. I started to work on it now, in at that moment. That was my now. It's like, okay, I don't I don't know if I have tomorrow, but I have now, so what can I do now? And that was a huge shift for me. I started to take my career seriously in a whole different way, not waiting, um, you know, well, for this or that. No, I started being very uh productive, very proactive. I started thinking about what it was that I was doing. I was intentional about my career from that moment on. So I I want to help you today if if you are somebody who has been in that wait period. I'm waiting, I'm waiting until this happens, I'm waiting until that happens. No, I'm moving forward now, I'm doing this now. So I want to give you some steps that that could be transformational for you and practical at the same time. So let's talk about the first step. First, identify what it is that you've actually been deferring. What have you been waiting on? What have you been like pushing? You know, uh you have to get honest, get a journal, get a notepad, start writing it down on a napkin if you have to. But write down in one sentence what you've said that starts with when I, once I, what what is that sentence for you? When I get an agent, when I lose weight, when I move to wherever, when I have more credits. Oh, Lord, that's a big one. When I get more credits, then I'm no what can you do with the credits you have right now? Every one of those is a clue because hiding inside each one of those sentences is an action that you could be taking today. The when is a smoke screen, and we have to name it. We have to see it for what it is. When I, what is that for you? You know, for me it was when I get my house, when I get my series regular, when I get, you know, when I make my first million dollars. Well, what can you do with what you have right now? So step number two, build the vision of you that you're waiting to become. Step number two, build the vision of you that you're waiting to become. You're waiting to be taken seriously. So, what does a serious actor look like? They study, they train, they know their type, they understand their brand, they have a reel, they have a strategy, they have a presence, they got headshots that are branded and looks like them. You don't need the booking to start doing those things. You need to start doing those things so you can get the booking. Stop waiting to arrive at a destination before you've built the vehicle. Just build the vehicle and then you will get to your destination. When I started doing um these videos, I had no clue uh what what it was gonna become. I just knew that I needed to start helping actors in whatever way I could at that moment. As an actor, seeing friends of mine who were going through rough times, who didn't have the right agents or managers, didn't understand their brand, um wouldn't pay to go to coaching. So a lot of these videos came about because of that. But what I did was I took a step. I was like, okay, I'm just gonna start putting it out there. So I'm asking you now to start looking at what kind of vehicle you can start building now to get you to your destination. Are you into um a musical theater? Well, maybe you should be doing cabaret, get some songs, you know, and and have a little showcase of your talent as a singer, as a as a musical theater actress. Start doing things that can get you to where you want to go now. Don't wait, because what are you waiting for? It's not gonna come. The longer you wait, the longer you are delaying your success. I had a friend who uh used to uh her stuff was behind her Bible. She was always, I'd say, so what are you working at? Well, I'm waiting on the Lord, girl. The Lord is waiting on you. What are you doing? And it was always, well, I'm just waiting for God. God sent me to tell you, get your stuff together now, go get your headshot, go get for 20 years, 20 years that I knew this woman. She was waiting. She did not book any work, she did not, nothing moved. Nothing moved for her because she did not move herself. You have to move yourself first. So, step number three: create a now list, not a someday list. You know, when I get, then I'll do not that kind of list. That list that you have to start working on is a now list. Most actors have a someday list. I want you to look at that someday list. How can you move some of that stuff to your now list? Three, just start with three things. Three, that you can start doing this week that your future famous self will thank you. It doesn't have to be big, it doesn't have to be sweeping or life-changing, but specific things. There should be something specific, something actionable, something that's real. Submit to a project that you are right for. Uh update your headshot bio, you know, uh research a casting director. Look up a director that you've always wanted to work with and see if you can submit your picture and resume to them. Post one piece of content that represents what you sell now. Memorize a monologue and shoot it and put it up on social media. Those are things you can start doing right now this week. So I need you to in step three create a now list, okay? And work on it now, this week, not when, but now. Step four, stop consuming and start contributing. Here's what the when I mentality, here's what the when I mentality does. It turns you into a passive consumer of other people's success stories while you wait for yours. We are not waiting for our success. We are actively in progress and we are succeeding as we move. You know, all those little steps you take, that's success. That's not it, that's not a little thing. It those little things are a big thing. The shift is this: start contributing now, share your journey now, post the progress, not just the result. Show up for other artists in your community, support them. Uh, be someone who adds value in the present. How can you add value to your community now? Not someone who's saving it for later. You know, I'm gonna save it for later. When I was a kid, my mother used to buy these wonderful um items and like pots and pans and dishes and all this beautiful stuff. And then she would put it away and she goes, I'm gonna save it for later. Can I tell you? Later never came. When my mom died and we were cleaning out her apartment, we found all these new items that she had never touched because she was waiting for the later. We don't want to wait for the later. If you've got a beautiful piece of artwork, put it up now. If you have some wonderful dishes that you've been saving, use them now. Now, the time is now. Get yourself now to start contributing. You know, take those dishes out and have yourself a little dinner party. Have two, three friends over and cook something. