New year, new plans and resolutions.  What are yours?  Do you make any, or do you just close your eyes and hope you’ll get everything you want by wishing for it?  I’ve been doing a lot of organizing, making my plans for some different directions I want to explore this year.  My regular subscribers will have noticed that I haven’t been putting out my eBrief for awhile – that’s because I haven’t set the changes in place yet. I’ll be sharing my plans with you soon, and maybe some of them will inspire you to make your own.

No business can succeed if the person running it doesn’t actually “run” it, but just lets it wander where it feels like going!  It’s often hard for creative people, in particular, to organize the business side of what they do.  Creativity tends to use more of the right side of the brain, while business skills tend to use more of the left side, so if your left side is a bit “weak” you may find that dealing with things like finances, goal setting and structure building drive you insane!  This then causes you to neglect them and we end up with a person who may be very talented at what they do, but have no idea how to sell and keep track of it.  If this sounds like you, don’t ignore the problem.  Get help.  I do business coaching, of course, but so do lots of people, whether in private sessions or classes, or through places like adult education or TAFEs.  It’s all out there for you – take advantage of it and get your business on a strong footing. That includes you, ACTORS!  You are selling a product – YOU – and you need to know how best to market it and make it valuable to the “buyers”, or in other words the people who are in a position to cast you.

Make 2010 YOUR year. Start strong by making some detailed, well planned and carefully thought out goals and plans, and then spend every day following through on them. There are 3 sayings I find very valuable and make sure I have within view of my desk at all times:

“If it’s to be, it’s up to me.”

“To get the things I’ve never had, I have to do the things I’ve never done.”

“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”

Combine those with, “Make it happen” and “Just do it” and you’ve got some pretty good affirmations for 2010!

But don’t just say them, LIVE THEM!

as the Actress said to the Bishop.  I am working on a whole new format for the newsletter, a whole new structure for my coaching, lots of changes to my website, and getting ready for a daily blog, not to mention my books, DVD, and sitcom project. Whew!  But a change is as good as a holiday, and it’s terribly exciting when you get yourself sorted out exactly in the direction you want to be going, isn’t it?  My main motivation for coaching is I want to share that feeling with anyone who needs it, by imparting knowledge, wisdom, advice, and maybe just a bucket load or two of motivation.  I can’t do it FOR you, but I can help you to want to do it for yourself.

The newsletter, which I am going to call an eBrief (to remind ME to keep it so, and YOU that you’ll be getting briefings on things that will help your career), is going out to those who have registered to receive it. (See button on Right Hand side of page. This is the first thing you must do for yourself – I can’t opt you in.) You subscribers will get first notice about projects I hear about (or deals on my own coaching), or anything that will reward you for subscribing! That way, as used to happen with my newsletters, I’ll get notices from Industry people who know I can reach hundreds of actors very quickly to let them know about, for instance, auditions for a new project.

Then on the website, I’ll be blogging all about the things that clog my tiny little Mad Cow Brain about the Industry, creativity, actors, coaches, projects, things I’ve heard, etc. etc.  I can answer questions for you as well if you contact me with them. (There will also be other changes to the website, which you’ll see as they happen.)

Finally, I am preparing a whole new approach to my coaching, which I’ll unveil very soon.  I think it is something we really need in Australia, and have never had before. I’m excited about it, and hope you will be, too.  One of the biggest changes is that I will NOT just be pitching my coaching at beginner or up and coming actors, as is the norm. Just like 98% of our directors are first timers, so, too, are most of our actors, so that is what we find in our training places and networking events (think about that for a minute: we are an Industry of beginners!). What do the others do? The ones who want to move from a lot of extra work to 50 worders? Or the 50 worders who want to move to guest roles? Or the ones whose careers have stalled, either at an intermediate level (guest roles, TVCs, small parts), or after they’ve had a “breakthrough” (ongoing role, guest star, film profile) and now need a Big Boost to go further, or get more consistent work. In L.A. you’d find lots of help with that.  Here, nowhere that I can think of.  Until now.  All will be revealed once I have it in place.  It’s going to be a creatively, financially, and emotionally rewarding journey we can take together.  I can’t wait to share it with you.  My goal is to start everything on November 1st, right after Halloween, which is all about magic!  The best thing about that is it’ll be smack dab in the middle of the Busy Season, so of maximum use to all actors.

Use the button to subscribe, tell others you know to do the same, and keep checking the website (sign up for the RSS feed) for further updates.  In the meantime, I am doing LIMITED private coaching in Melbourne (I’ve just returned from 3 weeks in Sydney) because of a film in pre-production that I’m coaching on. Skype or phone coaching is easier than face to face ones at the moment, but you can check for availability by contacting Jenna on jenna@mirrenlee.com

If any of you have topics you’d really like to see covered, please let me know via email.  In the meantime, stay tuned for further news …