Unlocking Your Best Self with Jim Rojas-Taylor: Tools from Acting for Entrepreneurs

In this episode, we embark on an enlightening journey into the world of acting and its profound implications on personal growth and entrepreneurship. Jim, a Marine and accomplished actor, shares his unique experiences and insights on how mastering the art of acting can enhance emotional literacy—an essential skill that empowers individuals to navigate their personal and professional landscapes more effectively.

Through introspective storytelling, Jim reveals how his childhood experiences shaped his emotional frameworks, leading him to develop innovative concepts like "suit bubbles" for managing various life scenarios. By adopting these techniques, we can channel our inner strengths and embrace different personas to help us thrive in complex situations, both in business and everyday life.

Jim beautifully details Stanislavski's transformative seven questions, designed not merely for actors but applicable to everyone navigating life’s challenges. These powerful questions invite listeners to explore their identities, motivations, and obstacles—equipping them with greater clarity in their pursuits. 

This episode reminds us that the stage does not merely reside in the theater but exists in the conversations we have and the interactions we cultivate. Emotional agility is pivotal for anyone seeking to improve their communication skills, connect with broader audiences, or simply enhance their interactions. Whether you are an entrepreneur, speaker, or simply wish to become a better communicator, Jim’s rich insights provide practical wisdom to integrate into your daily routines.

Don’t miss the opportunity to unlock the actor within you, harness the power of emotional literacy, and expand your presence in every aspect of life. Tune in, learn, and start your journey towards becoming your best self today. Be sure to follow and subscribe for more engaging episodes!

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Jim, the actor and Marine
• 6:00 Jim's unique childhood experiences and emotional tools
• 12:00 The importance of being present in acting
• 20:00 Understanding Stanislavski's seven questions
• 29:00 Applying acting techniques in everyday situations
• 38:00 Enhancing entrepreneur presentations with acting skills

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Hello and welcome back to the next episode of Overcome Yourself, the podcast. As you know, my name is Nicole and today I am here with Jim, and Jim is an actor and he's also a veteran from the Marines. Is that correct, jim?

Speaker 2: 0:17

That is correct.

Speaker 1: 0:19

All right, thank you so much for being here today, and so I want you to take it away, jim. Tell us a little bit about you and about what you do and who you help.

Speaker 2: 0:31

I guess just a little bit about me. I was born in Jersey. I grew up, I guess I had a unique aspect growing up because as a little one I had a real event that kind of triggered everything for me. When I was like four years old my parents took me to midnight mass and the concept of eternity and it just it was too much for my little brain handle. So I kind of regressed into my mindset and I guess instinctually I treated my brain like a computer. I started creating different programs for myself and two of my most prominent were what I refer to as my suit bubbles. My suits were essentially different versions. My bubbles were like the holodeck in the Star Trek universe, where they could be anytime, anyplace, anywhere. So what I would do as a little one was I would take these different versions of me, throw them in a bubble. As a little one I would take these different versions of me, throw them in a bubble and I would run through different scenarios before I went into a situation so I could define more choices in the moment. So it was allowing me to be more present growing up and it helped me dramatically during, I guess, during puberty, because emotions didn't trigger so much off of me because I'd been exercising them so much growing up as a little one.

Speaker 2: 1:44

But it really came to a point when I got into acting. It was in 2003 when I started, but it was 2008 when the idea hit me. I was doing a film called Hunger and I was acting opposite of this actor named Lyndon Ashby. I wasn't even on camera at the time, it was just filming him. But when they yelled cut, he reached over and shook my hand like I pulled his kid out of a fire, and I was okay and it took me a little while to realize it. But even though I wasn't acting, I was present in the moment and that's what allowed him to be a better actor in the moment himself, because a lot of times when people aren't camera, they're just dry, blah, blah, blah, whatever they don't.

Speaker 2: 2:24

They're not thinking about the other actor, so the other actor. It's hard for them to give the best performance. In that situation where I was even though not in my character I was present. So it was that moment that kind of triggered all and made me realize that everything that I had done, that gave me all these tools and techniques, was teachable. Someone had done it ahead of time via acting tools and techniques.

Speaker 1: 2:48

That is absolutely amazing. Can you tell me a little bit more?

Speaker 2: 2:55

Oh, absolutely Like I said, it unpacks a lot. I like to think of it like this A submarine is underwater, right, it can't see anything. It's sonar. It has to rely on that. So it shoots out a ping. These pings come back. It lets you know if there's other submarines, if there's ships on the surface, where the ground is, if there's a whale next to it. That's what some of these tools and techniques work on.

