February 10, 2025 • 30 mins
In this episode, I sit down with Merrick McCartha, a seasoned actor and expert in presence and communication, to explore how executive presence isn’t just for boardrooms—it’s for everyone.
We dive into how confidence, clarity, and influence shape the way we show up in the world, whether you’re a leader, an advocate, a caregiver, or someone navigating spaces where your voice isn’t always heard. We discuss:
🎙️ How executive presence applies to self-advocacy, leadership, and career growth
🎙️ The role of body language, tone, and storytelling in commanding respect
🎙️ Strategies to navigate biases and own your space, no matter the setting
🎙️ Why true presence is about alignment, not just authority
Whether you’re leading a team, pushing for accessibility, or simply striving to be heard, this episode will show you how to cultivate presence with purpose.
🔊 Tune in now! 🎧 #ExecutivePresence #Leadership #OwnYourVoice
*****
SHOW NOTES
Follow on Instagram: @TheRealMerrickMcCartha
Website: www.MerrickMcCartha.com
*****
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Episode Transcript
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The following Earth Angel media presentation is brought to you commercial free as a gratuity from
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the sponsor producer named after the show. Please consider their message. Find other high value
shows listed at earthangelproject.com. Enjoy the show. Welcome to Leadership on Purpose,
the podcast series. I'm your host, Catherine, and this is where we shatter the status quo and
dive deep into the raw, unfiltered stories of those who are embracing their inner alignment.
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So if you're tired of the cookie cutter approach to success and you crave a life that resonates
with your true self, you are in the right place. So join me each week as we uncover powerful
insights from those who have had the courage to lean into their purpose, live authentically,
and create a life they remain for. This isn't just a conversation, it's a movement. This is
a revolution of authentic leadership where we don't just talk about change, we live it. And you can too.
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I am so excited to introduce you guys to my friend, Merrick MacArthur. You will probably have
remembered seeing him in a couple of different things. He's been in Scandal, 911, Curb Your
Enthusiasm. He's got a new show coming out on Amazon Prime that at this point we can't really
talk about yet. But he's, you know, he's been in the industry for a long time. And so I'm excited
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to have this chat with you and talk about all things transformational.
Good, as am I. As am I.
Thanks for coming by. So really what I think I'm interested in is, you know, you've been really
successful as a consistent working actor, which we know that that's not an easy thing.
No.
But obviously you found that your purpose is to be a storyteller and to tell stories through
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other characters, right? Like that's what you're doing. So how do you look at that through the
lens of your work? Like how do you look at different roles and say, you know, I think this
story is going to impact other people. Like what does that look like for you?
I think my approach to acting in general is that a good actor is going to connect with an
audience or viewer by showing them something that's honest within themselves, within the
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viewer. So me being honest with myself about this character and being honest about what's true for
me and connecting with this character tends to connect with the viewer, the audience. And most
good actors will tell you that, you know, that acting isn't about lying or playing. It's really
about telling the truth in a certain way.
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Oh, I love that.
Yeah. Yeah. So that's one trick about acting that people don't think about. I didn't know until I
worked for a while and trained and learned that acting is really about being honest.
Yeah. Yeah. How do you navigate that?
The challenges of rejection, like what, so obviously, you know, we all tell ourselves stories,
right? And I talk a lot on this podcast about the story that we tell ourselves and how that shapes
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our reality, because it creates, you know, those, we have a belief system, right? And that belief
system comes with different thoughts that then come with feelings that reinforce that belief
system. And if it's a story that's not telling, if it's a story that's not supporting the life that
you want to leave, live, then you got to figure out how to break that cycle. So how do you, when
you're facing so much rejection, as everybody does, I mean, you know, there's all the stories
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about these big A-listers that face all this rejection, right?
Yes.
So, you know, what does that process look like for you?
After a while, I learned that you can't look at it as rejection. For example, in audition,
you're sent this notice that you get to perform a scene for a casting director, and then they'll
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look at that scene and decide if you're right for the role. And then they'll look at that scene and
decide if you're right for the role. So now you've got something that maybe two dozen people,
well, these days, maybe a little bit more, have the opportunity to do, to prepare and perform in
front of a decision maker in the industry. Now, how often do you get to do that? Not really often,
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but this is what you've worked and you trained to do, to create a character for yourself that's true
for you and perform it for a person in the industry to see it, and to see how well you can connect.
Mm-hmm. So just because you don't get the job or book the role doesn't necessarily mean you
were rejected. Because when you think of rejection, you think, oh, I'm, you personalize, you say,
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I'm rejected as in I'm not good enough, as in they don't want me. But that's not what's really
happening in the acting business. That's not what's really happening. When you were called in for the
audition, they were interested to see what you do with this. They're interested in you. They've
accepted you simply because you got the audition. Yeah. So that's how I look at it. So if I don't
book the role, there's lots of reasons why you might not. Do they ever tell you like you're too
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short? Does that stuff really happen? Maybe in the old days, they said that stuff, but now they don't
tell you that. They don't tell you why. And lots of times there's reasons why you can maybe guess at,
but they don't tell you why. But sometimes if you look down the road and look back at who did
book the job that you got, you can kind of figure out why they got it. You can kind of tell, or you
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can see, Hey, it was just, they had a choice and that's what they wanted. And that's gotta be okay.
Because as an actor, if you look at the, the times you don't get the job as rejection over and over,
it will weigh on you and it will wear you down. And that's how a lot of actors burn out.
You know, it's so funny because I feel like on this show, I've talked to a lot of people in
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entertainment, mainly probably because we're shooting it in LA, but, but I like doing that
because it's so extreme on the rejection side. And I think every day, you know, leadership on purpose
is, is really about, you know, you're leading in your life every day, right? You're leading your
friends, your family, you're leading your kids, you're leading at work, you're doing, it's all,
it's very all encompassing, but we faced rejection, you know, probably a third of the amount of time
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that you do in the entertainment industry. And it's, it's, provides a lot of suffering for people.
