Crazy . Rocky Horror, Army Wives

It is hell week for Rocky Horror. That means the drama is amped up and we are all in crunch mode. This also impacted my income, as I had to turn down a days work on Army Wives.

Oh, yeah, I am working as an actor on the series Army Wives. We are filming season six now in North Charleston and various nearby locations. No one reads this blog, so I can honestly say I totally enjoy working on set and find the whole process fascinating. Wish I was more than background, but on my first day I had personal interaction with two of the main characters, so maybe my FEMA agent will someday have a word. not even thinking an entire line, but maybe just a word or two to start. we'll see.

I lost my password here, so the entries were interrupted for a while. In that time I have moved from Pennsylvania to Charleston, South Carolina (my ideal spot on the planet) live near the beach and am now an empty nester. Not too much change, huh?

life is great, but I wish I had steady work on Army Wives and that some of my online income would grow... http://www.RobWrites.com is my new ghostwriting site, plus I am again bidding on projects on GURU. blah. Plus making some new videos on youtube, my other "cash cow"

SYTYCD

So anyway the other night we were watching "So you think you can dance" and I have to say some of those crazy bitches can dance!

And they are dancing with a fierceness only matched by the honey badger when the honey badger is really pissed off, y'all. I am not even kidding at all when I say that, and believe me you, there is a bit of jealousy and no sarcasm to that comment whatsonever.

Honey badger kicks some ass, but those crazy women on SYTYCD are just kicking some guys asses all over that stage. I wish I had a wide screen TV so I could see what kind of shenanigans is going on backstage. Don't tell me I don't know what I am talking about. You have to have the wide screen with the special remote that allows you to choose the camera angle and which feed you are getting. I saw it at our friend's house and they have one of those double projectors mounted in the ceiling. They have a double projector TV mounted in the fucking ceiling. OMFG. the second projector is all about the backstage action, and let's just say that there is no censor on those cameras. I think they have a special pay per spew type deal with DirectDishTV. Cause that channel dishes the news on those bitches. That should be the new show. So You Think You Can Dance and Dish on the Bitches. I would so watch that one, you know I'm totally serious now.

Actually it should be a whole channel or network or whatever the fuck you want to call it; all about So You Think You Can _______. wait I don't mean any of the shows would be so you think you can fill in the blank. But so you think you can Dance, Sing, Perform, Be Sarcastic, Write Funny Shit, watch Youtube better than me. So you think you can Porn Star. So You Think You Can be Cleverer.

Wow, that would kick the O network's ass. That brings up the question, would the O networks ass fluctuate in size like Oprah's does? You can comment on that, or anything.. and I might read it.

Does Oprah like opera?

"Slavery and the KKK" meet "Hats"

This past weekend I appeared in a local production called “Hats.” It is loosely based on the poem by Dr. Joe Cornelius and is being performed in honor of black history month. I played first a slave catcher, then an assistant at a slave auction and finally a member of the KKK hanging a black man for looking at a white woman.

Needless to say it is not a fun set of roles, but someone has to do it. But it really is horrible. I have to keep telling myself that there is a purpose to my part, and I understand it is educational, but I really really don’t like it and it makes me very uncomfortable. I can easily say that this is not my history, and that most of my ancestors weren’t in this country during the times represented, but it still is part of the shame of our country.

I am glad that the rest of the cast (mostly black) are understanding and sympathetic and realize that it is just a role, but some of the kids have looked at me in that KKK robe and been taken aback. That makes me feel bad. Other kids think I am playing a ghost and that makes me feel bad in a different way.

It also makes me think about encounters I’ve had with racism, and I can honestly say that I have stood up against it publicly a few times and it has cost me relationships. Obviously they were relationships that were formed while not knowing the person’s inner thoughts on equality. I’ve had the same experiences with gay bashing as well. I mean, what year is it going to be when people realize that people are people?

People are born the way they are born. If that means you are straight, gay, black, white, or whatever. At least be tolerant and quiet if you can’t be accepting. But really I think it mostly just takes getting to know people who aren’t like you, and then coming to know them as people, and not as “what they are.” I was mostly always “tolerant” of gay and lesbian folks, but until I got into theater and got to know more of them did I become totally accepting. I think the same thing happened to me in the military with accepting people of other races.

