Gooooooaaaaaallllllls!

Okay, so I said before I'd share how I accomplished some pretty major things this year. 1. National Voice over commercials .
2. National On-Camera Commercial.
3. I got engaged.
4. I lost weight and gained muscle.

I'm sure a number of things can be attributed to reaching those goals and I've been working on them for years (especially that engagement...wink, wink), but I attribute achieving my most recent goals to a book called...you might have guessed it- "Goals" by Brian Tracy.

In this book, Tracy lets you know you can achieve more goals faster than you ever imagined possible if you only take it one step further and write them down. It's almost like magic.

Here's the drill:

You have to write them in positive, personal and present tense and it helps to write them often. The examples Tracy uses are:
Instead of "I want to lose weight" you say, "I weigh 115 lbs by August 15th, 2011" or instead of "I want to quit smoking" you say, "I am a non-smoker by July 29th, 2011".

I made some of my friends write down their goals and it worked for them as well. Of course you have to take action. You can't say, "I weigh less" and then eat fries and a coke! But, I believe you're more willing to take the action you need to if you're consistently reminding yourself what you want.

I was about a month off or less on the goals I mentioned above and I wrote them down almost everyday for about 3 months. I write them down less often now, but at least once a week for sure.

I get asked the question, "What if I don't achieve them by the date I write down?" Common question and Tracy definitely answers it in the book. You simply change the date! Don't dwell on it, just keep going!

Try it for a month and see what happens!

I wish I had more free time...

January 22nd, 2011
Me: I wish I had more free-time. I just work too much.

January 23rd, 2011
My boss: We're going to have to let you go.

Be careful what you wish for. It just might come true. Not that this was a bad thing. It had been one of my goals to make acting a full time job. But you can't really do that when you're spending 40 plus hours a week working towards another person's dream. I had put a lot of time and effort into someone else's company and thought my own company should be growing. But, it doesn't work that way. As scary as it was to be without a steady paycheck and benefits- I had never been happier and I had more time to focus on Courtney Rioux Incorporated. (I'm not really an inc., I just thought it sounded nice)

I had heard a few times actors saying that once they quit their job they started making a living as an actor. Now, I had no choice.

Since January 23rd, 2011 I have accomplished some pretty major goals in my acting career. I booked two national commercials in the last month-my first national spots ever. I'll share my secret on how I got there later!

All I have to say is, "Thanks shitty economy and thanks to my boss for setting me free!"

As my friend Grace says, "All you need is a little faith and American Express". I'm going to take her advice and run with it. Looks like it's working so far.