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Having the confidence to take center stage!

In 2010 a miraculous thing happened. Something I called a “game changer.” At the age of 47 years old…. I was cast as the lead in a TV series.

I had dabbled in acting ever since I could remember. I was never one of those people willing to move to LA, live on peanut butter and have five roommates to try and “make it” as an actor. I followed a more traditional path. I was responsible. I needed to make a living. I took jobs in marketing and promotion, founded not one, but two companies…and always fed my passion for acting “on the side.”

Small roles here and there and a myriad of commercials kept me satisfied for years, while I made a “real” living doing something 9-5. Eventually, while working for a marketing company, a commercial in which I played a TV reporter caught the eye of a real news station…and suddenly I was offered a job as a news anchor. I didn’t feel, at the time, that News was for me, so I reached out to an agent in LA to explore other options. Fast forward a few months and I had landed a four-year contract as a reporter and host for the E! channel.

Skipping some details….out of respect for your attention span and also with an intention of getting to the point…a few years later, I ended up a totally legit news anchor doing breaking news on the number one news channel in the country, The Fox News Channel. It didn’t matter that my politics weren’t necessarily aligned with the network…I was single, and the job was prestigious and paid very well. PLUS it offered savings options like a killer 401K.

Two years into a three-year contract, though, I left and headed back to LA. The job had its benefits to be sure – but I did not feel I was living an authentic life. I was not being creative; I could not perform voice-overs or acting jobs; I could not do outside producing or writing. All I could do was news. I wasn’t a “news junkie” as so many news professionals were. I didn’t like reporting on terribly sad and upsetting news. It just didn’t feel like a fit.

SO –I headed back to LA and began to explore the creative process again. I remained true to my practical and responsible professional roots, however, by establishing a business, Sena-Series Media Training, teaching others how to get jobs on TV and to learn teleprompter skills, as well as coaching aspiring hosts and public speakers-in-the-making to achieve their goals. Through it all, I kept acting “on the side.”

Low and behold, on a trip back to NYC, my manager called me and said The Onion– a satirical “News” organization, was casting for some online comedic segments and were looking for real newscasters to play the parts. With my background in news and acting, they were excited to have me audition.

I got the news as I was landing in New York. I didn’t have any appropriate clothing to wear, it was pouring out, and this was a real wrench in my two-day NYC plan. Still, observing a mantra I have that states, “Always take the meeting,” I said yes. I’d audition. Crap.

I had to go out shopping and find some type of professional wardrobe for the meeting. I barely had time to review the lines, I couldn’t get a cab due to the weather, and I was cursing the opportunity every step of the way.

I finally got to the audition site and honestly, everyone seemed unorganized. We were in a theater, I was the only candidate there at the time, they put me in a chair on the stage and said, “Ok, let’s do this.”

I felt terribly inconvenienced and annoyed – yet I dove into the script -which was hilarious, by the way – and delivered it as seriously as if I were still on Fox News. It was clever, and I was good at it and what’s more – it was fun!

Afterwards I flew back to LA, without giving it a second thought.

A few days later, I got word – I had landed the part. This was for an online comedic segment, low pay, an all-expense paid trip back to NYC, and distribution online only.  The piece parodied the then-in-office, President Obama and his dependence on the teleprompter. My agent said “Don’t do this, they never have any money.” I stopped working with him, and took the advice of my manager, who said “Do this. You never know where it might lead.”

Ironically, the release of this segment coincided with my first official workshop in my new business endeavor, teaching teleprompter to aspiring TV hosts. The video was a media favorite, and before I knew it, it went viral.

During the taping of this “online segment,“ the producer had told me the Onion had a development deal with a television network in the works, and I would be perfect for the lead role. Ok, sure. Those types of comments are heard in this business all the time, and rarely come to fruition.

This was different. A few months later, after recording a self-submitted audition for the role of “Brooke Alvarez” in this parody of News….I got the call that I had landed the part. I was going to become the lead in a new TV series. I was stunned.

I was 47 years old – and I only mention that for all the young people out there who think if they don’t reach their goals by age 30, they’re never going to happen. A common theme of mine when I speak, is to remind people, “Dreams don’t come with a deadline.” Because, guess what? They don’t.

But this article/blog post is not about that. It’s about realizing how to make the most of your opportunities and have the confidence to take them to the next level.

Prior to landing this job on The Onion, I had been a very “politically correct” TV personality. The Onion was anything but. It was “equally offensive” to everyone, and the character I portrayed allowed me to showcase comedic skills I never had the chance to before. People noticed. There was strong press coverage, and very positive reviews.