Prior to that, I didn’t really know too many people of other races and was okay with them, but just didn’t have the familiarity to fully accept. that may sound a little strange, but we all evolve over time (well, most of us) and become new people. My early self would probably be boggled at what I’ve become, but it’s gradual change over time to become that which you aspire towards..

And on a totally different note, here's my latest comedy video. Sort of a "spinal tap" flavor, or "the rutles"

Best thing I ever found

I've found a lot of things over the course of my life. How to narrow this down to the "best thing ever" found?

When I went to Salt Lake City in 2007 for a USANA convention I didn't know what to expect. Well, the convention itself was pretty amazing. Great speakers, motivational talks, sales instruction; all the sort of things you would expect, plus a concert by REO Speedwagon. The concert was pretty good, but how did those guys get so old? I mean I haven't aged a day in twenty years. (thanks to premium supplements and a healthy lifestyle) OK. I've aged a bit, but those guys had some miles on them. But I digress.

After all the events were done my wife and I were walking back to our hotel and I spotted a rock in the gutter. It was a little rock. Not like Arkansas, but a little rock nonetheless. I picked it up and noticed that it was a green piece of quartz with a white stripe going through the middle of it. Now most people might ignore it, or pick it up and then put it down, but I stuck it in my pocket. I knew immediately that it was a gratitude rock.

A gratitude rock is the kind of a rock that you can put in your pocket and every time you stick your hand in there, it reminds you of everything you have going for you. If you're wearing tight trousers it may remind you that it is there even without your hand going in there. Either way you get a reminder.

The things that most people complain about aren't even worthwhile. I mean think about the last thing you were down about. Was it that your belly was aching because you haven't had a meal in two days? Was it that you had to sleep under a bridge to stay out of the rain or snow? Odds are it was because you couldn't find a parking space, or you got a ticket, or you had to work late. Or a meal at a restaurant was not up to some standard you hold dear.

Every time I start to feel down about something I try to remember that rock and think about the positive things that I have that many people around the world don't. Yes, I can access the internet at high bit rate and I have a roof over my head and eat regularly. But I also have to think that I have a wonderful wife, and loving extended family and friends who are there for me in all circumstances.

I have clothes on my back and heat in my home. Wow, I have a home to live in that has "extra" rooms and blankets and cable TV and running water. I have light to read by and books that are waiting for me. And a library system to supply me with free books, music and movies.

I have a government that mostly stays off my back. No gunfire around here or bombs exploding. I am grateful I am not in Egypt or Iraq at the moment, or in any of a hundred places at different levels of war. The food I eat would probably feed two or three people in a third world country and the food I throw away because it's gone bad before I get to it would probably feed another.

What is the best thing I've found? It's not really that rock, but it is the things that I sometimes take for granted that the rock reminds me of.

Writing Blahs

I know you have to write "for yourself" and not for others. It's like losing weight. If you're going to go on a diet, get in shape, whatever, it has to be an internal choice, not a choice to please someone else, but you know sometimes you need approval or validation or whatever. Especially when other aspects of your life are not going well.

I've been unemployed for a while now and really searching hard for a job, and not finding one. So you add that to the fact that I am feeling like my self-esteem is drowning regarding my writing, validation-wise anyway, and things are not looking up.

Money is tight, so I can't easily afford to mail out my screenplay to someone who requested it. (a production company) Or afford to print hard copies, and mail them.. grrr. And then I get a short unemployment check, and a chance to audition for a tv pilot, but I don't want to spend money on gas to get there, for a chance to earn 250 over five days and maybe the pilot gets picked up...

Where have all the flowers gone?

I was searching through blogs trying to figure out how to promote and eventually get my screenplay produced. While I was doing that I realized there are so many abandoned blogs out there. I mean you look at something. Just for kicks we'll call it a blog post, and it is really interesting.

This is someone who can really write and has a real opinion on things and you are learning something. Maybe it's something you can use in everyday life, or maybe you're just learning about the human condition or whatever. It doesn't matter so much exactly what it is, the cat can write and he or she is holding your interest. Maybe their dog has an ulcer and they are worried about whether it will survive. They love that dog and are worried so much and their little girl has hysterics and is crying. They even post a couple pictures of when the dog was a puppy under the tree at Christmas. they got you.