Speaker 2: 3:19

One is being the Stanislavski system. It's based off of seven questions. Stanislavski said it's based off of seven questions. Um, stanislavski is this Russian guy. He transformed, acting like.

Speaker 2: 3:28

I feel like it's a mistake, you can call it acting anymore. It's more about being and becoming. He made it philosophical, um, but in, in the simplest essence, he broke it down into seven questions. And he also has something that goes along with these seven questions. It's called the Stanislavski's magic. If. His magic if is kind of like my holodeck, it's a what if? Thought experiment. Both of those things are thought experiments. So basically, you go into a scene and you run it and then you start back. Okay, what if this happens? You know what if this happens? So you just change it, like if I'm going into a job interview, I can. What if that situation six different ways easy that I go into it. I'm more prepared than the person next to me who's going to that job interview the first time in real time. Anyway, going back to the Stanislavski system, seven questions.

Speaker 2: 4:17

These questions are designed to break down a moment. Now, when I read these questions, you'll realize that these aren't just for acting. These are life questions that people fail to answer. Number one is who am I? This is the moment in relation to you. This is a Greek philosophical question. I mean, it goes way back, but it's important because it grounds you in the moment, lets you know who you are, what's your role in the moment? Number two where am I? This is the moment in relation to the environment.

Speaker 2: 4:46

You are in number three when is it? This is the moment in relation to time, like if I'm, you know, driving to work. Do I want to drive through rush hour? You got to be aware of those, uh.

Speaker 2: 4:57

Number four what do I want? This is the moment in relation to purpose. Number five why do I want it? This is the moment in relation to purpose. Number five why do I want it? This is the moment in relation to desire. It's important to know both of these questions, because if you're not doing something that you want, you could be doing something someone else wants. That's why you have to differentiate. It's not just about what you're doing, it's why you're doing it. Number six how do I get it? This is the moment in relation to action. What are you physically going to do? What's your plan to make it happen? And number seven what's in my way? This is the moment in relation to obstacles.

Speaker 2: 5:30

So, basically, as an actor, I would take these seven questions, break down every moment in the script, beat by beat by beat, not just a scene, every moment, and in those moments, as I ask these questions, all these answers would arise and that allows me to make more choices. What I'm saying is, if you take these and use it in life, it works the same way, because growing up as a kid, let's tell you that it's like make good choices, don't be stupid. But what is that? It's a platitude. It doesn't tell me what to do. These seven questions are designed to break down a moment to let you find out. Oh, oh, there's all these other things in here going on that I'm not even paying attention to. It's situational. That's what we call it in the military.

Speaker 2: 6:11

I'm saying there's a complete system that allows us to give emotional and mental literacy to mankind. Because when we gave humankind written literacy, it changed the world. When we gave them numeric literacy, it changed the world. I'm arguing well, when we gave them numeric literacy changed the world. I'm arguing well, if we gave them a systemic way to teach them mental and emotional literacy, why would they change the world? Like with adolescents, we all go through it. We all go through adolescence, but there's not a real answer to give our children. Okay, this is what you do, this is how you can buff yourself up. It's just like hey take care.

Speaker 1: 6:49

See you on the other side.

Speaker 2: 6:50

Make good choices. What I'm saying is that we teach these children, these children, these systems side by side in their youth and elementary. By the time they hit adolescence they're going to be emotionally buff, like when I went to the Marine Corps boot camp I was dying physically. There was other kids who ran three miles in 16. And change those kids. It was easy for them because they got they worked out. They were athletes beforehand. So I'm saying if we give our little ones a chance to become mental and emotional athletes in elementary school by the time they hit adolescence it's not going to be so bad for them.

Speaker 1: 7:24

I think that makes a lot of sense, and I was picturing if you are, for example, at work talking to a coworker about a project, versus at home trying to figure out what your kid wants to eat. Those are two completely different versions of yourself. You're not going to talk to those people the same way and you have to go through that script. Well, who am I? What do I want here? What do I want from them? At work? It's going to be totally different than at home, or even as an entrepreneur. So can you tell me a little bit about how I, as an entrepreneur, might be able to apply some of these acting tips to, for example, making videos?

