About Diane:

Diane Strand is a multi-award-winning serial entrepreneur, executive producer, best-selling author, nonprofit founder, and a TEDx and national speaker. 

Strand has over 22 years of entrepreneurial experience. She is the majority owner of JDS Video & Media Productions, Inc. and JDS Actors Studio, and the founder of the 501(c)3 nonprofit JDS Creative Academy (JDSCA).

Strand is the creator, executive producer, and co-host of the locally broadcasted and nationally streamed magazine-style news and information television series, Spirit of Innovation: Arts Across America, the first of its kind for Riverside County.

Strand has written two approved curriculums: A Title 17 video production job-training day program for adults with developmental disabilities and a California State Apprenticeship program.

She has helped launch over 100 careers in arts and entertainment. She aspires to make dreams come true by providing H.O.P.E. – Helping One Person Everyday.

Her goal is to spread the Arts Across America and inspire new creative academies across the country. She is deeply involved in the local community as an active Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce member, serving as the DEI Chair, and on the Women in Business committee.

She served three years as the elected Board President of Southwest Economic Development Coalition and recently completed a 10-year service as an appointed Board Member for Riverside County’s Workforce Development. 

Prior to her entrepreneurship, Strand earned an impressive list of Hollywood A-List credits on shows such as: General Hospital, Friends, and Veronica's Closet. She built the high-def control room at Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena), produced for Barbra Streisand, and worked for Universal Creative and as an in-house producer for Disney Channel, including the launches of Playhouse Disney and Toon Disney.

I am talking about all things voiceover and creative entrepreneurialism.

Hope you are having a fantastic Wednesday. 

Let's jump right into today's topic, which is branding. 

And I want to sort of unpack the essence of what branding is because we are drawn in to people who do this for a living. 

People who create brands for actors. And I just want to get it out into the open.

That if you don't have a catchy tagline, if you don't have a palette of colors, if you don't have a logo, it's okay. 

You don't have to have those things in order to be a successful actor business person. 

If you do have those things, that's amazing. 

And if you want those things, you can absolutely have them and incorporate them into your business.

However, you don't have to have them in order to be successful. 

But let's just talk about the entire branding package, what it is, why it is, and all of those things. Let's get into it. 

So if you follow me on my sub stack, thank you by the way you will remember I wrote a post called brand and it's been resonating with so many people.

And if you haven't read it yet, I encourage you to go check it out. 

It's packed with insights and things that I'm going to expand upon today. 

You can go and find it on the actor's index on a sub stack, but grab a notebook, grab a cup of coffee, whatever helps you focus. 

And let's talk about what branding really is and how you can develop yours without all of the bells and whistles that we often get tempted to buy into. 

So first things first, when you hear the word branding, most of us automatically do think of logos and colors and catchy taglines. 

And yes, those are part of branding, but they're not the whole picture. 

Branding is the perception people have of you. 

It's the emotional connection you create with your audience, clients, your community, your colleagues.

It's the way people feel when they hear your name, see your work, listen to your work or engage with your content. 

So for example, if you think about your favorite brands, whatever they are. Why do you love them? Chances are it's not because they have a cute logo or it's not because they use your favorite color.

It's related to the way that they make you feel or how they impact your life. 

That is the magic of branding. 

So personal branding is a huge part of my journey as a voiceover actor and coach because when I first started out, I thought branding was just about “looking professional.”

But over time, I really realized that it is so much deeper than that. 

It's about communicating who you are, your personality, your values, what makes you unique, what you care about, and how you continue to care about others, and what their problems are and their pain points are and how you can help to solve those issues.

So for me, my brand is all about being sassy, trying to be witty, clever, telling it like it is while delivering professional and polished work. 

It's in everything I do from my TikTok series, like the voiceover actor help desk, to the way I write on my sub stack to how I'm talking to you now. 

And most importantly, it's authentically me, you know, like nobody else is going to see those things or listen to those things and think that it's coming from something else. 

And that is something that I have spent a lot of time crafting. And you can too. 

I don't have a logo. I don't have a color palette. I don't have any kind of catchy phrases that people associate with me.

And that's okay. It's okay to not have them, and it's okay to have them. 

The key to personal branding is consistency. 

