August marks my 9th year in Los Angeles.

I’m so proud of where I am right now, and what I’ve done with these past 9 years.

But I’m able to appreciate my success so much more because of how hard it was for me in the beginning.

When my first TV show was cancelled (R.I.P. “Trust Me”), I couldn’t find another job for 9 months. 

It was when the economy crashed, so I couldn’t even get a day job. 

Those 9 months tore me apart.

I know. That was a pretty harsh headline. 

But if you REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want your Hollywood dream, the truth will set you free. 

Big dreams never come true from half-assing it. 

You’re either going for it 110%, or you’re just not. 

Anything in between falls into the “just not” category.

See, most people are not making their dream a TRUE PRIORITY.

There are 2 main reasons why this happens:

How many times have you been told “nothing happens inside your comfort zone”???

A million.

How many times have you actually stepped outside your comfort zone?

*crickets*

It’s amazing, how something you KNOW you should be doing, you just don’t do.

And it’s not because you’re stupid.

One of the most common mistakes I see people making when pursuing their Hollywood dream is a lack of strategy.

I know it sounds crazy because most people believe there is no possible strategy when it comes to a Hollywood dream, but after working in the industry for 9 years, I promise you, it does exist and you should be using it.

It hasn't been THAT long since the days of Blockbuster, but it still feels hard to remember life without Netflix.

"I feel like I've known you my whole life! You're everything I've ever hoped for!"

Netflix has become the Binge Watcher's dream.

I mean, it has SO MUCH content!

But I bet you don't even SEE most of it.

Ego is constantly getting in the way in Hollywood.

And I'm not talking about the divas in Us Weekly.

I'm talking about your Ego.

"But Erica, I don't have an Ego! I'm pretty chill."

I know, we all want to be breezy like Monica Geller when she leaves a message for Richard.

When you look around at all of the successful people in your field, it's natural to feel jealousy.

But I want to introduce you to a new emotion surrounding other people's success: pure elation.

Why?

When I tell people that I'm Hollywood's Success Coach, one of the first questions I often get is, "Oh, so you do a lot of managing expectations?"

And I've grown to really hate that phrase, "managing expectations."

It essentially means that I need to help you set more "realistic" goals and help you understand that your expectations may be out of control.

This. Is. Bullshit.

“Erica, please clean your room.”

“Mom, I’ll do it later!” {Story of my childhood!}

I swear the phrase “I’ll do it later” was invented by kids who didn’t want to do their chores.

When we were younger, that phrase meant the thing we said we’ll do was at the bottom of our priority list. It was this phrase we thought would magically convince our parents that we would, in fact, complete the task, but in a very nebulous time frame.

The consequences of using that phrase were limited to chores being completed at the absolute last moment—essentially living in a mess for as long as we could get away with.

What are your current circumstances?

You know, the ones that are holding you back from achieving anything GREAT in Hollywood.

Are you low on money? LA is hella expensive.

Do you lack a network of connections? They say LA is all about who-you-know.

No resources? 

Feeling alone?

Low on energy?

Lack knowledge?

Lack representation?

There are a million ways your circumstances could suck right now. 

And you may feel that all of them are reasons why you aren't where you want to be in your career.

I know I've felt that way before. Especially when it comes to M-O-N-E-Y.

But I've got some good news. (And some bad news.)