Grindin'...no this isn't an ode to the Neptunes! (But I do love them)

I'm so tired of folks coming up to me telling me about their hustle alone. I guess with most rappers constantly talking about moving weight and staying "on their grind" and "everyday I'm hustlin" it must seem like the thing to do.  But it's not just the rappers; it's the parents, it's the bosses, it's the love ones, hell we can argue this message is coming from everywhere.

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT

You can hustle hard your whole damn life and remain standing still. I mean if you don't have a purpose behind what you're doing it will be all for nothing.  Case in point: When I was little, lol, 21 years old all I could think about was buying a condo. I didn't know why I wanted to buy a house...maybe I heard something about it being attached to the American Dream. I knew that in order to be a "complete" person, I would have to acquire this item. Now looking back that was fear motivating me to purchase a home. I thought, if I don’t have a home that’s “mine” I’m not going to live a stable life. That's most of us right? We gotta have this amount of money in our 401k and this type of car to drive, if we don’t have this and that than we’re screwed. WRONG!!!

Is having a condo nice? Yes it is. But does it complete me as a human being? NO! I wish someone would have broken that down for me prior to 21.  It's great to set goals.  No one is arguing that, however, setting goals that are not connected to our higher purpose is pointless in the long run.  We have to figure out what our PURPOSE is in life in order to gain happiness or we will spend the rest of our lives trying to feed that void. PERIOD. That means money, cars, homes and significant others will not be able to bring us lasting happiness if they're not connected to a higher purpose. And that feeling of being incomplete is a super scary feeling to have for 20-80 years. Often times that feeling is so bad and uneasy that we medicate it with alcohol, drugs, women, horrible relationships...you name it.

Why are we here in the first damn place? Are we here to make people laugh or cry? Do we want to help others or hurt them? Are we here to create or to destroy? I truly believe that what we are here to do resonates with the very essence of our soul. It's what makes us giddy with excitement to the point in which we are overwhelmed with joy and tears. (And it doesn’t cost a cent to experience this type of happiness).  However, it could take time to find it within ourselves. The trick is you can't get it by looking at someone else’s blue print because we're all hard wired differently. Took me a minute to get that fully, like 10 years. I can’t copy anyone because I’m an original and so are you. For that I’m grateful.

The name of this blog is INSPIRE the grind. Inspiration is literally translated to mean the breath of God. My personal belief is that we’re all inspired beings. We just cut ourselves off from the source. But when we connect to the thing that makes us happy, boy o boy there is no stopping our shine. It is my sincere hope that we all find our inspiration on our grind or journey on Earth.

A word of caution: Most of us have NO IDEA what the hell we're doing here. You can argue that NONE of us really know what we're doing here on planet Earth but that’s not where I’m going with this little rant. Of course there are religious manuals and various creeds and descriptions that give us a code or guide for rightful living. But what do we do with those great sources of inspiration? That’s right...the opposite of what they’re intended for us to do. We argue about which book is right, the pictures on the pages, the places where the books originate and the authenticity of the statues. What the heeeezy man? And in turn, we get distracted or totally lost in the sauce and think those books are all a sham. At least that’s how I felt at 13 years of age. Nothing could really reach me. I wish all the great religions of the world could come together and just say what they need to say in a simple word: LOVE. But that makes things too simple.

As a result…we don’t know what the hell to believe. The great majority of us are just blowing in the wind...killing time...smoking and drinking, getting A**, working a 9-5, chillin with the homies or warring with our families. Of course there are highlights to this type of existence, maybe a kid's birth or a wedding ceremony or a really cool movie on a Friday night. But the great tragedy is we never take a moment, a day, a week to look within ourselves and find out what makes us HAPPY.

Why oh why do we continue to plague ourselves with so much misery following someone else’s idea of happiness? I'm tired of blaming it on the devil. What did that dude ever do to me? What can we do to make ourselves a little more joyful?

