How the Hollywood Narrative is Ruining Your Chances of Succeeding

Is it just me, or does it feel like Hollywood is set up to make you fail? Obstacle, after obstacle... Rejection, after rejection... It's *almost* not even worth trying. and I can say 'almost' because those of us who still believe in the magic of our dreams, have a passion so strong that we are going to go for it, despite all of the hardships we hear about. If you are one of those people, like me, I want you to really listen to what I'm about to tell you. Because you could be doing everything 'right' and still not see success. And it actually has NOTHING to do with luck.   See, here's the thing. Hollywood has created a narrative, a 'story', that you've been hearing since the moment you decided to pursue this dream. It's a story oozing with negativity and it's confirmed again and again. The Hollywood Story is based on LACK. It says there is NOT ENOUGH opportunities, roles, jobs, etc. It says ONLY ONE IN A MILLION will make it. It says you need a LUCKY BREAK to be successful. It says competition is so intense that it's not worth pursuing. You've been fed these lines forever. They are based on someone else's experiences...someone else's truth. But it does NOT have to be YOUR truth. And here's why you need to ditch this Hollywood Story ASAP: When you hear these statements of lack and you choose to believe them, they get stored in your subconscious. Your subconscious mind ONLY believes what is stored in it.   So, if you stored, 'there are not enough opportunities for me to be successful in Hollywood', then your subconscious says this is the CONCLUSION, meaning, there is no other possible outcome or experience. Then, your conscious mind goes out into Hollywood and makes decisions based on that conclusion. Your subconscious mind essentially says, "Hey, Conscious! Go out into the world and prove that I'm right!" So you begin to attract experiences into your career that do just that, prove the belief true. This means, that as long as you BELIEVE the Hollywood Story and take it on as your own, you're actually blocking yourself from having any other possible outcome. But there is good news to all of this: your subconscious performs this way whether you have negative OR positive beliefs stored there. YAY! This means, if you can change your beliefs to, 'My success is inevitable and I'm going to make this happen', your conscious mind goes out into the Hollywood world seeking experiences that prove THAT to be true. BUT ERICA... I know. You really, really, really, believe the Hollywood Story. People tell you all the time how hard it is to make it in Hollywood. You even hear celebrities explaining in interviews, "I just got lucky!" But let's take a sec to remember what I mentioned above: your subconscious mind believes this to be the CONCLUSION, meaning, there is no other possible outcome. So when I tell you to change those beliefs, that your success CAN be inevitable, you're not going to believe me, because your subconscious mind doesn't understand a possibility that isn't stored in there.   We cling REALLY TIGHTLY to these negative stories. We never want to give them up. But if you want to succeed at your dream, you HAVE to give them up. Otherwise, you'll continue to hit walls and get stuck. You can ease your way into changing these beliefs by looking for proof. And there IS proof all around you, of people succeeding in Hollywood, if you choose to see it. Most people choose to see the failures. Most people choose to see people moving back home and giving up. But if you open your eyes (and your mind) to other experiences, you will be able to make that shift. And when you do, you'll start to see changes in your results almost immediately. All of my clients have had at least one amazing opportunity 'fall in their lap' after changing their beliefs: anything from landing auditions, booking roles, being personally requested to write for a new network, recording music in a professional studio for free and being organically introduced to a major connection. So, it's time. Time to shed the negative Hollywood Story that is ruining your chances to succeed. You can fight me on it and continue to hit walls. Or, you can finally believe that your success is inevitable, and watch the amazing opportunities fall in your lap. Your choice.   About Erica Wernick I'm Erica Wernick, Hollywood's Leading Success Coach. I've worked in television as a Graphic Designer for the past 9 years (you may have seen my work on hit shows like "Glee", "Entourage" and most recently, NBC's "Superstore") and started my coaching business a few years ago. How on earth can a Graphic Designer coach Actors, Writers, Directors, etc.?! (I imagine you just said...) I don't teach craft. I teach a combination of mindset and strategy to help you get rid of all the blocks in your way and follow through with a strategic plan to make your BIG goals happen.My clients have gone from having just 1 audition in an entire year to booking auditions every week; to directing corporate videos to being selected to create stories for a brand new network; to having no agent or manager to booking both within a few weeks, and more!  I'm here to encourage you to shoot for the stars and make your success inevitable. No matter how many people disagree with me. I've seen incredible things happen. When you believe your success is inevitable, those incredible things will start happening for you, too. If you're feeling stuck, like you're not making any progress, or it's just taking too damn long to get to where you want to be, send her a message. P.S. YES even your biggest dreams are 100% possible.   Like this blog post? 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In My 50's I Decided to Chase My Dream, Here's My Success Story

