I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the things we carry with us from one chapter of our lives into another.

Sometimes we don’t even realize we’re carrying them.

For me, one of those things is acting.

I spent years as a professional actor…technically I still am.

And when I moved into coaching, strategy, facilitation and the other work I’ve done since, I thought I was moving on to something different.

Turns out, I brought a lot more of acting with me than I realized.

And here’s what’s really interesting:

Some of those skills might be more valuable today than they were when I started acting.

Think about how much of our lives now happens through a camera.

Zoom meetings.

Job interviews.

Sales conversations.

Online workshops.

LinkedIn videos.

Presentations.

Podcasts.

Even a quick video sent from the phone in your pocket.

We are all, to some degree, on camera now.

And being good on camera isn’t really about being a good actor.

It’s about being present.

It’s about listening.

It’s knowing what you’re communicating before you even open your mouth.

It’s understanding your body.

Your voice.

Your energy.

Your timing.

And perhaps most importantly, it’s knowing the difference between performing and connecting.

That’s something actors learn pretty quickly.

The camera picks up more than we think it does.

It notices when we’re uncomfortable.

When we’re trying too hard.

When we’re waiting for the other person to stop talking so we can say the thing we’ve been rehearsing in our head.

But it also picks up curiosity.

Confidence.

Ease.

Connection.

Presence.

These aren’t acting skills.

They’re human skills.

And they’re increasingly important in a world where so much of our interaction happens through a screen.

It makes me think differently about my own past.

There are things I learned as an actor that I assumed belonged solely to that chapter of my life.

They don’t.

I’ve just found different places to use them.

And I suspect you have some of those, too.

Skills you developed in an old career.

Things you learned from a project that didn’t work.

Something you picked up raising kids, playing a sport, volunteering, making art, running a business, caring for someone, or simply navigating a difficult chapter.

We have a tendency to look at our lives in chapters.

That was then.

This is now.

But maybe we’re not leaving nearly as much behind as we think.

Sometimes the next thing is already hiding inside the last thing.

The trick is recognizing that an old skill might have a completely new job.

So here’s something to think about:

What’s something you’re unusually good at today because of a chapter of your life you thought you’d already left behind?

Until next time,