So it boils down to what people need to know about what to expect from you, whether it's your tone of voice. 

The way you show up online, the day that you show up online, or the kind of work you deliver, consistency continues to build trust.

So what makes a strong brand? There's kind of three parts to this, and I've already sort of talked about the visual identity which includes or could include your logo, color palette, overall design. Aesthetic, whatever it is, even as an individual person in my, you know, internet life, I'm Astoria redhead, I have red hair. I live in Astoria, so that's sometimes part of my visual identity is that name and those things. Right? 

But you're sending out emails to potential clients, your visual branding. Could make a statement about who you are. 

Second is your tone of voice and how you communicate. It's just as important, you know, as the visual aspect.

Are you formal and polished? Are you casual and conversational? Your tone should align with your audience and your goals. 

And then lastly, it's your values and your mission. What are the things you stand for? What's your why? 

You know, people connect with brands that have a purpose.

For me, my mission is to help creatives and voiceover actors succeed while staying true to themselves.

That's what drives everything I do on the coaching side of things, right? But of course, branding isn't all sunshine and rainbows. 

One of the biggest challenges is staying consistent. 

While evolving, your brand has to grow with you. 

You don't want to lose the core of what makes you just because you change something or become something in addition to what you already are.

And another challenge is standing out in this very, very, very crowded marketplace. 

Every part of the entertainment industry, you're going to hear somebody say, Oh, well, it's oversaturated, saturated. Of course it is. 

In the voiceover world, there's so many talented people, but what makes them different isn't just their voice, it's their personality and expertise and all of the other things that make them unique.

And just because there's lots of people who do these things, not everybody gets the same jobs all the time. 

There's room at the table. 

If you want to do this, there's room for you, but you can't copy someone else's success. 

You can't just show up and not have who you are and what you bring to the table together, right, which is another thing that sort of, I think, really gets in people's minds and forces them almost into imposter syndrome if you don't know who you are. 

And you don't understand what you bring to the table, you're going to start to spiral in who am I, why do I claim this certain brand identity, why am I this person, why can't I be like that, why am I not doing this, am I not good enough, am I not right enough, you're going to spiral.

We never want to be in that place because the truth is your uniqueness is your superpower, and you need to own that shit, identify it and own it. 

Okay, so if you're if you're really ready to start branding or refining your brand, the key kind of things to keep in mind are who are your audience? Who are you trying to connect with?

What do they care about? Authenticity. 

I know we're kind of sick of this word, but don't try to copy someone else's brand. It's just not gonna work for you. 

Just be authentic to who you are. Whoever that person is, zero in on that and then stay consistent from your social media to your email signature.

Everything should feel cohesive. 

Then ask for feedback. Ask for feedback. Sometimes other people see things about a brand that we don't. 

Sometimes there's something going on with what you're putting out into the world that may just not be hitting the mark. 

And it's because there's a disconnect. Sometimes you need to ask for feedback and then evolve strategically as you grow, let your brand grow with you too.

As you start to develop new skills, put them out into the world. You don't just have to be a niche person, a niche brand. You can develop those things. 

Just don't stray too far from your roots. 

And remember, branding isn't a one time thing. If you don't like something, you take it down and you add something else.

You can change. It's yours. You get to decide, but be patient. 

Don't just throw something up out into the world and then pull it back in automatically because you're scared. 

Give it some time. 

Okay, let's recap. Branding is about connection, authenticity, consistency. 

Whether you're a voiceover actor, a creative entrepreneur, or just somebody who wants to make an impact, your brand is your story.

It's who you are. You cannot separate those two things. 

So if you want to talk more about this, if you want more brand insights, definitely check out my sub stack post brand and while you're there, subscribe so you don't miss any of my future posts.

My co coach over here at Acting Business Bootcamp, VO expert extraordinaire, Mandy Fisher will now be joining the podcast as my co host. 

Today for her first episode ever on the Acting Business Bootcamp podcast, she is going to be talking about specificity, being clear about who you are and what you offer.

And also about who you are reaching out to building a business includes growing it and building trust. 

I want to dive right into my word of the year for 2025. 

And this is a practice that I started doing a couple of years ago because I think it helps you enter the year with intention.

