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Why I Use the "Law of Attraction" and "Perspective Reality" in Modeling

I often get people asking me, "Dania, how in the world do you do it? Modeling has been so hard for me. How do you book so much work? How did you become successful?" All good, quality questions but my answer is simple. In addition to hard work, persistence and major networking, I practice the Law of Attraction and what I call Perspective Reality.

Some of you may be familiar with the the first concept, while some of you may not (the second concept is something I came up with randomly). Below is one of the best explanations of the Law of Attraction, which I got from the Holistic Healing section of the site, About.com:


The Law of Attraction is one of the better known universal laws. The theory behind the Law of Attraction is that we create our own realities. We attract things we want and we also attract things we don't want. We attract the people in our lives, the stuff in our homes, and the money in our bank accounts through our thoughts and feelings.

When our beliefs are limited, we attract limited wealth and compromise our well-being. When we believe anything is possible, the sky's the limit. In fact, you can break through that glass roof on the sky with your miraculous positive thoughts. When we focus on the "lack of" we are creating a less-than reality. But, if we focus on being abundant and happy we will enjoy a luxurious and glorious reality.


It sounds so cliche but the truth is that you receive what you put out into the universe. Is it easy constantly being positive and hoping it attracts the same results? Of course not. The reality is there will be days when you feel as if you're on top of the world and there will be days when the last thing you want to do is get out of bed and function. And that's okay...it's normal. It's being human.

I'm not kidding when I tell my readers and those I consult that modeling is freakin' hard. It's competitive. It's tough and it doesn't care about hurting your feelings. When I advise aspiring models to keep pushing and pounding the pavement and putting themselves out there, that doesn't mean do it for a month or two and then everything will miraculously happen. Nothing in life works that way, believe me.

I practice the Law of Attraction every time I submit myself to a modeling gig, every time I send someone a headshot and resume, every time I hand my business card to a potential client, every time I step foot into an interview and of course every time I step in front of a camera or crowd. Do I have my "off" days when for whatever reason I'm off my game? Definitely. More than you'd think. But it's about what you do with your energy during those down times that will bring you much more success when you motivate yourself to stick to your guns and move forward with your plans.


The Law of Attraction doesn't just come into play when it comes to my modeling career, either...I practice positive thinking in all aspects of my life. When you walk around with a smile and an air that shows people you're happy to have another day on this Earth, it really does reach out to others in ways you'd never expect. No one is attracted to a person that's frowning. Anytime I smile at someone in general while out and about and they don't return the smile or--even worse--they scowl at me or look at me like I'm crazy, my mind simply boggles. They're definitely not someone I'd want to associate with. So don't be that person!

Now for the second concept, which I like to call Perspective Reality. This is the practice of seeing your situation in a way, while considering certain factors, that will give you a perspective on your reality and why it is the way it is, as well as give more clarity as to how you can change it.

For example, one thing that will help you guys put my career into perspective as it relates to your own is to keep in mind the fact that I started modeling (and acting) professionally 13 years ago. That is over a decade of time to acquire experience, build my name and rep and network with the people I now keep in touch with in the industry. All of this--even my blog--didn't happen overnight or within the past year or two. It took YEARS of commitment and dedication.

And now that I have the amount of knowledge I have about the modeling industry, I use it to my advantage to work even HARDER to make my career worth something. I'm online submitting myself to projects via SFCasting.com, Model Mayhem and Craig's List at LEAST 5 times a day. I'm constantly refreshing the pages of those websites every couple of hours so that I get on top of the newest castings every day. If you don't have the stamina or passion to dedicate those kinds of actions towards your career, then you won't get the results you want. Simple as that. Even with an agent I still bust my butt to put myself out there, go viral, make sure I'm Googleable and that people are finding me through various resources. I don't believe in doing anything if you don't plan on being the best at it.

Another thing to keep in mind, all of my major successes came to me later in my career...literally, within the last 3-4 years. If I had given up my first year or two in the industry, imagine what would have happened? I never would have created this blog, I never would have gotten a magazine cover, my name and blog posts would never pop up in search engines and I would never have had the opportunities to meet and help all of the aspiring and established models I have with their careers.

So before you throw in the towel, try more positive thinking and put things into perspective...and don't just be routine about it by going through the motions--really believe that you want to succeed...take that passion and determination and put it into action. Start looking for agencies, learn what photos they want, attend open casting calls, do test shoots if you want to make sure you know what to expect as a model, create business cards, comp cards, etc...whatever it takes. Sitting on your butt waiting for opportunity to knock on your door will get you nowhere. Here are some quotes that I live by, among many others:

"Every Setback is a Setup for a Comeback." ~Joel Osteen (thanks for telling me the author of this quote, Valente' F!)

"There is no elevator to success--you've gotta take the stairs." ~ Unknown

"Opportunities are NEVER lost...they simply go to someone else." ~ Unknown

"Throwing a pity party for yourself is the only shindig where you'll not only be the guest of honor...you'll be the only person in attendance." ~ Dania Denise

"When the word 'Impossible' is taken out of your vocabulary, anything is possible." ~ Dania Denise

Comments

Michael Lang said…
I'm not a model, but I can relate with film making. Creativity in all forms is a tough path to walk, but so worth it when you get the opportunities. An awesome and insightful read.
Valente' F said…
OH I KNOW THAT FIRST QUOTE VERY WELL AND IT COMES FROM JOEL OSTEEN BABY !!! I CANT WAIT TO BE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU IN THE NEAR FUTURE $$$
Gilberta said…
Hi Dania!

I'm in a little bit of a pickle, and I was hoping you could help.

I have a friend who "attempted" to manage a few models for her start up clothing company/modeling agency venture. Because I'm an aspiring advertising photographer, I took photos of the men and women who modeled for her, and things worked out well. Until she moved to to Los Angeles (I live in San Diego), and stopped managing them or talking to them.
Well the models have been getting a lot of positive feedback on the photos that I took of them. I actually got them professional TFP photo shoots with other amazing local photographers, and casted in fashion shows. I felt like I was doing it as their friend, and to help them out with their careers. These models realize that I'm a networking junkie, and they want me to manage them full time. Here are my questions: A. How do I get people to take me seriously as a manager? I feel like I just got started in this biz! B. Is there anything I can do (besides read your blog profusely) to further my education in this business? Thanks in advance for your time:>)
Dania Denise said…
Hi, Gilberta! You'll find the answer to your question in its own post, titled "Answering a Reader Question #215." Thanks for reading!

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