Want to be your best you? Prepare like an actor.

When you’re facing a big challenge, you can get some seriously bad advice. You’ll hear: “Fake it ‘till you make it.” Or: “Just imagine they’re all in their underwear.” If only it were so simple. Jane Marla Robbins, a veteran actress and teacher, knows better. Learning how to play the part of your best you is the equivalent of an effective workout at the gym — you’ve got to use techniques tailored to your situation and goals. I’ve seen Jane Marla Robbins act, and I can testify she knows her stuff. And in “Acting Techniques for Everyday Life: Look and Feel Self-Confident in Difficult, Real-Life Situations,” she knows how to share it. With exercises, yes. But also with pointed stories. For example: When Marilyn Monroe was too stiff to sparkle in her first scene with Sir Laurence Olivier, her acting coach, Paula Strasberg, told her to use an acting technique called “Sense Memory.” That is: think of an old boyfriend. So Marilyn pretended Olivier was Frank Sinatra. (Strasberg had also told Marilyn to imagine she was drinking Coca Cola.) Preparing for “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Marlon Brando studied a gorilla. And more…. You can, with time, and money, work the kinks out of your self-esteem issues in therapy. If you’re in a rush, this book may be a better bet. [To buy the paperback from Amazon, click here. For the Kindle Edition, click here.]