This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Justin Guarini: Any performer can show up to an audition, but the most successful performers show up to an audition fully centered in the 3 C’s. And when you show up rooted in the 3 C’s, you can access that unquantifiable and mysterious thing that people often call the X Factor. In this episode, I'll break down the 3 C’s and even give you a guided exercise that will help you master one of the most important C’s we talk about today. Let's roll the theme music.

[0:28] Justin Guarini: Welcome to Audition Secrets, the podcast. My name is Justin Guarini, and I'm an audition and performance expert with over 25 years of experience in the entertainment industry. You see me on huge television shows like American Idol, playing characters like Lil Sweet in national television commercials for brands like Diet Dr. Pepper, on Broadway, in six musicals and plays, as well as on Instagram and Facebook, where I bring you success mindset coaching on the regular. Each week on this podcast, you'll learn actionable strategies, mindsets, and tips that take the guesswork out of creating auditions and performances that make you stand out from the crowd and help to increase your odds of getting the job so that you can create the career and lifestyle you work so hard for each day.

If you haven't picked up your copy of the book Audition Secrets Volume 1, then all you need to do is visit auditionsecretsbook.com to get instant access to your copy. The Audition Secrets book and this podcast are your secret weapons to rising above your competition, successfully navigating the entertainment business, and keeping your sanity as you rise to the top. So kick back and relax. Five, six, seven, let's go.

[1:46] Justin Guarini: Now, what are the three C's? They are confident, calm, and collected. Now, before you roll your eyes, I know, I know, I know, it sounds simple, but it's not. And there's so much to unpack that you might not expect. So let's get to it. What do these words really mean? Confident, calm, and collected. And how do they contribute to creating your X factor? These are three words that are open to very wide interpretation. So let me narrow the focus down a bit for our Audition Secrets tribe. We're really going to dig into some deep concepts here, but let's start off gently with confidence.

[2:24] Justin Guarini: Confidence is defined as a feeling of belief in oneself arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities. Another way of putting that is giving yourself some love for being exactly where you are right now in this moment, whether that's how you look, how you feel about yourself as a person, your level of skill or abilities, or even how you handle the nerves that inevitably come with auditioning. Making an investment of time and energy in creating confidence in your life in general has huge benefits. And when you can show up to an audition with an authentic appreciation for yourself, and for that alone, you should be proud of yourself. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the people who have the aspirations and dreams and desires that we have don't have the courage to even show up to the audition, or even figure out how to begin the process of learning how to be a performer.

So that alone sets you apart. And the more you can give yourself that kind of simple and easy love and acceptance for where you are right here and now, the more you can carry an authentic confidence, one of the keys to that X factor, into the room with you. The more you can increase your odds.

[3:44] Justin Guarini: Now, a huge caveat here. Many people, when they're trying to put on confidence, just end up looking like a cocky a-hole. So let's quickly define cockiness so we can be crystal clear. Cockiness is defined as having an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities, especially in a disrespectful way. Now, that definition is pretty straightforward, but to contrast, confidence says, I'm great. Cockiness says, I'm so much greater than you. Does that make sense? Do not fall into that trap. Build authentic confidence in your life and work, and you will be like a New York skyscraper made of pure titanium. No matter how many wrecking balls they swing at you, you'll still be standing.

[4:28] Justin Guarini: Okay, moving right along. Let's talk about calm, and here's where we're going to get a little deeper. Calm is usually defined like this, not showing or feeling nervousness, anger, or other strong emotions. Now, I don't love that definition for us as performers because showing our feelings, diving deep into our experience of life and the many colors of our emotions is our stock and trade. I don't care who you are, you're going to have some level of strong feelings at an audition, so not showing or feeling them is like the antithesis of what we're after as authentic performers. So, how do we stay calm without being numb, or shoving our true feelings down, or pretending that we don't feel exactly what we feel? Two things, perspective and focus. Now, I know I'm throwing a lot of definitions at you here, but details matter, and clarity is power. So, I'm going to be extremely clear with you, all right? So, let's get clear about perspective and how it fits into calm.

[5:34] Justin Guarini: Perspective is defined as a particular attitude toward, or a way of regarding something, a point of view. Now, this concept is so simple, but it has huge ramifications on whether or not we stay calm in any situation, much less the audition room or casting office. The biggest perspective shift you can make that will over time return more and more and more and more on the investment you make is to realize this, you are not your feelings. I'm going to say it again, you are not your feelings. What do I mean? Well, in English, when we talk about a state of being, we usually preface it with the words, I am, I am American, I am on a plane, I'm going to the store, I'm tired, I'm lonely, I'm pretty, I'm handsome, whatever it is, it's all housed under the same I am, which is the root verb of that is to be.