Then you realize the post is from december of 2007. And the story is done. You are thinking, what the fuck happened to that dog? or "Did this blogger have a car accident and die? Maybe on the way to the vet?"

And it is sad man. Sad that people stop writing. I can understand why. I mean, I have had two products that really could help people, and no one buys them or even downloads them for free, and you think to yourself "what the fuck? why am I even bothering?" Herman Melville died pennyless. So many well known best selling authors and other artists die alone and sad.

And yeah, that puppy may have died, but at least it was loved for what it brought tot he table. And it didn't care if no one outside its circle even knew about it. Dogs are unconditional love if you treat them even somewhat well. Feed it and don't kick it and odds are it will love you forever.

This isn't an abandoned blog although it is neglected sometimes. If it was a dog it would have died of starvation by now.

I am sad especially for the blogs that were loved for a year or more, but then, nothing.. quote the raven nevermore. Nevermore to hear the trivial interesting details of someone who is willing to write the truth as no on else can. And you know you can really write the truth when you don't think anyone you know (or maybe no one at all) will read it.

I'm no Melville or Poe, but they are not me either. I hope that this causes at least one person to go back and give their old blog CPR. Revive it and bring it back to life for the joy the writing gives you. You never know who is going to read it, but you shouldn't write for that reason alone.

Where have all the writers gone? Long time passing.

Busy Month, still on the job search

well it's been a crazy couple months what with getting ready and preforming in Evil Dead, The Musical. I got the part of Good Old Reliable Jake, here's a rehearsal video. A couple notes were off, but are now gold. check it out.


I also have a couple job applications in and have an interview next week with Body Zone, so I'll think positive thoughts on that one. Zack got in trouble with the law last week. Stupid kid stuff. He was hanging out of a moving car - sitting on the window jam and the car got pulled over. He got a ticket for $235 including court costs. hope he learned a lesson. Expensive one...

Steph is still going to dental assistant school and seems to like it. another seven months she'll graduate. Yippee.
Deb is really starting to get busy and her income is gradually starting to reflect that. My online income is approaching 800 per month and that is passive income. Hope that continues for years and hopefully trending up.

One Year Unemployed

I don't usually talk about my employment status because I've been laid off for a year now. I had to go through a requalification interview today to continue my unemployment and it was like they were giving me the run around because I worked a couple days on the load in/out crew at the Sovereign Center. It was like
Them "you worked there one day this year"
Me: "yes, if they need a lot of workers for a show, I am like 95 on the list"
Them: "and you're not working now because of lack of work?"
Me: yes, I guess. If they only called me once in a year, I guess they don't have much work.
Them: Do they intend to call you back?
Me: Maybe for a big show. I really can't say for sure.
Them: But you weren't fired
Me: No, It's like I'm a "stand by" employeee if they need a lot of people
Them: How much did you make? Did you make $3,000?
Me: for one day?
Them: yes
Me: If I made three thousand a day anywhere, I'd love that, but no.
Them: so you didn't make three thousand.
Me: no it was only one day.
Them:How much did you make?
(I was totally unprepared for this)
Me: I don't know. Maybe like seventy dollars.
Them: And are they going to call you back?
Me: I don't know
Them: Are you not employed because of lack of work?
Me: it was only one day, two months ago. I guess there's not a lot of work there. So I would say yes.
Them: and what about the week you worked for them last October.
Me: That was only two days. Maybe ten hours total.
Them: Did you make three thousand then?
Me: Um, no.

Holy Crap. And I've heard this called FUNemployment. It's not. It's torturous sometimes. Does anyone out there need a training manager. I'll work pretty cheap and I'm an OSHA authorized trainer..

HAHD Ezine Challenge

I am very pleased that I completed (and exceeded) the hundred original articles in a hundred days challenge on Ezine. To read some of my articles (or all of them) Click here http://ezinearticles.com/?expert_bio=Robert_Britt

You are a bridge

We are all bridges in life. Bridges for other people to get to where they need to go, or bridges for learning to help people learn what they think they need to learn, or maybe what you think they ought to learn.

