Success Stories: AUG'31 Getting to know u

Because when I dream of something and want it bad enough it usually turns into a reality and is no longer a dream.

They choose me, essentially. I allow myself to be open to the Universe, and I am guided to what I'm good at - be it painting, composing, writing or whatever. I could, of course, just do what I want, but the way I see it, everyone's got a gift (or six) to give the world and, given that I don't know everything, left to my own thoughts I might probably never have found mine.

@Martha What a Great reply!! Thanks for your comment! :)

@Andrew Wow!! What a beautiful way of viewing things!! ur reply is very touching and inspiring!1 thanks for commenting!! :)

I chose to pursue movie production because I am a story teller, a gift passed down to me from me grandfather. I am a published author of short stories and have been writing and producing movies since 2000. The world needs entertainment and I am proud to be a part of the community that provides it.

Everything basically chose me. I grew up on stages for music and dance, but always had a passion for acting and fine art. I had trouble pursuing those confidently because my family was more music-oriented and I always felt like a mediocre member of the team. I did some modeling and amateur acting during high school for fun, then a friend of mine contacted me and said she wanted me on her team for a mini-series she's putting together in the coming years. I agreed to go back into modeling to get a niche in the community, then discovered, "Oh, wow, I really love acting, why did I stop?" I also strive to treat everyone else in the industry as an equal and spread the kindness around, since there needs to be more people like that in films and tv. So maybe a little of both choosing and being chosen.

@J. Brian Love ur comment! maybe we can work together one day! Take care! :)

@Sam what a wonderful story! thanks for sharing! good luck on everything! who knows, maybe we'll ge to work together in the near future! Take care! :)

I stumbled into screenwriting without ever a thought of doing it when I saw the film 'The Matrix' and realized the potential of mixing things that were not typically mixed: Martial Arts and cool CGI with philosophy. At the time I was exploring Eastern Philosophy. A couple of years later, after going through some rough things in life and spending time with family as I worked to recover, I discovered the show CSI during the first year or two, and was fascinated with Grissom's character. I became interested in deeper emotional stories and specifically the longer stories and characters that existed in television. Each moment I did not plan on or look for necessarily. I guess maybe I was looking for something to be inspired by after feeling somewhat bored and disillusioned and just ready for change in other professions. As I studied screenwriting, it integrated some evolved interest in mythology and psychology, work that I had done around consulting and emotional facilitating sorts of work for others and myself gave me a deeper understanding of things, which then had me more appreciative of the deeper characters and the more intense storylines. It has become something of a puzzle, where I have general directions I am moving towards and pieces I put together step by step through relationships with people inside and outside of the field. It is something that to some degree I discover and uncover and am reminded of from time to time as I discover an actor or actress who intrigues me enough to think about writing a character I had not considered, or as I see a film that I think 'maybe I would still like to write a film' or as I realize I like crime show structure more than I realized even when it is in shows which are less overtly crime shows. The process becomes part puzzle then I guess and part labyrinth. Then as I hone my understanding of the craft and talk to others, I think sometimes 'maybe I would enjoy being a story analyst', and I ask myself 'Am I up for tv writing if it is working 10 hour days with a group week in and week out? What kind of group could I work with?' I take step after step in the general direction and wonder 'will I get there?' or 'Is it worth it?' and 'Do I really want it, this bad?' So I think in that way I am somewhat choosing it every day in a one day at a time kind of way, and figuring out where I want to go with it - a little to the right? to the left? turn around? down a level? up a level? I stumble through things like a niece asking me to tell her a story or a friend's kids enjoying some stories when they asked me to make some up and realizing I may actually enjoy writing kids' stories which I had not considered. There is a lot of chaos I guess, where it feels like I don't so much choose it nor does it choose me so much as there is something of a dance... pushing and pulling, being pulled on and pushed and like watching a mystery, living a mystery as new characters come in and old ones fall away, and new stories unfold.

@Ashutosh omg!! this just blew me away. what a beautiful and magnificent story!im truly trying to find the right words to express how amazing and inspiring and motivating your story is. wow! now this is most definitely an awesome story and a wonderful way of viewing life and its choices given to us. wow!!!! much continued success to you and your loved ones!!!! thanks for sharing!!!! God Bless!!!! :-)

SoU - Happy to offer inspiration where I can. Many others certainly offer it to me. You may enjoy a story of a friend who was told to go into something other than film when he started to pursue it. The teacher/mentor said 'Go into something else and then if you HAVE to go into film, then you will be successful.' (This friend is/was in production for years. We are out of touch, so not sure where he is now). I think different people in the industry have their own patterns - for example actors tend to be people who want attention - not necessarily a bad thing, but they get a bad wrap. Writers often want attention, but for ideas more than for themselves in quite the same way. I have no idea what some of my favorite writers look like, or have seen a photo here or there, but would not recognize them. Some writers write to tell stories, others write to explore ideas and themes. The stories are a vessel for that. Some performers perform to inspire, others perform for whatever other reasons - attention, to feel special, etc... Each career and each individual seems to have its own complicated reasons behind it and it is interesting to see where a person starts and where they end up, and the places that happen along the way. I think for many people, the start of their path is often the start of something before the start. We see careers that seem to start, only to find out about the 10-20 years leading up to it. You may enjoy an article/interview from one of my long time favorite writers/thinkers (now deceased)... It is about 'purpose' basically and 'calling' in life and has been an inspiration to myself and a number of others along the way... the link is here: http://www.scottlondon.com/interviews/hillman.html

SoU Bel, I'm doing now (professionally) what I've done since I was a child. I'd have to say, I'm doing what God planned for me to do. I got really serious about it in 1977, haven't stopped, and am still on the grind. As long as I'm breathing, I have a shot.

i love each and every one of you guys stories! so beautifully inspiriing!! thanks so much for sharing!! :-)

Because this pays more than what I was doing before.