Chase Your Dream - Never Give Up

I have been writing screenplays for 25 years. Most of the time I kept them to myself. I didn't feel they were ready for primetime.

My first intro into the working of Hollywood came in 88 when after playing around with writing industrial videos. I had put an ad in the Desert Sun looking for scripts.

I received a few, none good enough, but I met a screenwriter to be who became my writing partner for a few of years. Together we were introduced to a producer who had a 'deal' with Paramount. He had an office on the lot. We wrote a couple of scripts that were that good - not that good, but I got a taste of what the industry was all about. It's not for the weak of heart.

The partnership broke up.

Still I would pump one out every few years.

About 15 years later I met another writer/producer of short films and over three years we wrote a couple and scripts and even got one optioned.

All the time I continued to read scripts and books about screenwriting. I would drop it for a few months, but always developed story ideas.

The thing is I kept immersed in the learning. I met a wonderful mentor, Blake Snyder, and was fortunate enough to take a couple of his seminars on the craft of storytelling/screenwriting.

I kept writing, developing and in contact with my last writing partner. I would read his scripts and give coverage notes.

A couple of months ago I contacted him and asked if his project was moving forward. He said that he was in another rewrite. He sent me his script to read and I mentioned it was a vast improvement. Writing scripts is all about rewriting and rewriting and rewriting.....

He told me that he had a project that had been offered to him, but he was too busy to work on it and asked if I wanted to take a look.

Well today I received word that the adaptation that I have been beating out, outlining, sample scripting is going forward. The author has a letter of intent from a production company to make the film when he presents a quality script.

Next week I will be signing an Intellectual Property Agreement with the author to adapt his book to a screenplay. This is fun.

What I wanted to point out is I never gave up. I continued to learn the craft of storytelling and screenwriting so that when this project landed at my feet I was ready.

I never gave up.

Here's the optimistic quote from a screenwriter/author that we all should read every morning...

“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark.

In the hopeless swamps of the not quite, the not yet, and the not at all , do not let the gero in your soul perish and leave only frustration for the life you deserved, but never have been able to reach. The world ou desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible…. It is yours!” Ayn Rand….b. St. Petersburg Russia

Your Life - Your Movie

Namaste Speedo

Whew

What a fast July! Did anyone get the license number?

I am that I am. A loving creative being. A creator of my universe.

I have been caught up in a rewrite of a script for a writer/producer. And it's FUN! It has taken all my energy and time.

It's challenging to rewrite someone's laborious creative ideas while keeping the same story intact. What to cut? What character to eliminate? When to start the scene? The Act? When to leave the scene? What scene to cut? All of this without any coverage. It's a blank canvas.

What I decided was to go with my instincts on my first draft. It makes the story mine. Then, I can add and/or subtract from there. It a process and I love it.

I hope all your summer escapes have been wonderfully exciting memorable experiences. These are the souvenirs that you'll cherish forever.

Your Life Your Movie

Namaste Speedo

Experience... No Struggling?

I was talking to a friend yesterday when he ask me whether I thought life was a struggle?

My first thoughts were "well yeah. It's always has been a struggle for everyone". Then I stopped my thoughts, took a breath and replied, "No I don't".

Then came the barrage of questions:

On your journey through life don't you struggle everyday?

Don't you struggle to change?

Do you really accept everything?

Do you accept the war? Starvation? The Poor?

Frustrated, after about 5 minutes of struggling to convince me, he finally said "You just want to argue with me."

I said, "I don't live my life as though it is a struggle. And no, I'm not arguing with you. Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I'm arguing with you. I'm not trying to convince you of anything. You and I have a different view on life. It's not that I'm right and you're wrong." With that he got up and left.

I understand where my friend was coming from. I acknowledge his view on life. I honor his view on his life. It is his path at this time in his life. It's his to struggle if he desires. It's just not the way I choose to live life.

Today I live my life as though it is a series of experiences. Nothing more. There is no good or bad. No right or wrong. No better or worst. Life is a gift. By living in the NOW (No Other Way) I receive the present.

I try to go out of my mind. My mind is always processing life. It wants figure it out and throw it in little boxes so "I" could make sense out of events. This limited me. As my mind was attempting to protect me by struggling to process everything - I was missing out on life. True life.

Years ago I found the life's secret for me. I became vulnerable to everything. Vulnerability became a position of power, not weakness. I stopped trying to figure out what was going on only to satisfy my mind while I was missing life. I was fulfilling my minds needs but at the cost of my heart-spirits needs.

My spirit needs experiences. When I allow my spirit to experience life's events it thrives. This is the reason my spirit came to earth. For human experiences. To feel what it is like to be human. It doesn't judge. It experiences. It doesn't limit. It experiences. It doesn't process. It experiences. Too simple? Maybe. This too is an experience.

This is why I can say that life is not a struggle. It's just an experience.

Your Life - Your Movie

Namaste Speedo

Be Outrageous... have Fun!

What am I talking about? The care and feeding of your Spirit.

Okay here's the scoop... we are all actors on this stage of life. We get to choose the parts we play on a daily basis. Now the questions is "what role do we want to play today?"

