Overcoming Your Acting Fears

Summary

In this insightful video, the speaker introduces 'TAG', a creative technique to confront and overcome fears, particularly in the context of auditions for actors. TAG stands for Truth, Acceptance, and Go, encouraging individuals to face their deepest fears through a process of self-reflection and writing. The speaker shares personal anecdotes to illustrate the power of recognizing and challenging old beliefs that hinder personal growth and performance. The technique involves identifying fears, tracing them to their roots, and replacing them with empowering truths, ultimately leading to a more authentic and fearless approach to life's challenges.

Takeaways

• 📝 The TAG Technique: Introduced as a method to confront and overcome fears by creatively engaging with them, symbolized by 'playing tag'.
• 🎭 Embracing Fears: Encourages actors to face their deepest fears head-on, as they are not as threatening as they seem, and are safe to explore.
• 🤔 The Paralysis of Fear: Shares a personal story of avoiding action due to fear, highlighting how fear can immobilize even when action is necessary.
• 🔑 Uncovering Old Beliefs: Suggests that beneath surface fears lie deeper, often irrational beliefs that have been internalized over time.
• 📉 The Illusion of Control: Points out that many fears stem from a desire to control outcomes, which is not always possible or healthy.
• 🌟 The Power of Acceptance: Advocates for accepting one's fears and old beliefs as part of the process, rather than trying to ignore or suppress them.
• ✍️ The Writing Exercise: Recommends a writing exercise to uncover and confront old beliefs, suggesting that writing by hand can be more effective.
• 💡 Moments of Clarity: Describes pivotal moments that lead to self-realization and the importance of acting on these insights before they fade.
• 🌈 Crafting a New Truth: Encourages the creation of a new, empowering belief that contradicts the old, unhelpful belief, to foster a healthier mindset.
• 💭 Feeling the Feelings: Advises to acknowledge and feel the emotions associated with old beliefs, as they are a part of the process of change.
• 🛠 Taking Action: Suggests that identifying the next right action, based on the new empowering truth, can help in overcoming fear and taking steps forward.

Q & A

What is the acronym TAG stand for in the context of the script?

In the script, TAG stands for Truth, Acceptance, and Go. It is a technique to help individuals confront and work with their fears.

What is the purpose of the TAG technique as described in the script?

The purpose of the TAG technique is to help individuals creatively work with their fears and obsessional thoughts, particularly in the context of auditions and acting, by uncovering and addressing deep-seated beliefs that may be hindering their progress.

What does the speaker suggest is the relationship between old beliefs and auditioning?

The speaker suggests that old beliefs can block an individual's ability to audition effectively. By addressing these beliefs through the TAG technique, one can improve their audition technique and overall approach to acting.

Can you explain the story of the speaker's experience with their agent regarding headshots?

The speaker recounts a story from their early acting career when they received a voicemail from their agent requesting new headshots. Despite the urgency, the speaker avoided this task for over a year due to fear and old beliefs, which highlights the impact of such beliefs on one's professional life.

What does the speaker mean by 'old beliefs' in the context of the script?

In the script, 'old beliefs' refer to deep-rooted, often irrational fears and assumptions that individuals hold about themselves or their abilities, which can limit their actions and potential success in various areas of life, including acting.

How does the speaker describe the process of uncovering old beliefs using the TAG technique?

The speaker describes a process where one starts by identifying a current fear or obsession, then writes down a series of 'because of that' statements until reaching a core belief that is clearly false. This process helps to bring these subconscious beliefs to the surface for examination.

What is the NET acronym mentioned in the script, and what is its purpose?

NET stands for New Empowering Truth. Its purpose is to help individuals counteract their old beliefs with a new, empowering statement that reflects a more accurate and positive understanding of themselves and their situation.

How does the speaker suggest using the new empowering truth to change one's behavior?

The speaker suggests that once the new empowering truth is identified, individuals should own the feelings associated with the old belief, contemplate the truth, and then consider what actions they would take if they truly believed the new empowering truth, thus guiding their behavior accordingly.

What does the speaker mean by 'feelings are workable' in the context of auditioning and old beliefs?

The speaker means that even though feelings associated with old beliefs can be intense, they can be managed and worked through. This allows individuals to act despite these feelings, rather than being paralyzed by them.

Can you provide an example of how the speaker's personal old belief affected their acting career?