Whether people appreciate you or not, remember that their success or failure was, in part at least, facilitated by what you did for them, and if, in your heart, you did what you did to help them, your efforts and thoughts will be rewarded. In the bible this is expressed as bread cast upon the water comes back tenfold. Or something of that nature. That's life.

Sometimes I feel like my efforts are unrewarded or un-noticed, and I have to remember that all things will come back to me in one form or another, and that I don't do things for the reward, but for the fact that they should be done and I am in the time and place and capable of doing them. That's all.

That is my beef with the christian heaven and hell concept. If christians (or religionists) do things because of the "reward" that is waiting for them in the afterlife, is that really behavior that is from the heart? It could be, but it is likely not. So if an atheist does a good deed for no reason but the deed was the right thing to do, is he more righteous than the person who expects reward in the hereafter? In the end it doesn't matter too much, just that the deed was done, I guess.

Stand-up Rob Britt

Here's a video of my stand-up. This was my first time doing this, and I was selected as the audience favorite. fun time.

Obama Landslide in 2012

It was no surprise that Barack Obama became a two term president, but the overwhelming support that was shown by his landslide victory gives him incredible political clout. Unlike the “political capital” that George W. Bush claimed after his narrow victory over John Kerry Obama’s large percentage shows he has the will of the majority. The Obama victory can be tied to two political events that altered the Republican party and aroused the sleeping giant of the formerly apathetic non-voting bloc. These were aided by a third voting group that was alienated by the conservative movement.

The first event was the formation of the so called ‘Tea Party Movement.’ A group of people who rallied around the cry of back to basics and an adherence to the principles of the founding fathers decided to ignore the “all men are created equal” statement by allowing racist overtones to invade their platform. The racism wasn’t initially a part of the movement, but the denial of the racist component and the fear of ‘minority’ empowerment degraded the initial intent of the movement.
The documented proof of this racism occurred during a rally in Washington DC where a subset of the “Tea Baggers” were heard shouting the “N-word” at several members of congress who were African-American. Representative Barney Frank Also reported that members of the group called him a faggot. Rather than address this internal issue and publicly denounce the behavior it was blamed on the media and ‘infiltrators’ trying to disrupt the movement.

The second trigger event was the passage of Arizona SB1070 in early 2010, which was signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer. The law gave police broad powers to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. The demand for “papers” from anyone potentially illegal brought to mind events in Nazi Germany. The obvious racial profiling seemed to be condoned by many on the political right.

A third group, separated by the above two segments because they belonged to no particular ethnicity was the GLBT (Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender) contingent. They also had, and have, continue to be pushed down by the far right Christian Conservatives who seem to have a death grip on control of the Republican party.
So this political entity, the Republican Party, allowed momentum of “anti-liberal” joiners to swell their ranks. But from those joiners the ranks became rank. Encouraged by the momentum that seemed to be building within the conservative movement there was no outcry at the radical elements who would have in other circumstances possibly been thrown to the curb.

A growing sentiment of elitism and racism within the party eventually united the people that they were trying to put down. The party of Lincoln (remember him) now was a group that brought racism into their fold, and from that empowered those people they felt would fold. The mistake awakened a sleeping giant.
African Americans make up 12.4% of the country. Hispanics make up 15.4% of the country. Non religious people make up 13% of the population. GLBT make up 4% of the population. 37% of the population are socially progressive white folks. Even with the obvious overlap this still makes a huge percentage of the population that isn’t buying into the hate.

Conservative media slammed ACORN for activism and registering voters who had been part of the oppressed minorities, but in the aftermath a purer voter registration group, the League of Women Voters saw a tidal wave of registration unlike any seen in the history of the country.

It’s OK To Brag. “Aw, Shucks, Little Ol’ Me” Doesn’t Inspired Confidence

Yesterday I told my daughter that she was beautiful. As a father I may be a bit biased on that, and I can accept that. But it doesn’t diminish the fact that she is beautiful by standards other than mine. Yet she doesn’t take a compliment well, and I think that is a problem with a lot of people, me included.

Somehow the rules of our society make it almost a crime to say that something you did is praise worthy. That is a load of bologna. (To people not familiar with that phrase, it’s a polite way of saying it is BS) It’s OK to be proud and to speak of your accomplishments. It’s not OK to run them in someone’s face or to talk about them as a way of hogging the spotlight or putting other people down, but you worked hard to accomplish the things that you have done and it is just fine to claim them as your own.