 And so this year, my word is specificity. 

Why specificity, Mandy? Why are we talking about being specific? Well, because it's the game changer.

It is literally a game changer that's going to help you refine your messaging, your actions, and ultimately your results. 

So whether you're a voiceover actor, a creative entrepreneur, or anyone trying to land more opportunities, grow your business, getting specific is the key to cutting through the noise and all of the other shit that's happening and reaching exactly who you want to reach, which are people who are going to hire you for what it is that you do. 

So grab a notebook or just take this all in. 

Take a deep breath because we're going to talk about how specificity in your content and actions can transform your outreach to agents and casting directors or direct marketing clients and even how it can improve your website and emails to bring in more inbound opportunities.

So, why does specificity matter? Let's start with that. 

In this world where everyone is shouting from the rooftops, like everybody, especially people in these positions like agents and casting directors and your direct marketing clients where they get pitched to by actors, and even other vendors.

All the time, all day, every day, probably, vague messages get drowned. 

They get drowned out by all of these other people constantly seeking their attention, their money, their value, whatever it is. 

Think about the emails that you receive. 

How often do you just skim and delete and skim and delete and slide left or right or whatever it is to delete on your device.

Like how often do you do that? Because the sender doesn't grab you with something clear and relevant, right? 

Casting directors, agents, and clients are no different. 

They need to know exactly who you are, what you do, and why you're the solution to their problem. 

Specificity also builds trust. 

It tells the recipient that you've done your homework, that you're not just spraying and praying your message, but that you see them and their specific needs.

Here's an example. Let's say you're emailing a potential client about their product launch. Instead of saying, “I'd love to work with you on this project,” get specific, reference the product, point out a gap in their current marketing, explain exactly how your voiceover services or things that you do alongside a voiceover, whether it's editing or SEO or whatever, can help them solve that problem.

Specificity shows confidence. 

It makes you an expert. And that gets results. 

Now let's talk about your content. 

Specificity in your content means creating work that is tailored for the audience you want to reach. On your website, for example, are you speaking to everyone or are you speaking directly to your ideal client?

And I'm not saying that you can't have multiple things that you do. 

I do lots of things. 

But it's better to be an expert in one thing than to do a lot of things, like, pretty well. 

There's lots of actors who do a ton of things really well or moderately well. 

How many of them do you see that are experts in what they're doing?

Now, I would say probably not a ton, and that's not a dig at their talent, but people want to work with people who know what they're doing to the degree that they are paying for, right? 

So, does your website spell out exactly what you offer in the language that these people landing on it will understand?

Not just casting directors and agents, but direct marketing clients as well? 

Because remember, we need to speak the language of the people that we are talking to. 

And if you're a voiceover actor, think about your demos and samples and reels. 

Are they a general sort of mishmash, or do they speak directly to specific industries?

If you're trying to book more commercial work, your demos and reels and samples should sound like they're frickin ready to go, and that you have the skills and you understand the nuance of commercial work. 

And if you're posting on social media, specificity means avoiding generic captions like, another day in the studio.

That's great, but instead, just share what you're working on. 

And if I see one more post about “would love to share what I'm working on, but NDA,”… don't share it yet. 

Like if you're under NDA for a project, pretty soon you won't be. 

So just wait it out until you can tell us what you're working on because those posts are noise.

They don't mean anything. 

They don't move the needle for anybody and it can just cause. Some weird toxicity cycle for you or other people in your community or other people that you potentially want to work with. 

Be mindful and specific about what you're doing. 

And that leads me to being specific in your actions.

It doesn't just stop with your content. It's being specific in your actions is just as important. 

And when you're reaching out to agents, casting directors, or direct marketing clients, specificity is key. 

If you have something like you speak Japanese, you have studied opera for 10 years, you trained at UCB for 20 years.

Like these are all skills that people have told me that they have that I didn't know. 

Until I started coaching with them one on one, and they were like, casually dropping, Oh yeah, I trained at UCB for 20 years, and I was like, wait, what? 

I've been working with you for two months, and now you drop that on me?

It's nowhere on your resume, nowhere on your website, but you have this skill and this background, and you're telling me now? That's crazy! 

Those are things that are important for people to know, especially people that you want them to hire you. 