So I think it's good to hear how you can flip the script on that and you can say, you know,
this is happening for me. It's not happening to me, right? Like you look at it from a different
lens. Yeah. You change your mindset about it and it really helps you emotionally. I mean, I've had
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starting out as an actor and I'll, I don't admit this to many people. Originally I lived in San
Diego when I first started out as an actor. I know I, and I learned down there, this is what I really
want to do. And so I ended up getting an agent up here and I was coming up for lots of commercial
auditions and I was coming up like a couple of times a week. I'm driving like three hours here
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and three hours back. So I would drive up and it'd be like a, a five minute audition. And I, they
wouldn't tell you if you booked the role then. So I'm just like, okay. And you drive and it was like,
it was, it was challenging and expensive and expensive. But it kind of taught me to really
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try to appreciate that, that opportunity for one. And now I look back and I go, wow, I was crazy
enough to put myself through that. So when I am hired for a job and all my time and experience for
this, I'm like, you know what, why I'm getting paid this ridiculous amount of money is because
I did stuff like that to get her. But you did stuff like that because you had a calling.
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You had an inner knowing. So when did you discover that? As a very young elementary student, I
was called up to do the class, was called up individually to sort of an improv,
wasn't called at the time. And I was normally shy as a little kid and I didn't know what was good.
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So the last second I got up there and I just, something happened, it clicked. And the class was
just on the floor laughing. And I'm like, huh, I have this thing where I can really connect with
people. And people like seeing me express myself. And that's what really started it. And it wasn't
until later on in life, because I thought, you know, growing up, I'm from Detroit, Michigan,
blue collar, you know, you work a real job, as they say, you don't risk it on crazy things like
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art or dancing or acting or poetry. But later in life, after accomplishing that real job stuff,
I said, you know what, I'm going to take this chance. And that was after I had a few experiences
in life when I was older, one, my mother passing away. And my mother passed away to, you know,
I think a relatively young age and it made, she had always encouraged me to act and I didn't.
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And so when I saw her, that she had passed away, I was like, you know what, I don't want to live the
rest of my life regretting not taking this chance or something that deep down, I feel like I want to
do. And so I just made the decision to start working and getting it done and getting involved
in doing it. So you made the decision. Yeah, it was an emotional. It was a sort of one of those
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moments where you're like, hey, what, what is the rest of my life going to be like? If I, if I don't
do this, what do I want to live with the regret of knowing I never tried to explore this thing that
I know I'm good at? Well, it's like that saying, and I'm going to screw it up because I don't know
the quote word for word, but basically it's when you're in your, you know, looking at your gravestone,
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you've got the years, but it's like really the dash in between that matters, right? It's like,
what did you do with that? What's that legacy? What are you leaving behind? Did you do what you
wanted to do? Or, you know, are you on that deathbed going, I wish I worked more hours? You know,
people say that all the time, but it's, you don't, right? You, you want to be fulfilled and you want
to be able to connect your purpose to your life. So you feel that fulfillment. And that's impressive
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that you actually took that, you took that chance and you made that decision. And a lot of what we
talk about on here and a lot of what I talk about with my clients is, you know, what, at what point
do you just make the decision that you deserve better for yourself? And that fulfillment and
purpose is going to be more important to you than anything else that you do. Because we're not here
to just suffer and grind it out. We're here to create a life that's magical. I mean, that's,
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that's what we're here for. So, and it's really, I think part of the journey is finding out what
that is, right? We all have, we're all so unique and we all have an inner genius. And it's like,
how do you strip away all the noise and really tap into that and figure out what that looks like?
And I think a lot of it's connected to transforming other people, right? Like really helping other
people. And, you know, I think as a storyteller, you know, you entertain people, you know, I've
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seen a lot of your stuff and I know you're very good and you're entertaining and you're fun,
you're easy to watch, right? Like I get lost watching you because I'm like, I forget that
you're Merrick the actor, like, you know, or Merrick the guy I know, you're, you're somebody on,
on a show, like you're a dad or you're, you know, I think I was watching 9-1-1 the other day,
actually. And I was like, oh yeah, there he is. And you're like yelling at someone and yeah.
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Thanks. Yeah. It's funny. Even as an actor, I watch a lot of things. I'm like watching the acting,
but I know I'm watching a good show and I forget about watching acting. And I'm just in this.
And I forget I'm watching you. I'm like, he makes a good cop.
Yeah. And again, these, the job is to help the audience see something real about themselves.
They can connect with, I don't know what you can call it. You know more about this than I do,
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but it's this thing where you see something that is maybe true for you in your life,
or you can like relate to something someone's going through, human as they are flawed as they
may be. It's like, yeah, I know what that's like. And in a sense, it gives you comfort, I guess,
that you're not alone in these feelings or these thoughts or whatever it is.
Yeah. No, I think that's, I mean, there's a resonance there, right? You know, it's like,
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you're like, okay, that's, I can resonate with that. And I feel like that's, there's a part of me.
I think we're all connected, right? We're all part of one consciousness. I think there's a
connection between everybody. And you know, when you can see part of your, you know, your fear in
someone else, there's a little bit of a comfort in that to be like, okay, well, I know that I can
get through this with, and it's, it's like human collaboration, you know, watching others and,
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and leaning on each other for that. So yeah, my experience with this is that navigating this
has been, I wasn't a mystic until I got older and started working the active energy, because it
seems so random. But then you start to think about the training that you're doing, the energy that
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you are projecting for yourself. For example, the rejection thing, if you're, if you're going
into an audition and you're thinking, oh, I'm gonna be rejected, and you have this negative thing
going in, you're gonna get rejected. You're not getting that job. You're not getting that job.
