The Four Horsemen of Your Acting Career
A Ghost Story.
There are four ghostly horsemen that haunt the edges of your acting career. They may come together, or separately, but unless you repel them, they will always leave destruction in their wake. The names of these four horsemen are FEAR, DISTRACTION, APATHY and PRIDE. I am telling you their names, so that when they arrive in your life, often disguised, you will be prepared to send them straight back to Hell.
The first horseman is called FEAR. The closer we get to our goals, the greater the chance that FEAR will visit us. Most actors dream of making it big. And while it’s a dream, it’s safe, we don’t have to do anything about it, so we are never threatened by failure. FEAR need not visit us, if we are only dreaming. But once we start taking the steps towards the acting career that we want, FEAR comes riding by. What if we aren’t as good as we hope we could be? FEAR threatens the inner narrative that we’ve been telling ourselves about becoming an actor, or developing the acting career we dream of. FEAR causes people to freeze, and sometimes to run. But FEAR is a coward, and if you challenge him he will disappear. If you know that FEAR is just a feeling, if you see that FEAR is often scarier than failure, if you acknowledge his presence but continue on your journey nonetheless, he will vanish. He may always return, but you have learned to conquer FEAR.
The second horseman is called DISTRACTION, and he is a chameleon, a master of disguise. He comes in many different forms. He comes as illness and divorce, he comes as love, lust and even as opportunity. But he is as dangerous as any other horsemen, and he is just as intent on derailing your acting career. One minute we are happily moving towards our acting career goals, the next things DISTRACTION hits you from out of nowhere, and before you even know it, your path has been diverted. A new love in your life is his favourite costume. A bout of illness is another that he loves to wear. Another is opportunity, a chance to pour your energy into another pleasurable activity which means you don’t make progress on your journey. Learning to call DISTRACTION by his name is difficult. He never speaks his own name and rarely comes wearing his own apparel. The garments that DISTRACTION wears are genuine. They are real. Often they cannot be avoided. But by calling him out, by saying his real name when they arise, you can ensure that DISTRACTION never drives you from your intended path.
The third is named APATHY, the inertia that often joins FEAR on his ride through your acting career. The result of FEAR’s visit is often that he will leave APATHY behind to haunt you. He is sometimes known by other names, but his effects on your career are always the same. He saps your will to succeed. He steals your energy and enthusiasm, and whispers – telling you that you can put things off to another time. He’ll even supply the sincerest story to ensure that you trust his reasons. There is only one way to overcome APATHY, to do what he hates, to move and take action, to shake him off, no matter how hard his weighty frame clings to you. To do what you have to do every day, whether you want to do it or not, always starting with the toughest thing, the thing you least want to do, that is how we defeat APATHY.
The final rider is PRIDE, he is devious and sly. He never shows his face to us, but always to others. He comes when we least know it, and we must rely on others to warn us of his arrival. PRIDE’s ghastly claws stick deep under our skin, and infect us with a poison that makes us see the world through PRIDE’s own eyes. Our decisions, thinking and actions become tainted with his toxic vision. We become the mindless zombie soldier of PRIDE himself. We dismiss advice, we seek out conflict and attack those whose worldview is opposed to PRIDE’s own. We see other’s words or actions as attacks against us. When we are filled with PRIDE, we are not ourselves, and by the time we rid ourselves of PRIDE, no corner of our life or career is unaffected. PRIDE can only be repelled with honesty. But PRIDE will not give up without a fight. He will tear flesh from bone to to remain under your skin. Listen to others when they tell you PRIDE is paying you a visit, and if you have the strength to fight his influence, you can rid yourself of this infectious parasite.
These riders are always circling. None of us can afford to drop our guard. And all the time they go about, they spread the lie that they themselves are just a myth. For they know that their damage is greater, when they come unannounced.