What If I Fail?

The question is always in the back of our minds. What if I put all of this time and money into an acting career – and in the end, I don’t make it.

When taking stock from time to time, we ask ourselves – what if I fail?

The toughest call to make is when to give anything up. And if you fail in the form of a bad audition, a terrible review, a long period without work, not getting into drama school, not working after you graduate –  or suddenly losing your agent.  To most, these things are the signs of failure.

But the truth is that you ARE. GOING. TO FAIL!  We all fail. Quite a lot.

Success is not built on success. It’s built on try, try again, or as Samuel Beckett famously said: “Ever tried? Ever failed? No Matter. Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better.”

So when you face failing, or even the prospect of it, you should not say to yourself “What if I fail?” – but “When I fail, how will I combat it? How will I overcome it? What will I do differently? How can I learn from this?”

By asking the right questions, you can reduce the effects of failure on your acting career – while everyone else gives up when it doesn’t go well. Let them. You know the truth.