If you walk in and you're like, hey, I get to perform, I get to share what I got, more likely,
you're gonna bring out something real and true about yourself. They're gonna say, oh, yeah, that,
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that was nice. That was good. Yeah. Yeah. You know, so that's been my experiences is this energy
transfer experience where you've got to, you sort of got project or have this mindset of projecting
the positivity and the things that you want in your life. You've got to be able to project that
out to see it and have it manifest in your life. Well, and that goes along the lines of your human
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design chart that you pulled in. You're the project, aren't you the projector? I was gonna
ask you to explain it better to me because it's, I did it and it's a great, great chart.
And it said I'm a projector seer. A projector seer. I'm not an expert in human design. However,
I'm really interested in it because I think that it is a very, it's very directional for us to learn
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what our natural tendencies are. Yes. And so, you know, I'm a manifesting generator and so
we're different, but really at the end of the day, there's the similarities between a projector
and a manifesting generator are that we really lead with our enthusiasm and leaning into things
and we allow things to come to us without having to grind it out. So, you know, if you put it out
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there that there's something you are really interested in or that you want, right? You
have to just let it, you have to just trust the process that those things, if they're right for
you, are going to materialize without having to take immense efforts to be like, no, this has
to happen. I'm going to, without the controlling of it, right? It's really about trusting in your own,
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you know, in yourself and your own belief system that you're going to get to where you want to go.
But what's interesting about that too is if you look at your chart and you look at the way you
respond and the things that, if you are out of alignment, what your response is, like my response
when I'm out of alignment is frustration. And I've taken lots of different ones, you know,
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different, like the purpose factor, the purpose company just released the purpose factor assessment
and it was the same response, right? And that's more connecting your purpose to your work.
But it's all in line with all of these charts, right? So it's the same thing with human design
and the purpose factor is like, okay, I get frustrated when things aren't working or, you know,
and I respond by my intuition, like my gut. So like in the sacral chakra, right? So it's like,
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that's how I respond to things. So I know, like I really have to be intuitive and I have to
trust my own intuition. And so I've been really learning to lean into that for myself because
I'm like, yeah, that makes sense. And when I do those things, like, I think it's just a good
overview and a direction for your life. So when you really look at it, it's like, okay, when I
allow those things to just continue to be in my life, instead of fighting or having resistance
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against them, more things unfold, you know, and more things happen the way they should happen.
It's like going with the flow. And I talked about this the other day, but, you know, when people
say, you know, just go with the flow, they think it, some people think it's do what everybody else
is doing, but that's not what it means. It means like remove the resistance out of the things that
you want, right? Desire with no resistance equals desired result, right? So like, if you have
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something that you have a knowing about, you got to figure out how to get out of your own way,
you know, take that energy, that negative energy or that resistance out of your vibration and just
let it be and like, let things just unfold for you and like, look for the signs and look for
the ways that, you know, like even how you ended up, how we ended up here in this podcast, like I
look back on this happened in such a quick period of time. And it was all because I had a conversation
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with someone who was like, you should do this here. And I was like, okay, and I didn't do anything.
And they reached out to me. And then we had a conversation. And then like, all of a sudden,
you know, in three weeks, you know, we had this, this, all this kind of came together. And,
and it's been a vision of mine for a long time to look, to really put something together that was
transformative for people that they could connect with, that they could watch a show and walk away
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and be like, you know what, that I see myself in something he said, and now I can take that and I
can apply it to my life. And I can, you know, experience my own shift and my own change. That's
really what I want for people. And to know that you're not stuck living a life that you're not
proud of, that you're not being fulfilled with, that you're not excited about. So, you know,
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I love that about the, I love that about the, my design chart, it kind of gives you these guidelines,
like I think mine said something like I'm my, if I'm not in a line or if I'm not what I do,
and I'm not in alignment or not going for doing in the mode, the energy that I should be in,
that I'm bitter. And I go, huh. And so you, I look at these, and I always test like, okay,
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is this really true for me? And I look back, you know, I am never bitter. I'm not bitter about any
part of my career. I'm not bitter about losing any job that I ever did not get. And I wonder now,
hmm, did that, is that what's really been contributing to me kind of falling or propelling
or a combination of both forward because I've just been in this, the right kind of energy and
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not really realizing it. So it's nice to have something that can be a guide for you or even a
confirmation for you that you can run away from. Yeah, confirmation. I like that. Yeah. It's so
interesting. Yeah, interesting. So what's next for you? I am going to continue with my career
doing commercials and television shows. I'm doing the show coming up that I'm very excited about.
I wish I could tell you about it, but I cannot. I have a few commercials running right now. I
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think my career, a lot of it has been doing commercials and doing the sometimes the smaller
parts, but I've been on so many things, including print ads around town that I've been sort of
attacking the industry on a subconscious level. Like I'm in that, I'm on the side of a Gelson's
delivery truck that people don't realize they've seen today. I've seen you before.
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So I've been that guy. That's the guy that I've seen in that thing. And that's kind of,
I think, helped. And doing lots of auditions, not looking at them as rejection, realizing what they
are is relationship building with you and the casting person, which is what an audition is
meant to do, not to make you get the job. It's meant to help the casting office trust that you're
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going to do a great job on a role that they think you might be great for. That's kind of really
helped my attitude and my progression in the industry. It's funny, I have lots of friends that
are not working as much as they'd like to, when no actor really is. But I look at the ones that are
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not working barely at all and then I think about how I know them personally and the kind of
conversations we have about it and they're all very bitter and negative and just frustrated.
And I want to explain, hey listen, you want to get out of that energy because that's not helping you.
Do on my design chart. Yeah, and go find out what your purpose is.
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Find out what your purpose is. No, I think that your energy speaks
out more than anything you could ever say. And when you're not aware of what energy you're sitting in,
you could really create some resistance in your world. That's a scary thing. I mean, it depends.