So when you're reaching out to these people in your emails, don't just introduce yourself and say you'd love to work with them. 

I was working with somebody yesterday who showed me her agent pitch and while there's nothing inherently wrong with it, one of the first lines was, I've heard great things about your agency.

And that might be true, but if you don't say specifically what that is, perhaps saying, I've heard great things about your agency, like talking to, someone on your roster, they told me that you book a lot of interactive work for them and I would love to do that too. 

That's specific. 

Because when you get into that meeting, say you book a meeting with that agent and they're like, Oh, what great things have you heard?

And you haven't actually heard great things. You just said it. 

You're going to be like you're great. 

And then you're either trying to come up with something on the spot or you're lying about something and that doesn't set a good tone. tone for the future of your relationship. 

So get specific or don't say it.

If you're talking to people, I know a lot of people still actually do some cold calling. 

Don't just say, I'd love to collaborate with you. 

Get specific about what you bring to the table and why they should care. Even in your goals, specificity matters.

Instead of saying, I want more clients this year, say, I want to book five new direct marketing clients in the e-learning industry by June.

That's specific as hell. I love that. 

So when you get specific with yourself, you get clear, actionable things. And when you're clear, people take notice. 

Because when you embrace specificity, it not only makes your messaging stronger, it makes you more effective overall. 

It brings confidence to you overall.

And think about how much time we waste when we're vague when we're living in Vagueville over here. 

How many emails go unanswered because we didn't take the time to personalize them. 

And I'm not saying like copy and pasting an email and changing out someone's name. Right?

How many emails just slip through the cracks because our demos don't scream, this is the voice you need.

This is the skill you need to complete your thing. 

Specificity forces you to slow down and do the work, it requires research, strategy, intention to be a successful voiceover actor. 

I didn't build a six figure voiceover business by being vague and being mysterious and gatekeeping my own talents.

Are you kidding me? I know that it's a lot of work. 

I know it's hard to research. 

I know it's hard to send personalized emails. 

And when I direct market to people, I send personalized content. 

Doesn't that take a long time, Mandy? Like, what are you doing all day? Yes, it takes a shit ton of time. It takes a lot of time to create custom content for people that I'm pitching to.

But the payoff is huge. 

Specificity leads to clarity. Clarity leads to action. And action. Leads to results. 

So as you head into 2025, I'm going to challenge you to take a hard look at your messaging and your actions. Where can you get more specific? How can you tailor your outreach, your content, and your mindset to reach the exact people that you want to work with?

So here's your homework:

Number one, you're going to audit your website and portfolio. 

You're going to take ten minutes to review your website front to back, like all the Lever 2000 parts. You're going to look at all of it, and you're going to assess, does it clearly communicate who you are? What you do, the types of clients or projects you're looking to do, I want you to write down one specific tweak you can make this week to improve it.

Number two, you're going to send a tailored email to a direct marketing client. Identify one potential client or agent or casting director or somebody you've been meaning to reach out to. And before you hit send, you're going to make sure that your email is specific as shit. Mention something unique about them or their work and clearly explain how you add the value.

If you're struggling, reach out to me, [email protected] 

Number three, you're gonna set one super specific goal for January. Whether it is Bigger, small, medium size. I don't care. 

You're going to land a new client, refreshing your demo, creating a new sample, posting consistently on social media, write it down and outline the first step that you're going to do to make it happen.

And remember, the more specific you get, the easier it is to take action.

I hope you had A safe week. I am actually recording this podcast from New York. However, I do live in Los Angeles and I own a house there. 

And, like so many, all of us Angelenos, it's been a terrifying week, and I'm saying it's been a terrifying week, and I haven't even been there. 

But I've been watching the fire creep closer to my house, and at the moment I am recording this, thankfully, I am out of immediate danger.

My family is out of immediate danger. My house is out of immediate danger. 

I want to talk today. Briefly, this will be a shorter podcast about stress. Because over the past two weeks, I have endured a lot of stress. My mom and dad came out to Los Angeles to celebrate the holidays with us. 

And on Christmas night, my mom unfortunately had a stroke.