I believe happiness comes from each and every moment. It's this gift called life. Like, we have this awesome chance to become great in this lifetime at whatever we choose to experience. We fall and fall again because we’re just learning and that’s ok. But we can become better friends, better strangers, better bosses, better employees, better artists, better dreamers...ECT. We don't need permission to be loving and happy. And yet that's how most of us parade around town. “My boss won’t let me do this and it’s ruining my day”. REALLY? You’re entire day or life is ruined by one person who does not control your mind, your creativity, and your vision? Interesting. “I don’t have the money to go to college so I’m not going to go”. REALLY? Hmmm so just because you don’t have the money in your pocket right now, you’re going to deny yourself an opportunity to grow because you can only see one way to gain entry.

We all suffer from limited vision. I remember how I first glimpsed the infinite. I didn’t get it in a book or from a person. I was just a kid bored just staring at the ground. I saw an entire army of ants, marching onward, talking in a coded whisper, moving with purpose and total order. I’ve never looked at the world the same since that encounter. For some reason or another everything looked different when I looked up.   When most of us get out of bed in the morning; we only see chaos. I wish we could have faith in the order because eventually we could see it in our own lives.

Some seemingly good and some seemingly bad situations will happen to all of us but they will pass because everything in life is in constant motion. It has to be that way otherwise how could we grow from nothing into something? But it’s because of our limited understanding of this concept that we place UNREALISTIC expectations on others and on ourselves to remain still, frozen and never changing as human beings. I’m sooooo guilty of this but I have to remind myself to be thankful for those who come into my life and for those who leave because they are making way for new and more pleasant experiences.

WE HAVE TO STOP LIMITING OURSELVES!

We act like our circumstances define who we are. We are not who our parents are. We are not our zip codes. We are not our race. We are not our income bracket. WE ARE BOUNDLESS POTENTIAL. Let’s do something with it. Let’s have a little flair, a little fun, a little creativity…

This is a limitless place of possibility. Don't believe the HYPE! Become more little by little, love a lil more. Go ahead try it. Smile at a random person, see what happens. I know, I know you feel weird doing it. Do it anyways. That smile could lead to an entire different life. I’ve witnessed it come true.

I wish success, love and happiness for everyone. Stay inspired on your grind. I beg you!

Shak
100.

I'm Inspired By: Acting

Many times when we’re on our journey we become exhausted by the grind itself or loss in the sauce. LOL And that’s why we have to stay inspired. After leaving an acting workshop a few weeks ago and listening to the panel (writers, studio heads, playwrights, acting coaches, and marketing experts) I listened to the panel talk about what it takes to make it in the acting business and the fact that 98% will fail (OUCH). They covered topics about marketing, saving do-re-mi, networking, taking classes to sharpen your skills, and hustling. Some even ventured to talk about the mystical aspects of being a believer and “highly favored” or “lucky” enough to find the right opportunities on their path.  I happen to be a believer.  :) 

And for a moment I thought to myself, “of course everyone wants to get the prize (money), the glory and the fame”.  But today thinking the workshop over I realized that something was missing. Something wasn’t quite acknowledged in that theatre on that day.  It was the acting GRIND itself.  Putting in countless hours to become better at what you love is also a major reward.  A person becomes forever changed.  There are countless folks who make it to the top without putting in "the work" sort of speak.  But I always wonder if they appreciate it as much when they're not respected by their peers.  There are countless stories of drug abuse, addictions and negative behavior that plague the industry for countless reasons.  The money and the fame definitely can't guarantee what we all want which is happiness.  And personally, I'm most happy when I'm embracing the work itself.   All the risks and rewards are in the work itself.

Every time someone goes on stage; their Failure rate is huge, they can miss the mark and become unsuccessful in the worst way possible…publicly. It dawned on me that no one had even made the slightest mention of this at the workshop. Actors are already winning.  98% of the world would never take those types of risks.  Images come to mind of my friends and fam who are still waiting to take their next step in life but are reluctant for fear of failing.  I imagined dragging each of them on stage, kicking and screaming, to get rid of their fear for once and for all. :)

Besides I turned to acting for something entirely different.  I wanted a bigger challenge in life (not grinding in Hollywood but acting itself) and to become great at something totally different.  If I had never tried out for an audition; I would have never found out my innate gift of recalling my emotional memory.  For me landing a tv show or a major theatre production is extra.  The risk/reward is already built into acting itself.  One of the workshop panelist actually said that she was a horrible actress but always worked in the business because she knew how to “market” herself.  I don’t know if that was supposed to inspire us to take her course.  I actually felt bad for her.  Why go after something that you don't want to do? Or did she really want to act but was covering up her fear? 