It's like how much asleep are you, how awake are you to being aware of the story you're telling
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yourself, how you're feeling on a day-to-day basis. All those things, it's like the intangibles of the
human experience that are really important to keep yourself in check on if you really want to be able
to take yourself to another level. Yeah, I think that's the point of the limiting beliefs you might
have. I mean, the reason I didn't start in this industry sooner is because my limiting belief was
I could not succeed in a creative industry. I had to work in a nine-to-five corporate level job
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because I see other people doing it and that's what how it's supposed to be. And an art path is
a risk path and my belief was that was not something that would be feasible for me.
And it took me a while to realize that like anything, it takes time, it takes training,
and it takes practice. And that's what helps you to succeed in any industry. It's like shooting a
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basketball. I know you probably get basketball analogies a lot, but these basketball players,
you see what they're doing at practice, they're shooting prior to the game and you notice they're
shooting like all net shots like 30 times in a row. It's like they practice this over and over.
They didn't just come on the court and get this. It's the same with acting. It's like you've got to
really train and understand and realize what is effective for you and still be happy and love and
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have the love of this craft for yourself. And people will see that and that will bring you
the success. Even if you think it doesn't make sense, that's the mystical part of it, I think.
It's like it doesn't seem like you should get it just because you are trained to be good at it,
but that tends to be how it is. Yeah, for sure. For sure. Take me back to when you made that
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decision, right? You decided, okay, I'm going to leave the W-2 job. I'm going to go, I'm going to
make this acting. If someone's watching this going, yeah, like maybe it's not acting. Maybe
it's something, anything. Maybe they want to start their own business. Maybe they want to
be a teacher, whatever. How do you feel like, where did you get to in your place where it's like,
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okay, nope, I know that I'm going to go. Because if you're going to do that, you've got to really
believe in yourself and you just got to go all in. What did that look like for you? Oh, I think it
was just, again, like my family and what happened with my mom. And I think about, we talked about
people in their deathbed saying, oh, that dash in the middle. My thought of the last thought of
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people that are in the deathbed is I don't want to be that person that says, was that all there is?
Is that all there is? And I never want to be the person that I could have done so much more.
So that was part of the decision, but it was scary. It was me going in, really not knowing.
Really not knowing. And honestly, I may not, it would have been harder for me had I known what
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I'd have to go through. But I said, you know what, this is what I deeply feel. I don't want to look
back on my life and know that I never tried this. And so I, and I feel like everything, so much of
my life, it's not working the way I want. I'm not living and feeling and emotionally the way I want
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to be in my life. And I need to make a change. And I would rather take this path because I feel like
this is something I really want and try it. So I'm not sure that makes it like, oh, you're sort of a rash.
Well, it's interesting because a lot of people I talk to, it's like one side or the other,
you either, it's like your soul's talking to you so strongly that you just, and what it sounds like
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with you, it's like you just had that pull and you leaned into it. And in other cases, people
experience really traumatic events because they're so out of alignment that it's almost like their
soul's way of saying like, okay, you're going to get a timeout. You're not listening to me, right?
So I'm going to, you're going to have to get a timeout for a little bit so you can get clear on
what your purpose is and connect yourself to that and then go live the life you were made to live.
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And part of my intention with the show is to get people to think about it from that perspective.
Like, wait, is there a calling inside of me? Is there a knowing and a resonance that I should be
doing, that I'm called for something more, right? That I'm supposed to be doing something more. And
is it just a decision that I have to make and then try and go from there or do I ignore that
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calling? And I just don't want anyone to ever ignore a calling that they have because I mean,
it's one thing if you have passion, but if your passion provides your fulfillment, then that's
where you're supposed to go. So I'm impressed with your story. I think it's great. And I love
that you, you know, you made that, that change and you created a new life for yourself and now
you're living what you love. Yeah. And it's, it's funny too, because lots of times, even in this
(24:33):
continuing journey, I've just made a decision and I immediately seen this shift into the positive
direction. If it's being in a bad, you know, situation with where I lived, or if I'm in a
bad relationship. And I said, okay, as hard as hard as this is, I'm letting that go. Boom, the next
day, a huge success moment would happen. So these are things that were happening to me throughout
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this time. Like what is going on? And it's like, this is just the energy, the universe, your
connectivity is, is talking to you saying, Hey, listen, this is, these are the consequences of a
decision. You let go of something that was negative for you. And now you see this door open for you.
It's so true. It's hard. It's hard to surrender something you want so badly. And then, but when
(25:16):
you do, it's like, what's on the other side of that is what's meant for you. So I love that.
Thank you. All right. Two questions. Number one, what would you tell yourself six months ago?
Six months ago, I was in one of those moments where I, I wasn't getting a lot of auditions.
And like I said, auditions aren't bad. They're not rejection, but when you're not getting auditions,
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that's when I give little answer to what's happening. But it's, I had to think logically,
okay, listen, this is the time of year where you don't get a lot of auditions. This was six months
ago, the strike happened, everything was going crazy. So I would tell myself, listen, align yourself
(25:58):
with your, your positive energy in your life and don't let any of these negative little moments
get you down because you're going to make it through it. And, and look at how much has changed.
Yeah, it's, it's, it's in six months time. I'm right now change in, in this moment of my career,
I am at the, the best position I've ever been in my career. Amazing. So it's like,
(26:23):
that's amazing. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Where can people find you?
If you're looking for me on social media, I am on Instagram at the real Merrick MacArthur. And I am
on Facebook, but I tend to, if I've met you in person, I will, I will connect with you on Facebook,
but I'm also there. But the Instagram is more about my career. I also have a website at Merrick
(26:47):
MacArthur.com and my manager, Angie LaKenya at entertainment lab. And I'll put all of this in
the show notes. So you guys figure out how to follow Merrick and see what he's up to. So thank
you so much for joining us. Hopefully you were inspired by this conversation. And if you feel
like in your life, you want to shift and you don't know where to start, you can take my free
(27:10):
assessment. You're going to text shift to five five four four four. And I'll send that to you. And
I hope it changes your perspective. So thanks so much for joining us and we'll see you soon.
