Something that people ask me all the time is "How do you make feature films with a family?"
It's natural to want to ask "how", but this is the wrong question. My "how" will not look the same as someone else's "how." There is no one-size-fits-all. The important thing is knowing that it can be done.
Our brains like simple, black and white thinking. This helps our mind do its job of being efficient because it can quickly judge and categorize whether something is safe or dangerous, old or new, etc.
Many times, this subconscious thinking serves us, but sometimes it limits our perspective of complexity and new possibilities.
A study examining societal perceptions of women, found that people perceived working moms as "cold but competent" and stay-at-home moms as "warm but incompetent."
In reality, dividing moms into one of these two camps in an oversimplification to begin with. The majority of moms I know fall somewhere in the middle and many of them are neither cold nor incompetent. They work part-time when their kids are at school or have a hobby that brings in revenue on the side. Stay-at-home dads are also becoming increasingly common. My husband and I split our time working and watching kids evenly each day.
Working in the film industry has unique challenges, but we are creatives! If anyone can find a way to make this work, we can. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynold intentionally stagger their schedules and "take turns" doing film projects so that one of them can always be home with the kids. Some/filmmakers actors just take breaks in between projects or bring their families with them wherever they go to shoot.
Here's the truth: once you fully believe it can be done, the way will appear before you. And that is great news because your beliefs are completely within the realm of your control.
Did you know runners used to believe that it wasn't possible to run a four-minute mile? Nobody had ever done it before. Roger Bannister was the first person to ever achieve this milestone in the mid-1900s. When he did, he broke both a record and a mental barrier. Once the world knew that this kind of speed was possible, people started breaking four-minute miles all the time. Now it's the standard for professional runners. High schoolers can do it.
I promise you can have a great family life and work as an actor or filmmaker. Someday, this will be the standard. But even now, it's totally possible and I can show you how. Click here to sign up for a free mini coaching session, where it will be my pleasure to help you find the way that works for you and your family.