The Back Up Plan

You may not have heard of Parineeti Chopra, but she’s one of Bollywood’s leading starlets.

The 25 year old has made a real splash in the Indian cinema, but in a recently published article, she gives some pretty awful advice to actors: “I have a back up plan and I think everyone should have one. The day when my films turn out to be flop, I will go back to banking. To run my house, banking is the safe option for me.”

The Back Up Plan, a favourite of parents and those that need an escape route when it doesn’t work out, is the WORST ADVICE to offer an actor.

Yes, Chopra will be safe and sound if film doesn’t work out for her, she will also run away as soon as it gets tough and so will those that take her advice. A back up plan is a fall back plan, and if you have a fall back plan, inevitably, once the going gets tough, you will fall back. Which would you choose if you were struggling in water:

SINK, SWIM or RESCUED?   Why swim when you can be rescued? The threat of sinking is always there, but the safety net, the back up plan, it plays directly into our risk averse nature.

She states that because the film industry is unpredictable, it’s good to have a back up. I predict she won’t make film acting her long term career, it is unpredictable, really unpredictable, but if you run away from it because its unpredictable, you may as well not bother.

Her advice sounds like conservative advice that parents would give to their kids. If you want security and unjustified bonuses, please, go straight into banking now. If you want to live your life richly, fully, then gamble it, no safety net, no back up plan, leave yourself no option, it’s success or bust. Success, real success is built on the risk of failure. And just so you know, failure isn’t that bad. The fear of it is worse than the thing itself.