The following Earth Angel media presentation is brought to you commercial free as a gratuity from
(00:05):
the sponsor producer named after the show. Please consider their message. Find other high value
shows listed at earthangelproject.com. Enjoy the show. Welcome to Leadership on Purpose,
the podcast series. I'm your host, Catherine, and this is where we shatter the status quo and
dive deep into the raw, unfiltered stories of those who are embracing their inner alignment.
(00:28):
So if you're tired of the cookie cutter approach to success and you crave a life that resonates
with your true self, you are in the right place. So join me each week as we uncover powerful
insights from those who have had the courage to lean into their purpose, live authentically,
and create a life they remain for. This isn't just a conversation, it's a movement. This is
a revolution of authentic leadership where we don't just talk about change, we live it. And you can too.
(00:53):
I am so excited to introduce you guys to my friend, Merrick MacArthur. You will probably have
remembered seeing him in a couple of different things. He's been in Scandal, 911, Curb Your
Enthusiasm. He's got a new show coming out on Amazon Prime that at this point we can't really
talk about yet. But he's, you know, he's been in the industry for a long time. And so I'm excited
(01:15):
to have this chat with you and talk about all things transformational.
Good, as am I. As am I.
Thanks for coming by. So really what I think I'm interested in is, you know, you've been really
successful as a consistent working actor, which we know that that's not an easy thing.
No.
But obviously you found that your purpose is to be a storyteller and to tell stories through
(01:41):
other characters, right? Like that's what you're doing. So how do you look at that through the
lens of your work? Like how do you look at different roles and say, you know, I think this
story is going to impact other people. Like what does that look like for you?
I think my approach to acting in general is that a good actor is going to connect with an
audience or viewer by showing them something that's honest within themselves, within the
(02:06):
viewer. So me being honest with myself about this character and being honest about what's true for
me and connecting with this character tends to connect with the viewer, the audience. And most
good actors will tell you that, you know, that acting isn't about lying or playing. It's really
about telling the truth in a certain way.
(02:26):
Oh, I love that.
Yeah. Yeah. So that's one trick about acting that people don't think about. I didn't know until I
worked for a while and trained and learned that acting is really about being honest.
Yeah. Yeah. How do you navigate that?
The challenges of rejection, like what, so obviously, you know, we all tell ourselves stories,
right? And I talk a lot on this podcast about the story that we tell ourselves and how that shapes
(02:48):
our reality, because it creates, you know, those, we have a belief system, right? And that belief
system comes with different thoughts that then come with feelings that reinforce that belief
system. And if it's a story that's not telling, if it's a story that's not supporting the life that
you want to leave, live, then you got to figure out how to break that cycle. So how do you, when
you're facing so much rejection, as everybody does, I mean, you know, there's all the stories
(03:10):
about these big A-listers that face all this rejection, right?
Yes.
So, you know, what does that process look like for you?
After a while, I learned that you can't look at it as rejection. For example, in audition,
you're sent this notice that you get to perform a scene for a casting director, and then they'll
(03:30):
look at that scene and decide if you're right for the role. And then they'll look at that scene and
decide if you're right for the role. So now you've got something that maybe two dozen people,
well, these days, maybe a little bit more, have the opportunity to do, to prepare and perform in
front of a decision maker in the industry. Now, how often do you get to do that? Not really often,
(03:52):
but this is what you've worked and you trained to do, to create a character for yourself that's true
for you and perform it for a person in the industry to see it, and to see how well you can connect.
Mm-hmm. So just because you don't get the job or book the role doesn't necessarily mean you
were rejected. Because when you think of rejection, you think, oh, I'm, you personalize, you say,
(04:14):
I'm rejected as in I'm not good enough, as in they don't want me. But that's not what's really
happening in the acting business. That's not what's really happening. When you were called in for the
audition, they were interested to see what you do with this. They're interested in you. They've
accepted you simply because you got the audition. Yeah. So that's how I look at it. So if I don't
book the role, there's lots of reasons why you might not. Do they ever tell you like you're too
(04:36):
short? Does that stuff really happen? Maybe in the old days, they said that stuff, but now they don't
tell you that. They don't tell you why. And lots of times there's reasons why you can maybe guess at,
but they don't tell you why. But sometimes if you look down the road and look back at who did
book the job that you got, you can kind of figure out why they got it. You can kind of tell, or you
(04:59):
can see, Hey, it was just, they had a choice and that's what they wanted. And that's gotta be okay.
Because as an actor, if you look at the, the times you don't get the job as rejection over and over,
it will weigh on you and it will wear you down. And that's how a lot of actors burn out.
You know, it's so funny because I feel like on this show, I've talked to a lot of people in
(05:22):
entertainment, mainly probably because we're shooting it in LA, but, but I like doing that
because it's so extreme on the rejection side. And I think every day, you know, leadership on purpose
is, is really about, you know, you're leading in your life every day, right? You're leading your
friends, your family, you're leading your kids, you're leading at work, you're doing, it's all,
it's very all encompassing, but we faced rejection, you know, probably a third of the amount of time
(05:49):
that you do in the entertainment industry. And it's, it's, provides a lot of suffering for people.
So I think it's good to hear how you can flip the script on that and you can say, you know,
this is happening for me. It's not happening to me, right? Like you look at it from a different
lens. Yeah. You change your mindset about it and it really helps you emotionally. I mean, I've had
(06:09):
starting out as an actor and I'll, I don't admit this to many people. Originally I lived in San
Diego when I first started out as an actor. I know I, and I learned down there, this is what I really
want to do. And so I ended up getting an agent up here and I was coming up for lots of commercial
auditions and I was coming up like a couple of times a week. I'm driving like three hours here
(06:31):
and three hours back. So I would drive up and it'd be like a, a five minute audition. And I, they
wouldn't tell you if you booked the role then. So I'm just like, okay. And you drive and it was like,
it was, it was challenging and expensive and expensive. But it kind of taught me to really
(06:54):
try to appreciate that, that opportunity for one. And now I look back and I go, wow, I was crazy
enough to put myself through that. So when I am hired for a job and all my time and experience for
this, I'm like, you know what, why I'm getting paid this ridiculous amount of money is because
I did stuff like that to get her. But you did stuff like that because you had a calling.
