The Devil is in the Tiny Details

I've done that silly thing again.  That thing where I keep thinking I can't bother you with the trivial stories, or mundane details.  You keep sending me wonderful messages of support and praise and gratitude for writing my story down.  Words that help you all on your own journey after this great big dream we share.  I read them and cherish every single syllable.  I love them more than my own writing.  If I could etch your emails into stone and build a house out of them, I would.  Who knows, maybe it could even shield me from the waves of rejection that seem to roll over everyone in this town with more frequency than commercial airliners coasting into LAX.  I care so much about writing words worth reading, that sometimes my internal filter works a little too well.  I don't want to bore you with the insignificant, day-to-day, endless dredge that is the reality of choosing this life.

Then I remember... that's the entire reason I started writing this blog.  To put it all to paper (figuratively).  To write it out, for my own sanity, but to also to share the knowledge so that maybe your dream can have a fighting chance as well.  In fact, it's the mundane, day-to-day grind that is the heart of this hustle.  It's not all red carpets and publicity junkets.  It's the little, seemingly insignificant details of running your own business.  That's the stuff that keeps this train going day after day, year after year. 

So here is one of those silly little details.  A few months ago I decided to leave my cushy day job and opt for a more traditional actor survival job.  (That was most definitely not the mundane detail.  It was a huge decision, one I'm still adjusting to, and worth it's own post.  Or ten.  More on that biggie later.) 

The little detail is how annoying it is to have to change your routine.  One of the adjustments I've had to make is completely transforming the way I run my business from the computer.  I'm no longer synced up to an office and the PC I used to sit down to every day at 9am.  I was seemlessly glued into a network that performed that wonderful every day magic of keeping everything on my computer, calendar, contacts and phone all synced up without me having to do a thing.  But now I'm not on the network any more.  My wimpy home Outlook isn't synced up to any of the emails I still use, nor calendar, nor the Cloud... as a result, I'm playing the very dangerous game of having all the important pieces of information I own saved in one place.  The very portable, but very lose-able iPhone.  I've been putting off doing the research... what exactly is the cloud?  Do I need it if I can just use the calendar with my own website?  Can I dump all my contacts, notes and calendar dates into my new system so that I don't have to spend the next three years of my life entering them manually??  Do I have to mess with getting that stupid little chord out every morning to sync my phone?  (Because, let's be honest here.  That's NOT going to happen.  Ever.)

This is a mundane detail in a very long list of similar ones that's getting in the way of me keeping on top of my career. It's also something I am determined to fix this week.  I may no longer have an office office, but I need a home office.  There's an incredible amount of activity that happens online every single day for an actor.  Daily  Hourly submissions, post cards (and thus the research for correct contact information), mailings, casting shifts, meeting set ups, rehearsal scheduling... it really is endless.  And to be honest, I'm behind.

In the end, I think a successful career (and life) is about working hard, moving forward and constantly adjusting to get better, stronger and more efficient.  It all needs to be up to date, easily accessible and backed up lest you tempt fate to lose it all.  I left my day job so that I can be better positioned to get out there and knock on doors.  To move and shake things around in a way I haven't been able to do in the last four years because I've been at the office.  I'm ready to start going after that.

Just now, as I finish up writing this post (and seriously reconsider whether it's even interesting enough to publish) I received a notice for an audition tomorrow night for another play.  One thing is for certain... this play I've been working on for the last four months (much more on that later) has given me all sorts of street cred in the theater world in La La Land.  It's very rare now that I don't get called in to audition for a play I submit to.  After years of feeling like my resumes have disappeared into an endless abyss never to be seen or heard from again, it feels ridiculously good to click submit then to just get a response with an invitation to read.  

I have to admit, it's pretty awesome actually.