Impressing Grandpa Ryan

Hello Again!  Welcome to the Friday edition of my blog about the entertainment industry.  I first want to cover something personal that means a great deal to me.  Yesterday we buried my Grandpa Ryan.  I mention this because Grandpa Ryan is worth mentioning - on this blog and throughout eternity, for his contributions to the nation and our family.  Gramps was a WWII veteran of the United States Army AND the Navy.  He was one of those guys who had fantastic, amazing stories to share and empathy and compassion for all he encountered.  Grandpa Ryan was one of the few people in this world who I personally wanted to be proud of me.  I've learned that in this life, you must be satiated with the knowledge that you are doing the "right" thing.  Be confident in knowing that you are a good person, doing good deeds.  You cannot live a life dictated by what others think of you.  Grandpa Ryan was one of my few exceptions to this rule.  Even though he's gone, I still want to do whatever would have made him proud.  And that's where we'll start with today's blog topic ...

In this industry, you absolutely HAVE to be secure in your own mind that you are not only doing what you (or your child) was meant to do, but also,  you have to know that every little success IS worthy of celebration.  You cannot wait around for others to pat you on the back or tell you how amazing you are - or even celebrate your victories. This is an egocentric industry in which we work, and generally the people involved are so consumed with their own lives and successes that they have absolutely no interest in celebrating yours.  What's more, they are far more likely to poo-poo your successes than celebrate them out of purely jealous angst.

So heed this advice; write it down and read it several times until it's committed to memory.  Don't try to impress anyone other than yourself.  Don't strive to make anyone else proud of you or your child's accomplishments.  Celebrate your achievements in your own way and embrace anyone who supports you - BUT DON'T EXPECT IT OR WAIT FOR IT!  Further, every success, regardless of how small, should be celebrated.  Whether you just got fantastic headshots or you just landed a major movie role, celebrate your victory.  This is a tough, competitive industry and even if you only do one job your entire life, you will always have that victory in your back pocket that you can look at when you're 85 years old and say, "Look at what I did - it was really fun!"

It's a short blog today, but hopefully it is helpful and you heed this important tidbit!

Until next time,

Heather Ryan
The Ultimate Talent Mentor