(07:16):
You had an inner knowing. So when did you discover that? As a very young elementary student, I
was called up to do the class, was called up individually to sort of an improv,
wasn't called at the time. And I was normally shy as a little kid and I didn't know what was good.
(07:37):
So the last second I got up there and I just, something happened, it clicked. And the class was
just on the floor laughing. And I'm like, huh, I have this thing where I can really connect with
people. And people like seeing me express myself. And that's what really started it. And it wasn't
until later on in life, because I thought, you know, growing up, I'm from Detroit, Michigan,
blue collar, you know, you work a real job, as they say, you don't risk it on crazy things like
(08:03):
art or dancing or acting or poetry. But later in life, after accomplishing that real job stuff,
I said, you know what, I'm going to take this chance. And that was after I had a few experiences
in life when I was older, one, my mother passing away. And my mother passed away to, you know,
I think a relatively young age and it made, she had always encouraged me to act and I didn't.
(08:25):
And so when I saw her, that she had passed away, I was like, you know what, I don't want to live the
rest of my life regretting not taking this chance or something that deep down, I feel like I want to
do. And so I just made the decision to start working and getting it done and getting involved
in doing it. So you made the decision. Yeah, it was an emotional. It was a sort of one of those
(08:49):
moments where you're like, hey, what, what is the rest of my life going to be like? If I, if I don't
do this, what do I want to live with the regret of knowing I never tried to explore this thing that
I know I'm good at? Well, it's like that saying, and I'm going to screw it up because I don't know
the quote word for word, but basically it's when you're in your, you know, looking at your gravestone,
(09:09):
you've got the years, but it's like really the dash in between that matters, right? It's like,
what did you do with that? What's that legacy? What are you leaving behind? Did you do what you
wanted to do? Or, you know, are you on that deathbed going, I wish I worked more hours? You know,
people say that all the time, but it's, you don't, right? You, you want to be fulfilled and you want
to be able to connect your purpose to your life. So you feel that fulfillment. And that's impressive
(09:31):
that you actually took that, you took that chance and you made that decision. And a lot of what we
talk about on here and a lot of what I talk about with my clients is, you know, what, at what point
do you just make the decision that you deserve better for yourself? And that fulfillment and
purpose is going to be more important to you than anything else that you do. Because we're not here
to just suffer and grind it out. We're here to create a life that's magical. I mean, that's,
(09:55):
that's what we're here for. So, and it's really, I think part of the journey is finding out what
that is, right? We all have, we're all so unique and we all have an inner genius. And it's like,
how do you strip away all the noise and really tap into that and figure out what that looks like?
And I think a lot of it's connected to transforming other people, right? Like really helping other
people. And, you know, I think as a storyteller, you know, you entertain people, you know, I've
(10:20):
seen a lot of your stuff and I know you're very good and you're entertaining and you're fun,
you're easy to watch, right? Like I get lost watching you because I'm like, I forget that
you're Merrick the actor, like, you know, or Merrick the guy I know, you're, you're somebody on,
on a show, like you're a dad or you're, you know, I think I was watching 9-1-1 the other day,
actually. And I was like, oh yeah, there he is. And you're like yelling at someone and yeah.
(10:43):
Thanks. Yeah. It's funny. Even as an actor, I watch a lot of things. I'm like watching the acting,
but I know I'm watching a good show and I forget about watching acting. And I'm just in this.
And I forget I'm watching you. I'm like, he makes a good cop.
Yeah. And again, these, the job is to help the audience see something real about themselves.
They can connect with, I don't know what you can call it. You know more about this than I do,
(11:07):
but it's this thing where you see something that is maybe true for you in your life,
or you can like relate to something someone's going through, human as they are flawed as they
may be. It's like, yeah, I know what that's like. And in a sense, it gives you comfort, I guess,
that you're not alone in these feelings or these thoughts or whatever it is.
Yeah. No, I think that's, I mean, there's a resonance there, right? You know, it's like,
(11:29):
you're like, okay, that's, I can resonate with that. And I feel like that's, there's a part of me.
I think we're all connected, right? We're all part of one consciousness. I think there's a
connection between everybody. And you know, when you can see part of your, you know, your fear in
someone else, there's a little bit of a comfort in that to be like, okay, well, I know that I can
get through this with, and it's, it's like human collaboration, you know, watching others and,
(11:54):
and leaning on each other for that. So yeah, my experience with this is that navigating this
has been, I wasn't a mystic until I got older and started working the active energy, because it
seems so random. But then you start to think about the training that you're doing, the energy that
(12:15):
you are projecting for yourself. For example, the rejection thing, if you're, if you're going
into an audition and you're thinking, oh, I'm gonna be rejected, and you have this negative thing
going in, you're gonna get rejected. You're not getting that job. You're not getting that job.
If you walk in and you're like, hey, I get to perform, I get to share what I got, more likely,
you're gonna bring out something real and true about yourself. They're gonna say, oh, yeah, that,
(12:36):
that was nice. That was good. Yeah. Yeah. You know, so that's been my experiences is this energy
transfer experience where you've got to, you sort of got project or have this mindset of projecting
the positivity and the things that you want in your life. You've got to be able to project that
out to see it and have it manifest in your life. Well, and that goes along the lines of your human
(13:03):
design chart that you pulled in. You're the project, aren't you the projector? I was gonna
ask you to explain it better to me because it's, I did it and it's a great, great chart.