She spent the night in the hospital. And believe it or not, this is my mom's seventh. That once I got my parents settled, almost like I went upstairs and that's when I heard about the fires in L.A. and it was stressful with my mom because she didn't have all of her doctors around her. 

And that was stressful. 

And then I got her home and I was like, okay, because I kept saying to myself, okay just wait till Sunday, just get her settled on Sunday.

And then, I got her settled over the next couple of days and then this happened. 

So stress has been something that I have personally been dealing with. 

I also need to say I fully realized that my stress is my stress but the stress to those people who have lost houses is unimaginable.

What I want to talk about is just one thing, because sometimes when so much is happening, it's the only thing we can do is focus on just one thing. 

And that is the tool of journaling. 

One of the things that I've picked back up recently, because of the situation with my mom, but also because I've decided to, quite frankly, go deeper with my spiritual practice.

I'm doubling down. I'm raising the level. I am raising the frequency. Of what I am living, of how I am living. 

And one of the things that has helped me to do that is stream of consciousness journaling. 

I found it before everything happened with my mom, meditating, to be something, I wouldn't call meditation easy, but something that I enjoyed.

But while this has been going on, that has proven to be a bit too challenging for me. 

Visions of the news, visions of maps, visions of, all the horrible things that all of us have seen circle in my head. 

But what I can do is I can sit down, and I always talk about getting a nice cup of tea because I'm a big tea drinker, sitting down and journaling just stream of consciousness.

And, In situations like where we're in right now, especially for those of you who are so directly affected, I find that really forcing myself to do it for a good 20 minutes. 

All this is really necessary as long as you can till your hand starts to hurt. 

Now notice I say my hand because again when it comes to journaling I so strongly believe in writing it out.

So that is my tool. 

Really, double down, raise the level, raise your frequency around your spiritual practice now. 

And stay safe, stay super safe, and take care of yourself this week. I hope this helps.

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Today is a podcast request. Yes! I take requests. So if you have an idea for a podcast, send me an email.

So this is a listener who wanted to talk about the idea of being too nice. 

So being too nice. She said, how often have you heard, “You're too nice.” 

I have had a few times and while I appreciate the other person's honesty and transparency, it got me thinking about the undertone behind that phrase, especially when it comes to going after what you want as an actor, performer or artist. 

In pop culture, actors can get a general reputation for being, dare I say it, self centered or too into themselves. 

But you also hear about those mostly established actors who also get the, “Oh, they're so great to work with and are so nice. What rules do you follow? What rules do you fudge a little?”

Especially if you're still trying to establish yourself as an actor. 

Does being too nice translate into being too safe? 

Is it a balance of being kind with luck? and timing. 

When someone says this, what are they communicating? 

You're not being fully honest with yourself or would be not being nice mean focusing on others, not on yourself energy.

I decided to take this subject and tackle it this week. And give five kind of points on how to navigate that being too nice, but not being stepped on as an actor and an artist.

Now, some of these things, guess what? I know big surprise. If you listen to my podcast on a regular basis, you will notice they are, some of them sound familiar. 

And the first one is just that, set clear boundaries. 

Being kind doesn't mean saying yes to everything. 

My favorite codependents out there. Are you hearing that? 

Being kind doesn't mean saying yes to everything. Clearly define your limits, and that means with yourself, such as your working hours, your ideas on a particular project, and communicate, how you would want to be communicated. 

So if somebody keeps emailing you, but you don't see it, tell them, “Hey, it would be better to text me instead.”

Now there's something else I wanted to talk about with this.

I really think that the idea of being too kind and being too, aggressive, which I'm going to get to in a minute. 

It also has to do with knowing yourself emotionally, and being emotionally self sufficient, so that your niceness doesn't overcompensate for your lack of belief in yourself.

One of the things I talk about in the weekly adjustment, which is my core work class is that I talk about how important it is to be able to get yourself out of those emotional and mental ruts or spirals so that you don't try and look to your work or to your business to fix you.

How many decades have I done that? 

So it's so essential that you set boundaries with yourself. 

I'm also going to give you a tip on if you are one of those people who just is yes. 

Memorize these words: Let me get back to you. 

I just need to check on something.

Let me get back to you. 

And then you if you think you want to say yes, you can say that sounds good, but let me get back to you. 