The speaker's personal old belief was that if they were not successful as an actor, their life would have no value or meaning, and they would be crushed by regret. This belief affected their acting career by causing them to avoid certain actions, such as calling their agent, due to fear.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Embracing Fears Through TAG Technique

The speaker introduces a technique called TAG, which stands for Truth, Acceptance, and Go. It's a method to confront and work with deep-seated fears, particularly those related to creative pursuits like acting. The speaker shares a personal story about avoiding contact with his agent due to fear, illustrating how unrecognized fears can paralyze action. The TAG technique is presented as a tool to safely confront these fears and integrate them into one's creative process, ultimately enhancing audition techniques.

05:01

🔍 Unveiling Old Beliefs with TAG

This paragraph delves deeper into the TAG technique, emphasizing writing as a means to uncover unconscious fears and limiting beliefs. The speaker suggests that by identifying a specific fear and exploring its root causes through continuous writing, individuals can reach a core belief that is often false but deeply ingrained. The process involves writing down fears and their consequences until an irrational belief is revealed, which is a crucial step in addressing and overcoming these internal barriers.

10:03

🚫 Challenging and Replacing Old Beliefs

The speaker discusses the importance of challenging and replacing old, limiting beliefs with new, empowering truths. After identifying a false belief, one should create a new belief that is positive and empowering, even if the old belief still holds emotional weight. This process involves acknowledging the old belief, feeling the associated emotions, and then consciously choosing to act in alignment with the new, empowering truth, which can lead to a more fulfilling and less fear-driven life.

15:04

💡 The Power of Acceptance and New Truths

In this paragraph, the speaker stresses the significance of acceptance in personal growth. By accepting one's feelings and the reality that old beliefs are not true, an individual can begin to live by new, empowering truths. The speaker provides an example of how they reframed their own belief about the necessity of acting success for a meaningful life, demonstrating how this new perspective can lead to a more peaceful and contented existence, regardless of external achievements.

20:07

🎭 Applying TAG to Auditioning and Acting

The speaker relates the TAG technique back to the context of acting and auditioning, suggesting that understanding and applying the technique can transform the audition process. By recognizing and working through fears and old beliefs, actors can approach auditions without the pressure of needing them to define their self-worth or happiness. This approach allows for a more authentic and less anxiety-driven engagement with the craft.

25:11

🧘‍♂️ Living Principles and Emotional Workability

In the final paragraph, the speaker reflects on the importance of living by principles and the workability of emotions. They share a personal story about a traumatic experience and how recognizing the temporary nature of the situation allowed them to navigate through it. This concept is connected back to auditioning and acting, suggesting that by understanding the impermanence and workability of emotions, one can act despite fear and emotional turmoil, leading to a more authentic and connected performance.

Keywords

💡TAG technique

The TAG technique stands for 'Truth Acceptance Go' and is introduced as a method to confront and understand one's fears in a creative way. It is central to the video's theme of overcoming internal barriers to personal and professional growth. The script uses TAG as a tool for actors to face their audition fears, suggesting that by acknowledging and working through these fears, one can better prepare for the actual audition process.

💡Obsession

In the context of the video, 'obsession' refers to the recurring, intrusive thoughts that can hinder an individual's ability to act, such as the fear of not being good enough for an audition. It is tied to the overarching theme of how our internal dialogue can create obstacles that prevent us from pursuing our goals. The script illustrates this with the example of the speaker's fear of calling their agent back.

💡Fear

Fear is a prevalent concept in the script, representing the internal resistance one faces when confronting challenges, like auditions. It is portrayed as something that can be 'played with' through the TAG technique, suggesting that by engaging with fear, one can demystify it and reduce its power. The video emphasizes that facing and understanding fear is a crucial step towards personal development.

💡Old Beliefs

Old beliefs are deep-seated, often unconscious ideas that influence behavior and perception. In the video, they are presented as the root of the speaker's fears and insecurities, such as the belief that one's life has no value without acting success. The script encourages unearthing and challenging these beliefs as a means of personal growth and overcoming creative blocks.

💡Empowerment

Empowerment in this video is the process of gaining control over one's life and emotions by confronting and reframing old beliefs. The script introduces the concept of creating a 'New Empowering Truth' (NET) that counters the limiting old beliefs, providing a more positive and empowering perspective that can guide actions and thoughts.

💡Audition

The audition serves as a metaphor for facing life's challenges in the script. It represents a situation where one's fears and insecurities can be triggered, and it is the central activity around which the speaker's fears revolve. The video discusses the audition process as a platform to apply the TAG technique and confront the fears that may be hindering success.