And it said I'm a projector seer. A projector seer. I'm not an expert in human design. However,
I'm really interested in it because I think that it is a very, it's very directional for us to learn
(13:24):
what our natural tendencies are. Yes. And so, you know, I'm a manifesting generator and so
we're different, but really at the end of the day, there's the similarities between a projector
and a manifesting generator are that we really lead with our enthusiasm and leaning into things
and we allow things to come to us without having to grind it out. So, you know, if you put it out
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there that there's something you are really interested in or that you want, right? You
have to just let it, you have to just trust the process that those things, if they're right for
you, are going to materialize without having to take immense efforts to be like, no, this has
to happen. I'm going to, without the controlling of it, right? It's really about trusting in your own,
(14:11):
you know, in yourself and your own belief system that you're going to get to where you want to go.
But what's interesting about that too is if you look at your chart and you look at the way you
respond and the things that, if you are out of alignment, what your response is, like my response
when I'm out of alignment is frustration. And I've taken lots of different ones, you know,
(14:33):
different, like the purpose factor, the purpose company just released the purpose factor assessment
and it was the same response, right? And that's more connecting your purpose to your work.
But it's all in line with all of these charts, right? So it's the same thing with human design
and the purpose factor is like, okay, I get frustrated when things aren't working or, you know,
and I respond by my intuition, like my gut. So like in the sacral chakra, right? So it's like,
(14:58):
that's how I respond to things. So I know, like I really have to be intuitive and I have to
trust my own intuition. And so I've been really learning to lean into that for myself because
I'm like, yeah, that makes sense. And when I do those things, like, I think it's just a good
overview and a direction for your life. So when you really look at it, it's like, okay, when I
allow those things to just continue to be in my life, instead of fighting or having resistance
(15:21):
against them, more things unfold, you know, and more things happen the way they should happen.
It's like going with the flow. And I talked about this the other day, but, you know, when people
say, you know, just go with the flow, they think it, some people think it's do what everybody else
is doing, but that's not what it means. It means like remove the resistance out of the things that
you want, right? Desire with no resistance equals desired result, right? So like, if you have
(15:45):
something that you have a knowing about, you got to figure out how to get out of your own way,
you know, take that energy, that negative energy or that resistance out of your vibration and just
let it be and like, let things just unfold for you and like, look for the signs and look for
the ways that, you know, like even how you ended up, how we ended up here in this podcast, like I
look back on this happened in such a quick period of time. And it was all because I had a conversation
(16:10):
with someone who was like, you should do this here. And I was like, okay, and I didn't do anything.
And they reached out to me. And then we had a conversation. And then like, all of a sudden,
you know, in three weeks, you know, we had this, this, all this kind of came together. And,
and it's been a vision of mine for a long time to look, to really put something together that was
transformative for people that they could connect with, that they could watch a show and walk away
(16:33):
and be like, you know what, that I see myself in something he said, and now I can take that and I
can apply it to my life. And I can, you know, experience my own shift and my own change. That's
really what I want for people. And to know that you're not stuck living a life that you're not
proud of, that you're not being fulfilled with, that you're not excited about. So, you know,
(16:53):
I love that about the, I love that about the, my design chart, it kind of gives you these guidelines,
like I think mine said something like I'm my, if I'm not in a line or if I'm not what I do,
and I'm not in alignment or not going for doing in the mode, the energy that I should be in,
that I'm bitter. And I go, huh. And so you, I look at these, and I always test like, okay,
(17:14):
is this really true for me? And I look back, you know, I am never bitter. I'm not bitter about any
part of my career. I'm not bitter about losing any job that I ever did not get. And I wonder now,
hmm, did that, is that what's really been contributing to me kind of falling or propelling
or a combination of both forward because I've just been in this, the right kind of energy and
(17:35):
not really realizing it. So it's nice to have something that can be a guide for you or even a
confirmation for you that you can run away from. Yeah, confirmation. I like that. Yeah. It's so
interesting. Yeah, interesting. So what's next for you? I am going to continue with my career
doing commercials and television shows. I'm doing the show coming up that I'm very excited about.
I wish I could tell you about it, but I cannot. I have a few commercials running right now. I
(18:03):
think my career, a lot of it has been doing commercials and doing the sometimes the smaller
parts, but I've been on so many things, including print ads around town that I've been sort of
attacking the industry on a subconscious level. Like I'm in that, I'm on the side of a Gelson's
delivery truck that people don't realize they've seen today. I've seen you before.
(18:24):
So I've been that guy. That's the guy that I've seen in that thing. And that's kind of,
I think, helped. And doing lots of auditions, not looking at them as rejection, realizing what they
are is relationship building with you and the casting person, which is what an audition is
meant to do, not to make you get the job. It's meant to help the casting office trust that you're
(18:46):
going to do a great job on a role that they think you might be great for. That's kind of really
helped my attitude and my progression in the industry. It's funny, I have lots of friends that
are not working as much as they'd like to, when no actor really is. But I look at the ones that are
(19:06):
not working barely at all and then I think about how I know them personally and the kind of
conversations we have about it and they're all very bitter and negative and just frustrated.
And I want to explain, hey listen, you want to get out of that energy because that's not helping you.
Do on my design chart. Yeah, and go find out what your purpose is.
(19:29):
Find out what your purpose is. No, I think that your energy speaks
out more than anything you could ever say. And when you're not aware of what energy you're sitting in,
you could really create some resistance in your world. That's a scary thing. I mean, it depends.
It's like how much asleep are you, how awake are you to being aware of the story you're telling
(19:50):
yourself, how you're feeling on a day-to-day basis. All those things, it's like the intangibles of the
human experience that are really important to keep yourself in check on if you really want to be able
to take yourself to another level. Yeah, I think that's the point of the limiting beliefs you might
have. I mean, the reason I didn't start in this industry sooner is because my limiting belief was
I could not succeed in a creative industry. I had to work in a nine-to-five corporate level job
(20:17):
because I see other people doing it and that's what how it's supposed to be. And an art path is
a risk path and my belief was that was not something that would be feasible for me.