And if you can memorize that before saying yes, you're going to help yourself out, especially during the busy season.

Okay. Next one. Be assertive, but not aggressive. In a business meeting recently, someone said “you're very aggressive.”

And I, I literally said, “No, I'm not. I said, I'm actually assertive.” 

And then they said to me, they go, “You know what? You're right. You're assertive. You're not aggressive.” 

And I could tell that I had really thrown them for a loop because they wanted to put that, aggressive thing on me, but I wasn't being aggressive.

I was just extremely assertive. 

Stating how I felt and what I needed and ultimately in the end, they really respected that and I got a very positive result from that meeting in the end. 

Being assertive allows you to express your needs and your ideas confidently. 

But while respecting other people, I talk about in boundary setting, telling someone how you feel and what you need, but leaving the word you out, meaning you keep it with you.

It also prevents others from mistaking your kindness for weakness, which so often happens. 

Again, I want to be assertive, but all of this is tied into this valuable core work that I talk about. 

And that is that I'm not going to other people to fill my insecurity. That I am enough in and of myself.

I am able to be assertive and not overcompensate by being aggressive because, all the time through my life, I never got what I wanted, but this time I'm going to. 

Again, really using I when you're being assertive. Use the I statement. Keep it with you again. State how you feel and what you need, but leave the word you out and keep it with I. 

Okay, tip number three in the balancing the too nice with with, being I don't know not nice. Or, no no asserting yourself. Is align generosity with strategy. 

When you offer someone value, what that does is it builds goodwill.

And that also should align with your values and your goals. 

It's that idea that Brian Cranston talks about in his book. It's about dropping off the gift of your talent. So I go into an audition with the idea of, “Hey, this is how I would do it. This is how I would solve the problem of the problem, the challenge of this character. So I'm going to do it the way I see it.”

“And then, hey, if you have any adjustments or any other ideas, hey, let's play together and let's do that so that we're working on something together.” 

Avoid giving away too much of your time is something that you also want to do. 

You want to, again, give, you want to do something that mutually benefits people in this industry.

Win, win.

You need an actor to book, I'm a talented actor who can book. Not only am I good at my job, but I know I'm good at my job. 

Being Decisive Podcast

Being decisive and also being solution oriented. 

Nice people may hesitate to make tough decisions, and that's because they're worried that they might make a mistake.

If you make a mistake, you will be able to handle the consequences of that mistake. 

You will, because we are never given more than we can handle, but we are given more than we can control. 

In business, and this is show business, decisiveness earns respect. You want to be empathetic, sorry I'm having trouble speaking today, empathetic.

But you also want to be firm when, stating your boundaries or or stating your opinion. And that sometimes will involve, potential conflict.

If you are one of those people who do not like conflict, make your ears grow bigger and set up a consultation with me. We gotta get that shit sorted. Because the best acting is about conflict. 

Finally, is also holding other people accountable. 

And this means that you're not so nice that people walk all over you. 

I used to be somebody like that. And if you've only known me recently, you would find that hilariously funny. Because I'm not exactly someone who lets people walk all over them.

But OMG! did I used to be. 

Somebody would treat me poorly. I'd make an excuse of why either I deserved it or why they treated me so badly. 

I would try and justify their unjustifiable behavior.

Don't let kindness excuse unprofessional behavior from others make sure that you know when people say they're going to follow up with you that you follow up with them if they don't do so in a timely manner, you want to respect yourself and respect your timelines and respect yourself on people who you work with.

And what I mean by that is, is that if you find that someone in the business is not saying, not doing what they say they're going to do, it may be time for you to look elsewhere for someone else to fit your needs. 

With all of this, the goal is being emotionally self sufficient so that you know you.

So that you know when someone isn't treating you that you don't deserve it, and you know how to defend yourself. 

And also, you know yourself to not say that word, yes, immediately, but go back and say, let me get back to you. So that you can take some time out away from the conversation, away from the situation and really see if that thing that you're about to say yes to is right for you.

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Hi, everyone. I hope you had a wonderful holiday week and let me be one of the first to wish you a very happy new year.

Last week it was to close out 2024 and this week it is to welcome 2025. 

So allow yourself to find a comfortable position and if that means you need to push pause and get settled that's just fine do that now.