Offers began to pour in requesting appearances, in person and on TV. Consistently, people wanted and expected me to be funny. Instead of intimidating me, I realized this presented me with a whole new landscape of opportunity, and I wanted to be equipped with the skills to make the most of it.

So – I began taking Improv classes and I signed up for a stand-up comedy class. Then, I asked a friend if she’d want to join forces to hire our instructor on a semi-private basis to help us put together a bonafide comedy show. Knowing that The Onion was considered comedy gold, and highly revered in the comedy community, I reached out to a comedy club in the LA area and booked a room to hold a performance. Not a 10-minute set, as most aspiring comedians do on their rise in the comedy world…but an actual, 40-minute show with a warm-up act.

I knew I could get access because of my status with The Onion….and I trusted our stand-up comedy instructor to help guide us in the creation of the show.

I reached out to a friend who was an aspiring comedian and offered him the opportunity to be my opening act. His response was a resounding “No!” followed by a bunch of excuses.  How could he prepare? It was too big of a venue. He hadn’t been doing this long enough.  So much of a “can’t” mentality. So, I found someone else.

Many hours and weeks later, after writing jokes and refining stories, I took the stage at Flappers, and I killed it. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Not just because I was validated by the laughter, but because I had chosen to do something I’d never done before, set myself up with the best resources to learn how to do it, and I did it.

As I’ve gotten older, it’s become clear to me that we have to not only make our own opportunities but capitalize on the opportunities that fortuitously come our way.

I hadn’t had any official training in comedy when I got that part on The Onion, but I was smart enough to understand the opportunities that it might lead to – so rather than shy away from them, I prepared harder. Worked harder. Explored harder. And performed, harder.

Life is full of missed opportunities, mostly because people don’t have the confidence to go forward and embrace them, make the most of them.

People often dismiss possibilities because they don’t feel they are appropriately qualified, or don’t fit the description of what’s being requested.

I have countless stories of times I wasn’t what was expected, desired or sought out – but got the job anyway.

It’s easy to say “I can’t,” and so much harder to say, “I can.” Why? What are we risking if we try something new? Embarrassment? Humiliation? What is the worst-case scenario if those feelings were the result of what we tried?  On the other hand, what is the best-case scenario of trying those things? Would you feel a sense of accomplishment? A sense of pride for trying something new? Advance in life? Discover something new?

If you can live with the possible worst-case downside of taking a risk doing something you’ve never done before, then there is every reason to push forward and realize the thing you’re really “risking” is the possibility of incredible possible gains.

By recognizing that my role on The Onion would likely generate additional opportunities in comedy, I took classes with comedic experts. The worst-case scenario was that I wouldn’t enjoy it…or maybe people wouldn’t laugh at my jokes. But I did – and they did.

Because of all this, my confidence increased greatly.

I felt confident when contributing comedic commentary on the national entertainment show, Showbiz Tonight.

I confident when appearing on The Today Show, in character, and sparring with then-anchor, Natalie Morales.

I was confident when auditioning among an elite group of comedians, dubbed the “cream of the comedy crop” by a little-known producer named RON HOWARD, for a part in a new pilot.

All of these opportunities came my way, and I felt confident. ME. Politically correct, not-trained-in-comedy, me.

None of us are born with a natural sense of confidence, and confidence doesn’t just naturally evolve. We have to work at it. If I hadn’t gotten training in this field of performing that was new to me, I would have likely passed on the opportunities that were presented at that time.

Instead, I set myself up for success by gaining and obtaining as much knowledge as I could. It’s not that hard to do – it’s just that when it comes down to it, most people don’t do it.

Comedy is a fun genre, but a lack of confidence, in any situation, is no laughing matter. Too often we find ourselves intimidated by opportunities simply because they represent uncharted territories.  Explore them, and they are no longer foreign. Try them, and they are no longer intimidating.

Don’t let a lack of knowledge or experience hold you back from new adventures. It’s a safe world we live in, when nothing we try is new. But within that framework are limitations and boundaries. Break free of them – and discover what awaits you on the other side. Growth. Enlightenment. Success. Freedom.

They say that all the world is a stage. For what audience are you performing? The only review in the end that matters – is your own. Prepare yourself in any way possible to give the best performances of your life. Then take your bows, and know that whether you succeeded or flopped, you’re better for the experiences and steps further ahead than if you hadn’t stepped into the spotlight at all.