I graduated from college with a 3.92 grade point average. It was a lot of work to maintain that average and I bypassed many opportunities of a social nature to make sure my work got done and that my papers and tests deserved the scores that they got. I am proud of that work and won’t hide it, but some people don’t even want to admit they went to college when they get into a certain atmosphere. “Oh, you’re a college boy, are you?” was a line of derision on an old TV show I used to watch and that attitude still pervades the manufacturing community to some extent. Hard core blue collar workers (my co-workers at one point) would deride me for taking classes at night. I was somehow sucking up to the bosses by trying to better myself. I never understood that attitude.

Although I have used my personal experiences as examples here, this isn’t about me. It’s about being able to take pride in a job well done and being able to say “Yes, that was me.” You worked hard to get where you are and it’s OK to brag. Not an “in your face” brag, but a standing tall brag. You don’t go into an interview and tell a potential client or employer how unworthy you are so don’t go into the world like that. Hold you head up and be proud of your accomplishments and yourself.

Next time you get a compliment don’t shrug it off; thank the person and take the compliment to heart. Don’t deflect it by returning a compliment, just relax and enjoy the glow it gives you. Use your gifts to make the world a better place and enjoy your place in it. You are a gift to the world and never ever forget that.

Oh, also working on a new website - Britt-Marketing go check it out. Thanks

Flash Forward – Results and Fate

What would you do if you caught a glimpse of your future? This is the premise of a TV show called Flash Forward, and the people are caught up in a “is this fate or can I change things?”

Each of us has within us the power to change our future. It’s a question of whether you step up and deny the things that you are told are your future, if you disagree with them, or the steps you take to assure that future, if it looks good and agrees with you. What does this have to do with fitness, health and nutrition?

My father died of a stroke. His mother died of a brain aneurism, which is, simply put, caused by the blockage of blood to the brain, for one reason or another, generally having to do with fatty deposits in the blood stream. My brother, in his forties had to have heart bypass surgery. Are these signs of thing to come in my future? Do I sit back and call it fate or do I become proactive to try to bypass a bypass?

We see a sign on a pack of cigarettes: “May Cause Cancer” again, a predictor of potential future events, yet people ignore it. While walking people will not cross the street against the flow of traffic because the impact (literally) could be right now, but future impact is not so important. Ah, it could happen. It’ll never happen to me. I know of a guy who lived into his eighties who… Yet there are more examples of people in their fifties and sixties (and much younger) who have emphysema and cancer, but we’ll ignore those cases and focus on the anomaly.

Or you can choose to have a few drinks at a party and know that “I’m OK to drive, it’s only a few drinks” while not recognizing that the first thing to be impaired is our judgment. Prior to the drink we know not to drink and drive yet we do it. And I am not on some high horse here, or speaking from my soapbox, as I have been as guilty as anyone of ignoring these facts.

In the show, people are given a gift (or a curse) of knowing some small piece of their future. Some shrug their shoulders and continue doing what they were doing, or they had a glimpse of the mundane, so why would they drastically alter their lives and plans, but we who have only the future we are building and dreaming of should know that every step we take is one step down the path to that future.

Sometimes events happen in your life that really make you step back and re-assess what direction you are going, or what your goals are, but shouldn’t we be doing that anyway. Does a near fatal accident have to occur to make you appreciate the ones in your life that love and appreciate you? Beginning each day with just a few moments of gratitude can shine a light into what may currently seem a dreary world. Focusing on the positive things can make them grow. You never will pick up a idea that you don’t reach for.
visit my 'other blog' at http://www.Robertbritt.com

Conservative vs. Liberal Ideology: Dogma Dissection and Changing Thoughts

We are shaped by what we think. What we think is directly influenced by what we read, listen to and watch. So the environmental factors we choose, define our thinking. What does that mean?

As we are growing up, most of us have some reflection of our parents’ thinking. It might be a direct reflection, “Oh, Dad thinks X, so I’ll think X” or an opposing reflection, “I’ll think Y then.’ But as we mature we start to be influenced by friends, teachers and the media. If we lean slightly one way or the other – conservative or liberal to use the common terms, we may start to listen to Rush Limbaugh or Al Franken (in his radio days) and then we begin to adapt what we like or shudder as we think, oh, no, that’s just wrong.