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Today I'm going to be doing a meditation to close out the year. 

And you can feel free to do this meditation as many times as you want. 

Because you can also think of this meditation as being something to close out your day, or your hour, or your morning, or your month, or your week. 

But for our purposes today, it will be to close out 2024.

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Today I'm going to do a podcast on self care. 

And the reason why I'm doing it now is that I find that December January time to be in some ways the hardest time. 

And I just had this idea. I'm recording this a couple weeks before the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays.

And I'm like, Peter, you're going to need to really listen to this in a couple of weeks. 

But yeah, I'm going to be honest. I find December and January to be tough. 

December, because there's so much going on. 

And January, because even if I'm in California, it's cold. Sometimes it's really rainy. And I feel sometimes overwhelmed by the entire year ahead of me.

And I hope someone out there relates to that. 

I do find December and January to be the two trickiest months of the year. All the rest I'll take. But December. December, I particularly find December tough, but January's tough too. 

The focus of this podcast is on self care.

What I most need to do when I'm feeling overwhelmed, whether that be because there's so much going on or because there's so much ahead of me. 

A couple of phrases:

Whatever you put before taking care of yourself, you're going to lose. 

And the thing you're probably gonna lose is your sanity, your peace of mind, your serenity. 

Also, I find that taking care of myself pays enormous dividends. 

I wish I'd mastered that one so much sooner than I did. But at least I think I've got it now. 

Which is taking care of me, loving me, because I'm the person who I'm going to be spending the most amount of time with in my life, and I want to make sure that I have the best relationship with me that I possibly can.

And in order to do that, I need to take good care of myself. 

The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

There's a phrase in coaching and I believe I did a podcast episode about it called planting a seed. 

It's a very powerful tool where you say to yourself, “Yeah, I don't know how I'm going to get everything done, but you know what? I know I'm going to figure it out.”

This first quote is from Language of Letting Go, and Melody says, “I don't precisely know what you need to do to take care of yourself, but I know you can figure it out.

Rest when you're tired. Take a drink of cold water when you're thirsty. Call a friend when you're lonely. Ask the universe to help when you feel overwhelmed. 

Many of us have learned, many of us have learned how to deprive and neglect ourselves. Many of us have learned to push ourselves hard.

When The problem is that we've already pushed too hard. Many of us are afraid the work won't get done if we rest when we're tired. The work will get done. It will be done better than work that emerges from tiredness of soul and spirit.”

Seems obvious, but how many times do I just push through? 

I think one of the things that I've learned to do is when I get really tired, is I stop for five minutes and meditate. I find that really helpful. 

OMG, how many times do I let myself get dehydrated? 

Take yourself out to a cafe and journal, if you've got a lot on your mind. 

Thank you universe for helping me to change the story of my being overwhelmed. I invite you to support me in changing this and making a shift. 

And I think more than anything for me, it's when my soul gets tired. When I literally ache in my solar plexus because I'm so spiritually tired because I've been giving so much. But not giving to myself.

Remember that balance. Find that balance. Give to yourself. It's okay to stop. 

It's okay to stop and breathe. It really is. 

And you know what? If something falls apart, I know, planting a seed here, you'll be able to handle it. Because we are never given more than we can handle. We are just given more than we can control.

Because guess what? Controlling is not our business. 

Managing and handling is. 

“Nurtured, nourished people who love themselves and care for themselves are the delight of the universe.” 

And I will add to that, that good can come easily. If you're a workaholic, that's a hard one to swallow, but it is a true concept.

And that is a True that good can come easily. 

“People who are nourished. and nurture themselves are well timed, efficient, and divinely led. Today, I will practice loving self care, even if it just means taking a breath.”

Today is going to be a short podcast, but it's going to be a very useful one. 

I'm going to talk about morning routines. 

I'm going to be using, I haven't used it in a while, the fabulous Melody Beattie.

The Language of Letting Go

And this reading that I'm going to be coaching off of is called Morning Cues. Melody says, “There is an important message for us first thing every day. Often, once we get started with the day, we may not listen as closely to ourselves and life as we do in those still moments when we first awaken.

An ideal time to listen to ourselves is when we are laying quietly, our defenses are down, and we're open and most vulnerable.”

