Unlike most Americans, Marsai Martin started working a steady job — as a child actor — at age 9.
Martin, now 21, co-starred in ABC’s television show “Black-ish” from ages 9 to 18. The experience of joining a workforce so young warped her perception of what success looked and felt like, she tells CNBC Make It. She only recently started to include her own health and happiness as part of the equation, she adds.
“I thought that success was one of those things where you’re always running ... and you get no sleep, and that’s success because you’re working all the time,” says Martin, who partnered with fintech company Chime’s “Mama I Made It” YouTube series on August 27 for financial awareness. “You’re busy and you can’t eat because you’re always moving around.”
She spent her teenage years trying to emulate the behavior of the ultra-busy adults around her, she says. She made sure her planner was always full, blocking out time for practicing her lines, staying up-to-date on the entertainment business’ news and journaling everything that came to mind — anything to make sure she was staying busy, a spokesperson says.
Martin even added activities like brushing her teeth or taking her daily vitamins to her calendar, so she could feel like she had a schedule to manage, the spokesperson added.