So we gravitate towards people we tend to agree with, and that’s a normal thing. But if you get into the trap of “group think” then things start to go awry. Suddenly ALL you are listening to is Rush and the people he recommends. You can exclude those whose opinion differs and begin to classify them as ‘the enemy’ or think of them as stupid.

I was talking to a friend about Ellen Goodman, the ‘liberal’ columnist, and she said to me, I stopped reading her because I agreed with everything she was saying. It wasn’t challenging my beliefs, so what do I get out of reading it. Most people never get to that point. If you are nodding every time you read something, or hear something, you aren’t growing.

If you automatically shut off if Rush is on, you are denying any possibility that he’s right about anything. This is the danger zone. We all have to realize that the labels of conservative and liberal are too vague. Most of us have elements of both within us. I believe in small government staying out of my business, but that business also includes reproductive options. I believe we should ‘save the whales’ but I also think guns don’t kill people, people kill people. (Guns sometimes aid in that, but if you want to kill, you can figure out a way.) Start reading things you don’t agree with, and step out of your shoes and think about the other person’s perspective.

Bite Nite - Final Shoot

The last scene for the film Bite Nite was shot on Sunday afternoon, just prior to the Super Bowel. Wow, did I just write bowel instead of bowl? Did you know that super bowl is copyrighted and radio stations and talk shows, dj’s and all those sorts of folks aren’t even supposed to use the phrase super bowl? That’s why they say things like “The Big Game” and other nonsense. That is actually true, not something I made up. Really! For once the game wasn’t a blow out (those games would fit the super bowel phrase) It was great seeing the Saints win it all. I love when underdogs win. Speaking of underdogs…

Bite Nite. This is where I started and dagnabbit I am going to write about it now. We filmed the groundbreaking scene to build the hospital, which is quite a climax in this film, I must say. I had the ‘brilliant’ idea for someone to make a snow angel to celebrate the occasion, and they thought it would be funny if the priest did that. Of course, I didn’t agree, but there I was in my nifty white collar making a snow angel. Woowee that’s comedy there, I tell ya.
Father Fangula


I have a couple shots of me as Father Fangula. (What a name. Since I was fighting the vampires in this spoof, maybe I should have been Father DeFangula, but I didn’t write this one) One of the shots is me conducting the eulogy for one of my dearly departed Vangels. (that’s a girl child who is the offspring of a human woman and a vampire) sort of a Vamp – Angel. (again, I did not make this up)

The ground breaking scene was shot with an actual LA actress who was flown in for the part. Lara Cardinal. I’d never heard of her, but she’s the “queen of the B movie screamers” or some such title. She was very nice and the group of us (the talent – oh, yeah) had an interesting conversation. I came up with a great line for a werewolf to say to his date “play your cards right and there could be a new fur coat in this for you” (now that’s funny)

I think the release date for this movie is October – timed for Halloween – and it’s a straight to DVD thing, although we may have a local premier – renting a theater for cast, friends family and kind critics.

Bite Night and other movie roles

Well, maybe the title is slightly misleading, but it is likely. I have been offered one of the leading roles in an independent film called Bite Nite, a vampire spoof. I am getting the full script tomorrow for that one and we’ll see how it goes. Someone had to back out at the last minute so now I am getting the part of Father Fangulous, a Catholic priest. certainly no type-casting there.

And I am auditioning for a second film, also an independent local shoot, but there isn’t even a working title yet. (at least as far as I know)

Thirdly, I am doing another show at Reading Community Players called Take Me Out. It’s the story of a major league ball player who comes out of the closet. (not my character) I’ll probably end up playing someone who has a beef with that sort of thing. I was trying to phrase that to not sound like I was making a pun. First thought was “I am probably playing someone who has a hard time with that” but that seemed worse. Where’s the Beef? Cora’s dead – showing my age.

Anyway, there’s all the news that’s fit to print

the Ripple Effect

Don’t underestimate your impact in this world. The slightest thing you do can change the course of many many lives.