💡Creativity

Creativity is presented as a means to engage with and overcome fears. The video encourages using creative exercises, like the TAG technique, to explore and express one's deepest fears in a safe and constructive manner. It suggests that creativity can be a powerful tool for personal exploration and growth.

💡Self-tape Audition

A self-tape audition is a method of auditioning where the actor records their performance and submits it to the casting director. In the script, it is used as a specific example of a situation that can trigger fears and insecurities. The speaker discusses the process of working on a self-tape audition as an opportunity to apply the TAG technique and confront related fears.

💡Clarity

Clarity, in the context of the video, refers to the moments of sudden understanding or realization about oneself, often related to one's fears and limiting beliefs. The script describes such moments as 'doorways of clarity' that can lead to profound self-awareness and the opportunity to change one's perspective.

💡Authenticity

Authenticity is the concept of being true to oneself, which is closely related to the video's theme of confronting and overcoming old beliefs. The script suggests that by acknowledging and owning one's fears and feelings, an individual can act more authentically and in alignment with their true self.

💡Vulnerability

Vulnerability is portrayed as a necessary state for real creativity and personal growth. The video discusses the discomfort of stepping into vulnerability as a part of the creative process, especially when confronting deep-seated fears and beliefs. It is presented as a place where one can engage with their authentic self.

Highlights

Introduction of TAG technique: An acronym for 'Truth, Acceptance, Go' to creatively engage with fears.

TAG technique as a creative game to confront and understand deep-seated fears.

The importance of safely exploring fears to prevent them from hindering creative auditions.

Incorporating acceptance of old beliefs into audition techniques for better performance.

A personal story of avoiding agent contact due to fear, illustrating the impact of unaddressed fears.

The realization that old beliefs can paralyze action and the need to confront them.

The process of writing down fears to trick the unconscious mind into revealing deeper blocks.

The significance of writing by hand to access truth in a different way.

The challenge of avoiding distractions and the importance of focusing on the exercise.

Identifying the trigger of obsessive fears and starting the TAG process.

Writing down fears using 'and because of that I have fear' to uncover deep-seated beliefs.

The difficulty of reaching the core of old beliefs and the resistance encountered.

The process of developing a new empowering truth (NET) to counter old beliefs.

Articulating the new empowering truth as a response to the old belief.

Owning the feelings associated with old beliefs and new truths.

The contemplative dialogue to understand the logic behind fears and emotions.

Determining the next right action based on the new empowering truth.

The analogy of drug-induced hallucinations to understand accepting and acting through fears.

The final step of the TAG process: acting in alignment with the new empowering truth.

Transcripts

[Music]

