Before I drove to L.A. from Chicago, I did the Artist’s Way workbook. I don’t remember the exact lessons I learned over that twelve-week period, but I do remember that Week 4 opened me up to unstoppable flow. Blocks were removed, and I did cool things over the next several months that I had neither planned nor thought I could ever accomplish. When I moved to Los Angeles, I booked TV work very quickly without an agent or connections.

Several years in, things had changed. I stopped booking, I was dropped by three agents in a row, and life felt heavy. Determined to stay afloat financially, I enrolled in a junior college to learn a new skill. While there, my mind and heart opened up to new worlds. I had forgotten how hard it was to be an actor, because I had immersed myself in the joy of learning. Suddenly, I started to book again. By the time I graduated, I had landed several commercials and served as my class valedictorian. I was buoyant.

Four years later, I was blocked again. I wasn’t booking, my new business was stressful, and my money had run out. I couldn’t understand why if I was working so hard, nothing was working (including my primary relationship). After much reflection, I broke up with my boyfriend and invested in career coaching. Exactly one month later, I was booking again, because I had regained my sense of play and my sense of self.

What I noticed: When life wasn’t going well, I froze.

When life was going well, I flowed.

But wait – turn that around.

When I froze, life didn’t go well,

but when I flowed, life went well.

Over the past five years, I’ve come to understand how life actually works, and so my life has become easier. I no longer try to predict my future with worst or best case scenarios. I welcome the unknown full-on, blank slate, and that had allowed me to thrive during the pandemic (working the entire time). Now, during the current actors’ & writers’ strikes my life continues to be easy, because no matter the outcome, I know all is well