What we put in is what we get back.  It might not seem that way but it’s physics. That’s why if you are going to do something half ass you might as well not do it at all. Our brains will record that as a pattern. Too many of those patterns and we’re in big trouble doing the same ol’, same ol’.  Of course she’s no longer acting, she’s teaching marketing workshops to actors.  And one by one each person on stage told their story about how they had started in acting but had ended up doing different things.  I don’t know if anyone else took notice.  But I wanted to know why did they all leave acting behind?  Some were presented with amazing career opportunities.  But I couldn’t help but wonder where the successful actor story was that day?

A teacher told me, “When a painting is criticized the painter can step back and detach himself from his artwork.  Actors are the canvas and the painting, there is no detachment.” Maybe, no one wanted to say it. But it’s not just the hustle and/or the lack of work that sucks being a "working" actor; it’s the acting work itself that is the most grueling.  Most people don’t like to open up to one person around them.  Most of us live our whole lives trying to avoid rejection, but that’s impossible as an actor.  It's an actor's job to expose the inner most part of herself in order to connect with her audience and hopefully make them feel something.

What a crazy opportunity for actors then!  To learn how to take rejection over and over again in order to hit a specific goal, and I'm not talking about a callback.  I'm talking about making the casting directors, the audience or whoever is watching in that moment FEEL differently because of your performance.  WOW!  A callback or being casted is extra, it's icing on the cake.  But no one can take away your performance, your ability to affect people in that moment.  And at the moment, I can’t think of a more worthwhile pursuit while I'm alive. 

Shak
100.

I'm Inspired By: The Grind

I realize for the artist and for the creator, it’s not the final destination where the payoff resides. It’s in the pursuit…it’s in the grind itself. That’s where the inspiration is, that’s where the beauty lives.

It came to me after reading this blog by a down-to-earth casting director, Bonnie Gillespie. She’s one of the good guys, telling actors to pursue their dreams despite the objections and fierce competition. Similar to her, I find it very comforting to encourage others to follow their dreams. Oddly enough, I find it very difficult to push myself. I’m still fighting myself daily to except the call of being both artist and entrepreneur. Because the real is that it’s the actual being up on stage that feels like a million dollars to me. It’s writing this piece that feels like bliss. It’s analyzing a character and making her real that feels AMAZING. It’s the becoming, the molding and the figuring-out of what it is to be really human that is the life of an artist. To bring that sincerity and utmost level of honesty to a story, a movie, a sculpture, a business deal…to stay true to his/her GRIND. Ahhh but what about those illusive, tangible results? How are you a business man without a tangible, money-making, business?

The majority of the world gets into things when there is a clear end in mind. If you want to become a teacher, there is a coherent system in place to become a teacher. It’s the same for doctors, lawyers and even pro-athletes sort of speak. Play ball, practice, train hard and perhaps you will be given an opportunity to play pro. 2+2=4. But what about the kid who wants to share his new vision with the world? Little Billy wants to invent the Space Mobile. Sorry kid no road maps, only mentors that have left hints behind for the same path you want to create. Why? Umm because it doesn’t exist quite yet, well not in the “real” world.

It’s like when I run; I gotta know where the finish line is. But as artists, as entrepreneurs, as people traveling along paths without a clear end; we have to fall in love with the run itself. It’s like getting in a car and being told to drive. Well where and the hell am I going? What if I run out of gas before I get there? All the other cars have tangible road maps, where is mine? What if I’m not fast enough? I’m an older model, I’m already at a disadvantage; will my tires last? But there is a final destination. It resides in our hearts and minds. We can see it even if no one else can.

This is the life of the edge dwellers, the rebels, the creators of a new path, the trouble-makers, the taste makers, the trend setters, the originators, the outcast, the weirdoes, the crazies, the inventors. This blog is home for them. We want more from this world, this space and this lifetime. It’s the questions that drive us to become more. Why doesn’t this exist? Why haven’t people tried this? What about this? Why haven’t people heard this story? And we know the answer is…No one has done this before, why can’t it be me.

Don’t stop asking the questions. We need them. We need you to find the answers. Grind AWAY!

Shak
100.