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. It could just be, you know, uh grilled cheese sandwiches. It doesn't baked potatoes. You can do baked potatoes with sour cream, butter, uh uh bacon bits, and and and broccoli and little side dishes. It doesn't have to be used, but start doing stuff now, contributing now, embracing community now, going and supporting other actors, showing up, doing things that make you proactive and not just on you know on your phone just scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, and not moving in your um in your success. Step five, get accountability because willpower alone doesn't work. And I can tell you that for sure. The truth is we all have all the relations in the world. Um we we all have all the revelations in the world in private, you know, and we still go back to our old patterns. The minute real life shows up, we get scared and we go back. And that's why you need to have people alongside of you while you're doing the work and they're doing the work. They're gonna ask you the hard questions, they're gonna celebrate with you when you have a win. They won't let you quit on yourself when you feel like you can't go forward. Strategy without support is just information. Information without accountability is just entertainment. You need strategy, support, and accountability to get moving. Um, about I want to say about maybe 14 years ago, I was in a very dark place. And I was, you know, and I was at a day job and I was doing this stuff, and I couldn't get myself motivated to do my art. I was I I just was not there. And I remember crying, going, What's going on? And what occurred to me was, I need a life coach. I need somebody who's gonna hold me accountable, I need somebody who can help push me. So that's what I did. I went, I got a life coach that I was paying because when you pay, you pay attention. When you're putting your money on the line, you get serious. And it helped me immensely. It helped me get out of that stuck place. It helped me get out of that place where I was feeling sorry for myself. I was seeing other people, other peers moving, and I was just in the same place. And I was like, what is going on? I uh, you know, I had a job. Uh uh by the time I got home from the job, I was too tired to get stuff done, and it was a bad cycle. I was like, okay, I gotta break this. And what the um coach did was help me because they kept me accountable. They they kept me accountable by asking me questions. I had to turn in my goals and tell them what I was working on. I told them what my wins were. I told them when it was rough. I told them, you know, when I was scared of something. And it broke stuff in me and it allowed me to move forward. Um, and to this day, I have had a ton of accountability partners. Uh, sometimes they're for a year, sometimes, you know, I have my prayer partner who I've been praying with for 25 years, and she's an accountability partner. I have a couple of friends who I don't talk to regularly, but when I do talk to them, they're like, okay, so what are you working on now? How are you moving? So that accountability really helps you keep in step. Years ago, when my career was just going and I was doing stuff and I was just happening, it was happening because I had four accountability partners in my life at that time. I had my pastor's wife, I had my best friend who was an actor on a series, I had um another best friend of mine who had a Pilates business, and then I had an actor who was trying to get where they were going. And so every week I had to be accountable to all four of them. Oh, and I forgot. And then I had my um uh a coach who I had to get my my stuff to. So every week I would write out my goals, I would write out, you know, what I uh accomplished and what I was getting ready to do. And it really helped me, and I still do that today. As a matter of fact, um the Acting Smarter planner is based off of that. Um, and it it really helps a lot. So let me go over those five steps with you again so you know what you need to do because we want to get you out of that when it happens, then I will. We want to get you into I am being successful and proactive now, today. It starts right now. So, step one, identify what you're actually deferring. Number two, build the version of you that you've been waiting to become. Start working on that now. Number three, create your now list, not the someday list. Take those things that are in the someday list and start moving them over to the now list. What can you do now? Step four, stop consuming and start contributing. Post, um, go celebrate other people, support them, invite people to your space to um break bread or grilled cheese sandwiches or uh bake potatoes, but start contributing. Get your community intact. Who is who are members of your community that are supportive, that love you, that care for you, that you can start checking in on regularly. Number five is get accountability. Get people who will hold you accountable because you cannot hold yourself accountable. It doesn't work. I I know because I thought I could, and no, accountability for me is crucial in my moving forward, in my doing stuff. I I'm in five different groups, and in each group uh there's a component for accountability. I either have an accountability partner in the group or I have to, you know, come to the group and let them know what I'm I'm working on, what I'm doing, what I've had my wins on. So I want to give you a call to action now. I want to invite you to uh join my community, the acting smarter circle, and it's exactly what it sounds like: a circle of actors who are done with the someday mindset, actors who are showing up, actors who are doing the work, actors who are getting real strategy and holding each other accountable. This is not a place to lurk, it's a place to grow. You'll get the support, you'll get strategy, you'll get community with people who actually get what this life requires, what it requires to be an actor. So if you're interested to join the group, you can go to actingsmartercircle.com. The link is going to be in the description and it's in the comments. And you can find it everywhere. Okay, so go to actingsmartercircle.com. Don't wait until you get famous to join a community of people who are building their careers right now. The whole point of everything we've been talking about today is to start making movement now. The time is now, not when, but now. So go to actingsmartercircle.com if you are in need of an acting community to hold you accountable, to encourage you, to help you with strategy, to help you move your ball, to help you be a uh contributor and not just a consumer. So go to actingsmartercircle.com. I look forward to seeing you. Come join us. I want you to know I care about you. I love you. And I've been doing this for close to 46 years now. It'll be 46 years in July. And when I walk you through things, it's always because I have lived it. I'm not sharing anything with you that I know nothing of. I know a lot of the when syndrome. When I get this, when I do that, it's a dance. When, when, when, when. We don't want to do that dance. We want to do the dance of I'm successful, I'm successful. Oh yeah. So I look forward to seeing you next time. And hopefully you'll come, you'll join the acting smarter circle so you can get your career where you want it to be. Until the next time, I will see you soon. Yeah.