and so I'm gonna go over with you guys

now this little written technique that I

call tag it's just a fun acronym to

remember what it is

it stands for truth acceptance go tag

it's a fun way to remember it and it's a

great way to think of it it's like you

want to play tag with your fears tag

fear you're it I'm gonna play this

creative game with my worst fears the

fears that are blocking me because it's

safe to play with them it's safe to look

your deepest fears

these old belief fears straight in the

eye it's safe it's scary as but

it's safe to work with them because

they're not what they appeared to be and

if we don't creatively work with them

we'll never get a shot at creatively

working on the actual audition what I'm

going to talk to you guys about here

first is how do you creatively work with

that obsessional fear and make that a

creative project and arts so that then

you can get to the art of the audition

or actually a better way to put it I

think is to have this acceptance and

owning your own old beliefs as part of

your audition technique itself that's

what I would encourage you so this

example I often give when I talk and I

won't go to this hole I'm gonna shorten

it for our purposes here but a true

story that when I was in New York in the

in the mid-90s as a young actor I had a

good agent that were getting me good

auditions big auditions and one point my

agent gave me a voice mail message and

the message was Greg were out of

headshots we need you to drop off new

headshots they didn't want new pictures

they just wanted new copies of my

headshot and this was back in the day

where if you didn't if your agent didn't

have actual tangible headshots

there was no audition happening this is

hard for many of you to envision but

there was no email

there was bike messengers been peddling

all over town giving agents packages of

headshots so anyway when I got this

voice mail message I knew there was no

shot at me getting an audition again

until my agent until I left my agent

these headshots

and I knew all I had to do was drop them

off just go to

get copies of them drop them off didn't

even have to talk to my agent this is a

true story I did not make copies of the

headshots or call my agent back or go to

the office or do anything for over a

year this is a true frickin story but I

thought about it every day now if we

were to go back in time and encounter

this young Greg a couple months let's

say or even a couple weeks after not

doing this after getting the voicemail

message and just like doing nothing and

we were to say to him like hey man why

are you terrified to contact your agent

the young Greg would probably say what's

weird meeting my future self and some

other people but besides that you're

wrong I'm not terrified of talking to my

agent it's just been a weird two months

you know I had the thing with the girl

and that was weird and then suddenly it

had been a month that I'm like oh man

I'm the guy who hasn't called his agent

back that's weird to be that guy but I'm

about to do it a Tuesday I'm about to do

it I'm gonna call my agent and square

this up right because that's what we

tell ourselves now on Tuesday I'm gonna

do the self table audition on Tuesday

I'm gonna hunker down on Tuesday she's

not right now well retrospect is a funny

thing because I know that young Greg was

paralyzed with crippling fear but he

didn't know it or only knew it in

moments and I'll never forget one day I

finally called him back a year later and

I was changed smoking Marlboro Lights

this is a pay phone these be pay phones

back then I was chained smoking Marlboro

Lights as I was want to do and I called

that agency back and of course it was a

totally new receptionist to answer the

phone because it's been over a year and

I'm like this is Greg Sam is calling for

whatever my agents name was and he's

like Greg who and I go and I

slammed the phone down and my hand was

shaking as I lit another cigarette and I

had this doorway of clarity that opened

up and I think of these moments in life

especially in regards to to seeing our

old beliefs for what they are they're

like these doorways of clarity that open

up if you've ever seen Raiders of the

Lost Ark which I will reference again

later for another reason but if you've

ever seen Raiders the Lost Ark there's

that classic scene where Harrison Ford

rolls under the door

is the doors closing and then he like

jauntily grabs his hat but he's got you

know it's closing he's got to get

through it I think we can have these

moments of awakening in our life where

we suddenly realize a great and profound

truth about ourselves but we have about

two minutes to physically act to do

something that is in our power and if we

don't the awakening gets submerged again

it goes back into the unconscious so for

about two minutes i sat there smoking

thinking i'm eft i am supposedly

fulfilling my lifelong childhood dream

of being a professional actor and I'm

too terrified to call my agent back to

work on an audition I'm too terrified to

get outside of my comfort zone in any

real way and it suddenly became clear to

me that all the work I was doing in

regard to auditioning in my acting

career was fantasy work I was playing at

it

it's as if my office this office here

were a total filthy mess and I came to

work every day to clean it but I just

lifted up my couch up and down for three

hours and then left and said it's a hard

day at work I'm exhausted but I wasn't

addressing the mess and I wasn't doing

anything real that's what my life was as

a young actor now what that young Gregg

didn't realize that the old Greg knows

older old her Craig knows is that there

were old beliefs at play that we're

blocking me so this little written

technique that I'm going to go through

here in a compact way you can ask me

more questions about it later but it's a

it's a simple way to trick the

unconscious mind into spilling the beans

on what's really blocking us and as soon

as you do this and you can do it on a

notebook on a napkin on a sheet of paper

you can do it on your notes well you

know whatever app on the phone it's

better to do it by hand if at all

possible because there's something about