Speaker 2: 8:05

right, we're all acting for example, making videos, right, we're all acting. This goes hand in hands with it, because it allows you to open up more roles. It's like, okay, who are you in this moment? You are a host, so it allows you to see. Okay, as a role, as a host, what am I here to do? Yeah, and like, you may have to answer these questions because you've done this, but this is like basics for someone just starting out.

Speaker 2: 8:27

So, as a host, my job is to make a welcoming environment for my guests, make something also that's palpable for my audience. You know it can't be over their head, it can't be below them, it's got to be in their range because if not, they're not going to enjoy it. So it allows you all those things Breaking down what do you want? Want, like, what is the purpose of your podcast? Why are you? Because if, if you're, if you're just doing something to do it, the energy is not going to be the same as if you have that. Why? Because most people don't realize, like when somebody says, oh, you're so passionate, you're so intense, that's just emotional energy that someone has used to their advantage as a tool for their life. So if you understand these things now, you can take that you understand your why and your what. Take that emotional energy, push through it. Now you have potency.

Speaker 2: 9:15

So, like I say, there's, there are all these little tools that are out there because, I mean, the entertainment industry has flushed all them out. It's just we don't look to like actors to have this kind of knowledge because they're generally not supposed to. But in this one instance we have to appreciate. It's like if you look at arts metal workers work with metal, glass workers with glass, musicians with instruments, paintbrush painters with paints and brushes. An actor works with the human mind and emotion. That's the marble we chisel. But the rub is we don't have a mind and emotions for the stage in life. So these masters, 100 years ago, when they started creating these tools and techniques for actors in the imaginative, never thought of the implications that, oh wait, these work throughout everything in life because they can enhance that Like, even as an entrepreneur.

Speaker 2: 10:05

These seven questions yeah, they work for you, but guess who else? They work for your employees. If you need your employees and develop them as individuals, that would develop them as employees, you know, just as a byproduct. So you can take these tools and strengthen your whole workforce, because nobody's really thinking about that. The whole, the whole game. Name of the game is to make everybody the same, but that doesn't work because you always run into that thing where you're in the boardroom it's like all right, let's come up, let's think outside the box. Guys, how are you going to ask people to think outside the box when you've trained them to be inside the box their whole life? Yeah, anything else outside of all the possibilities.

Speaker 2: 10:44

It's kind of like that concept of multiple personalities where there's different versions of you and all these other universes. I'm saying, with all your best selves, pull them out of those universes and stick them into you mentally and emotionally so you can pull out the best version of you at any point in time. Because, like you're saying earlier, you wouldn't be certain uh versions of you. It's in uh common speech we call it code switching. What I'm saying this is hyper code switching, this is spiritual shapeshifting.

Speaker 2: 11:10

So tuxedo at the beach, maybe for wedding photos, but mostly not. So you wouldn't be with some versions, like I wouldn't act the same way in front of grandma as I would my buddies in the bar. So if you develop yourself with all these different versions, you have a whole wardrobe of different versions of you that you can pull in and out of the moment. So when I go to a party oh where's the life of the party version? I'm going to take that guy out and bring him out, because things like even like stage fright or standing in front of public speaking all that really is is not known. People haven't answered all those moments. If you answer all the beats and all the moments, you're not going to have stage fright. It's easy, unless you have like clinical agoraphobia or something like that or one of those, something clinical.

Speaker 2: 11:54

But if it's, not clinical yeah, you can grow past it. It's everything in life is a learned skill. Do you have the tools and techniques to learn those skills? What I'm saying is these are them. We're just overlooking them.

Speaker 1: 12:08

Yes, and I have an acting coach. And the reason that I have an acting coach is because we do get on stage as entrepreneurs. And it's not that I'm acting like I'm not acting with you and be like, oh my God, you're so funny, like that's not. That's not the type of acting we're talking about here. Right, we're talking about acting when you're taking selfies. Right, if you're making a surprise face, like that's acting and you're living.

Speaker 1: 12:36

What my coach says is you're living truthfully under imaginary circumstances. And so when does that apply? Like, when I'm sharing my story and I'm talking about how, you know, I found out that I had the back of a disabled elderly woman when I was 21,. You know, I found out that I had the back of a disabled elderly woman when I was 21. Right, when I'm on stage and I'm developing that story, my coaches taught me slow down, get into the moment, feel that that you felt when you were in that doctor's office, and then your story is going to come across to your audience. You're going to be memorable. You are going to stand out from everybody else who gets up and they're like tip one is to do this right. Um, because now there's depth, now there's emotion, um, do you agree with that? Like, what do you think about um acting in and presenting?

