You've Come a Long Way, Baby (Recap: August)

Several years ago, I was at dinner with a group of some of my close friends—all brilliant, talented, booked-and-busy types—when the conversation turned to career frustrations. You know the ones: "I'm not where I thought I'd be." "Why haven't I booked a series regular yet?" "Everything feels so slow right now."

I remember listening to each of them speak and thinking, "Wait, YOU feel behind?" One was booking TV shows constantly, another had just wrapped an indie film, another was doing theater...everyone seemed to be thriving!

One of them turned to me and said, "Well, you book a TON of commercials. I wish I could say that."

And there it was.

The actor comparison trap.

We spend so much time beating ourselves up for not being "there" yet, wherever there is. Rarely do we look around at the space we've already traveled to get here.

I reminded them (and myself in the process) that there was a time when all of us were dying to get to where we are now. To have an agent. To be SAG-AFTRA. To get auditions. To get callbacks. To feel confident in our work. To pay our bills (at least sometimes!) doing what we love. And suddenly, we forgot that we are the proof that those dreams materialized.

Now, this isn't some feel-good fluff meant to replace hunger with complacency. It's the opposite. When you stop and really acknowledge your growth, you refuel. It's motivational. You remind yourself: "Damn, I've actually done a lot. And I did it without knowing if it would even work."

Think about that. The school plays. The auditions you went in for. The headshot sessions. The self-tapes you learned to light and frame and edit. The workshops you took. The late-night filming a friend's short. The shitty manager. The gigs that paid in pizza and still required memorizing a full scene and schlepping across town in traffic.

You did all of that. And probably in the face of financial instability, self-doubt, rejection, and a whole lot of other life stuff.

So when we talk about focus, this month I want it to mean: focus on your wins! Focus on your accomplishments up until now (both big and small...especially the small). It might be hard to think back, but really try! Everything adds up to who and where you are today!

And maybe you’re not where you want to be yet.

But you’re also not where you started.

QUICK INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT: AUGUST 2025

• Marvel exits Georgia to film future superhero projects in the UK, shaking up the state’s film economy.

• Jennifer Lopez dazzles in the newly released trailer for Kiss of the Spider Woman (in theaters Oct 10).

• Zach Cregger's Weapons tops the box office for a second week in a row.

• Paramount and Skydance merge, making major changes in LA and acquiring new UFC streaming rights.

• Busan International Film Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary, highlighting Asian cinema globally.

AUGUST FOCUS EXERCISE

This month, don’t write goals. Write history.

Make an inventory of everything you’ve done in your career.

Yes. Everything.

• That school play forever ago? Yup!

• That student film you did for $0 and some crafty? Write it down.

• Your first agent? That counts.

• Those headshot sessions? Add them.

• That time you redesigned your website, learned Canva, took a class, joined a union, submitted to agents, went to therapy so you could perform more freely?

WRITE. IT. ALL. DOWN.

Celebrate it. Look at the scope of what you've done and who you've become. Let it fuel your tank and remind you that you have grown...you have moved forward...you have won.

Your younger self would be cheering. They worked hard to get to this point. So take a bow, then get back to work.

#stayfocused