“RNP the Blog”

I found myself on the couch a couple nights ago winding down from the day and watching television. I stumbled across a reality show that unexpectedly pulled me in. I don’t know how many of you have scene “Confessions of a Teen Idol” on VH1 for me at least it was entertaining and not for the reasons that you might think.

As someone who is pursuing a career in a creative industry I thought the show had a lot to offer. In my humble opinion pursuing a career as a photographer or an actor (you could add musician, comedian, writer, etc…) has a lot of parallels. We are all competing in an industry where there are far more people competing for work than there is actual work. We are all trying to find ways to package our talents as unique and special in industries that want to place us in boxes (car photographer, comedic actor, etc..) and label us. We are all in fields that require a “break” from someone that recognizes our talent and is in a position to introduce us to a larger audience in order to reach the highest levels. And if we are lucky enough to reach those high levels there will be thousands of people cutting us down our and waiting for us to fail.

It was interesting for me to see how these guys have dealt with the success and the failure. For instance the story of Jamie Walters who used to be on 90210. After he left the show he went through a slump as an actor and a musician. He wasn’t booking gigs and finally decided it was time to leave the business. He got married had some kids and works as a fireman. But he has always wondered if he would have stayed in the game if things would have turned around. I think that is a universal question for anyone that is pursuing work in a creative field. We all struggle initially and some struggle for years even decades but how do you decide when and if to walk away? If we walk away now will we miss our big break?

I found myself alternating between feeling sorry for these guys that have been chewed up by the entertainment industry and wanting to tell them all to get over themselves and be thankful for the success that they enjoyed at one time in their career.

I don’t have any answers to the questions that the show brought up….but I do have a hope that in all creative fields that over the long haul talent eventually wins out.