Speaker 2: 13:33

it's the same thing. It's one like I said, it's all the same thing, because it's also what refers to an acting as the illusion of the first time. Because, yeah, you get it the same way, because think about broadway. Broadway actors have performed the same show eight times a week and every time they do it for an audience that has to believe this is the first time it's ever happened. You have that same thing Because if you have a presentation, that's telling your story, how many times have you told it?

Speaker 2: 13:59

But every time you have to have the illusion of the first time. That's for your audience, not for you. But again, it's knowing these tools and techniques and how to bring forth that. That gives you more and that's what makes people want to come back to see you. That gives you more and that's what makes people want to come back to see you. And again, it's like the great actors not only do they have the illusion of the first time, but they can perform the same role in different ways by just little shifts in there. It's like when you take an angle, yeah, it's small here, but when it gets out there it's huge. You can do the same thing in acting just a small emotional shift by the time you get to the end of the show.

Speaker 1: 14:32

It's a profound difference yes, um, and I think that's so important and you need to be able to do that as an entrepreneur when you're doing presentations with your different audiences, because not all your audiences are going to be receptive to the same. Like, if you laugh at a joke, well, you might be with a really serious crowd and they don't want you to joke. Well, you might be with a really serious crowd and they don't want you to giggle right. But you might be with a group of people that have gone through what you've gone through and they're just cracking up Like you share a trauma, and then you guys are laughing together.

Speaker 1: 15:04

So you're like oh yeah, that happened to me too, and so it's just really important to work with someone where you can practice those things, someone who can say hey, now try this line like Joey from Friends, now try this line, like if you were Big Bird, now like Elmo. And it feels kind of silly at first and you're like what? But that is where you learn to play and you learn how those tiny little shifts that you're talking about, because it's going to be very different if I sit here and I talk to you like this and the whole podcast. I'm just talking to you like this right, and so there's a reason why I get closer to the camera when things are getting exciting, or you back up because you're like right, and those are the little things that make your presentations different. They make them stand out, and that's why you got to work with someone like Jim right.

Speaker 2: 15:56

But again, going back to what you're saying in the beginning, it's kind of like that film, the Karate Kid, where Daniel didn't understand why am I waxing the car? Why am I painting a fence? It seems stupid. I'm here to learn one thing that's how acting is. We're teaching you the basics, teaching you the rules. So once you get in there now, you can break the rules like an artist, and it's like even the skills. You're talking about two arenas alongside acting Comedy, stand-up comedy and improv are great places to find tools, because in comedy stand-up comedy especially you learn how to read a room, and that's what you need in a presentation, because even though you're given the same information over and over again, the room temperature can change.

Speaker 2: 16:39

So if you've learned the techniques of how to read, now you have, you can change in real time instead of doing a show that just falls apart. You can redirect in that moment, recalibrate and now still give a great performance for an audience that wasn't as receptive in the beginning. But again, these are tools and techniques that are out there. It's just nobody's thinking to look here for it.

Speaker 1: 16:56

Yes, and let me tell you, reading a room is a skill in itself, because you get up on that stage and everybody looks like a statue and there's people in the audience who were like, what are you talking about? They were clapping, they were laughing, they were nodding. I was like I didn't see any of that. They just look like this. So, from you know, from up on the stage, you you can't even tell. Like there's so many things happening that sometimes, unless they're literally jumping up and down, it's really hard to tell. So even learning to read a room in itself is is something that is so powerful. I love that.

Speaker 2: 17:27

I love that, jim, so um, oh, sorry, I was just gonna say part of that is emotional reading, because once you start feeling because that's like I would say, it's like working out at a gym working out your muscles you get in there and you exercise your muscles with weights In emotion work, it's feeling. You have to feel these emotions truly in imaginary circumstances.

Speaker 1: 17:50

You're feeling them really and the more you feel them, the more you feel them, the more they grow and the more access you have to, and then when you do, you can exchange back and forth so you can feel the emotional energy of that like you're reading it in real time without getting sucked into that emotion, being able to access it, but also like there's also like you got to heal all that trauma and stuff so that you can, you're not stuck in there and you don't leave your audience there, because the last thing you want is to share something super meaningful and then go home and you can't leave your room for three weeks because it brought up a bunch of stuff. And so that's where practicing being, you know, with a mentor, like an acting coach, because it it takes a lot out of you, and especially when you're sharing and you don't realize it until you do, and then you talk for five minutes and you're like I need, I need a nap, like what, what, what just happened there? And it's because it is, it's exhausting, and so that is fantastic. I think it's awesome to to have an acting coach, to be like an entrepreneur. And if you want to be a speaker, if you want to be doing presentations, if you want to be a better podcast host, a better podcast guest, you want to get on TV, you need to work with someone on your Dixon, you need to work with someone on your presence, you need to work with someone on your background and you know. That is why acting coaches are so essential in entrepreneurship.

