As the struggle continues to find the path to achieving my dreams, as I am sure you are doing the same, it is once again the small goals that truly make the journey worthwhile.

I can honestly say that over the last year or so, while pursuing my dreams and staying vigilant, never quitting, I have made some wonderful personal discoveries. This blog started as a means to an end. To document my journey in hopes of helping others who have a dream and want to see how others go about trying to reach theirs. Somewhere along the way I discovered I love writing. Not only blog entries, but poetry, comedy and drama. I have rediscovered the joys of creating again, to build from scratch and see a project through from concept to conception. I have fortified my belief that I am meant for this and I will reach my goals someday. Whether it is this month, in three months or three years I know I will get there.

Most importantly I have come to appreciate the journey. Of course we wish we could just make it to the place we dream of being overnight. But for most of us, that just isn’t feasible. So we need to work for it. And so everyday we go through the process. The ups and downs, the success and the failures. But everything that transpires, we learn from. We teach ourselves through the journey. They always say the journey is best part. Maybe they say that because once you have reached the finished line, once you reflect, you see how far you have come and how the journey has changed you as a person. Taught you how to overcome adversity and show you how determined you can be.

I still have not reached my goals but I have found that taking the time to stop and see how far I have come from where I began is very rewarding. It is like checkpoints on a map.

And here is my latest checkpoint. As I have mentioned I have started doing a video review segment for Videobash.com and we are putting out two episodes a week. Below you will find the link to the YouTube channel where you can find all these segments. The segments are called the Videobash Vid Roundup

From the link you can find the segments released in chronological order from bottom to top. I hope you enjoy them. I guess we will see how far they take us.

To view the Videobash Comedy channel on YouTube click here.

I am very excited, and very much enjoying writing and filming these segments. It is truly a joy. But I have not stopped pursuing my dream. While this is a great first step, and may one day lead to other opportunities, it is only the beginning. I have much greater aspirations and I continually pursue those as well. I challenge you to do the same. Do not settle for only the small triumphs. Do not sell yourself short. The small victories are only the beginning. It means you are doing things right so now you need to buckle down and work harder.

You need to embrace the small achievements and capitalize on them. As I have always been saying from the beginning, this is a multiple step journey and you can’t stop moving forward or you may lose your momentum. I know I am still working to get other projects done and noticed.

But until that time comes, I am more than happy to share the latest work I have done. I hope you enjoy it.

For the Videobash Segments click here and for the second one click here.

For the Celebs.com segment click here.

This is only the early stages for this segment and of course there will be an adjustment period but I am proud of the work that is done with next to no budget with a very close friend who is a very talented filmmaker.

This is only the beginning…..but every story has a beginning. Now, this is mine and yours as this journey started together and will only grow together.

With all my heart I thank all of you.

Episode 1 click here.

Episode 2 click here.

Hello folks. It seems to be few and far between when I can find a moment to rattle off a post for the readers out there. There may be no excuse but at least there is news.

This blog has always been about the struggling actor and how together we can try to lift each other and help one another to discover new ways to advance our careers. I am a firm believer in being a self-starter and surrounding yourself with talented and like-minded individuals. This I believe is the key to sustaining a career in the entertainment industry.

I have been constantly throwing different options against the wall to see which ones will stick. This process has been a tremendous growth experience. It has always seen me reunited with old friends and meet new ones along the way.

I am proud to say it has not been in vain. I am now sitting on the cusp or developing creative content for a company which will take that content and promote it throughout the web to help build their own product.

Obviously this isn’t a role in the next Cameron movie but it is another step along the path. It is also a great opportunity to continue to develop as a writer and a performer.

Most importantly it is a testament that hard work pays off. Don’t give up. I know this will only lead to more opportunities in my field and provide a wealth of experience.

Do not sell yourself short. Achieving the small goals will build your confidence and build you into a force that will be very difficult to stop or even avoid. Keep working and creating.

I look forward to sharing some of these segments with you in the coming weeks. Besides, it is all of you I have to thank for helping me to keep my motivation.

Here I stand

I stand alone, and face the world

Facing the obstacles that have been hurled.

I stand alone, and feel no fear this day

For I am a force and I am here to stay.

Many will try, to break me down

I have no worries, I will stand my ground

Many will try, to tear me asunder

I will make the ground quake with oh such thunder.

This road I have traveled, for many years now

No one has crushed, many wonder how

This Road I have traveled, and here I still stand

A positive force, eager to lend a hand.

Many must know, you can’t make it alone

Too many step on others, their footprints lay shown

Many must know, you reap what you sow

You need to build others, in order to grow

So here I stand, with love in my heart

With many against me, who wish to tear me apart

So here I stand, and face these people each day

For I am a force and I am here to stay.

Dedicated to Esmeralda @ohEsmeralda (Twitter).

as alone as you may Feel,

there are others that walk

The same path.