And it took me a while to realize that like anything, it takes time, it takes training,
and it takes practice. And that's what helps you to succeed in any industry. It's like shooting a
(20:44):
basketball. I know you probably get basketball analogies a lot, but these basketball players,
you see what they're doing at practice, they're shooting prior to the game and you notice they're
shooting like all net shots like 30 times in a row. It's like they practice this over and over.
They didn't just come on the court and get this. It's the same with acting. It's like you've got to
really train and understand and realize what is effective for you and still be happy and love and
(21:08):
have the love of this craft for yourself. And people will see that and that will bring you
the success. Even if you think it doesn't make sense, that's the mystical part of it, I think.
It's like it doesn't seem like you should get it just because you are trained to be good at it,
but that tends to be how it is. Yeah, for sure. For sure. Take me back to when you made that
(21:30):
decision, right? You decided, okay, I'm going to leave the W-2 job. I'm going to go, I'm going to
make this acting. If someone's watching this going, yeah, like maybe it's not acting. Maybe
it's something, anything. Maybe they want to start their own business. Maybe they want to
be a teacher, whatever. How do you feel like, where did you get to in your place where it's like,
(21:52):
okay, nope, I know that I'm going to go. Because if you're going to do that, you've got to really
believe in yourself and you just got to go all in. What did that look like for you? Oh, I think it
was just, again, like my family and what happened with my mom. And I think about, we talked about
people in their deathbed saying, oh, that dash in the middle. My thought of the last thought of
(22:18):
people that are in the deathbed is I don't want to be that person that says, was that all there is?
Is that all there is? And I never want to be the person that I could have done so much more.
So that was part of the decision, but it was scary. It was me going in, really not knowing.
Really not knowing. And honestly, I may not, it would have been harder for me had I known what
(22:41):
I'd have to go through. But I said, you know what, this is what I deeply feel. I don't want to look
back on my life and know that I never tried this. And so I, and I feel like everything, so much of
my life, it's not working the way I want. I'm not living and feeling and emotionally the way I want
(23:02):
to be in my life. And I need to make a change. And I would rather take this path because I feel like
this is something I really want and try it. So I'm not sure that makes it like, oh, you're sort of a rash.
Well, it's interesting because a lot of people I talk to, it's like one side or the other,
you either, it's like your soul's talking to you so strongly that you just, and what it sounds like
(23:24):
with you, it's like you just had that pull and you leaned into it. And in other cases, people
experience really traumatic events because they're so out of alignment that it's almost like their
soul's way of saying like, okay, you're going to get a timeout. You're not listening to me, right?
So I'm going to, you're going to have to get a timeout for a little bit so you can get clear on
what your purpose is and connect yourself to that and then go live the life you were made to live.
(23:48):
And part of my intention with the show is to get people to think about it from that perspective.
Like, wait, is there a calling inside of me? Is there a knowing and a resonance that I should be
doing, that I'm called for something more, right? That I'm supposed to be doing something more. And
is it just a decision that I have to make and then try and go from there or do I ignore that
(24:08):
calling? And I just don't want anyone to ever ignore a calling that they have because I mean,
it's one thing if you have passion, but if your passion provides your fulfillment, then that's
where you're supposed to go. So I'm impressed with your story. I think it's great. And I love
that you, you know, you made that, that change and you created a new life for yourself and now
you're living what you love. Yeah. And it's, it's funny too, because lots of times, even in this
(24:33):
continuing journey, I've just made a decision and I immediately seen this shift into the positive
direction. If it's being in a bad, you know, situation with where I lived, or if I'm in a
bad relationship. And I said, okay, as hard as hard as this is, I'm letting that go. Boom, the next
day, a huge success moment would happen. So these are things that were happening to me throughout
(24:55):
this time. Like what is going on? And it's like, this is just the energy, the universe, your
connectivity is, is talking to you saying, Hey, listen, this is, these are the consequences of a
decision. You let go of something that was negative for you. And now you see this door open for you.
It's so true. It's hard. It's hard to surrender something you want so badly. And then, but when
(25:16):
you do, it's like, what's on the other side of that is what's meant for you. So I love that.
Thank you. All right. Two questions. Number one, what would you tell yourself six months ago?
Six months ago, I was in one of those moments where I, I wasn't getting a lot of auditions.
And like I said, auditions aren't bad. They're not rejection, but when you're not getting auditions,
(25:38):
that's when I give little answer to what's happening. But it's, I had to think logically,
okay, listen, this is the time of year where you don't get a lot of auditions. This was six months
ago, the strike happened, everything was going crazy. So I would tell myself, listen, align yourself
(25:58):
with your, your positive energy in your life and don't let any of these negative little moments
get you down because you're going to make it through it. And, and look at how much has changed.
Yeah, it's, it's, it's in six months time. I'm right now change in, in this moment of my career,
I am at the, the best position I've ever been in my career. Amazing. So it's like,
(26:23):
that's amazing. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Where can people find you?
If you're looking for me on social media, I am on Instagram at the real Merrick MacArthur. And I am
on Facebook, but I tend to, if I've met you in person, I will, I will connect with you on Facebook,
but I'm also there. But the Instagram is more about my career. I also have a website at Merrick
(26:47):
MacArthur.com and my manager, Angie LaKenya at entertainment lab. And I'll put all of this in
the show notes. So you guys figure out how to follow Merrick and see what he's up to. So thank
you so much for joining us. Hopefully you were inspired by this conversation. And if you feel
like in your life, you want to shift and you don't know where to start, you can take my free
(27:10):
assessment. You're going to text shift to five five four four four. And I'll send that to you. And
I hope it changes your perspective. So thanks so much for joining us and we'll see you soon.
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