Speaker 1: 19:15

And I know that sounds really really weird and I never thought I would say that when I started in this journey. But working with an acting coach really, really, really, has changed my life and made me more confident. Because now I know okay, you don't sound like a chipmunk, because you know, we all think when we hear our own voices, we're like, oh my god, I'm like I sound like a chipmunk, because you know, we all think when we hear our own voices, we're like, oh my god, I'm like I sound like a chipmunk. Um, but when you have an acting coach and they're like, no, you're doing well, like your presence is good, and you're like, okay, cool, I'm not just winging it, I don't know what the heck is going on.

Speaker 1: 19:45

I know that when I pull back here and I have a, a three second gap, right, that's on purpose, because now we're creating this tension. And I have a three-second gap, right, that's on purpose, because now we're creating this tension where I'm going to drop something beautiful and then, if I speed it up, I know that something oh my God, exciting is happening Right. And so those little things, those tiny little things that you learn with an acting coach, so absolutely fantastic. Let me know.

Speaker 2: 20:12

Jim, how can the audience keep in touch with you? Um, real quick, I just wanted to add one thing to what you're saying about that. Weird about it it's. We feel like it's weird because it's new to us. But think about it really. Like presidents, senators, um, all important officials, all of them, they don't have an acting coach. They have a team of people doing this, a team of people giving them a script. You know, make sure the lights, make sure the makeup, all of that stuff. It's common and routine. It's just we don't see it because it's behind the curtains. You're just pulling back the curtain, that's all that's happening. And you're realizing how weird that world is, but you're doing the right thing. I mean, there's more that can be done. It's just it is. It's a weird world because we're creating an illusion to get people to see what we're trying to present, and it is. We're on stage every day.

Speaker 2: 21:01

As to get in touch with me, I would say it's. There's two ways. Mainly, I'm reaching out, having people reach out. One is through my website. It's a wwwtbcentnerprisescom and that's Tango Bravocentnerprisescom and that's tangobravucharlieenterprisescom, and my other is if you could check out my book, it's on Amazon right now. It's All your Best Sells, hold on. I got a picture.

Speaker 1: 21:28

That's what it looks like. Oh, I love it. I got my author copy here too. Check it out.

Speaker 2: 21:36

We're twinsies with a line oh yeah, I love it. Yeah, that's right, fantastic. Yeah, it's a, it's, it was something. Uh, I'm not a writer, it's just I. I just yeah, I just find myself in these situations where I just do things and I push forward. But yeah, it's out there. If you get a chance, just uh, purchase a copy. Please review it for me. That'd mean a lot to me because I mean you know yourself to review her as well. There, it's important to get those awesome.

Speaker 1: 22:06

That is amazing, all right, and so, before we sign off, I want to know what are some acting tips. What is your main, biggest, juiciest acting tip for entrepreneurs?

Speaker 2: 22:18

Entrepreneurs. Be an active listener, be curious. Those are two of the main things. Be curious about everything that's going on. Why it's going on? Because you don't realize it's easy to paint a broad brushstroke over things. Oh, this is why this, no, look deeper, because if you do, you save good employees and you catch the bad ones sooner, because that's a big issue. Right there, when you're just tossing the baby out with the bath water, you can lose a good guy. So, like I say, be present in the moment always and be curious.

Speaker 1: 22:53

I love that. That is fantastic. This has been absolutely wonderful. Jim, I appreciate you hanging out here with us today. Make sure you go check out his book on Amazon and I will make sure that the link is down below. And are you on social media?

Speaker 2: 23:09

Yeah, I just started up less than a year ago. It's Soy Candy S-O-I-c-a-n-d-i-e, but yes, I am on social media now.

Speaker 1: 23:17

I'm learning my role. That is amazing. All right, so make sure that you check out his book, go to his website and, of course, follow him on social media. And we will see you guys next time on the next episode of overcome yourself, the podcast. Thanks so much.

Speaker 2: 23:32

Bye take care.