using a pen or a pencil and actually

writing that seems to get to the truth

in a different way plus if you're using

the phone you're probably not going to

fit

the exercise because you're gonna check

insta or the New York Times or just

distract yourself because what I'm

talking about here a large part of you

doesn't want to own your obsessional

fears a large part of you wants to stay

in the comfort zone wants to die in the

comfort zone that's just human nature I

don't fully understand it of course at

all I don't fully understand anything

like Indiana Jones I'm making it up as I

go along like we all are whether we

pretend to or not right but I do know

from my own experience and witnessing it

and others that part of us wants to stay

part of us doesn't want to grow part of

us doesn't want to enter the

vulnerability of real creativity of

really being in what we actually have

power over so what you can do is when

you notice you're an obsessive fear

meaning you're about to start work on

yourself tape audition are you about to

call the agent or you're about to do

whatever it is but if we're setting self

tape right like you're about to start

working and suddenly you are an

obsessional fear your mind is going like

well wait am i doing the right scene am

I not doing the right scene is anyone

really gonna watch this what's the point

of doing this and it's gonna be good I

don't think I'm gonna be any good what

if it's not good if any kind of

obsessional fear hits what you want to

do on the paper is start by writing what

the trigger seems to be what is the

thing you're obsessing about right now

so let's use myself as an example that

young Greg if he knew this this tag

technique let's say he got that

voicemail message and his agent said

drop off new headshots and he could

acknowledge oh my god I'm obsessing

about calling my agent back I'm an

obsessive fear I am scared to call my

agent back what he would write at the

top of the page is I have fear about

calling my agent back or I'm obsessing

about calling my agent back and if

you're about to work on your self tape

audition and you're like why am I not

working on it because I'm obsessing

about the audition I'm obsessing that

it's not going to be any good you would

just write I have fear that this

audition won't be any good or I have

fear about working on the self table

audition and then what you want to do is

write without thinking let it vomit on

the page and the linking phrase that

works for like

95% of the people that I work with and

if it's not we you know we can tweak it

but this almost always works is some

version of and because of that I have

fear and because of that I have fear

meaning you just keep answering that

question without thinking and write what

comes out and you don't stop until you

see in black and white on the page

something that is a hundred percent

false not only for you but for any human

being because if we go deep enough we

see this as I said earlier the old

beliefs that are blocking us are a

hundred percent of the time not true but

we believe them they are

misapprehensions

not only about ourselves but about the

human condition and as we'll see here in

a moment or we'll talk about we can't

unbeliev them and when we try to we get

all gummed up because we're attempting

to do something we don't have power over

but we can accept that we have a

delusion and we can practice acting

contrary to the delusion we can practice

acting on what's true even though

emotionally psychologically we're still

tied to the old belief so I'll give the

example right so again if the young

Gregg were to start with what that

surface fear is and he wants to keep

going until he gets to something that is

clearly untrue so the young Gregg my go

I have fear about calling my agent back

because I have fear that it will lead to

an awkward conversation and because of

that I have fear they'll drop me as a

client and if they drop me as a client I

have fear I'll never get great audition

opportunities and if I get if I don't

get great audition opportunities I have

fear I'll never be truly successful as

an actor okay and a lot of the tags you

take around self tape will probably get

to something close to what I just said I

have fear I'll never be truly great as

an actor that's what came up for me and

this is where the mind part of the mind

wants you to stop

when you get right right on top of the

real old belief because I look at these

old beliefs as one way to look at them

as they're invading organisms they're

fighting for survival they're not real

but they don't want you to get there

this is why all these images from

fairytales and beautiful stories the

wizard in The Wizard of Oz don't look at

the mountain behind the curtain thunder

lightning don't look hey it's just me

I'm not a wizard

Rumpelstiltskin the boogeyman and so

many you know stories when you know the

boogey man's name when you look him in

the eye

he shrivels up and goes because he ain't

really real but the closer you get to

that truth oh my god you will try to

convince yourself don't dare look don't

dare look so part of me wants that to be

my old belief though I wanted to be the

old belief that know my old belief is

that I will never be truly successful as

an actor but I just need to tell myself

I will be or we may think like I think I

won't do good at this audition but I

just need to to tell myself I will do go

to this audition but that's not in our

power I can't control result and it's

subjective as an mf'er

it's like what does that even mean good

it's changing in my mind all the time

but the idea of like I can self well

myself into being a successful actor

again what's happening in the world

right now shows us that ain't true or

people have known this in different

parts of the world for a long time

people that live in a ravaged war-torn

country they can't will themselves into

material success tell the person whose

spouse just got killed by a drunk driver

gosh if you guys would have believed

better you could have created a new

reality no hell no the rain falls on the

just and the unjust I may never be a

successful actor because I may get hit

by a bus in five minutes I may not get