I’m back! I know it has been awhile in between posts but that is only because things are very busy. Got to keep hustling if you want to reach your goals.

I finally received some news on something I have been working on. Actually the news was not really news as much as it was a lack of news. The project I have been developing has been shelved by a company I was speaking with. Many people have seen this as a setback. Personally, I find it liberating. I feel free as a bird. You see, now the options are endless. Now the world is my oyster and I am not limited to the confines of waiting for some form of response from one prospect. Now I can target different prospects, bigger prospects, prospects with better funding.

It all comes down to perception. While many people I talk with decided that this was sad news, it made me realizes how negative some people perceive life. For them it seemed I had reached the end of the road. Others saw the possibility and asked what I was thinking. For me it was never a negative thing. On this site I have talk for hours on what you should do when focusing on your goals and one of those things was to have a plan. Make sure you know where you are going. Before I had even done the finishing touches on part of the project, I already knew what I would do if this day came. And the best part is I didn’t even get told no. I was only told it is not possible at this time to make a decision but we will look at it again down the road. The wheels were set in motion a long time before this day. So I move onto the next phase of the plan. There are also more phases planned after that.

I know this project I am working on will succeed and my project will come to fruition. Of this, I have absolutely no doubt. It is a great concept that is fresh and innovative.

Make sure you plan ahead. Do not wait for the next step to end before planning what to do next. Always be sure to be moving forward. Success will never come to you in one day. Unless you win the lottery, nothing happens overnight. And it shouldn’t. Because one of the most rewarding parts of chasing a dream, is the journey. Relish each moment spent working on your dream. Every minute you spend deciding moves and making adjustments is what makes you who you are. It makes you a better person because you are not giving up. Once you enjoy the process, you will feel that much better about the small victories. Of course there will be setbacks. There always will be, but view them as the learning curve and stay focused.

I know I can’t wait to take on the next phase of my project. Wait till they get a load of me.

I have written many pieces in the past about opportunity, putting yourself at the right place, taking advantage of any opportunity and basically living your life while at the same time pursuing your dreams. I even had an entire week dedicated to inspiration. These are not just words on a page or screen. These are not just rants and articles to try and get more visits. This is a detailed account of my pursuit for what I deem to be success. And I write this for everyone to see. If you have dreams and want to achieve them, then I hope this blog helps you in some way or another.

You see, this is my life. I wake up every day and go to work. Okay, not every day, I take weekends off from my 9-5 job. But when I am not at work I am working on ways to achieve my dreams. To figure out what my next move is to put me in the right position. A big help was Robert Pagliarini’s works. For all you actors out there, I have challenged you to create your own YouTube videos. If you have done so, please comment and leave a link and I will post it. I challenge all of you to create your own works and find your own path because succeeding in the world has to be more than being in the right place at the right time. You need to be prepared for that moment. Be ready to showcase your talents. You have to think outside the box.

The reason I have been away for the last little while is I have been working on my dream. I have met with a network and pitched a concept. I have met with them again to submit a full proposal of said project. I am very proud to say that with no budget and the support of great friends, I was able to film a simulated episode of the show for this network. I have met with this prospective network and presented them with my episode. And now we are on the cusp of yet another meeting. You see, they loved the concept, they loved the proposal and now they are very interested after seeing the concept on film even though it was done with no budget. I painted a picture of what could be. I provided them with a format and style. Of course there were aspects which they did not enjoy but together we can make the project they are looking for. This meeting is supposed to take place before the end of the month. Only this time I will be presenting it in front of VP’s for this company from around the world. This is my once in a lifetime opportunity. I have generated an interest while providing the network with a program which they do not have in their lineup. And you can rest assured I will be more than prepared for this meeting. Thanks to all of you following the story. Sharing your stories and lives. This has inspired me and helped drive me onwards.

I am confident that this meeting will be a success and you will all see me in the fall. I wish I could tell you more but that will just have to be a surprised. What I can say is that regardless of what the end result is, this entire journey and process has been a great success. What I learned, I put to good use. This has been a dream in the making and the journey is awesome. It has shown me that anything can be achieved with hard work. I started this blog in August and in December I had my first meeting for my project. Of course I will be upset should it not turn out. But that’s not going to happen. You will see me this fall.

Do not give up. Anyone can do it. Come up with a game plan and follow through. Take it one step at a time. You can do it. But always remember that every step along the way is an achievement in and of itself.

Don’t think you can do it. Know you can do it and nothing will stop you.

One of the greatest actors in this day and age would have to be Gary Oldman in my opinion. He has brought such a variety of characters as well as so many different looks that he can easily be lost in the shuffle as we think more about the character than the man who brought that character to life. Well Mr. Oldman has also brought us many memorable villains. But today we look at Norman Stansfield. The extremely corrupt DEA agent in the film Leon or Leon: The Professional.

