The Dive Podcast
Welcome to The Dive Podcast,
Brought to you by The Dive - the No.1 support platform for performers. Helping them to navigate the challenges we face as artists. The Dive Podcast was created for performers and by performers. Birthed out of the want and need for ongoing guidance and support within the hearts, bodies, and minds of the performing arts.
Helping you go from anxious, nervous, and unsure about your future. To create solid foundations that will set you up for life! Each week a SPECIAL GUEST will be interviewed on the show (who is a professional within the arts). As we dive deeper into their stories and uncover the golden nuggets of advice, you will begin to understand the tips, tools, and techniques required to make a long and healthy career out of the Arts.
Hosted by Taylor Scanlan, the founder of The Dive, a Musical Theatre performer with over 10 years in the industry, a Dance and Yoga Teacher as well as a Sound Healer.
Discover why The Dive Podcast is rising to become the No.1 support podcast for performers....pick the topic you are currently struggling with in the episodes below and we will see you on the other side! ;)
The Dive Podcast
34: How To Navigate Life Post Full-time Training with Taylor Scanlan
In this episode of The Dive Podcast, Taylor shares insights on navigating life after full-time education or a structured routine. Broadcasting from Sydney, where he's working on Sunset Boulevard at the Sydney Opera House, Taylor dives into the mindset and steps necessary to successfully transition into this new phase of life.
Highlight:
Taylor emphasizes the importance of getting clear on what you desire most in life and how to embody the traits of your future self to achieve your goals. He discusses the significance of understanding your "why" and how this can drive you to take the necessary actions to realize your dreams.
What to Expect:
- Tips on how to navigate the overwhelming feeling that can come after leaving full-time education or structured routines.
- Guidance on identifying and focusing on your top three goals.
- Insight into the power of embodying your future self now, and how this can propel you towards your goals.
- The importance of understanding your "why" and how it can fuel your motivation and actions.
- Practical advice on breaking down your goals into actionable steps, including how to use the exercise of identifying what you don’t want to clarify what you do want.
Here Are Your Next Steps 👇🏻
Step One: 📝Get your FREE Audition Prep Workbook
Step Two: 🫂 Join Free Facebook Support Group
Step Three: 👀 Check out the Momentum Program for aspiring MT performers looking to become professional
Step Four: 🎥 Watch our MOST DOWNLOADED Podcast Episode with Luca Dinardo
All right, welcome back to another episode on the Dive Podcast. If you're watching in on the YouTube, I'm in Sydney now. I've just arrived here doing Sunset Boulevard at the Sydney Opera House and I was able to go in yesterday as we were starting a bit of a dry tech For anyone that doesn't know what that means basically running the show and all the technical elements before the cast join us and come on stage. So that's happening today. So we're about to all meet and get on stage reunite and it's just going to be such a wonderful experience. But I thought we would dive into today kind of what does your life look like after full time and how to navigate that. By the end of this episode you're going to be able to have a clear picture of what you're looking to achieve, why you're wanting to do it, and kind of get yourself in a frame of mind to actually know what the next steps are for you and really start to navigate that in a way that is promoting yourself and positioning yourself to actually achieve those things. So I'm going to get straight into it, but I just want to also say thank you so much. This incredible community that we're creating inside the Dive is just next level. If you are not already in our free community on Facebook, please go down and check the link in this description, because we're building that community. We have over 100 students in there and that's where you're just going to get all the updates. You're going to know exactly when our new programs are launching any updates on our social media, and we're just building such a wonderful community and if you're new here, please go and check it out. We would love to have you in there.
Speaker 1:So, okay, let's get into today's episode. So you've just finished full-time. What do you do now? What's happening? Sometimes? Okay, right now, you just really have to actually look at what your life has just been, which has been hectic. You've gone from like structured days to now maybe weeks days staring at the ceiling, staring at the wall, going what do I do now? And this is so normal because you have just had not only just in full time, but from school up until now you've had someone telling you when to come to class, when to show up, when to actually do the things, even to the extent of when do you have lunch.