the part because it went to the the

guy's cousin it is not in my power to be

a successful actor so we haven't gotten

to the old belief until we get to

something that's not true but you know

you're close to it when you want to stop

when

I just like don't go any further please

please please but if that young Gregg

went further it might look like this if

you took it all the way down I have fear

about calling my agent back because I

fear it will be a upward conversation

because that I feel that dropped me as a

client if they drop me as a client I

hope there'll never be a great audition

opportunities and if I never get great

audition opportunities I have fear I'll

never be truly successful as an actor

and if I'm not truly successful as an

actor my life will have no value or

meaning I'll be crushed by regret and

I'll be annihilated

it's not true if I'm not a success as an

actor my life will have no value or

meaning I will be crushed by regret and

I'll be annihilated that is actually was

one of my core beliefs and still is

today it changes around a little bit but

the most important thing is I have a

whole different relationship with it

than I ever thought possible but I think

many of you if you try this exercise

you'll find similar old beliefs around

auditioning that at the bottom is often

something like if I'm not as success my

life will have no value remaining I'll

be crushed by regret now be annihilated

I will never experience real love I'll

live and regret for the rest of my life

I'll have an unhappy life I'll be

miserable none of this is true right and

what I ask you to do is part of this tag

process is once you get to that old

belief the next step is to write out

another little fun acronym net the net

the net is the thing that catches us the

net is the new empowering truth the new

empowering truth because if we're saying

the old belief is not true then what is

true what's something that we can

articulate that we don't believe about

ourselves but deep down we know to be

true and it's phrased in such a way that

empowers us personally and it's not

Pollyanna new-age thinking it's like

based on our assessment of reality we

can say no I believe that to be true but

you don't believe it for yourself

because the old belief is still probably

really with you and maybe for the rest

of your life and that's actually okay so

it's a fun game have fun it's a game we

can play

ultimately it is and can be but imagine

a loved one set that old belief to you

how do we come up with a new empowering

truth because a lot of time when I work

with people they're like okay you're

right I believe that I believe if I'm

not a reoccurring guest star on

Westworld my life is gonna have no

meaning or I'll be miserable I'll be

crushed by regret or whatever but yeah I

believe it so I can

tell myself that no it doesn't matter

well imagine a loved one said that to

you what would you say to the loved one

because deep down we know what's true

and when I imagine my beautiful

five-year-old daughter grown to be a

twenty-one year old woman and if I

imagine her saying to me daddy I just

have fear that if I'm not a successful

ballerina my life will have no value or

meaning I'll be crushed by regret and be

annihilated if she were to say that to

me I wouldn't go maybe yeah you better

get you a better teacher because that

could be we don't want that to happen

let's work harder come on do better yeah

I don't do that right immediately when

we think about a loved one saying that

to us something true and loving begins

to happen and we connect with the truth

right away I would comfort my daughter

and speak of the truth and this can take

practice sometimes to really begin to to

articulate and the great thing is your

old beliefs will come up a lot

especially once you start sniffing them

out so you can take this tag a lot and

the same ones will come up and you can

just keep embracing them and working

with them so for time over me the new

empowering truth that answered my old

belief which again was if I'm not a

success as an actor my life will have no

value or meaning I'll be crushed by

regret now be annihilated the new

empowering truth became whether or not

I'm ever a success as an actor has no

bearing at all on anything that has a

real and lasting value in my life as

long as I am perfectly practice my

ever-expanding principles my life is

guaranteed to have value and meaning

beyond measure

I will never be crushed by regret

and what's most real about me can never

be annihilated

now that resonates really true with me

it doesn't always move me so much as it

just did but it always resonates is true

and if you say something like that to

the mind the mind goes

okay then technically that is that is

technically true what you just said

whereas if you say the mind we're going

to book this job the mind goes how you

know you look the last one the last five

the guy in the waiting room looks like

you're better looking younger brother

why isn't he gonna book a job huh how do

you know how self-hatred spiral but when

we speak the truth to ourselves part of

us can't argue but the feelings around

the old belief are still probably going

to be really prevalent especially when

you're first doing this so the next step

I asked the individual to do is you've

got the old belief you've got the new

empowering truth then write down and own

what you're feeling it can be helpful to

write it down but most importantly feel

it be honest with yourself I just wrote

that old belief I just wrote the new

empowering truth now what am I feeling

right now sad a little faith a little

positivity maybe from that you know new

empowering truth but maybe it's fear

self-hatred shame and to just sit with

the feelings and own them and just be

with your feelings for a couple minutes

and then have this contemplative

dialogue with yourself where in essence

you say hey Greg if since early

childhood you thought that if you

weren't a success as an actor your your

life would have no value or meaning

you'd be crushed by regret and you'd be

annihilated doesn't it make sense that

you would be terrified right now to call

your agent back or to work on this

audition because it's not really about

