“Fear is excitement without breath.”
– Robert Heller

Five years ago, after accidentally taking a five year break from acting, I returned to the stage with a bang. My return? The Theatre Bay Area General Auditions.

It’s hard to convey the magnitude of these auditions to non-actors. HUNDREDS of Bay Area Casting Directors gather to watch actors like me audition. We have just two minutes to perform before someone yells “TIME!”

Imagine walking out and facing hundreds of people with the power to hire you – or not.

Imagine doing that in the midst of a sea of other competing actors – many of whom are in the middle of their very own adrenaline-fueled, amygdala-hijack, fight-or-flight response.

The temptation to plow forward at warp speed just to get it over with as quickly as possible is palpable.

Instead, I did the opposite.

I paused.

I breathed in.

I breathed out.

I breathed in again …

And then I began my audition.

With those breaths I converted fear into excitement. 

And it was SO worth it.

Where can you breathe just a little more in your life to convert fear to excitement?