Speaker 1:So actually navigating what your day-to-day life can look like is sometimes nerve-wracking, and sometimes this can really get us into a frame of mind of I have no idea what to do, or there's so much time in my day that you just feel overwhelmed because you're just like, well, I could start this, but I also have the rest of the day off. I get you, I get you and I'm here to help you out. So the first thing we always, always, always, always want to do in any circumstance, but particularly once you're finished full time and you've got days off, weeks off, months off, years off to go right, what do I do? Now? You need to get really, really clear. We need to get really clear on what we are striving for. What are we going for? So that's the first thing I want to share with you is what do you want? What do you desire most? Write this down and if you're a notepad person girl or guy definitely get that out, because with these podcast sessions, you'll definitely want to have a little notebook because we can work as you go, you can pause it. If you are a pen and paper sort of girl or guy, definitely go get that, because this episode is definitely all about getting to the nitty gritty. Let's get into exactly what we want to create.
Speaker 1:So the first thing that we want to really be focusing in on is what do you want? What do you desire most of all? Above anything else, we need to get really clear on what you are wanting to achieve, because if you don't know what you're wanting to achieve, it's going to be really hard to navigate our next steps. So you can simply ask this question what do I desire most? Don't focus on how you're going to get there yet. Just write down I like to work with at least a top three. You can also just work with one If there's one top goal that you want to work with, amazing, but I find three to five, no more than five, because it can just get a bit overwhelming. There's definitely a top three right now that you would desire most, and if you're struggling with trying to figure out what those are, you can actually categorize them so you can make it a top goal for your health, a top goal for your mindset and a top goal for your career. Please pick and choose your categories.
Speaker 1:I'm just going to give out offerings and suggestions today, so please morph it to your life and what is most important to you, and I really just want to highlight on the desire moment, like I feel as though a lot of the time when we're navigating outside of full time, we've been working on ourselves. We know our skills, we know where we are and what we're kind of wanting to go for. But we need to live in a space of imagine, if you know. Let's just take a moment right now I'm putting the pen down Imagine if you could actually achieve that desired thing, because a lot of the time we set ourselves back thinking that it's not possible. So why even go for it? And I like to think as our brains and our minds we need to start getting on board. We need to get on board.
Speaker 1:I like to say, like the tailor train, you need to get on board with yourself, because no one is going to love your dream, no one is going to get up and make your dream a reality other than you, and if you don't desire it, it's not going to happen. A lot of the time when we're navigating outside of full time, we are looking for motivation, and the motivation will only come when your desire is strong. If your desire is strong, you will wake up, you will go do the thing, no questions asked. So a lot of the time when we're navigating the motivation. A better question is what do I want and what am I actually willing to do to actually achieve it? So let's get really clear. Ask yourself what do you want and write it down. You can even make a little brainstorm session by going, you know, just writing on paper, top 10. You can write out the top 10 things you desire and then narrow it back down to the top five and then maybe even the top three.
Speaker 1:So once you know exactly what you're wanting to achieve, you've got to ask yourself what will your life look like once that is achieved? Again, it's going back into that desire Really understand what your life will look like when that has happened or when you're actually living that experience. As an example, you've just come out of full-time. You really want a musical. Okay, what is your life going to look like when you're in that musical? You're in eight shows a week. You're playing that character you always dreamed of. You're traveling and touring the world Incredible. What does your life look like? What are you eating? Who are you spending your time with, how are you spending your time and what are your days?
Speaker 1:Feel like Once you know that and again, dream a little bit, because the power of all of this and what I'm getting at is that once you understand that, you can then understand the characteristics, the traits and the personal self of that future self. If I achieved your top goal, how would I be acting, what would I be doing and I've been teaching this inside the programs that we've been If I achieved that top goal of yours of being in a musical, how would I show up, act and behave? Because by actually answering this question you can navigate the most powerful and potent reason of goal setting and something that I've been teaching inside our Momentum program. If you don't know about that, you can definitely go in the show notes and check it out and I'll just share with you a little bit about actually that on this topic, because we had just been going through the Momentum program.
Speaker 1:It's a program that I actually launched on how to become a professional in musical theater and emphasis on the becoming, because a lot of us want the thing, a lot of us want the goal, we want the thing, we just want it now. And the thing actually that's going to get you there is about embodying and becoming that individual, that future version of yourself in the now and how we do that is getting clear. How we do that is by writing it down and writing out those characteristics and starting to build a lifestyle surrounded by those traits. Because once you actually start embodying those traits, the goal is going to take care of itself, it is going to feel a lot more fun, it's going to feel a lot more fulfilled and you're just going to have a lot more energy. Because when you start embodying that actual thing, you're not going to be a lot more energy, because when you start embodying that actual thing, you're not going to be worrying about oh I need that thing, and then I'll be happy.
