Just As I Am

It truly mystifies me how the moment you go to someone else with something you've created, it's never good enough just as it is.  It always needs tweaking.  Rearranging.  Rewriting.  Resculpting.  Retooling.  Re-something.  As I've matured, I've realized that people bring their own experiences to whatever they're presented.  What else can they do?  They can't always bring your experiences to a situation because they aren't you.  Or me.  One of my dearest friends sent back a critique of my book proposal I sent to her for her opinion.  And her opinion is precisely what I got.  No, it didn't ravage my work, but it was abundantly clear that she---a talented, book editor---didn't love it.  And that's all right.  But my question is this: if my proposal was read by 15 talented, book editors---I'd receive 15, similar or distinctly different critiques---but at what point would I, the writer, simply say, it is what it is?  I'm of the mindset that whatever it is one creates, if he just puts it out there for public consumption, those who relate to it, will come to it.  And, those who don't, won't.  Why are books and tv & film scripts written and rewritten a dozen times before we see them?  Surely what the artist originally created is no longer.  How could it be?  When a child is created, you get what you get at its birth.  And I like it that way.  I really do.  Why should a book, script, song, be written just like everybody else's?  I know why.  Because most people simply don't like ANYTHING in its natural state.  Because most people don't believe ANYTHING can be any good just as it is/was originally conceived.  Well, I'm gonna truly listen to the words of my talented, book editor friend.  But, no, I won't search for a ghost writer (her suggestion); nor will I run to a class (also her suggestion).  And I won't do any of those things because the purpose for being directed to do so is so my writing is like everybody else's.  When God created me, he created ME.  And I'm the ONLY me he created.  No rewrites.  No ghost Gods.  No classes.  He simply made a boy who is INCREDIBLE---TALENTED---LOVING---EMPATHETIC---PERSONABLE---CREATIVE---and ACCEPTING...JUST AS I AM.    

That's What She Said

I was just referred to my fave, YouTube, to check out the commencement speech Harry Potter author, J.K. ROWLING, delivered to Harvard grads back in 2008.  BRILLIANT!  Absolutely BRILLIANT!  I'd like to highlight several of her thoughts that moved me most:

"[Poverty]...is not an ennobling experience.  Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships.  Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools."

"Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it."

"So why do I talk about the benefits of failure?  Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.  I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.  Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged.  I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea.  And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life."

"...some failure in life is inevitable.  It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default."

"The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive.  You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity."

"Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes."

"...if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped change.  We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."

"As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters."

It is my goal to live a GOOD life.  So...having been taught over & over again that I'm a SURVIVOR, I shall do whatever I have to do to live the life I KNOW I was born to live.  It won't be easy.  But it'll be worth it.  This, I know.  For sure!  I've never read any of her books, nor seen any of the films based upon them.  But, for this commencement speech, I say, "Thank you, J.K.  Thank you very much."

The Fighter

Today's church sermon was about summoning up the fight within.  Focusing on that fight and attaining the higher level of living each of us wants/deserves to live!  I am a prime example of a person whose fight has lessened due to life's circumstances.  A part of me feels like I've been pummeled into virtual submission by professional setbacks; which rolled over into financial setbacks.  Through it all, I still holdfast to the belief that I CAN turn things around.  And make those things PRECISELY what I want them to be.  So, I'll begin this week with the same FAITH I've held onto for years and years and years.  I WILL overcome this "ho-hum" existence I'm oftentimes feeling.  Because I DO see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!  I'm not ready to step out of the ring just yet.  This ol' dude STILL has some fight left in him!!!

Mmmmm Mmmmm Goooood!

Tomorrow, my boy, Chris, and I are gonna hop onto the train and head over to Sunset Gower Studios to check out a feast for the eyes, nose and taste buds!  And all in the name of a great cause:  The Saban Free Clinic.  If it wasn't for the clinic, my cholesterol wouldn't be as low as it is.  I'm eternally grateful for the generosity of those who help keep the clinic running.  I hope & pray that I, too, will one day contribute a pretty penny to its efforts!  Until then, I plan to eat, drink and be merry tomorrow during the fund-raiser!  Yum!!!!!

40 Is The New Whatever-You-Want-It-To-Be!

While workin' on the set of a Snapple commercial two days ago, I met a dude named, MELVIN TENNER, who told me he'll be forty years old shortly.  He's practically a newbie in the world of bodybuilding and has already won a competition or two.  He's living proof that one can make incredibly positive changes in life at ANY age.  All one has to do is DO the work!  The dude looks great and seems to possess one helluva positive attitude, too.  God bless him.  I think I'll actually check out his next competition in October!!!!  And make some positive life changes of my own!!!!!

Made From The Best Stuff On Earth

Tomorrow afternoon I'm back on the set of yet another commercial shoot.  I'll be contributing my vast talents as a background performer!  And, you know what?  That suits me just fine!  But, truth be told, if I'm gonna keep doin' this work, I'd better get a commercial agent again.  I haven't had one since 2003 or so.  And the real money is made as a principal performer.  NOT workin' background!  For now, though, with this background work, I'm as happy as a sissy at the "Y."  Haa!!!

Daddy & I

Last Sunday I treated myself to the new film, A BETTER LIFE.  It's the story of a Mexican immigrant who longs to build a better life for himself and his fourteen-yr-old son.  The film tells the story of a former, Mexican day-laborer in Los Angeles who is hired by another Mexican who built a gardening business from scratch.  When the employer decides to retire and move back to Mexico, he ofters to sell his business to the former day-laborer.  After that, all chaos ensues.  While I sat in the movie, all I could think about was my father.  How he worked like a dog to make a better life for my siblings and me.  And I thought about myself.  How my immaturity prohibited me from seeing how incredible my father was at the time.  The teenaged boy in this film was equally as immature as I was.  'Cept, back then, I would never have spoken to my father like the kid oftentimes did.  And I would never have thought to cut school.  Anyway, by the film's end, my heart was broken into a million, little pieces.  I understand why this country has to be strict about immigrant migration, but geez, the father in this film was sooooo kind and hardworking.  And what an incredible moral fiber he possessed.  He did the right thing even when doing the right thing wasn't to his benefit.  That takes a REAL man to live such a life.  And my father was INDEED a REAL MAN!!!  The REAL(est)!!!  :) --- I hope this film makes its money back.  'Cause it's a terrific story.  And those in this country who don't truly see the Mexicans here, would learn a lot from this film.  I sincerely hope they see it!!!