Create your own opportunities. Make genuine connections and keep in contact with that network, even if it is just once a year. Do not wait. Be prepared and willing to give all of yourself as an artist, come hell or high water, and keep creating. Vulnerability is a positive thing. This is a business, at the end of the day, and if you want longevity you have to understand how it works. Take a job behind the scenes, work for a manager or lawyer. Learn about contracts. Trust no one. Question everything presented to you. Don’t simply accept the answers. Go on your own journeys. Listen to your gut first then your heart. Step into worlds that you are frightened of and that you know little about so you can broaden your horizon. Every opportunity should be looked into. In this business we call “Show”, you have to be as soft as silk to enter it and as tough as nails to stay. My wise Italian grandmother who is no longer with us would say, “If you’re bashful, you lose. Don’t ever be afraid to go and get what you want in this life.” Go and get it!

 –Tamela D’Amico-