Now, stick with me here, I promise this is not an English lesson, this is all going to make sense. Think of it this way, how many times have you said, I am so angry right now, or I can't believe how nervous I am? You are literally saying that you are that emotion. I am angry, you are wed to your anger, and all that you do say and think is colored and controlled by your anger. And there's a permanence to that way of expressing yourself. You may be angry for the entire day or for a lifetime. Now, look at that same phrase again, but from a different perspective. Our first example was, I am angry. Now listen to this, I am feeling angry. Can you feel the subtle or maybe perhaps glaring difference between those two phrases?

Well, let's break it down like a fraction. I am angry. Anger and I are one in the same. I am feeling angry. I am making the choice to connect to, to feel angry. Both are very powerful statements, but one gives away your power, I am angry, and the other centers you in your power, specifically the power to choose how you feel and how those feelings affect you. I am feeling angry. I won't belabor this point, and I may just make this a module in my masterclass that's coming early next year, because it is so important. Remember, you are not your feelings. And the more you can invest time in recognizing that you are like the sky, a beautiful and perfect blue, just the way it was meant to be. And the more you can ride above the weather patterns of emotions and feelings in your life, not ignore them or numb out to them, but recognize them for what they are.

Temporary states of being that you can choose to dive into or not. Always remembering that you have a perfect center of calm to come right back to, if you choose. It is so simple to remember this fact. It's not easy, but it is simple. And it is an ongoing skill set that improves the more you invest in it. But this conversation here just may be the start of a shift for you that will help you to recognize that the calm you seek has always been there, and that all you have to do is remember it and connect to a new perspective in order to find your version of calm.

[9:03] Justin Guarini: The second part of calm I mentioned was focus, and I'm not going to define focus. I'm just going to show you focus. All you need to do is go to AuditionSecrets.com to get what I call my nerve crushing audio. You can use this guided breathing exercise anytime, and it gives you the ability to refocus on the present moment to calm yourself and remain in control. Again, you can snag that for free at AuditionSecrets.com. Just scroll down to where it says crush nerves. The last point in our conversation is the final C. We've covered confidence, we've covered calm, and now we're on to collected. Again, this is a word open to a wide variety of interpretations, and the usual way we define collected in reference to a person is like this.

Not feeling anxiety or concern or distraction. And this is a good definition, but I mean, come on. We're not robots. We feel anxiety, we feel concern, and we are riddled with distractions in the casting office and even in the audition room, whether it's people, cell phones, noises, etc. So that definition doesn't really work for our talk here. But I dug deeper and I found one that I loved, but this time it's in reference to horses. I know, stick with me here. Okay, collected, moving with a shortened stride and with its hind legs correctly placed to achieve balance and strong motivation behind an action or process. Now, I'm a word nerd, so that just made my nerdy little word heart sing a little bit.

But doesn't that sound like something we're constantly being asked to do in our performance life? Balance ourselves and be sure that our body, mind, voice, intentions are correctly placed to execute a strong action or to make a strong choice.

[10:56] Justin Guarini: The word collected has within it the ideas of calm, preparation, a sense of having our act together. But what I want to focus on here is the idea of moving with a shortened stride. And by shortened stride here, I mean being mentally and even physically agile like a martial artist or running back with the ability to adjust at a moment's notice to their environment. All kinds of weird, weird stuff happens in the casting office, and especially in the audition room. And the more we train ourselves to be alive to the moment and to respond in a way that serves the story and serves our success, the more we increase the odds of achieving our end goal. The latter part of the definition, correctly placing yourself to achieve balance and strong motivation behind an action or process, boils down to this.

You must be willing to go to the places most people don't like to go, want to go, are scared to go. I know it is unbelievably easy for me to say that. There's another thing to do it. And I know because I am still in the process of doing this work on myself. And it's a lifelong process, but I'm doing it. And if you truly want this life, an actual success, staying power in this entertainment life and business, and you want to stay sane while you're doing it, finding the balance within yourself is key. We are never going to be perfect. Honestly, it would be boring if we were. But balance and the strong motivation to create action, to dive deep into the process of your self-expression, and to win this game by being the one who serves the story, unlike anyone else, begins with doing the work it takes to be collected.

[12:51] Justin Guarini: You have all it takes to be confident, be calm, and be collected. And the people who make it and stay made in this business must all pass through the gate of the three C's. So many performers talk about it, but are you willing to do the work it takes to actually do something about it? Well, that's all I've got for you today. I'm Justin Guarini, and you're listening to Audition Secrets. Remember, at the end of the day, you're just one audition away. Thanks for listening.