Monday, January 1, 2018
My passion is the art of acting: the process of breaking down a script and connecting personal experiences and imagination to the material. I’m obsessed with it. It fuels me. My purpose, on the other hand, is to help actors create the life of the character and achieve their goals in this industry. Passion and purpose do go hand in hand but some people’s purpose is different from their passion.
I was just in Maui and a woman came up to me and asked, “Do I know you? You look so familiar.” I laughed and said, “That’s funny. I thought the same thing about you!” Of course we knew each other from our Cardiobarre workouts and, after chatting, found out that we are in similar areas of the entertainment industry.
We spoke about our passion for our careers, how we love what we do and feel a strong purpose in giving back creatively to others. Then, her husband, who is on a popular tv show, joined our conversation. He said that acting was his passion but his purpose was to be a voice for young boys who have had a rough upbringing. He wants to inspire them and show them that their dreams are achievable. His passion as an actor gave him the vehicle he needed to pursue his purpose.
I was touched by this and it got me thinking: what is the difference between passion and purpose?
I was a working actress for many years and thought that that was my purpose. At the same time, I was always helping my classmates with their auditions. Watching them book jobs was so gratifying to me. I soon realized that my true purpose is to inspire individuals to be the best they can be in any art form. To guide artists in their artistic endeavors. It gives me great pride to say my purpose is to teach you artistry, storytelling and to love yourself doing it along the way.
Take some time to think about this for yourself. What is your passion? Your purpose? Whatever they are, here is to going for them tenaciously in 2018!
See you at my studio,
SS