How the Hollywood Narrative is Ruining Your Chances of Succeeding

Is it just me, or does it feel like Hollywood is set up to make you fail? Obstacle, after obstacle... Rejection, after rejection... It's *almost* not even worth trying. and I can say 'almost' because those of us who still believe in the magic of our dreams, have a passion so strong that we are going to go for it, despite all of the hardships we hear about. If you are one of those people, like me, I want you to really listen to what I'm about to tell you. Because you could be doing everything 'right' and still not see success. And it actually has NOTHING to do with luck.   See, here's the thing. Hollywood has created a narrative, a 'story', that you've been hearing since the moment you decided to pursue this dream. It's a story oozing with negativity and it's confirmed again and again. The Hollywood Story is based on LACK. It says there is NOT ENOUGH opportunities, roles, jobs, etc. It says ONLY ONE IN A MILLION will make it. It says you need a LUCKY BREAK to be successful. It says competition is so intense that it's not worth pursuing. You've been fed these lines forever. They are based on someone else's experiences...someone else's truth. But it does NOT have to be YOUR truth. And here's why you need to ditch this Hollywood Story ASAP: When you hear these statements of lack and you choose to believe them, they get stored in your subconscious. Your subconscious mind ONLY believes what is stored in it.   So, if you stored, 'there are not enough opportunities for me to be successful in Hollywood', then your subconscious says this is the CONCLUSION, meaning, there is no other possible outcome or experience. Then, your conscious mind goes out into Hollywood and makes decisions based on that conclusion. Your subconscious mind essentially says, "Hey, Conscious! Go out into the world and prove that I'm right!" So you begin to attract experiences into your career that do just that, prove the belief true. This means, that as long as you BELIEVE the Hollywood Story and take it on as your own, you're actually blocking yourself from having any other possible outcome. But there is good news to all of this: your subconscious performs this way whether you have negative OR positive beliefs stored there. YAY! This means, if you can change your beliefs to, 'My success is inevitable and I'm going to make this happen', your conscious mind goes out into the Hollywood world seeking experiences that prove THAT to be true. BUT ERICA... I know. You really, really, really, believe the Hollywood Story. People tell you all the time how hard it is to make it in Hollywood. You even hear celebrities explaining in interviews, "I just got lucky!" But let's take a sec to remember what I mentioned above: your subconscious mind believes this to be the CONCLUSION, meaning, there is no other possible outcome. So when I tell you to change those beliefs, that your success CAN be inevitable, you're not going to believe me, because your subconscious mind doesn't understand a possibility that isn't stored in there.   We cling REALLY TIGHTLY to these negative stories. We never want to give them up. But if you want to succeed at your dream, you HAVE to give them up. Otherwise, you'll continue to hit walls and get stuck. You can ease your way into changing these beliefs by looking for proof. And there IS proof all around you, of people succeeding in Hollywood, if you choose to see it. Most people choose to see the failures. Most people choose to see people moving back home and giving up. But if you open your eyes (and your mind) to other experiences, you will be able to make that shift. And when you do, you'll start to see changes in your results almost immediately. All of my clients have had at least one amazing opportunity 'fall in their lap' after changing their beliefs: anything from landing auditions, booking roles, being personally requested to write for a new network, recording music in a professional studio for free and being organically introduced to a major connection. So, it's time. Time to shed the negative Hollywood Story that is ruining your chances to succeed. You can fight me on it and continue to hit walls. Or, you can finally believe that your success is inevitable, and watch the amazing opportunities fall in your lap. Your choice.   About Erica Wernick I'm Erica Wernick, Hollywood's Leading Success Coach. I've worked in television as a Graphic Designer for the past 9 years (you may have seen my work on hit shows like "Glee", "Entourage" and most recently, NBC's "Superstore") and started my coaching business a few years ago. How on earth can a Graphic Designer coach Actors, Writers, Directors, etc.?! (I imagine you just said...) I don't teach craft. I teach a combination of mindset and strategy to help you get rid of all the blocks in your way and follow through with a strategic plan to make your BIG goals happen.My clients have gone from having just 1 audition in an entire year to booking auditions every week; to directing corporate videos to being selected to create stories for a brand new network; to having no agent or manager to booking both within a few weeks, and more!  I'm here to encourage you to shoot for the stars and make your success inevitable. No matter how many people disagree with me. I've seen incredible things happen. When you believe your success is inevitable, those incredible things will start happening for you, too. If you're feeling stuck, like you're not making any progress, or it's just taking too damn long to get to where you want to be, send her a message. P.S. YES even your biggest dreams are 100% possible.   Like this blog post? Please share it on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email etc) by using social media buttons at the top of the blog. Or post to your personal blog and anywhere else you feel appropriate. Thank you. As always, we welcome thoughts and remarks on ANY of the content above in the Comments section below...  Read More

Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers (My Book) is HERE!

  Hey guys. Well, I thought this day would never come, but my book Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers: Indie Film and the Power of the Crowd is now available. Well, the e-book has been available for the last few weeks, but the hard copy was on back order due to what my publisher called “inventory problems”. The good news is that the overwhelming number of pre-sales caused those inventory problems. So for those of you who ordered a copy in advance, you book has either landed or you’ll be receiving it any day now. Now don’t let the title fool you. Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers is not just for content creators. It’s for actors, screenwriters, cinematographers, crew, producers and anyone looking to build a brand and an army of passionate supporters of that brand. In this DIY world and with more content being created than ever before, it’s more important than ever that you understand how to find, enlist and move an audience in support of you and your projects. We’ll cover everything you need to know to make that happen with this book, the first ever on film crowdsourcing and one of the few selected to be published under the American Film Market (AFM) Presents banner. To learn much more about what’s inside the book including the 3 remarkable case studies featured, how many different things you can crowdsource and why crowdsourcing is different from crowdfunding (but why crowdsourcing is the most vital aspect of any successful crowdfunding campaign), please watch the video below. And to order the book, please check out the links below! Thank you to all the amazing Stage 32’ers who have taken this two-year journey with me and who checked in from time to time to see if I was still sane. The answer is…mostly.  Cheers! RB   To order the Kindle version of Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers click here To order the paperback of Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers  click here   This journey has been, and continues to be, all of ours. That said, I'd be extremely grateful if you'd help me get the word out about the book. If you have social media, please post about it. If you have a blog, please write about it. Or, if you have any media outlets that you think would be interested in covering it, please let them know. We're in this together! Thank you.Read More