I stumbled across this random YouTube video a few weeks ago about acting like a movie star to get what you want and honestly, It made me rethink everything about how I’ve been building my business.
Not in some vague manifestation way where you just visualize success and hope the universe delivers it to your doorstep. But in a very real, tangible way that’s been showing up in how I create content, launch offers, and show up for my business every single day.
Let me walk you through what I mean, because this isn’t about pretending to be someone you’re not or faking some level of confidence you don’t actually feel.
It’s about something way more practical and interesting than that.
What I Noticed About Movie Stars That Changed My Perspective
When you watch a movie star, not just on screen where they’re playing a character, but in real life at interviews or events or even just walking through an airport, there’s something distinctly different about how they carry themselves compared to everyone else in the room.
They take up space without shrinking themselves to make other people comfortable.
They speak with this quiet certainty even when they’re being completely vulnerable or admitting they don’t know something. They move through the world like they already know they belong exactly where they are, doing exactly what they’re doing, becoming exactly who they’re becoming.
And what really struck me while watching that video was realizing that movie stars aren’t born with this energy already installed in their DNA. They develop it over time. They practice it deliberately. They show up as the version of themselves they’re growing into long before they’ve actually arrived at that destination yet.
That realization completely changed how I thought about building my business, because when I really examined how I’d been showing up, I realized I’d been doing the complete opposite of this.
I’d been waiting to feel successful before I could allow myself to act like someone successful.
Waiting for proof that I belonged before I took up any real space. Waiting for some external validation that I was allowed to be confident about what I was building.
And all that waiting was keeping me stuck in the exact same place I’d been trying to leave.
The Version of Me That Stayed Small
Three years ago when I was working as a hotel receptionist, I had this whole elaborate dream about building an online business and traveling and creating a life that actually felt like mine instead of something I was just tolerating until something better came along.
But the way I actually showed up every single day? It completely contradicted everything I said I wanted.
I’d spend my lunch breaks scrolling through other people’s Instagram stories from Bali or reading their blog posts about working from beautiful cafes somewhere, and I’d feel this strange combination of inspiration and complete defeat washing over me at the same time.
Like yes, obviously I wanted that life.
But also, who was I to think I could actually have it? I was just some girl behind a reception desk barely making enough money to cover my rent in a tiny studio.
The version of me back then moved through life trying to take up as little space as possible. Always apologizing for existing. Constantly second-guessing every single decision before I even made it.
I’d have ideas for content I wanted to create and immediately talk myself out of posting them because “who would even care what I have to say about this?” I’d think about starting my blog and within seconds spiral into “but I’m not an expert in anything, I don’t have any special credentials, I haven’t even done the thing I want to eventually teach other people how to do yet.”
I was waiting for someone to tell me I was allowed to want what I wanted. Waiting for proof that I deserved to take up space. Waiting for validation that I wasn’t completely delusional for thinking I could build something that mattered.
Movie stars don’t spend years of their lives waiting for someone else to give them validation before they start showing up as who they want to become.
What Actually Changed When I Started Paying Attention
After watching that video, I started noticing how I was showing up in my business with way more awareness than I’d ever had before.
And I kept noticing this uncomfortable pattern everywhere I looked.
Even though I’d already quit my hotel job by this point and had been building my business for years, I was still carrying myself like someone who didn’t actually belong in the room.
Like I’d just gotten lucky to be here and any minute now someone was going to figure out I had no idea what I was really doing and expose me as a complete fraud.
That energy was bleeding into absolutely everything I created.
My emails felt hesitant and uncertain, like I was constantly asking for forgiveness for taking up space in someone’s inbox. My content felt apologetic, like I needed to justify why anyone should listen to me at all.
My offers felt like I was begging for approval instead of confidently presenting something genuinely valuable that could help someone.
And the more I paid attention to this pattern, the more I started noticing it show up in really specific ways.
In how I’d qualify absolutely every statement I made with “I think” or “maybe” or “this might not be totally accurate but.” In how I’d over-explain and justify every single tiny decision I made in my business.
In how I’d apologize in advance for taking up people’s time or showing up in their inbox or asking them to actually pay money for something I created.
None of that carries the energy of someone who knows what they’re building matters.
Movie stars don’t apologize for taking up space in the world. They don’t qualify their right to exist in a room. They don’t spend energy trying to convince people they deserve to be seen.
So I started asking myself a completely different question every single time I sat down to create something or show up for my business in any way.
