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AUTHOR: JESSE DALEY / EMAIL: JESSEDALEY@ME.COM

BEHIND THE SIGN

Hello, friends!  My name is Jesse Daley; I'm an actor and a writer living and working in Hollywood, CA! Here on this blog, I'll give you the scoop on what life is truly like pursuing an acting career in the incredible city of TinselTown!  You'll find advice, inspiration and interviews with some incredible men and women!    

Thanks for stopping by, and welcome to  "BEHIND THE SIGN"
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It's Time For A Change....

5/28/2013

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NOOO I'm not leaving the crazy entertainment industry... well, not YET anyway hahaha.  I have decided to let go of the management firm that I was working with.  It was nothing that this lovely company did "wrong".  In fact, I'm quite sad that I won't be working with them any longer.  However, collectively we decided that it was just not in the best interest for the both of us to continue working together.  It's only been a few months, but that's more than enough time to come to this conclusion in my opinion.  Some of my friends say, "you switched AGAIN?!"  Well, yeah, I did.  Why would I wait if nothing is happening?!  

Often times actors ask me about when they feel that they should "switch" agents or managers, most likely due to their lack of auditions.  My response is always the same:  if it's not working right now, MOVE ON!  As I have written about in my blog before, meeting agents and managers is a lot like dating.  You give it a shot together for a certain amount of time, and you see if your partnership is working.  You both need to be on the same page.  In this business, ANYONE can be a "manager", but you truly need to ask yourself if that person is actually going to be able to help further your career.  All too often, they really can't do a whole lot for you until you're already somewhat "known" in the biz.  YOU need to put in the time and effort that it takes to establish contacts and do your best to set up auditions.  

I just want every actor (or musician for that matter) who has representation to know that it's never the "wrong" time to leave your reps and meet with someone else.  It is ALL about money!!  It really never has to do with how talented you are.  Don't wait to move from an agent or manager who isn't helping you.  Go work with someone who will want to put in the time and effort to help you.  They DO exist out here in LA LA land, I promise you!  Better yet, try being your OWN manager for a while!  Honestly, if Taylor Swift can be her own manager, which she does, then so can you and I!! That's what I'm going to do for a while!  (ALSO, it will save you money from paying an extra percentage of your earnings!)


PS-  If the managers whom I just left are reading this, you are awesome and I wish you all the best with your other clients!!  Thanks for the time we had together. :D

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Letting Things Go

5/22/2013

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I had a pretty huge callback yesterday for a national commercial!  That is really amazing news, and I'm very happy and grateful for this opportunity!!  That being said, I wanted to write this post for any other actors out there who have been in this type of situation:  either you book the job, make a ton or money, or you never hear anything about it again and don't see a dime.  There truly is a lot at stake.  What I try to do when I leave an audition is to literally "leave it" all behind.  All of it.  When I exit that casting office, it's all "left" in the building.  I have to trust that I did the best possible job that I could do in that situation, and I must then move forward without worrying or looking back.  And it's not easy.  I find myself wanting to go over and over what I did in the audition in my head, thinking what I "could have done differently", for example.  You simply cannot allow yourself to do that.  

It can be difficult to 'let go' of certain things in life, especially when it is the type of situation where a lot is at stake.  However you must find a way to let it go, realizing that whatever is meant to happen will happen.  My audition is now in the past.  It's completely over, and out of my hands.  Realistically, if I book this commercial, my life will improve drastically in the financial aspect.  Yet on the other hand, if I don't book it, I will take what I learned from this experience and keep moving forward, on to the next one!!  

Regardless of whether you an actor auditioning or not, do your best to wake up each day with a totally fresh start.  Don't get stuck thinking about a past event.  And at the end of the day if you are  able to say "I did the best I could today", you're doing really well in my opinion!!  
Keep smiling and keep the faith x  

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Being Appreciative and Grateful 

5/16/2013

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-- is SO important for all of us to remember.  Honestly, we can lose sight of what truly matters in life very quickly.  I have lived in Hollywood for nearly 4 years now.  That doesn't really seem possible, but it's true!  And I have to admit that being around this type of environment (ridiculous amounts of money, famous people everywhere, expensive homes and products, etc.) I sometimes forget why I came here in the first place!  I like to share what I learn as I go through my life, and today's blog post will include one of these lessons that I have truly come to learn.