3 years ago I decided I was going to concentrate on composing music for film and I came to know about Stage 32 recently. I had been concentrating on classical pianists before that, trying to get my solo's performed by touring concert-oriented performers, and had some good luck in getting noticed by Henry Fogel, whom has been the President of both the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra).   But his advice to me was simple. I was good....but for every possible commission in the classical business, there were at least 1,000 composers trying to get the commission. Still, I am a determined man, and simply moved my concentration to the love of mine, movies. My family, friends and acquaintances all thought I was crazy and gave little or no support for my endeavor.   Perhaps the glittering stories of “possible success” just seemed to far out of reach for any of them. But not to me. I only have one life on this earth, and a belief that what I do helps create peace and joy for people. 2 years into the 'move to film' I was still out of work living in a $500 a month ‘room’ on the North Side of Chicago near Wrigley Field.    Having left a fruitful career as a visual artist I thought I could make enough to get the equipment I needed for scoring films. I managed to put together an art exhibit and surprisingly all the works in my art fair exhibit sold, and with the proceeds I bought a MacBook with GarageBand, and a keyboard controller. I went into the woodshed and simply started conjuring scene ideas and scoring them musically. I let the family hear the pieces. They thought me daft and could not fathom what I was trying to accomplish.       One day, as I was on a bus going to the grocer, I passed a location shoot taking place at Ann Sathers on Broadway in Chicago. I hopped off the bus, as I always do when I see a film being made, and introduced myself to the crew. Before long, I was standing next to one of the producers and getting a little insight into the film and the production frames. Telling the producer I was once a Music Director in The Second City certainly helped. And it got me 2 minutes with the very busy Director and star of the indie film Landline, Matthew Aaron (starring Tom Arnold, James Dumont and Betsey Brandt from Breaking Bad, Tom O'Heir from Parks and Recreation).    He apparently liked what he heard, though I can't imagine him liking what he saw, I was in tattered koolots carrying my groceries, with two days growth on the face, and unkempt hair. But he gave me his email address and he sent me a script.     I began writing music and recording it with the mind set that I was already hired. I would send the director little 2 and 3 minute pieces of music, once in the morning, and once in the afternoon. I did this everyday........for two weeks.......nervously wondering if I would get a call back. Finally, he did request I come to a location shoot, where Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad) was in a conference room in a downtown Chicago hotel site. I sat around in the crew meeting room all day, hoping to get to pitch my music.   And….nothing.   “Too busy today. Come back tomorrow.”   All the while, I heard whispers from the crew that I would never be hired to write the tunes for the movie. I came back the next day and just before lunch the PA gave me a word that the Director would like to see me. We shook hands and sat at a lunch table, and he began to talk about how he loved this movies' score or that movies’ score and told me about his vision for the film and what he wanted from me. I looked at him startled, but confident, and asked "does this mean I got the job?"   He said “yes!”   ……and sent me quickly to the production lawyer to begin signing contracts and negotiating my price.   I am 57 years old now and my insides were that of a 25 year old jumping up and down for his favorite team having won the grand prize game. I had my first "big break" into the business of scoring films. It is now almost exactly one year later. The film did very well with it’s target audience.     I have come to know some folks on Stage 32 and with my film Landline in my arsenal, I have now been fortunate enough to be requested to score another film for a member here. This one is out of Brooklyn, NY and is a comedy drama 30 minute TV Pilot. I am totally thrilled to be able to give my all to this new project and am busy in my studio. Once I got paid the money for Landline I was able to move up in the world and have state of the art equipment. The new project is called "Pigs in a Bowl" and I am grateful and blessed to be doing this.       It would never have happened had Stage 32 not been there. There is no such thing as a 'small' project' in this business. Each film means a lot to the Creators, Directors, Cinematographers, Actors, and everyone, giving their all. They can make even the smallest film something memorable, substantial, and vernacular. It is not 'glitter' to me. It is a love for the craft, and a helpful environment for all those involved.   Thank you Stage 32 for helping keep my burgeoning career going.   See some of Wesley's scores from Landline on his profile here: Scene 1 : Landline : Music & Orchestration by Wesley Lawrence Curry II Jim O'Heir, Tom Arnold, Scene from LANDLINE Opening Scene LANDLINE :Nick Searcy Scene Wrigley Field Scene     About Wesley Lawerence Curry II Former Music Director in The Second City (Red Co, Chicago) Live improvisational composing to improvised comedy sketches, worked with Neal Flynn (The Middle) Horatio Sanz (Saturday Night Live) Kevin Dorff (Writer: Conan O'Brian Show) Scott Adsit (30 Rock)Composer (LANDLINE) Indie Comedy Feature Length Film : Betsy Brandt (Life in Pieces, Breaking Bad) Jim O'Heir (Jerry in Parks & Recreation) Tom Arnold (Comedian) Nick Searcy, Jim DuMont (Jurassic World, Trumbo)Currently working on my own musical film and a commission for a concert orchestra for the Lunar Eclipse Festival in Central Illinois.Love to travel, and meeting you face to face is important to me, even if it needs to be Skype.     If you're inspired, leave your comments for Lawrence below. 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