Now, I'm going to stop there because I'm going to tell you what I do for my morning routine and then I'm going to continue to read Melody's reading. 

Every morning, when I get up, I make myself a cup of tea.

That's a non negotiable. 

And then,while my husband makes me a egg white omelette, as he does pretty much every single morning, He's a master at the egg white omelette. I just have to say. The guy should open up a cafe. 

What I do is I go outside and I look at the mountains because I live near mountains.

And I sit and I go through two prayers. 

And after I finish those two prayers, I then open up my little notebook and I read out loud the things that I want most. 

And in reading those things, I am affirming them. And sometimes I'll be using visualization. Sometimes I'm just saying them. Sometimes I'm just thinking them.

But what it does is it really tunes me into what I want the focus of my life and my day to be. 

And when I finish, I always say these words, “Peter Pamela Rose, suiting up, showing up, reporting for duty.” 

And that duty is not only to the Universe, God, whatever you want to call it, my God, it's also to me. And it's also to my life and what is important to me, in this one brief shot I have on this earth. 

So I hope that inspires you, but I'm going to go on and continue to read what the fabulous Melody Beattie says. She says, “What is the first feeling that floods through us? The feeling that perhaps we are trying to avoid during the business of the day? Are we angry, frustrated, hurt, or confused?

That is what we need to focus on and work through. That is the issue.”

We need to address and I agree that is very helpful and then go on to affirm that you will be able to do that or that you are doing it in that morning routine for me what I am filled with in the morning and this is I'm coming up on my 30th anniversary of doing this work is that I am at peace with who I am now.

And I just want to become a bigger, better, badassier version of Peter Pamela Rose than I already am. 

She also asks, “What is the first idea or thought that enters your mind? Do you need to finish a timely project? Are you in need of a fun day, a restful day?” 

I also think that is a great question to ask yourself, because that tells you what you most don't want to do, which becomes the number one thing you need to do to build self esteem, to build trust in yourself.

She asks, “do you feel sick and need to nurture yourself? Are you in a negative frame of mind? Do you have an issue that you need to resolve with someone?”

Again, pay attention to those first thoughts so you know where the healing needs to go. 

Do you need to tell someone something? Is something bothering you?

Is something feeling particularly good? Does an idea occur to you? 

That happens to me all the time while I'm affirming in the morning. 

In the morning does an idea occur to you? Something you could get or something that would make you feel good? What are those things? 

Embrace the good. Embrace the challenge.

Embrace the learning that you are listening to first thing in the morning. 

When you awaken, what is the first issue that presents itself? 

You don't have to be fearful. Be brave. 

You don't have to rush. Go as slowly as you need to in order to take care of yourself. Lay. Listen. Be still. Accept the message.

And then, affirm the good. 

Find that relationship between you and the universe. 

And state to yourself that today, I will suit up, show up, and report for duty. Mostly to myself.

About Matthew:

Matthew Corozine is a multi-hyphenated creative artist. Not only an actor, director, producer, and teacher, Matthew is also the founding artistic director and creator of Matthew Corozine Studio (MCS), which just celebrated its 24th anniversary. He is now one of New York City’s leading Meisner-based acting coaches, teaching and creating opportunities for students to “get outta your head” in order to build a meaningful life with art. Already with an established student base in New York City, Washington DC and internationally (via online coaching), MCS has expanded to Miami .

Over the years, Matthew has coached actors and performers on Broadway, TV, Film, including platinum-selling America’s Got Talent finalist, Jackie Evancho. Matthew directed the original show “Going Through Life With No Direction” at 54 Below (NYC), produced by Alicia Keys.

Matthew recently acted in THE NORMAL HEART benefit at the legendary LGBT Center 40th Anniversary with Broadway for Arts Education playing the iconic role of “Ned Weeks”. Having just returned from teaching two sold out Master Classes in Frankfurt Germany, Matthew is looking forward to his 25th season teaching in NYC, Miami and internationally.

Pick up Matthew’s book IF YOU SURVIVED 7TH GRADE, YOU CAN BE AN ACTOR (Applying the Meisner Technique to Get out of Your Head in Acting and in Life), in paperback, ebook or audio narrated by Matthew.