the audition it's about that deeper

thing doesn't that logically make sense

that you'd be feeling these intense

feelings yeah actually that does make

sense but Greg can you admit that you've

had it ass-backwards your whole life the

feelings aren't evidence that the old

belief is true you just thought the old

belief for so long that it's generated

this emotional state so can you own the

feelings not try to change them but

practice acting as if the new empowering

truth is true what we can do that

so if the young Gregg were to do this

exercise right when he got the message

to call his agent back what might a next

right action be and this is the final

step of the tag process is after owning

the old belief and owning the new

empowering truth and feeling the

feelings what might the version of you

do not your actual version could you

still believe the old belief but the

version that really believed the new

empowering truth what would they do

and so that young Gregg might go well

they would call their agent back or you

might go well I would start working on

this audition not because it's what's

going to give me the meaning of my life

and it's going to it's gonna save me

from regret no because this is my job

and this is the thing I'm choosing to

work on or maybe we've suddenly inspired

to call a friend back or to share what

we just discovered with someone else

which is a great thing to do to share

all this with a trusted friend but maybe

we're called to do something that really

connects us with our principles in a

real direct way before working on the

audition so we can get more like kind of

mainline attached to our principles or

maybe we just work on the audition but

we're working on it for the sake of

working on it and even though

emotionally psychologically that feeling

is there and this is a great segue and

now actually you know the working on

these auditions but we come to see that

whatever we're feeling is actually

workable we can act through it we don't

have to get rid of these feelings and we

can't because they've been with us for a

long time part of the reason that I

worshipped my acting career for so long

was because I had some abuse in

childhood in an early age from not the

family from outside the family but it

led to very terrifying feelings and soon

after this this event of abuse I got on

stage for the first time and like at the

age of six

and it was this beautiful experience I

remember it right and it it made me feel

safe I definitely felt it was a

spiritual calling to act and I wouldn't

describe is at the time but but I felt

safe and in the flow and connected and

at peace and those things are all great

but this young boy erroneously developed

the old belief that if I wasn't involved

with great acting and people didn't

think I was great I would never be safe

I could never have peace

I could never experience tranquility and

meaning it's not true but I developed

that old belief and today as a man

sometimes acting still does give me

connectivity and deep meaning and

tranquility and sometimes it doesn't but

the most important thing is I don't

worship it or if I catch myself

worshipping the audition or worshipping

my career I have tools to help me

surrender and get back in touch with

what's real and I have a way of living

as a man where I'm engaged with some

principles and actions in a real

tangible literal way on a daily basis

that assures me a modicum of meaning and

flow and connectivity and tranquillity

and peace so I'm not drawn to worship

acting as much as I once was

right so the feelings are workable okay

the feelings are all workable and real

quick another way to say it and then I'm

gonna you know we're gonna really do

some acting here I'm going to

demonstrate some stuff I have some

volunteers that I've randomly chosen

semi-random hey before this that we're

gonna we're going to play with some

people here and talk about the the ways

that I find it very helpful to approach

the audition but everything I've been

talking about is is so important from my

point of view because if you're not

beginning the audition process with an

understanding of what I've been talking

about the whole audition ends up being

about trying to control result or

feeling and the image I wanted to say to

describe this relationship with old

beliefs and really to describe the

audition itself when I was like

I'm a recovered drug addict and

alcoholic I've been sober for many years

now but I used to be way out of control

and when I was like 22 or something I

was at a party and I was on five hits of

really really bad LSD and if you've ever

been on really bad illusions it's not

fun I was at this party and I felt like

I was seeing my dead grandmother come

out of the walls everybody's face was

melting I was a really insecure um young

man I felt more insecure than ever had

in my life I felt like I was watching

atoms of my body just drift away and go

into space and I was about to turn to a

friend and say take me to the hospital I

cannot live the next seven hours like

this when all of a sudden an another

friend of mine sat on the couch opposite

me and I don't know where these guys

come from the guy that when you're in

your early 20s there's someone who's

like 21 and was a drug shaman like a 21

like what is this guy been doing right

but I had one of those friends and he

set across for me because he could tell

what I was going through and he looked

me in the eye and he said hey Greg

remember it's just the drugs

and I thought oh wow it's just the drugs

and I actually began to enjoy the party

and enjoy being massively insecure

because I was in touch with the truth

that it was the drugs I didn't try to

not feel the feelings and not see the

hallucinations I accepted them and

realized I could have a different

opinion about them and act through them

or along with them so this is what we're

looking to do when the old beliefs get

triggered and it's what we're looking to

do with the audition in general okay so

hopefully that makes sense and you can

relate it to other stuff I'm going to

talk about now but it's very important

for my point of view which is why I

spend so much time talking about it