Example:

About ten years ago I was working with a guy named Todd. Todd and I got along really well and had many interesting conversations, some deep, some shallow, most I don’t even remember. One conversation we had was about fitness. I wanted to get in better shape, and I was uneducated on how to go about it.

Todd recommended a book, Body for Life, by Bill Phillips. It’s a book for entry level fitness folks. If you know almost nothing, it’s great. If you think you know a thing or two, you may be educated a bit. Some things in it may not be totally accurate, but it can and does give you diet guidelines, workout schedules and inspirational stories.

I read it and entered the “Body for Life Challenge” 1999. So did Deb. We made progress on our physical and mental selves and met an entire new online community, the Yahoo Body for Life group. That group got us involved in Wishlifts, which are weight lifting events to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation. At one of those lifts we met Bob Doyle (from the movie The Secret – before the movie was even thought of) and we organized an event where he presented his Create Your Own Reality workshop. That was his first experience in that direction. His first workshop.

Then I took Bob’s Six Figure Streams course a year later and we started down the path of having on-line internet careers.

The body for life also got Deb excited about fitness and she got certified as a trainer and eventually got a job at Body Zone, which introduced us to Jim and Toni Reece. Meeting them helped start the Get Inspired! Project.

All this from a brief conversation with a coworker on fitness.

We both have new careers and mindsets and have an expanded new group of friends.

Q What tiny thing have you said that has changed lives?

A: You have no idea, but think about that a bit. When you are in a poor mood or a good mood, that’s contagious. When you make a suggestion, someone may listen and follow through. Words are like knives. They can cut through flesh and change lives.

New Year 2010 already?

It's been an eventful year, getting laid off from my job and working with the PEOPLE Academy now, mostly writing articles for them. Great company and fantastic products. Our Experience plus your experience = An Amazing Experience for your clients or something like that.

Still doing the Ghosthunting, http://www.GhosthuntersPA.com and have applied to be a sister unit to TAPS.

Doing improv comedy with http://www.DutchBlitzkrieg.com Things are moving along there, doing monthly shows, and getting some audience. Not as large as we would like, but at least some people are showing up.

I am getting back to the musical and working on my book, OneTree Down. 2010 has got to be better than 2009, at least moving forward again, instead of stagnating.

Work Life Balance

I wrote the other day about having balance in the gym routine. Lots of people tend to work the muscles they feel are seen; guys work arms and chest, women abs and legs. But a very important part of the gym workout is making sure you have symmetry and balance in your appearance.

The same can be said of life. Some work hard for appearances of wealth and neglect other aspects of their lives. I am not saying that wealt is a bad thing. Far from it. Wealth makes many things possible. It also makes life more enjoyable. But if that is your main focus, and other parts of your life suffer, you are in a losing situation.


I have tried through the years to keep a balance and to keep things in perspective. I got a yin yang tattoo many many years ago (before the surge in popularity of that sort of thing, and the whole Asian influence explosion) That tattoo was placed to remind me to keep things even. In my mind it is the mental and the physical that needs balance. And then in those groups are the sub-categories.

Mental can be broken down into learning and growing mentally and into spiritualism. you can continue to break these down as you will. Spirituality can be religion or it can be communicating with nature, god, goddess, the universe, a tree, whatever you think is the right thing at the time. Mental growth can be school, a mentor, a book or surfing the web.

Physical can be broken into your living state (house, car, money, family) and into your physical well being, basically meaning your health. Health can be how your body is functioning as a unit of sustaining your brain, and how you are maintaining that state through physical activity, sustenance and such. I take sustenance one step further (and I think it is a needed step) that you are not only eating properly, whole food as close to nature as possible, but that you are also supplementing your diet with things it does not contain.

There is a lot that I have just written on in a short few paragraphs, but these are things that some people forget as they try to ‘make ends meet.’ There is so much more to life than that, and if you stay in a perpetual state of worry over making ends meet, you are holding yourself and those around you down to that state. I really have found that by focusing on positive aspects, even in the most negative situations, thing turn the corner. Without getting to deep into it, my life took a serious downturn about six months ago, and we could have decided to focus on the worst, but we didn’t and have come out of all of it stronger and in a better place, I think both physically and mentally speaking.

Don’t ever give up. Balance your life through doing the things you need to do to survive and also doing things that are going to take you to a higher place.