Speaker 1:There's actually a problem with goals in terms of goal-oriented achievement, meaning that I will be happy when that happens, like you will feel succeeded, like you're a success when you would get a musical, you will feel acknowledged when you get that thing. But the lack in that is that you're never going to feel happy, you're never going to feel like you're worthy enough until you actually get that thing right. So instead, wouldn't that feel nicer to start embodying those things now, showing up as that eight show week version of you now and starting to work on that, so that when you actually achieve the thing and you're there. You're not only able to be there, but you're able to really be there for the longevity. You're able to be there from a place of yes, like of course I'm here because I have the recovery ready to go.
Speaker 1:I know how to look after myself so that when these shows come up, if you're a swing or you're covering, nothing is going to be too overwhelming because you have set this foundation for yourself that you've already been planning. You've already been planning the version of you that is going to look after yourself and have the best time ever. So we do that by really getting clear on what and who this version of yourself is. So, as I mentioned, we have this momentum program that is really sharing with students like yourself how to navigate the industry after full time. You can check this out by the link in our description. It has all the information about it and it's really just going to help you get the mindset, get the goals, get really clear on why you are here to actually then know how to navigate the industry. So I always want to share about some of the programs and the things that we're launching and creating in the dive, because it's just been amazing, we've had over 10 students go through the program currently and the success and just the vibe inside of the community has just been awesome.
Speaker 1:And it's just awesome to really connect with all of you and see this progression happening in your life. And I truly believe that you don't need to do it alone. We are here as a community. We're all wanting the same sort of thing. You're just needing that extra little bit of support, that bit of mentoring, that little bit of community to navigate the highs and lows that this industry gives.
Speaker 1:Okay, so once you're really clear on what your top three goals are, what the top characteristics and what your life's basically going to look like in the now, based on that future version of yourself, you're going to do the second step, which is why, why do you want to be there? Why do you actually want that thing? And the best exercise you can do right now is go, have a look at those top goals and ask yourself why. Answer it out, but then I want you to ask yourself why again, potentially, up until I say, keep asking yourself why, until you feel your heart or something kind of coming up. You know, a bit of emotion, because when you actually connect to something deeper.
Speaker 1:A lot of the time when we're wanting something, it's very material. It's very like this top layer material stuff that isn't really promoting what you deeply, deeply want. And so, by asking yourself why and why, again at least four to five times, come back to me right in the community what you've actually come up with and it's going to blow your mind of why you actually want that thing. It could be that you've always want to share stories, you want to be on a stage and you want to just live a life of creating and sharing stories and being with supportive people and all this stuff. So it's going to be different for everyone. But by just doing this small exercise, you're going to literally open your mind to actually reasons why you truly want it and really navigate it from a reason of not for anyone else, like, why do you want it? Not because it's going to make someone else happy, why do you want it? And really navigate it from a reason of not for anyone else, like, why do you want it? Not because it's going to make someone else happy, why do you want it? And there's a hidden step within this when you actually ask yourself why you want the goal, you are turning on the signal in your brain that's going to surpass motivation, because when you actually realize why you want the goal, your actual action steps to go ahead and go and do that goal is going to be just a no brainer. You're just going to wake up and go bang. I know exactly what I want because I know why I'm doing it.
Speaker 1:A lot of the time when we're trying to navigate motivation or we're trying to navigate the industry, we're doing it in a way of oh, I've got to go to singing classes, I've got to do this because that's what everyone else is doing and if I don't do it, I'm going to fall behind. Can you feel that energy already? We don't want that energy. We want like I'm going to singing class because I'm ready to nail my belt. I want to work on this. I want to work on this piece of material. We've got to fall back in the love of what we're doing, because if you're not loving what you're doing, like really we shouldn't just be doing it at all. We're not here for long and we need to make sure that what we're doing and how we're doing it is supportive and is coming from a place of enjoyment and actual passion. I know that this can kind of go downhill, especially after full-time, because, okay, you've just trained so long, you've just trained so long to actually get into the thing, and so now you feel like the only best next step is to get the thing, and without it you may feel like you're inadequate or you should be somewhere where you're not.
Speaker 1:And all I will say right now is that by connecting to your why, by connecting to something deeper, you are just going to bring that back out of actually why you want it. You're going to be putting the action steps in to achieve it and you're just going to connect to something bigger. You're going to connect, maybe, back to that child who went into dance class for the first time and dance, singing, acting, whatever it is, and you're just going to keep connecting to that and you're going to bring a fun element to that and that's just going to help you navigate those, maybe a few years after full-time. As you're going to bring a fun element to that and that's just going to help you navigate those, maybe a few years after full-time, as you're going to audition, getting the rejection showing up, it's going to feel so much nicer when you start embodying that future self.
