Wake up everyday as if you’re a tourist! NYC itself is enough to bring back that childlike imagination — if you can allow yourself to feel those butterflies every day, it transfers into your acting! It’s a sure remedy against, burn out, which is actually (I think), a perfectly normal feeling to have. So I guess the trick is to recognize we all get that from time to time, but you need to remember to find your childlike love of the city! That, and read good books! Haha I’m serious, if you always have a library book on hand — it’s an escape into itself, and takes you on a mental vacation — that’s important in an industry where your ringer is on 24/7.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Mila Milosevic. Mila is a NYC based award winning actress and singer. Mila was born and raised in Serbia, and moved to United States to pursue her dreams of acting and singing as a professional. Since then, she’s appeared in numerous films, webseries, TV, and national & international commercials.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I love the journey of learning about other people and their stories — to jump into a character and to see life from their perspective is thrilling, and serves as my constant education to better understanding the world in which we live in. Every human has all the elements of the world inside of them — love, hate, good and bad — the process of learning about others allows me a deeper connection to history and the past, present, and perhaps, even the future!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

I booked an international commercial, and I was flown to Warsaw, Poland. It was so thrilling to be escorted back across the Atlantic, as a professional actor — retracing the original journey I took from Europe as a teenager when I came to the United States — with only the cliche “suitcase and a dream”!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I’m not sure if it’s a mistake persay, but I booked a job where I literally had to learn how to ride a hoverboard in about an hour — and then do a full shoot as if I was a master rider! They say doing a part with an accent takes up a lot of brainspace, try acting and staying in character while you nonchalantly drift across streets and neighborhoods as a first time pilot! Side note: I did not crash, but I was on mental high alert for a few days after! The real lesson from that though was we can actually do more than we think we can. I really didn’t think I would be able to learn it so quickly, but when we trust ourselves and get into that actor zone, magic can happen!

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I just wrapped on a Christmas feature film that co-starred Julie McCullough from “Growing Pains”, which will premiere at the Hoboken International Film Festival. It will be such a great feeling to return to that festival as the lead in a feature film, a year after I won “Best Supporting Actress” there. I’ll be recording songs for the soundtrack as well. It’s a great start to 2019! After years of hard work, things are really taking off now, and I’m enjoying a front seat to the action!

Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

I’ve worked alongside a few celebrities and interesting people; I got to interact with June Squibb on a short called “The Visit”, and she was very lovely — a role model for how you want your career to evolve. And one of my favorite, and most interesting people I had the pleasure to interact with during my career was my singing teacher in Budapest, Maria Szel. She is the epitome of kindness and patience, two values I find essential in this, and any other career path. No matter how bad of a day I, or she was having, she approached every interaction in a sweet, honest and kind matter. Her positivity shines through her entire being, and you can’t help but feel hopeful about life when around her. I’m hoping be just like that, to everyone I meet.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Wake up everyday as if you’re a tourist! NYC itself is enough to bring back that childlike imagination — if you can allow yourself to feel those butterflies every day, it transfers into your acting! It’s a sure remedy against, burn out, which is actually (I think), a perfectly normal feeling to have. So I guess the trick is to recognize we all get that from time to time, but you need to remember to find your childlike love of the city! That, and read good books! Haha I’m serious, if you always have a library book on hand — it’s an escape into itself, and takes you on a mental vacation — that’s important in an industry where your ringer is on 24/7.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I really believe in the “one simple thing” theory. Do something good everyday — whether it be for another person, the environment, a pet, a loved one — do something kind and good every day. It pays huge dividends in such a short amount of time. I’m also a big on reducing waste, recycling and composting — and I would love if everyone reading this allowed themselves to experience composting first hand, at least once. It helps our farming neighbors build back the soil (that we eat from!), and teaches us to be conscious of what we waste.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Don’t hold back when you have an instinct to go for something in a scene.
2. There is a great power in stillness for the camera.
3. Always project, get away from the idea that “whispearing” is ok for Film and TV. Your vocal support eradicates and the energy drops. If you watch the old movies, all the actors support their voices fully, at all times — and it carries the story in such a powerful and interesting way.
4. Don’t sweat “Father Time” — just keep doing the work, and much like a baseball batting average, the hits will start to fall in.
5. Acting is fun! Remember that and go forward with a smile on your face.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“While one person hesitates because they feel inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior” -Henry C. Link. When I started as an actor, I was striving to be a “perfectionist”, when I should have been striving to make more mistakes! Jump in the pool and figure out the way as you go — it’s much more stimulating and you’ll get places so much faster.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’m grateful to my mother and father, for believing in me and helping me achieve my dream of coming to the United States — they sacrificed so much to do so. And my husband, who is also a director and actor, for sharing his journey with me, so that my path can be a more condensed one!

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂

Emma Watson! To me, she embodies all the things I strive to be: a true professional, a humanitarian, and your own person. So Emma, let’s grab tea sometime when you’re in the city!

How can our readers follow you on social media? I would love to connect with your readers! Here are my handles:

Instagram: @missmilam

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MilaMNYC/

Twitter: @MilaMNYC

Website: http://www.milamilosevic.com

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational!

Actress Mila Milosevic on why you should wake up everyday as if you’re a tourist was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.