Testing The Waters

"It really don't matter if I lose this fight...  all I wanna do is go the distance." ~ Rocky (1976) There are some films that strike a deep chord in the hearts and minds of audiences,  "Rocky" and all the subsequent sequels are among those films  (well, with the exception of Rocky 5) . Each movie in the "Rocky" franchise has the ability to stand alone as a film, which is a testament to Sylvester Stallone as a writer and as an actor. With Rocky Balboa Stallone created an endearing lovable loser character that everyone could not only identify with but also root for. The success of the franchise is due in part to the raw, undiluted brilliance of first movie, "Rocky." GOING THE DISTANCE One of my absolute favorite scenes from the first film is when Rocky reveals to Adrian his goal for the fight against Apollo Creed. In that scene he declares, "all I wanna do is go the distance." Its such a humble goal - Rocky doesn'...

You've all heard the old adage, "Life is about Peaks and Valleys." Its origin is unclear but we've all heard it. It's an emotional pick me up. A motivator to keep going. I know I’ve said some derivation of it to a friend when they've needed comfort AND admittedly at times the person I’m telling it to is myself. There are different variations like: “Life ebbs and flows” “What goes up must come down” "Highs and lows"  "To and fro" "Good and bad times"  Because I'm a visual person I like the image that is created with “Peaks” and “Valleys” P eAKS are by definition the highest point. I like thinking of the summit of a mountain. Its symbolic of the times when I'm feeling positive and on top of the world. When everything I do is working. These are the "wins" in our liv es, the "high" times BUT we can not surviv e at this altitude for v ery long because a...

I was walking around my neighborhood today and by looking at the shop windows I couldn't help but notice that summer is winding down. The windows are dressed in gorgeous Autumn colors and Halloween pumpkins are everywhere. Its not officially Fall until Saturday, Sept 22 but I am already eagerly awaiting the change of season. During my stroll I came across this cool little shop, in its window there were these cute journals - one just jumped out at me and I had to share it - this is the cover of the journal: To me "The Heart" is our human compass. More specifically, it is our NORTH .  It communicates to us directly through our intuition.  But how do you know you are listening to your heart? The answer to this question can be found by examining your life. The answer is reflected back to you in your personal friendships and relationships. It is in how you deal with your success and failures. We have just entered the last quarter of 2012, there are 118 days left i...

This one's for all my FELLOW ARTISTS! We all have our up's and down's when it comes to working towards our dreams. This roller coaster ride seems especially perilous when the dream is attached to the arts. Our society (for what ever reason) views this pursuit as if it is THE LOWEST, most ridiculous goal anyone could strive for. Armed with my innate positivity I am for the most part immune to these naysayers. Also being raised by a woman who would say to me time and time again: "Never allow yourself to say: I could've, I would've, I should've but I didn't." This statement has given me a fearlessness that fuels me to stay on my path, and to also try new things. Again, I am usually in a healthy, positive place - BUT - (insert doom music here) the trouble begins when I'm on an emotional low (usually when I've been on six or more auditions without a call back or booking) its then that those wretched negative though...