What would the version of me who’s already where I want to be do in this exact situation?
What This Actually Looks Like When You’re Building a Business
This isn’t about developing some fake persona you put on like a costume when you sit down at your laptop. It’s not about pretending to be someone you’re not or manufacturing confidence you don’t genuinely feel.
It’s about showing up as the version of yourself you’re actively growing into, even though you haven’t fully arrived at that destination yet.
When I sit down to write an email to my list now, I don’t start from a place of “I really hope people don’t mind that I’m emailing them again this week” or “maybe this topic isn’t actually interesting enough to send.”
I start from “I created something valuable and the people on my list are going to genuinely appreciate receiving this.”
That completely changes the energy of everything I write.
The email becomes confident instead of apologetic. It’s direct instead of wishy-washy and uncertain. It delivers actual value instead of just radiating anxious energy hoping someone finds it useful.
When I create an offer or launch something new, I don’t think “I really hope someone out there wants to buy this” or “maybe I should lower the price because this might be too expensive for people.”
I think “this is a genuinely incredible offer and the exact right people are going to be so excited when they see what I created for them.”
That confidence shows up in how I write the sales page, in how I talk about the offer when I’m launching it, in the energy I bring when I’m showing up to sell it.
When I post content anywhere like on my blog, in my emails, on social media when I occasionally remember to post there, I don’t second-guess whether it’s good enough or spend hours worrying about what people might think when they read it.
I share it from the perspective of someone who already knows their thoughts and experiences and perspective matters, someone who trusts that the right people will find it and resonate with it exactly as it is.
This isn’t arrogance and it’s not manufactured confidence that I don’t actually feel. It’s just refusing to shrink myself down to make other people more comfortable.
It’s taking up the space my business actually needs to grow instead of apologizing for existing.
The Part That Actually Makes This Work
The interesting thing about acting like a movie star in your business is that it’s not really about the acting part at all.
It’s about the alignment part.
Movie stars understand something most people building businesses don’t quite grasp yet.
They understand that who you’re becoming is just as real as who you are right now, and you don’t have to wait until you’ve fully arrived at that destination before you can start embodying that version of yourself.
When I was still working hotel reception but dreaming about building an online business and traveling, those dreams weren’t less real just because they hadn’t manifested in physical reality yet.
That future version of me who was living in Bali and working from cafes and building something that mattered… she was just as real as the version of me standing behind that reception desk feeling stuck and frustrated.
The only difference between those two versions was time and consistent action and showing up every day as the person I was becoming instead of staying stuck as the person I currently was.
That’s what movie stars do brilliantly.
They show up as the A-list version of themselves long before they’ve actually reached A-list status. They carry themselves with the confidence of someone who’s already made it, which is exactly what allows them to actually make it.
Building a business works the same way.
You can’t wait until you feel completely successful to start showing up with the energy of someone successful.
You can’t wait until you have thousands of followers to start creating content like someone whose voice matters.
You can’t wait until you’ve made six figures to start carrying yourself like someone building something valuable.
You have to embody that version of yourself now, while you’re still building, while you’re still growing, while you’re still figuring everything out as you go.
What Changed For Me When I Started Doing This
The practical results of showing up differently in my business have been pretty undeniable honestly.
My content performs better because it’s confident instead of apologetic.
People can feel the difference in energy between someone who knows what they’re sharing matters versus someone who’s constantly questioning whether anyone even cares.
My offers sell better because I’m presenting them from a place of genuine confidence in their value instead of hoping someone might take pity on me and buy something.
Confidence is magnetic and it makes people want to be part of what you’re building.
My business grows more naturally because I’m not constantly shrinking myself down or hiding or waiting for someone to tell me I’m allowed to want what I want. I’m just showing up fully as myself and trusting that’s exactly what my business needs from me.
But the bigger result, the one that matters more than any metric or income number is that I actually enjoy building my business now in a way I never did when I was showing up small and apologetic and uncertain all the time.
There’s so much freedom in just taking up space unapologetically. In showing up as the version of yourself you’re becoming. In refusing to wait for some external validation before you start acting like someone who belongs exactly where you are.
Movie stars figured this out a long time ago.
And It’s about time the rest of us building businesses caught up with them.
💌 Want more honest thoughts about building a business that actually feels good? My Saturday email diaries go deeper – real stories, real struggles, real wins from building a soft digital empire between Bali and Europe.
