Create Your Own Luck

Over my twenty years of teaching, I have had the pleasure of helping many young artists as well as established ones prepare for meetings with industry executives, television gigs, auditions, recordings, etc.. All ‘make it or break it’ opportunities. The students who succeeded were the ones who diligently prepared for months even years for that one defining moment… that one moment when preparation meets opportunity. When you create your own luck! It is impossible to know when that moment will arrive. So you have to prepare. You don’t want to blow it. After all, opportunity may only knock once. Not to say, that you won’t have many opportunities. And every mistake made is a lesson learned. But you want to seize that career making opportunity.

Obviously, you need to hone your craft and have all your ducks in a row, etc. But it is more than just that. More importantly, when push comes to shove you gotta ‘Bring it.’ You have to command attention the minute you walk in that door or on that stage. Not in a ‘cocky’ kind of way. But in a self assured, comfortable in your own skin kind of way. How do you do this?

Start by getting your nerves out of the way. Put yourself in as many ‘pressurized situations’ as possible. Go to as many auditions as you can. Sing anywhere you can as much as you can. Record. Network. Set deadlines and goals and then do it! The more you are under that kind of pressure and in those kind of situations, the likelier you will deliver when opportunity presents itself. I see the most progress and growth in my students when they are in these kinds of high stakes, high pressure sort of situations.

Most importantly, you have to believe in yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, how do you expect to convince the 'decision makers?' My recommendation for you moving forward is to seek out opportunity. Put yourself out there and do it! After all, doesn’t a lump of coal become a diamond when under pressure?