Speaker 1:Because ask yourself this if you were a professional already in musical theater, how would you respond to rejection? How do you think not how you, anyone else you believe how? How would you think you would show up? Would you crumble and be a mess on the floor, or would you go? That's okay. Like I've already done a few shows, I know that what is meant for me is right for me and this is how my future self would go forward about pushing any emotions aside. This is not about being happy, happy, chappy, 24 7. This is just positioning yourself and your mind in a place where you can navigate the industry with a bit more clarity, a bit more confidence and a bit more direction because, like I said, no one is going to hold your hand. No one is coming to hold your hand and pick you up to go to that next audition. By navigating how, or navigating what you want and why you want it, it's going to make the rejection easier. It's going to make what you're doing so much easier because you not only know what you're doing, but you know why you're doing it.
Speaker 1:So the final step that you want to think about is when we know what we want. A lot of the times if you were actually struggling on a side note here to understand what you want. A lot of the time our brain kind of goes into this negative loop of what we don't want. So that can actually be really powerful. And I'm going to show with you how you can actually use the power of what you don't want to navigate what you do want. Because for everything that you don't want there's an opposite. So a lot of the time if you're navigating this, ask yourself okay, if you don't know what you want, you can write out what don't you want and then find the opposite of that, because that's just gonna help you actually navigate exactly what you do want.
Speaker 1:So once you know what, once you know why, let's get into when. Because it's all great and well navigating. Okay, I know what I want and I know why I want it. But the only thing that is going to help you become a professional musical theater performer is action. Nothing else is going to get you there. We can have the energetics, we can have the reasons why, we can have exactly what we want to do, but at the end of the day, if you are not showing up and you're not putting in the action, nothing is going to happen for you. So let's create an action step that you can take right now.
Speaker 1:So once you've got clear on exactly what and you've got clear on why, then you can ask yourself okay, when am I going to start putting these characteristics, when am I going to start putting the things that I want into my calendar? And there's a simple exercise that you can do so to get an understanding of when you're going to do these things. It can be really overwhelming, right? Okay, like, when am I going to sing? When am I going to dance? When am I going to do all this? It can become really overwhelming, especially if you have more time, because you're like, oh, how do I structure my days to actually do all the things that I want?
Speaker 1:I highly recommend a book called the One Thing for any performer listening to this right now, especially if you're navigating a headspace of gosh. There is just so much to do and I don't know what to start, and you can simply ask yourself this question what is the one thing I can do to improve this or to implement this? It's just going to help your brain navigate. Just one simple thing, because a lot of the time, that's all we need. It's all we need in that moment. We only need one extra thing or one key step to move forward.
Speaker 1:Let's put this into an example. That may be true for you. Okay, top goal I want to be in a musical theater show Amazing. You've asked yourself why do you want that? Great. Then we need to get really specific. We need to dig a little deeper. We need to get into the soil, we need to get into the core of. Okay, what does that actually mean for me? So you can ask yourself what's the one thing I need to do to get into that musical? And this be okay. I know I need to improve my singing. I know I need to improve my dancing, whatever it is, and if it's multiple things, fantastic, write that out. But then you really want to start asking yourself okay, what's the one thing out of singing, dancing, acting, that I know I need to work on to get into a musical and write that out? Okay, as an example, it might be dancing. Right, what's the one thing I can do to improve my dancing? Okay, it could be go to class, it could be getting a private. You could even go one step even further and ask yourself what's the one part of dancing that I need to improve on. So this could be on style, it could be tap, it could be ballet.
Speaker 1:Once we actually get really specific, we actually push away all this mind overwhelmment. I don't think that's a word, but it actually positions yourself in a place of clarity, because once you get really clear on what you actually need to achieve, it's so much easier to go ahead and put the action steps in to actually go and achieve it. So that's what you're going to do for each of the goals Find yourself one action step. That's the true action step that you need to do. Next, you can do this by, if you're wanting to then put it into a schedule, which we definitely want to do, because, again, action is the only thing that's going to move you forward is to ask yourself okay, what's the one thing I can do within the next month that will help me get closer to that goal, and you can write that into your monthly goal. Then you can go into two weeks Okay, what's one thing I can do to get closer to my goal in two weeks, based on the monthly goal, and then you can go even further to like what's one thing I can do this week to get closer to my two-week goal, and then the daily goal, and then what you'll end up doing is you'll find yourself with a daily goal that could be okay if it was to improve my dance style. It could be today to research a movie and watch that style, and that's today, and slowly start. What you'll start to do is you'll build this one percent day that you actually start to improve incrementally and the daily thing is going to be so much more achievable.
