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For the past week or so there’s been an old adage rolling around in my brain: “Dress for the job you want.”

I practically applied this concept years ago when I needed to seek more gainful employment, and put the aspirations of being a professional actor/whatever to rest.  I had debts to pay, and the few and far between low paying, non-union gigs weren’t enough to supplement my occasional temping assignments or part-time job at Starbucks.  When searching through job postings I caught wind of a new Target store opening with some positions yet to be filled.  So, I applied and then within a few days received a call for an interview.

My usual m.o. for the interview process is to adorn the professional looking slacks, shirt, and tie. But this time I was desperate, so I tried to pull off a mind ‘eff of sorts.  Instead of the typical “Joe Schmo Need-A-Job” wear I threw on khakis, and a red button up.  I would go to the interview dressed as a Target employee with the intent of implanting the visual cue for the hiring manager to see me as a Target employee, and to a degree I do believe it worked.  I went in to apply for a staff position and to my surprise went through 3 rounds of interviews that day and was offered a department lead position… and so began my journey into retail middle management, but I digress.

While I’m sure that days “success” didn’t hinge entirely upon my choice of wardrobe, I know it couldn’t have hurt.  By dressing like that, I was able to not only better project myself as a solid Target employee during the interviews, but I also made it a lot easier for them to see me as such.  They saw me as a Target employee, and I became one. And I’ve recently come to realize I’ve been co-opting my dreams ever since.

I want, and need that to change.

I’m the one who needs to make the change, and I do believe I can.  I think I may just need to rework my scientific method a bit.

Dressing for the Life I Want

Last week on formspring.me I was asked by a friend “When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?”

My response was reflexive: “An actor in TV/Film as well as a Voice Over Actor for Cartoons… Still do.”

When I look in the mirror in the morning, it’s rather plain to see that golly gee… I’ve grown up.  So, what the hell am I waiting for?

I’ve made efforts in the past to pursue those dreams, but they ultimately went deferred for the pursuit of just making a buck to get by.  Which is certainly a means to an end, but not the way I want to go about doing things.  Being handcuffed to a paycheck, trying to feel satisfied with spending the bulk of my time doing something I’m not über passionate about, and telling myself that I’ll get around to all my other aspirations during some magical, future oasis of time.  That “future time” does not exist. All there is is right now, so I need to get cracking. I need to take the steps to embody the life I want.

For almost 10 years I’ve been stifling the desire to see these dreams through.  Casting them off as folly, because I managed to fall into the trap of convincing myself that it wasn’t practical… that I just needed to keep my head down and work a job and collect a paycheck.  And while I know that I am capable of that, I also know that it makes my heart throw up on itself.

And that’s just gross.

Progress

In the past week, I’ve found and updated the old acting resumé, and submitted it as well as other materials to a local casting agency.  I’ve also sought out and am receiving help in regards to assembling a voice over demo reel. This is a ball that didn’t take very much in the way of time or effort to get rolling, and while I’m proud of what I’ve got cooking thus far, I am rather pissed at moi for having delayed for so long. But I need to get over that and keep focused.

I’m not sure where I fell off the track of following through on personal goals and ambitions, but that’s going to end. I wish it were as easy as an off switch, but due to the lame ass cocktail of fear and insecurities I’ve picked up along the way, I’m finding it to be much more challenging. That being said, I refuse to again be self-defeated.  And am using that fear gauge as an indicator that I’m likely on the right path.

Inspirato

Here are some sites I’ve been frequenting to aid the process of reworking my mind grapes back into a more confident and danger’esque form.

Illuminated Mind – Site author Jonathan Mead states his objective simply as “Creating a social movement of people liberating themselves through living on their own terms.” There are lots of really good articles and case studies in support of thinking outside the box and steering clear from the traps of social convention.  It rather speaks to me.

The Quarterlife Quest – A recent, and very pleasant discovery from Eran Norton that topically is wicked in sync with my current state of mind.  She’s more than a few steps ahead of me in the action taking department and is doing rather well, which inspires and fills me with even more hope.

Seeing Good – Written by Lori Deschene, I visit this site and her contributed articles to tinybuddha.com when I’m in need of a positivity boost, or know I need to take time for a moment of meditation and mindfulness.

Four Hour Blog – As the blog component to his book The 4 Hour Work Week,  author, entrepreneur, kick boxer, tango world record holder, and lots of other stuff  Tim Ferriss provides even more resources, insight, and case studies in regards to living life more effectively and filtering out the unnecessary crap we’re all so good at burdening ourselves with. I love checking in and not only seeing what he’s up to, but reading/watching the stories of those who successfully applied the basic principles he preaches. [Scope the book on Amazon here.]

Wrapping this Mofo Up

So here I am… focused on getting back to my goals and passions and seeing them through.  And making  moves towards dressing as the me I want to be.

Mike Wong: Tech savvy entertainer and all around do-gooder.

Photo Credit: SolheimPhotography_Linda