I learned 7 inspiring lessons from watching last night’s Super Bowl game that you can apply to your acting career.

For those of you who missed it: Final score: Seattle Seahawks 43. Denver Broncos 8.
Whether you care about football or not, there’s always so much to learn from watching champions + the road it took to get there.

1) Why not you?
Growing up, Seattle Seahawk’s quarterback, Russell Wilson, heard his father tell him: “Why Not You?”  And that’s exactly what he told his team all year long.: Why not us?

2) Believe + play like a champion every day.
As I watched him down on the field, putting his victory into words, he said, “We just believed.  We had a champion mindset, the best coaches, a great team and the best fans. We played like champions everyday.”

3) Just because it hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean it won’t.
Not one of the Seahawks had ever played in a Super Bowl.
Seattle Seahawks haven’t won to a Super Bowl in 38 years.

4) Don’t compare.  Things can change. Fast.
The Seahawk’s QB, Russell Wilson, made less money in the entire year of 2013 than Peyton Manning (Denver Broncos QB) made per game.

5) We all start somewhere.  Follow your intuition.
Russell Wilson started out in minor league baseball, and while riding the bus to games, wondered if he would get a base hit. Everyone told him he should stick with baseball since he was only 5’11. (a bit short for a QB)

6) Learn from those who have been there.
Russell Wilson was in the 10th grade when he went to Peyton Manning’s  “Manning Passing Academy.”

7) Do whatever it takes to expect it.
He said “I definitely expected to be here. I put all the hard work in + I expect great things when I put the hard work in.”

So, what if you accessed the part of you that told yourself “Why not you?” at every audition, instead of telling yourself all the reasons they should pick someone else.

What if you spoke like a champion?  What if you walked into your agent’s office like a champion? What if you trained like a champion?  What if you auditioned like a champion?

So, find the champion within you this week that says: “Why not you?”

I’m rooting for you!

Morning Mindset Meditation

Why not you? When I expect it, I experience it.
It feels good to pick myself before anyone else does + to listen to the champion within me that says: Why not you?

I take a deep breath in + feels what it feels like to be a champion.

I exhale + let go of any self-doubt that defeats my efforts.

I hear the “Why not you?” voice within get louder + louder as the “You’ll never get this” voice gets quieter + quieter.

I know that when I see myself winning in my mind, before I step foot into any audition, I’ve already won.

I am a champion.  I treat myself like one who wins, who books jobs, who is ready to learn, grow + soar.  I train like a champion.

Who am I not to be a talented, successful, working actor?

Who am I not to have my dreams come true?

Playing small doesn’t help anyone else succeed.

I am a champion.  I am ready.  I expect it.  I experience it.

I now tell myself daily: “Why not you?”