TIME TESTED

When I first moved to O-town in 2006, I found employment at Starbucks. I was working on building my own business with my father and worked part time at the coffee shop for the insurance.  One of my shift managers at the time was a tall blond with a fiery attitude. She possessed the skills needed to run a crew efficiently and still maintain a great relationship with her co-workers. Not only did she do her job well but also she had been dedicated to the company for eight years. Needless to say I was wondering why she was still there.

I have had this uncanny ability most of my life to see the amazing potential in other people. A perception that seems to exist in most people yet cultivated for the positive in very few. You see, most people like to hate and tear down rather than build the person up. People will trash the person with the most potential or sabotage the chances they have. Very few people will help cultivate and build this potential in others. My mother was a builder. I can recall one person she used to work with and how my mom trained her and cultivated her for her job and then the girl ended up with the job above my mom. This is the sort of thing that gets people mad and has them become haters yet my mother just pushed on to bigger and better things.

Back to that hot blond for a moment and her boss that promoted someone she trained. Instead of topping out at 30k a year and working non-stop for people who do not appreciate the dedication, she took the advice of this guy and quit. She struggled in finding that perfect fit for her but soon ended up at a university where her dedication and brains became recognized almost instantly. Two and a half years later and multiple promotions she is kicking but and taking names. She even amazes herself at times with the accolades she receives from her bosses and peers.

I would love to say this is all about me but I cannot.

The important thing is this woman’s attitude towards herself and any other job she has had. Her head is held higher and her confidence is larger than she ever expected. Every aspect of her life has changed because she began to see what someone else saw already.

This is one person out of the many in my life that I believe in. This is one out of the many successes in my life as well. This tall fiery blond just so happens to be my wife. Nonetheless it is our ability to see people and help foster that confidence that makes us human and compassionate. If we began to foster help instead of hate we just might see the rewards are greater than if we tried to take from everyone. I know this because that hot blonde is now helping me complete my higher education and taking care of me in the process.

That is called REWARD people!!

PAY IT FORWARD>>

Stay Tuned…

What Have We Here

Every now and again the world stops for a brief second and some sort of miracle we witness stupefies us. The older we get the less we tend to pay attention and notice these phenomenon. We begin to write them off as something that happens or we intellectualize the event to bring it to our level.  

Last month we participated in a film festival to produce a movie in thirty days. As the whole process unfolded I began to catch a glimpse of things to come. Most was not positive and yet the positive began to peak through. Every day I could feel that what we were doing was good and on the level to compete against these other production houses. Closer and closer to our deadline and things began to fall apart.

Not everything goes according to plan!!

Before the Lights, Camera, and Action comes the lighting design and storyboards. The shot list and shooting schedule. Actors need to be cast and Bios need to be filled out for the characters. Jobs need to be assigned and props need to be gathered. Schedules need to be set and rearranged. Schedules need to be verified with the rest of the cast and crew and finalizations need to be made. The choice of camera needs to be determined as well as location for shooting and a location release form needs to be procured. Meetings, meetings, and more meetings begin to eat away at time.

When you have only thirty days to export a finished product you need to be aware of shooting and editing and computer graphics and visual graphics. Sound needs to be manipulated and adjusted, and perhaps even Foley needs to be done. Music needs to be put in and adjusted as well.  The export needs to be secured and double-checked. The article needs to leave at this time on this day and no later.

Can I even get a postmark before I leave or do I just trust the post office to send it that night even though they are not open tomorrow and if it gets postmarked for Monday than we lose no matter what?

STRESS, STRESS AND MORE STRESS !

Hindsight!? Was it worth it?

Well, What have we here?

We won something!

As I sit in retrospect I am struck with the whole reason why we set out to compete in the first place. We are young and studious looking to secure our place in this industry. We are eager to find out what works and what needs fixing. We are striving to be players in the film industry not consumers. In the months and years to come you will begin to see our names appear on the big screen. Across the country and the globe you will be forced to stop and recognize the change that took place from now until then. We will become Titans in our own mind and players of a game long dreamt about. So thank you for reading and passing it on. Thank you for watching and passing it on. If you are here for the first time….catch up and pass it on. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

We didn’t win it all! But, we won something!

 More importantly we learned a ton.

Stay tuned…

So, What did you learn?

One irrefutable truth to life seems to be that no matter how long you are on this earth, you can learn something new every day.  It never ceases to amaze me how much I can learn from people half my age, and much less how much my one year old daughter teaches me. I just wish I could say I learn great and philosophical things. The truth be told, I learn who not to trust or why I felt weary in the first place. I should know by now, to trust my gut and listen to that inner part of my being that says yes or no to me in my head, yet I just can’t stop!

What are you talking about now?

Kids, Slackers, People with no drive!

There is a point where you have to ask yourself; Why am I here? If you fail to answer that question and other people are counting on you……….

Then GO HOME!!!

I do not how to put this any plainer. If you do not have the drive or just show up to go through the motions and have no idea what the motions are…….

GO HOME!

 In fact just go away from me.

Don’t talk to me don’t claim to be my friend and certainly don’t ask me if there are any projects you can work on.  NO THERE ARE NONE, mainly because you don’t know what WORK IS!!!!!!

For the record!

WORK:

 activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.

such activity as a means of earning income; employment

 a task or tasks to be undertaken; something a person or thing has to do

 something done or made:

 Physics: the exertion of force overcoming resistance or producing molecular change.

 To be engaged in physical or mental activity in order to achieve a purpose or result, esp. in one's job; do work:

Just in case you were stupefied as to the content of that wonderful four letter word. There you have it. Please learn this and see how you may be able to apply it to your life.

For the rest of you I truly am sorry but I think we need to preach this from atop of every mountain and building we can find. I challenge you to hold each other accountable and make sure the next generation is aware that in order to work you must do more than just show up.

Know what you are doing or ask to be taught. Nothing in life is free and if you show up again and act like a moron, well lets just say I will be as blunt as I normally am!

WORK requires effort and knowledge of the job you are performing. If you want to be recognized than you must first know what the hell you are doing.

Ok, ok, I will step away and let that sink in. If you are feeling this offends you then you may need to take a look at your life. If you feel this is funny than you need to stop being the clown. If you feel this is a sermon needing to be preached than you my friend are welcome at my table for dinner.

Just saying!