Speaker 1:It's not going to be okay. Today I need to go to 10 dance classes and do all this. It's too much. It's too much, and a lot of the times when we're going into our goals, we think that massive action in a short amount of time is going to get us to the thing closer. And what's actually going to be better for you is to build the 1%, build the incremental steps to actually build this long and extensive base for yourself. Because once you actually again, once you achieve the goal of getting into a musical, imagine if you actually did it incrementally. It's literally about becoming. It's about becoming this person who has the discipline, who has the knowledge that it's not about a quick win, it's not about. I just want to do 10 dance classes, get it over and done, then I'll be in a musical and then I arrive.
Speaker 1:If you have this mentality now, I'm telling you you're going to come into musical theater and you're going to come out of it as quick as you came in. Because if you're not building the fundamental steps and the foundational work right now, it's going to be so difficult to obtain and stay at eight shows. It's going to be so difficult to navigate your life, how to balance your relationships, how to balance all of this around this crazy, wonderful life that we call musical theater. And so, by putting in these daily actions and by navigating your top goals, by what we've been doing in this podcast today, I hope you're going to be able to get really clear on what you're wanting to achieve. You're going to understand why you're doing it and that's just really going to help you on that daily basis as you build that progression. Because by implementing the why, you're going to know that. Okay, by doing this one research today, if you have already that weekly, bi-weekly, monthly goal mapped out, you know that by actually doing the daily thing today is equal to that monthly goal achieved, because it's all broken down until today, and when I started to implement this guys side note was insane, because I always thought, ok, I want to get into that thing, so I want it as quick as possible and you just want it.
Speaker 1:And there was two things that were happening with this approach. The first thing was that my energy towards it was so desperate, it was so like, it was so tense, and so when I was actually going to do the thing, if I was in an audition, it was too desperate and the panel really saw that and my energy saw that too. I was more nervous. I was increased pressure on myself, and so instead, when I started to take a backseat and go hold on, okay, what does my actual life look like and what does this professional version of myself look like and how can I start navigating a routine today that can help support me tomorrow? And so when you start to implement this and you don't put all this pressure on getting such quick success in such a short time, you're not only going to be able to enjoy the process, but you're going to start building an actual full lifestyle that is going to promote wellness and promote longevity. When you are there, I feel like I just spoke forever.
Speaker 1:But I hope that today's episode is giving you kind of that structure, giving the new, that structure of what you're wanting to achieve, getting really clear on your top three to five goals, understanding why you're wanting to get there. It's clear on your top three to five goals, understanding why you're wanting to get there. It's fundamental to your motivation and your fulfillment on a daily basis. And then I hope that through that you're able to understand when are you actually going to do the thing, what's the one thing you can do today to start implementing or start getting you closer to the ultimate version of you, to that top three goal, that top one goal that you're looking for. So I hope that you've enjoyed the episode. Please comment in, please email in, please message us If you want to again join our free community.
Speaker 1:We have a free Facebook community you can be a part of. We talk a lot about mindset on there and I basically just share any updates. With the dive Again, I mentioned the amazing Momentum program that you can go check out If you're really looking for a deep dive in learning how to navigate the industry. If you've just come out of full-time, it is going to be the most fundamental next step for you, because you're not only going to get much clearer on what we spoke about today, but I'm actually going to show you how to implement that into your calendar. You're going to learn exactly on the top mindset tools of actually becoming a professional and how to support you, and yeah, so go check that out in the show notes as well.
Speaker 1:And, as always, if you have any questions, please, please, please, email us or myself, rather, at info at the divecomau, sending you so much love. Have the most magical, magical day, and I can't wait to see you on future episodes. If you feel like this episode was a hit and you want to share it with a friend, please share it and share the love, and even share it on a story on instagram. Just know that by sharing that, this message of actually becoming the most ultimate version of yourself is going to resonate with, hopefully, so many more people, and I believe that by sharing knowledge and by all coming together, we're only going to get stronger as a community and we're going to start achieving our goals not only a lot faster, but into a place of authenticity and from a place of just good vibes. So have a wonderful rest of your day and I'll see you on the next episode.