Most of us play roles we are familiar with. The Mother. Father. Sibling. Son. Daughter. Employee. Addict. Lover. Enabler. Dominator. Dependent. Inventor. Thief. Drunk. Blamer. Victim. Wife. Husband... Not to mention all the labels we call ourselves on a daily basis that inhibit spiritual experiences.

Here's the challenge to each of us: Be Outrageous... for life's experiences!

I was so fearful of what the public thought of me a decade ago that I went bright blond. It was remarkable. Not we all now that men do not color their hair. It's a taboo. Really? The women in my life were shocked but complimented me. The men in life were shocked and suggested I'd lost my mind. The end result was this - I was having fun and most people didn't care that I was being outrageous. I recently shaved my head with the same result - people don't care.

If people don't care what you do why not have all the fun you can. Be outrageous. Redefine the roles you play or at least lighten up and have fun.

This is a challenge for most of us. I think it's a hold over from tribe or group mentality. I grew up in a family where the message I heard was "do not embarrass the family". Now I can't say that was the actual message I was given but that was what I heard. It hand cuffed me. It defined me. It limited me to not adventure out and experience outrageous behavior.

The bottom line is I was allowing myself to be defined and controlled by my mind. Old mental pictures, limitations, boundaries, patterns, habits were imprisoning me. My spirit lives on experiences not knowledge. Yet my mind was processioning each experience as it unfolded. No fun! It thought it was protecting me, my spirit.

The result was my mind imprisoned my spirit. Suffocating my spirit. Stifling my spirit. And I was becoming more miserable. When I discovered that my mind was out to get me I somehow found the courage to "go out of my mind". I learned to breathe when I felt myself nervous to connect with my spirit.

Being outrageous allows me to have fun. Today I am vulnerable to life and all of its experiences. I almost missed life. I almost missed My Movie.

Whoohoo!

Your Life - Your Movie!

Namaste Speedo

Going out of your Mind!

A friend called me today telling me that his head is attacking him.... again. Boy can I relate to this, but not as often as I use to.

I have worked real hard... well that's not entirely true... to go out of my mind. When you think about the your mind it's main function is to protect you by analyzing data, circumstances, surroundings in order for you to survive. It has served you well. But now there's more...

But something is happening today that calls for each of us to go out of their minds. No I don't mean crazy or insane but rather to stop relying solely on rational thought. It is not serving you and me well.

Your Heart-Spirit is calling to you and me. I call this being 'vulnerable' to life. I mean everything - people, colors, smells, sights, experiences. I discovered that being vulnerable empowered me. I met and did things on the spur of the moment throughout my day. I gathered souvenirs - experiences.

I recognized this about a 15 years ago when I noticed I was fighting with my brain to step out of myself. By 'myself' I mean my mind and its judgmental, defining, expecting, limiting behavior. It was not working in my life. In reality, my mind has always kept me in its rut in order to control me. The mind hates not to be in control.

Today, by stepping out of my mind and remaining vulnerable, I connect with my true Heart-Spirit. It's always been their waiting patiently for me to provide it with what it yearns for - Experiences. Any and all experiences without any limiting influence which the mind provides.

By listening to my heart-spirit I have discovered my true calling in this life - to be a Sovereign Being. It is a wonderful journey. At first it took daily practice to go out of my mind. My mind is sneaky. It kept trying to alert me to its unhappiness by suggesting false illusions of fear, doubt, depression and low self-esteme. Again trying to control me.

Slowly I began to recognize where these false illusions were coming from and I 'chose' not to react to it. I would say 'that is a lie' and 'thank you for sharing', then become vulnerable to the experience. The result was true freedom for the first time in my life.

Vulnerability to life is empowering. Today I listen to my Heart-Spirit. It leads my to wonderful experiences.

Oh! By the way... I'm smiling a lot more.

Your Life - Your Movie!

Namaste Speedo

Not Grateful... Start your day over

What a simple statement. But how do I start my day over?

Answer: Just Do It... as Nike suggests.

I have lived with this simple answer to all my problems for years now. Yet, I still forget to do it now and then. The trick is to recognize what is am doing early in the process or day.

Being human, sometimes I get entrenched in my personal rut of ....... and can't see what's going on until I'm well into it. Sometimes hours pass or even a day until I recognize what I am trudging through and I cannot stop or start it over. How can I limit these periods?

One way is to start with a gratitude list. Another is to get a perspective on how much control I have over the situation.

A friend let me photo this card that he carries around to remind himself to remain grateful throughout the day. Again this is simple.

How grateful are you today? President Abe Lincoln said "You are as happy (or grateful) as you make you mind up to be."

Don't worry about anything you can't control... why? Because it's out of your control. If it's in your control then do something about it NOW... Be grateful...

Your Life - Your Movie!

Namaste Speedo

Attitude Adjustment

Ever have one of those days where everything you touch turns to s**t?? Luckily for it been quite of while since one those ugly day raised its head.

Years ago a friend of mine told me an easy answer - "Start your day over no matter what time it is".

What he said was stop what you're doing. Just stop. Don't wait for an opportune time. Just stop. Breathe. Breath is a wonderful stress reliever and it's simple. Maybe too simple?

Right now... Take a deep breath. Feel it fill you lungs. Take another if necessary. Feel your whole body relax.

Now go back to what you were doing....

It's an instant fix to whatever is going on. Instant focus.

Your Life - Your Movie

Namaste Speedo