Real-life resilience - George Clooney

Welcome to another weekend edition of The Resilience Brief. Each Sunday I share real-life examples of resilience and the practical tools we can lift from these stories. This week we’re diving into the million-dollar mindset move from one of Hollywood’s heart-throb actors. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think.

Every actor has been rejected at one stage of their career. Every single one. Even if they miraculously landed their very first opportunity, they missed a future one. Here are a few to think about:

• Jennifer Lawrence missed out on Twilight.

• Matthew Mcconaughey missed out on Titanic.

• Meryl Streep was rejected for King Kong.

• Reese Witherspoon missed out on Clueless.

In George Clooney’s case, one of the big rejections he had was the lead role of Speed that eventually went to Keanu Reeves (amazing film BTW!).

Rejection is real. And it hurts. A lot. Clooney sums it up well here:

“The product you are selling is you. You can’t say ‘well, I’ve got another vacuum cleaner here if you don’t like that one’. There are no other options when it comes to you. The reason that actors are celebrated when they get somewhere is because they’re actually taking risks that a lot of other people wouldn’t take, because it’s embarrassing. Humiliation is one of the greatest fears in the world. Actors risk humiliation every time they go for an audition.”

Clooney was rejected a lot as he was coming up in Hollywood. In fact, even after he’d made it to a certain extent (he’d been in several TV shows), he still couldn’t land the roles that he really wanted.

However, instead of viewing a rejection as a personal failure, he realized that casting decisions often had little to do with him and more to do with what a director or producer was seeking.

And that led him to a massive mindset shift.

He realized that auditions were also an obstacle for producers. They don’t want to have to audition 1000 people to find their perfect guy or girl. They’re always hoping the next person who comes into the room is their perfect solution.

So Clooney shifted his approach to focus more on the fact that he understood the character and spent time asking the casting agents questions about the role, ensuring that he could fit his audition to deliver what they wanted.

His job was not to get them to like him. His job was to be the answer to their challenge.

He shifted his perspective to present himself as that answer.

And when he used empathy to understand what the folks on the other side of the audition were looking for, he started to land the big roles he really wanted.

Putting into practice.

There are three key takeaways from Clooney’s story.

1. Rejection is part of the process. When it comes to acting, there was a high probability that Clooney wouldn’t be ‘the one’. So he had to accept it and find a way to move on quickly. It’s the same with life and business. We won’t always be everyone’s cup of tea and we can’t please everyone. But when we reframe rejection as simply part of the process, we can open our mind to solving the bigger problem. In Clooney’s case it was to help the producers find the perfect fit for the character.

2. Perspective is everything. There is always another way to look at any situation. This is going to come up again and again for us all. If someone cuts us off in a meeting when we are trying to make a point, we can either see it as an insult, or we can see it as an opportunity to practice patience or have a challenging conversation after the meeting. When someone criticizes our work, we can see it as a personal attack, or we can choose to be motivated to improve. There is always a better view of the situation. And, if we can open our mind to new possibilities, that can lead us to understand that…..

3. Empathy with a purpose is powerful. When we can actually put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, there is tremendous potential for growth. First of all, it dramatically improves our communication ability - we can seek to understand what they need to hear in order to understand. Secondly, it allows us to see what they actually want or need. Everyone is out here doing their best and they all have their own desires. When we can see those desires, it helps us find a way to move forward with positive energy and proactive solutions that benefit everyone. Here is a perfect example of empathy with a purpose.

Clooney’s resilience wasn’t just about surviving countless rejections - it was about using those rejections as information and adjusting accordingly. Resilience often involves changing how we interpret setbacks and using them as opportunities to grow. Handsome George’s mindset eventually led him to incredible success in his acting and filmmaking career. Our resilient mindset can help us in a similar way too!

Until next time friends, stay resilient.

Carre @ Resilient Minds

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