Stop comparing yourself to others:  

You have to stop doing it.  We're all guilty of this at one point or another.  As my mom always says, "Comparing yourself to others leads to one of two outcomes.  1)  You're bitter.  2)  You're disappointed."  We must learn to accept ourselves as we are.  We all have flaws, and we have all made mistakes.  No one is perfect.  Yet, when we look at our differences, our uniqueness, we find that these so called "flaws" are not flaws at all.  These are the very things that set us apart from another person.  We are all individuals.  Don't try and be the same as someone else! 

Focus on what you HAVE rather than what you WANT:

This is sooooo important.  While you're reading this, look around your room for a minute.  C'mon, I'll wait!!  OK, well done.  What do you see around you?  Something that made you smile?  Maybe your friend or roommate is near you.  I guarantee that there are a million things that you can be happy about by just looking at your surroundings!  There is so much around us all to be thankful for.  Try and always stay in the mindset of focusing on the amazing things that you have in your life  rather than spending time complaining about what you WANT to have.  Start wanting what you've already got! ;)

Live in the NOW:

All too often, we spend so much time worrying about the past and the future.  What happens is that we tend to overlook TODAY!  I will admit that I am totally guilty of this.  I spend a lot of time worrying about the future.  I don't mean to do it, but I really do.  It's one of the things that I am working on with myself haha.  It's not to say that I don't appreciate each day.  I truly do.  However I can do more, and I can do a better job of being appreciative of every single breath that I take!  The past and the future really don't matter at all.  It's good to have an idea of what you're trying to accomplish, but always live your life to the fullest NOW.  As PitBull says,  "I see the future, but live for the moment, make sense don't it?!"  ---Yes, Pitbull, it does actually.  :P










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Some More Advice For Certain Talent Agents....

5/1/2013

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NOTHING makes me more annoyed than an agent or a manager who signs way too many actors and does not devote equal time for each and every one of their clients.  This has nothing to do with the actor.  It unfortunately has everything to do with the way that certain agents work.  As I have mentioned time and time again, it has taken me nearly 4 years to find great representation.  The agents that I work with now are very good people, and very good at their jobs.  What makes my representation great is not just the companies at which they work at.  What makes my agents great is the simple fact that they do their job to the best of their ability.  They take on a reasonable amount of actors and they devote time to each one of us.  There are SO many agents out there that sign literally hundreds and hundreds of talented actors, hoping that one of them is going to make them a lot of money.  Well, agents and managers, listen up:  it just doesn't work that way.  

You've got to realize that if you sign an actor, it becomes YOUR JOB to do everything in your power to help your client procure work.  You can't just sit there at your computer with hundreds of clients and hope that one will make you rich, ok?  You've gotta get out there!!  Come on, now!  You can do it!!  Get yourself involved with your clients' lives and their work.  Build a relationship with your clients!  I feel that there should be some kind of limit on how many clients one agent can sign.  That way each client can have an equal opportunity to go out on auditions.  

If you're an actor reading this, remember that you can do SO much without an agent or a manager in the first place.  You've got to do so much on your own.  If you do decide to sign with an agent, always do your research on who you are going to be signing with.  Make sure your agent or managers' client list doesn't include hundreds and hundreds of people- some have THOUSANDS.  That's ridiculous.  You're not going to have a chance.  
**NOTE:  It is OK if the entire agency or company reps hundreds of people- but each individual agent at the company should have a reasonable amount of clients.**

If you're an agent reading this:  smile, take a deep breath, and get to work!  I guarantee you that if you build closer relationships with a smaller group of clients, you will all benefit more than you would by signing tons of awesome actors and then not doing anything for them.  Listen, I realize that it's got to be a tough job being a talent agent.  I have A LOT of respect for many agents, especially my own.  That being said, there are FAR too many fools that are working as agents and managers who really don't have a clue of how to properly do their job. Don't be one of them!!!!!  Agents and managers:  so many of you are good people, and I know that you can make all of your dreams come true in your lives and careers!  Just remember that YOUR dream is closely connected to your client's dreams.  Go and work as hard as you can, make it all happen!   YOU CAN DO IT!! I believe in you, Mr/Ms Agent or Manager!!  xxxxx ;)

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    Author

    Jesse Daley is an actor and a writer who lives and works in Hollywood, California. 

    Jesse's first book, An Aversion to the Definitive, is available NOW!  Order here!

    Jesse has also written extensively for the DOTDASH network.  Be sure to check out the site here.

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