TO THE ARTISTS: ADVICE / LESSON ON FRIENDS / THANKS ---LONG So youve done it, you have chosen the path of show business. Whether it be Actor, Dancer, Writer, Director, Producer you have chosen a career in which you have no choice but to put yourself out there. You have chosen a path where you are going to be judged by a million people you dont know, you are going to be judged by casting directors, directors, and the general unknowing public. You have to accept that you are going to put yourself out there, and you have to accept that sometimes your expression will be met with harsh criticism by people who can not even fathom to do what you do. This part of the deal I have fully accepted, and to be honest criticism from a stranger does not affect me at all anymore...(I hearken back to the time on Broadway, during Urintetown when a fine young man in a chat room called me a singing meatball, not a leading man...I was a much fatter man...haha...) But even then I laughed...That is what I signed up for....To be thrown some hate bombs by strangers, and keep smiling.... HOWEVER this business is funny. It has a way of making promises, and taking forever to hold them true. I can tell you that one of my biggest faults early in my LA career, was advertising shit before it had actually happened, not because I was lying about anything, but because people would tell me X,Y, and Z was happening, and I was just so excited about it, so I would shout it from the roof tops. Maybe it was a need for validation, because I had left a pretty lucrative Broadway career, to take a shot out in LA, or maybe because when I was younger I just felt the need to be a big shot. But the lesson I learned from that was to TAKE MYSELF OFF THE CLOCK. Success has a funny way of panning out, and so often we see people around us having so much success, that we get discouraged that we are not achieving the same levels of measurable success. But trust, that if you are steadfast, consistent, and talented, which we all are in our way, that success will come. Dont kill yourself worrying about the when. But this brings me to the point of writing any of this.....I have learned something about the people around me, and the people I want to keep around me during this journey. During all of the years of this is HAPPENING....oh wait....I had to field a lot of questions. A lot of when, when, when, when....And most of the questions were just people who were genuinely excited for me, Vision Vehicle Productions, and they wanted it to succeed. MOST of the people were coming from a place of love, and to them I say THANK YOU, we are about to make you proud....BUT, a few times lately I have come in contact with people, people whom I thought were friends, and they were slinging some hate bombs at me, and our process. Things like, well man, I guess your films were a bust, looks like it didnt happen. Dude, you left Broadway to do what? Yo, some people just dont make it. And they were kind of reveling in what they deemed failure. Now sure, I could chalk it up to they really dont know whats going on, so I cant fault them, but then it hit me...WHY DO I NEED TO WASTE TIME JUSTIFYING MYSELF TO PEOPLE LIKE THIS AT ALL!!! YES, TAKING HATE BOMBS FROM STRANGERS, IS WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR, BUT I DONT HAVE TO KEEP HATEFUL FRIENDS. Then the bigger picture hit me. TODAY, on the precipice of some really big announcements for me and my company, I learned a lesson about the kind of people I need to keep close to me. This business is TOO damn hard to keep the people who sling hate in tow. It is too damn hard to try and justify yourself to people who really only want to see you fail. So I simply will no longer do it, and I guarantee my life will be better. This business is incredibly difficult, and we the artists have to come together to create a community of strength, not be the hammer to tear each other down. I promise there are enough opportunities to go around. Take the time to support your fellow artists and their endeavors, dont take time to knock them down. This business can wear on your soul, and so I truly value the great people I have come in contact with. I was to send a big THANK YOU to all of the people who have offered me support along the way. I want to THANK YOU for being there for me. I PROMISE, I will be there for you.....
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 21:12:50 +0000
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