Julie Dell Phillips is an actress who followed her vision of moving to LA, even though she was married with kids. She lived in San Antonio, Texas, for 12-14 years doing auditions, dropping her kids off early for school, driving to Austin, Dallas, or Houston to do auditions—then racing back home. She loved acting and wanted more of it.

In 2016 she met Steph and me. Julie admitted, “I want to move to LA and be an actor.” We told her, “Then that’s what you need to do.”

When you have a white-hot, burning desire to do something, you have to “burn the ships.” You can’t give yourself an out. You have to believe in yourself and bet on yourself in a way you never have before. And that’s exactly what Julie did. It paid off, because eventually she was nominated and became a finalist for best supporting actress in one of her roles.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How most acting opportunities are in Los Angeles—and how Julie felt torn between her family living in Texas, and putting herself in an environment full of opportunities and experiences

• The rejection-rich process of auditioning—and how casting directors won’t take a risk on you if they don’t know you or have a history of working with you

• The business side of acting, and how Julie did what it took to be seen

• The importance of persistence and consistency in building a relationship with people, so that they know who you are and they can count on you

• What burning the ships meant for Julie’s personal life 

• How the audition is really a sales conversation—and casting directors want to see the authentic you

Julie faced a crazy amount of rejection—hundreds, if not thousands of auditions she submitted that she never heard back from. “The quicker you accept a rejection (or no response) and let it go—the better,” she says. She used a gratitude practice to keep herself focused in the right direction.

Most people never would have done what she did. They would have given up a long time ago; or they never would have gone after their dreams in the first place. But for Julie, acting was a white-hot, burning desire.

Episode #492 – Passion is an Inside Job