What to Do when you haven't fully cultivated your strengths and skills?

[greatone9101987]

Ok I'm new to the forums and probably won't be posting much. My name is Robert, I'm a Virgo, 21 and stay over in Riverside, CA, how's that for an introduction , lol. I've read a lot of steve's material but I haven't found the answer to this question. What do you do when your expenses outweigh your income, you're investing in yourself building your strengths and cultivating your skills but they're not quite competent? I'm in a tough situation, as described above, I am living very frugally, after getting my mandatory bills and rent paid I have nothing left. I can't even risk driving around because I've got to use all my gas to get to work. My passion is acting and I attend Stella Adler Los Angeles but had to stop because I could no longer afford it. However, I am studying at home, cold reading and making the best use of my time. I know Steve mentioned in one of his podcasts to build up your strengths and what not and I am, I feel in perhaps a year or two I may be really good and could become a working actor, but what do I do about now? I made the goal to make 3,000 a month by the end of August, but I don't have any high value skills, I work as a security officer, how hard is that? I can make really great cheesecake and I've been offered money to make it for people but I eon't want to take a whole lot of time away from acting to starta cheesecake business just so that I can make enough money for the urgent matters at hand right now instead of the important passionate goals of the future. I like making cheesecake, but acting is my dream. What am I to do? They say know what you want and what you are willing to do to get it well I want $3,000 a month and I am willing to cook cheesecake, act, or read to children ( to improve my cold reading skills). Any advice would be helpful

[Mynder]

or read to children ( to improve my cold reading skills).

You puzzled me there. How are these two related?

[greatone9101987]

Well cold reading has two definitions that I know of. In theater and acting can be used to refer to a term in acting when you go to auditions and act out the words of a script you've never read before, or just picking up any sort of reading material and bringing life to them. Cold reading is also a series of techniques used by mentalists, illusionists, fortune tellers, psychics, and mediums to determine or express details about another person, often in order to convince them that the reader knows much more about a subject than they actually do. When I said reading to children it was refering to the cold reading of acting. It's really just reading out loud, but you've got to connect to the characters, story, and emotions and give it meaning. I do it on my own but it would be so much better, and funner to have the audience of children. I tried to volunteer for storytime at different places but the staff doesn't give up that role. It's just one of many ways to make cold reading more of a fun and social activity.

[Mynder]

Have you ever tried going to toy stores or toy departments in larger malls and offer your services as kind of a "story guy"?

I guess if your pay in your current job isn't that great you might be able to sell yourself that way at the same rate or even better. you'd probably have to make it a complete "package" though, with a theme, a fitting "character role" for yourself etc. so it won't appear arbitrary and anonymous.

So "the story guy" might get you turned down a lot, but something like the "Fairy Fellow's Adventurous Tales" or whatever you think might work for you could have a chance.

Also, when christmas comes around again, you'll already have a few people interested in hiring you for Santa performances. Another chance to act AND earn a bit of money (maybe not much, but at least you're doing what you like AND getting paid for it, right?).