I quit my 9-5 job 3 months ago...
By Saloni Nahar
I quit my 9-5 job three months ago and as a result decided to pursue acting more seriously.
Here are 5 things I would tell myself if I could go back to that day:
It will be hard.
You’re entering an experimental era. You won’t be earning as much as you are now and you won’t necessarily know how you’ll be spending everyday. With this transition you’ll be forced to look inward at your values and sometimes be put in uncomfortable situations. Even though there will be really tough moments, as Ginni Rometty once said, “Growth and comfort do not coexist.”
Constantly evaluate how you’re feeling.
This leap is necessary for you. You don’t have to live in a “what if” world because you’re giving yourself the space to try things now. I’m proud of you, however there’s still a lot of inner work to be done. As Jim Carrey once said, “I wish everyone could get rich and famous and everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that’s not the answer.”
Time will fly by.
On one end, you may think, 3 months? That’s not that much time. But at the same time it’s already been 3 months! You can’t change your life in 3 months, but you can significantly improve aspects of your life if you do things consistently everyday for 3 months. This is also more of a reminder to current you, to work more on making small steps towards progress everyday. Getting really good at something takes constant and consistent work. As John Heywood once said, “Rome wasn't built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour.”
Don’t do things hastily.
Check yelp before signing up for an acting class. Ask other actors who have representation at a certain agency for advice before applying. As Lao Tzu once said, “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
New discoveries will be made from this journey .
You’ve been on a lot more sets these past few months and gotten the chance to read more scripts. You’ve always been interested in writing, but now you’re even more interested in it.
To anyone reading this: “Let today be the day you give up who you've been for who you can become.” -Hal Elrod