Meet Trailblazer Devon James

Today we’d like to introduce you to Devon James.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Devon. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I began acting like a child. However, I did not initially go to college to continue working in this field. After two years in broadcasting, I began to feel creatively stifled. In my 3rd year of college, I received an acting scholarship and decided to shift gears to earn a BFA in performing arts.

Upon completion, I moved to the east coast and began working in theatres in the area. It wasn’t long before I realized that I did not want the life that so many others before me had lived. I did not want to be a gypsy traveling to regional theatre to the regional theatre with an empty NYC address. I did not want fame. I did not want to live in LA. I did not believe I had to starve to be fulfilled as an artist.

After 1.5 years in NJ, I landed a spot in a graduate program and decided that I would obtain my MFA and become a valuable component somewhere I truly wanted to live and raise a family. This decision led me to Denver. My actor husband and I have now lived here for eight years, have been married for ten, and have an incredible 5.5-year-old son. We work regularly and absolutely love our lives.

Over the last four years, I have been simultaneously serving clients online as a representative for a skincare brand. That work taught me a great deal about working and creating the online space. It also taught me about sharing services and creating additional streams of income that complimented my work as an actor.

It wasn’t long before I grew a strong pull to help actors do what I have done and seen the potentials I have seen. I didn’t want to teach them to live my life. I wanted to help them begin to live theirs. Our industry is filled with actors waiting for permission to do their work. They often leave their “success” in the hands of others. I set out to teach them about the opportunities that are out there for them, empower them to take the reins of their career and lean into our network rather than on the shoulders of people who do not put them first.

In ACTORS WITH INTENTION, I focus on mindset, continued growth, and community as our foundation for a thriving career. I offer free workshops, interviews with other Pros in the industry, and support. There are also paid programs to assist with breaking down the limiting beliefs that stand in the way of success in this industry and educating actors on how to create their own services to promote to build a more secure financial foundation for their career. AWI is not even a year old yet. August was the launch of this network and the first course I offered. We are still growing and evolving into space I am working for us to become. It is my dream and goal to have more artists making more money so that we can make more impactful art.

Has it been a smooth road?
Nothing worth achieving is easy. We only ever truly appreciate our dreams when they are birthed from contrast. When I first started acting, people had so many opinions. My own mother was afraid of my failure. When you are working on anything… especially when your dreams are unlike anything else someone you know has done, people are very good at projecting their fears and limiting beliefs onto you.

You have to have a vision and know why you want something. You cannot see the “HARD” as stop signs. They are clarifying moments to bring you to exactly where you want to be. When you know WHY you want something and you have a vision that moves you, you become unstoppable.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a professional MFA Actor, Teaching Artist, and founder of Actors With Intention. Beyond my own creative work and educational services within different companies, I am building a network for actors where I also offer consulting services. This is where my passion and pride reside. My passion is within the service of others and lifting people within this industry to achieve more.

What sets Actors With Intention apart from everyone else is that I do not focus on acting methods or traditional training. You can get this from absolutely anywhere. I focus on the things that build careers: networking, mindset (breaking past your limiting beliefs, understand your potential, etc.) and training about the business of being a professional actor. AWI is more than just what I bring to the table. It’s about building up our people so that we all raise the bar together.

Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
Absolutely. I grew up poor. I grew up feeling like people wanted to see me fail. I grew up being told that I would have to be, do, and have more to be more. I grew up changing homes and schools on a somewhat regular basis. This constant change and this need to either overcome my circumstance or become a victim of them lit a fire in me that has shown me time and time again that I can achieve what I believe I can achieve.

I’ve learned while watching the people around me that we decide our “hard.” You can either work through the “hard” of becoming or work through the “hard” of your current circumstance. It can be “hard” to believe you can have and deserve more when you have only ever had very little. It can even feel selfish. However, I also learned that when I have little, I have less to give. If I want to give big, I need to grow big. Everything is all about perspective and I am thankful for the perspective my struggles have provided me.

Pricing:

• “Build Your Side Hustle”- For the Actor $37
• One on One Coaching $50/hr

Contact Info:

• Website: actorswithintention.com
• Email: actorswithintention@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actorswithintention_awi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/actorswithintentionpage

Image Credit:
For my black and white photo of me, please credit “Bekah Lynn Photography”

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