Tell me about your vision. So, well, my vision
is all about creation and taking action and really
helping others transform their life by, you know,
transcending self -doubt and overcoming self
-sabotage. So, and that's why I wrote my book,
you know, in the past year, last year, and kind
of out to help promote that. That makes sense.
That makes sense. So self -sabotage being one
of those key components. I saw that you work
with actors, professionals. Tell me about where
your vision came from and a little bit behind
the scenes of how you got to where you're at.
Sure. Well, yeah, I primarily work with actors
as an agent. So my function is to try to find
them jobs on a day -to -day basis. in film, TV,
theater, commercial print and voiceover, and
represent their best interests, help with negotiated
contracts, with any other stuff that's needed
for their career success. And I started doing
this in the mid -2000s, 2004, 2005, which is
when I launched my company. And I always had
an interest in the performing arts. I was in
the drama club in high school. During my undergraduate
career, I took some... undergraduate classes
in theater and acting and really enjoyed it the
process so when I started working in New York
City I was working with after 9 -11 working with
different organizations both professional and
on a volunteer basis so I started working with
actors and acting guilds in the city and I really
reignited my interest in it so I started off
as a performer realized that that wasn't necessarily
in my vision my vision was more supporting and
advocating and working more behind the scenes
and that's where i felt more at home i love actors
but i really like working behind the scenes rather
than in front of the camera so my vision transformed
from being an actor to someone who supports and
advocates for actors and that's where that started
so and then i became interested in psychology.
I was always interested in the human mind. And
then I said, might as well go for my doctorate.
And I was able to combine the two of them because
my doctoral dissertation was on self -defeating
or self -sabotaging behavior in performing artists.
Wow. That is fascinating. So I'm going to go
out on a limb here. I wanted to land an acting
gig or have an opportunity. You're the guy to
call. Yeah. Well, that would be, I would help
you with that. Or at least point you in a direction.
Because I, in order for me to work with an actor,
I mean, the vision is great. But I would also
need the skill set and the packaging that would
be needed. Absolutely. People wanted to get into
that. Do you have like a guide or a process?
Is there a pre -filtering application, something
like that? Well, there's pre -filtering because
I can only work with experienced actors that
have training and then have some traction already.
So professional -based, they're doing this, not
necessarily as a hobby. And that's great. I'm
not knocking anybody who wants to go into acting
as a hobby. as a weekend thing and as something
to do, that's great. But I only work with actors
that are doing this as a career, as a full -time
focus. Thank you. And so what they do is they
fill out that form. They include all their links,
their portfolios. And then we take a look at
them. I look at all of them. I look at every
one of them. you know, that come in. And if it's
something that I like, then I'll move on to the
meeting format. If not, you know, what I often
tell actors, they can often submit, you know,
once every six months. So if I don't call them
right away, they can then, you know, resubmit
in six months. And then we'll take it from there.
And so the website kind of goes through what
we do. So it's, you know, the different projects
we book. It gives you a sample. It's not every
project we book, but it's kind of like a small
snapshot of what we book. Why do leaders hide
from funding their visions? Why do you think
that is? That's a very, very complex question.
It could be a whole variety of reasons behind
that. So fear, I would say maybe the one thing,
that fear, imposter syndrome. Maybe they feel
their vision is unrealistic or that the original
is shot down. Or they're not fully yet committed
to it fully. And that may need to work through
that. Really, really good ideas. And I'm going
to work into the next thing because I think you're
about to lean right into it. And that is then
how do leaders lean into it? You've done that.
You've leaned into your vision. You've dedicated
your life to this. So how can we inspire more
people? to lean into funding their visions? So
one thing that I often will do as an exercise
is I'll ask people what they want. So what is
your dream? What is the absolute dream for you?
And then they'll say it and they'll say, why
is that important to you? And then, you know,
they would tell me what is important. And then
I would say, okay, now why is that? And I'll
just keep asking why. He says, all right, keep
going. I've just never heard anybody else say
it before. That's exactly the direction I go
with this, too. So I'm so excited. Well, it's
important because that's the only way you're
going to find your vision is to know your why.
And it's more than just like when somebody says,
I want to be a coach to help people. There's
a little bit more than that. I mean, yeah, as
a coach, you're helping people. But what, why?
And that is something to tap into. And you might
even, someone may even make. discoveries on their
own when that like well i didn't even think of
it that way yeah it happens all the time i'm
telling you like these are the conversations
i have with people on a regular basis and more
and more that i meet with it is so common that
people are moved to tears and it is so common
that people have these discoveries we're like
why I actually never really knew where my why
came from or what did that look like. So I love
that you're tying that into this. And I'm going
to use that right here. This is our common question
we ask people. So Albert, what's the story behind
your why? That's a really good question. And
so on one level, it's to connect people because
at the end of the day, I would love to see people
help each other out because at the same level,
I'd like to be helped and I also want to help
other people. And that gives my life meaning.
I want to leave a legacy for those behind me.
And even after, it's going to sound existential,
but even after I leave the planet, I would love
to have some sort of contribution. And that's
the biggest reason why I... I wrote the book
and why I'm putting my message out there on different
stages and channels so that my message can live
on. Tell me about this book too. What's the name
of the book? When can we get it or where can
we get it? I want to hear all about it. It's
Rise Above the Script, Confronting Self -Doubt
and Mastering Self -Sabotage for Performing Artists.
It's available on Amazon. You can get it as a
paperback, an e -book or audio book. It's a major
audio book platform, Spotify, Audible. And it's
about, even though I wrote it for a performing
artist, and that was in mind, who I had in mind,
because I worked with actors. So it was a problem
that I was facing when I first started as an
agent, was I was seeing some of the actors self
-sabotaging and really falling into traps of
not finding work. So they were not showing up
for auditions. They were, you know, not being
prepared as they should be. And so I wanted to
know what exactly is happening. What is the disconnect?
So I did that from a doctoral dissertation. So
defeating behavior actors. And so I decided to
turn it into a book. Now, the truth behind it
is that there's something in there for anybody,
not just for actors. So I wrote a lot. you know,
strategies and research and all of that for the
general population so that somebody can get something
out of the book, even if you're not a performing
artist. And by the way, you're actually always
performing, whether you want to look at it or
not, in some aspect, whether it's a teacher,
a presenter, a speaker, a salesperson, a teacher,
you're performing. So we're all, in a sense,
performing artists. Thank you for being here
today. I'm really happy that you tuned in to
Vision Pros Live. I'm looking forward to seeing
your reactions as these episodes continue to
move forward. This is going to get more and more
fun. We'll have more and more engagement as well.
We'll invite people to participate in the show.
And thank you for giving us your time and attention.
Have an excellent time building out your vision
and becoming a vision pro yourself.