This is such a great movie. The cast is incredible. Jean Reno is brilliant as the professional assassin who has zero social skills. We got to see the makings of greatness in a 13 year old Natalie Portman. And of course we get to see Gary Oldman at his psychotic best.

This character seems over the top when you first watch it but then you realize this guy is just extremely too intense to live. With all the drugs and stress he has, he should be dead of a heart attack at 23 years old. Yet here he is. Gary Oldman’s character murders a girl’s family, unaware that she has stepped out to do some groceries. Even kills her little brother. This girl (Portman) gets home and bypasses her apartment when she realizes what has happened and heads straight to Leon’s door. After some stressful moments thinking he will not open the door, Leon let’s her in. This is where the story really gets going as Mathilda (Portman) wants to learn how to be a “Cleaner” which is what an assassin is called in this film. Wishing to avenge her family, Mathilda begs until Leon agrees.

But the person she wishes to kill is the psycho cop Norman Stansfield. This character not has no remorse, but thrives on misery. One of the greatest lines in this movie that sum up Oldman’s character is in what he say to Mathilda which is, “Do you like life, sweetheart?” he begins. “That’s good, because I take no pleasure in taking life if it’s from a person who doesn’t care about it.”

There are few actors who could create such an over the top persona and yet still make it believable. This is Oldman’s gift and it shines in this film. He makes it very easy to hate him, with almost no effort. Just in the way he treats any human around him. He is awful. Which is why he is so great.

This film was the first buddy cop movie that really brought in a side of drama. Before Mel Gibson became someone else who creeps us out, he was the heartthrob with the huge hair as Martin Riggs. Bring in his older partner, just about to retire, Det. Roger Murtaugh played by Danny Glover. The chemistry between these two characters brought magic to the big screen and also led to 3 additional films….although we would have lived without number four. But like any great film you need a great bad guy. Enter Gary Busey. The platinum blonde mercenary who shows us his level of dedication when we first meet him by letting someone hold a lighter under his arm under he was told it was over.

But that wasn’t the only thing. Gary Busey has a lot of charisma and that can go a long way to making a character even creepier. The speeches his gives during the film are so fun to listen to and even better to watch. Busey’s huge smile and even bigger larger than life persona really shines in this small part. The fight scene at the end is great. It may be hard to make out what is happening but the banter and lead in is what draws us into the climax.

Busey really doesn’t do that much in the film but his presence lingers and most will remember his role in the film. It is kind of light hearted while being diabolical if that is possible.

This film just has a great ensemble which is hard to find and makes this film a classic. Every time I hear Alastair Sim say “Tell me, what day is it?” And the maid responds “What day?” I always think of Gary Busey shooting up the TV yelling “It’s Goddam Christmas!!”

And if you have seen it “We’ll go through it again.”

One of the most memorable villains in all of film was the villain that never was seen. Until the very end that is. Throughout the film he was a story, a fable. No one had ever seen him. He was a legend that criminals feared. We went through the entire film trying to figure out who he was and in the end it was the most unlikely of people. SPOILER ALERT!!!!!! If you have not seen The Usual Suspects, stop reading now and watch it.  It was Verbal Kint who turned out to be Keyser Soze and the film is The Usual Suspects.

This movie was the first of its kind with the ending that everyone talks about until this very day. Before we saw Bruce as a Ghost and everyone gasped. We saw Chazz Palminteri who played Dave Kujan of US Customs and look at a board and realize the man he had been speaking to the whole film not only made up most of the story he told from items in the room and posted on a bullentin board, but this was the man he was looking for. The man every law enforcement agencies all the world wanted. Keyser Soze.

This villain is amazing because when they filmed the movie, whenever they told a story of Keyser Soze, they would actually use a different member of the main group of criminals to play him so you could never get a clear picture. One minute you are thinking it is Benicio Del Toro, then Stephen Baldwin and finally they lead you right to Gabriel Byrne and serve him up on a silver platter. And we eat it up. We believe the whole thing like cattle being driven down a chute. Then the cripple, Verbal Kint, once again, Kevin Spacey, who we spend the film feeling sorry for and kind of cheering on, turns out to be the man who murdered his own family just to make a point.

This is a special film. The writer Christopher McQuarrie provides us with his masterpiece in storytelling. There are few films that draw you in and take you on a roller coaster ride of emotion and suspicion but this is the top. The reveal at the end was incredible. With Kujan piecing together the truth while Verbal walks down the street slowly, with less limp in each step until he disappears into the crowd.

It is also one of the few films where the villain is nowhere to be found and only discussed until the very end. What makes this film so special is it broke the mold and refused to be conventional like everything else out there. Great film with a great villain and you owe it to yourself to watch it again or for the first time, in which case sorry for spoiling the ending.

Did you know I used to be in a barbershop quartet in Skokie Illinois?