2012: Act II - I'll tell you a secret...

This year has been such an adventure! One of the things that stands out a lot is the development in my choices as to how to live my life. I got off to a rough start, some issues from the tail end of 2011 rolling over momentarily, but what happened had to happen. I'm not upset...life is a constant process of change, and discomfort signifies the opportunity for growth. It's a matter of perspective and choice. You have to actively make a choice, and from there, growth will take its course. Progress and forward mobility are products of fully living in the now. The past is back there not here, and tomorrow is out there - hasn't happened yet - and, again, not here. NOW is what we have and NOW is right here where we're living and NOW is where we can do the most!

Bruce Nauman's piece that caught me at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

I used to try to plan every move, so much so that it became a required routine I had to perform every day. If anything was out of place, my day was a disaster and I would have to fight to rectify the mistakes. It pained me immensely if I didn't check something repeatedly, if I didn't mentally chant specific mantras perfectly, if I didn't do something the exact way I thought it needed to be done. This mandatory disciplinary schedule developed into a monster that played like a incessant hiccup in my mind. I'd be paralyzed by self-judgment and on most occasions I'd be late to any event because I was so preoccupied with performing these rituals perfectly before I could even leave the house. It held a cloud over my head, no matter how sunny the skies were, for over a decade of my life. My OCD was a dictator and a control freak.

But in my early 20's I made the conscious decision that it would no longer have any power over me. You gotta fight for the things you love, and the first step was learning to love myself completely...not only for my great qualities but also for my flaws. Then came the fight, and I'm a scrapper!

I broke down whatever self-imposed walls that confined my spirit from shining out brilliantly from within. I actively would go against the grain and would face whatever would come. And most times, if not all times, I'd be alright. Sometimes we need to deconstruct to reconstruct a bigger and better foundation. We all have the strength and ability to make this life exactly what we want it to be.

Play chess by understanding the moves you have to make, but move one piece at a time, as that's the only thing we can do. Act and react. Talk and listen. Don't get ahead of yourself and just enjoy what's going on right now. Live absolutely in the moment. As my buddy once put it in a very funny rant: "You can't live two days at a time, so let's try to just live one day at a time." Haha! The now...this is where the golden moments, the treasure, truly lives.

I wanted to share this because I know that most people who read my blog are often given the impression that I'm the happiest guy alive. That's not too far off from the truth! But we all have pains that have played a role in our lives, and this is one that has shaped me to be the life-loving dude I am.

The second act of 2012 has already begun, and so far it's been a thrilling, fantastic adventure filled with excitement and memories. With that, I leave you with some wise words from Deepak Chopra, whose "Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" book I highly recommend. Live good, live happy, live in love. Let's get it...NOW!

- "What happens is supposed to happen"

- “Don't try to steer the river.”

- “Even when you think you have your life all mapped out, things happen that shape your destiny in ways you might never have imagined.”

- “There are no accidents... there is only some purpose that we haven't yet understood.”

Work Hard Play Hard

Wooooooowheeeeee!

That's my inner country boy emerging as I sit here at the ReelKick Ranch up in amazing Malibu, CA. I've taken this week to marinate at the ranch as kind of a retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life in Los Angeles. Not to say I've been around this marvelous city very much though lately (as you'll find out as you continue to read my captivating blog haha), but hanging out here with only horses and chickens to talk to definitely inspires me to speak to my human audience of blog readers. Unless chickens and horses can read this. *insert eerie sound effect and shifty eyes*

So a friend of mine who runs movie screenings text messaged this to me the other day:

She was screening a movie I had worked on called Bounty Killer starring Kristanna Loken and the Ruff Ryders Queen, Eve. Funny thing is, I've been so busy recently that it completely slipped my mind that I worked on that film! But a special shout out goes out to my friend Randall Archer for bringing me on to have some good ol' fashioned fun on this project! As you can tell from the delay in my blog entries, I've been satisfyingly occupied these past few months.

Better at pretending to have a desk job rather than having a desk job.

In addition to meeting lots of awesome casting directors and auditioning for some really fun shows and commercials, I've been working my robust tush off as well as making great memories around the country!

I started the summer up in New York, where my ReelKick teammate Fernando Chien was stunt coordinating a pilot being directed by our good friend Gavin O'Connor (Miracle, Warrior, etc). We scouted locations in the Bronx for an amazing action sequence (every corner in New York is so picturesque that it deserves its own cameo) and I returned to Los Angeles to run a pre-visualization to send to the network so they could see how impressive our actors were. Needless to say, the actors and stuntpeople (including our very own badass Sam Hargrave) shined, Ferny did his thing and rocked it, ReelKick delivered, and the show, The Americans, starring Keri Russell, is getting some great buzz! I can't wait to see it on TV!

Speaking of buzzing in Hollywood, another project I worked on is the bee's knees! My teammate Thayr Harris took the reins to coordinate a short film called "Prototype" and signed me on to choreograph the fights. In the beginning, we didn't know how sweet this project was going to turn out. In fact, the first rough cut of choreography that I pieced together was shot on a New York rooftop with me wielding a broomstick as the weapon of choice for our hero. Of course when I got back to Los Angeles we refined it and made it super cool and delectable to please every palate. Here's the super dope trailer that's getting a lot of attention!

This summer also saw me traveling up the Pacific Northwest to Portland, Oregon, to stunt double my buddy and just simply a good ol' soul, Reggie Lee, on his show "Grimm." The stunt coordinator, Matt Taylor, is one of the best guys to work with...super chill and down to earth, and he hires me to get beat up by pretty girls. I ain't complainin' at all! Thanks Matt!

Protect. Serve. Stare off dramatically into the distance.

So yeah, I've been busy and I love it. My workaholism knows no bounds, so bring it on!