Here's to a happy and prosperous 2023...ummm 2024?!! And how procrastination affected the timing of this post....

So it is January 1st, 2023. And here I am. Again. Sitting on a couch with my laptop open whilst looking at this empty canvas of a blog post on New Years Day. And yes, I am feeling reminiscent of the year that has just come and gone. Yup. Another year has drifted by, taking me even closer to my next trip around the sun. But really, that happens every year, doesn't it? I know there are those out there in my age group that often lament about feeling old. Just like there are those in their forties that dread getting closer to their fifties and feeling old. Just like when they lamented in their thirties about hitting forty. And feeling old.  

But don't you worry. This isn't a post about aging or feeling old. It's more about how to help open yourself up to bigger possibilities. To show you how we have become limited in our view of what surrounds us, drives what we are passionate about. These are things that take us out of our comfort zone and help us grow as human beings. And to also not contact the landlord about a broken toilet handle during holiday hours because this is not an emergency. Yup. This actually happened.

Anyone that has spent any time with me has heard how I view the process of how we communicate with other humans using the options we have at our disposal. And because of what technology has done to how we convey ourselves, it also bleeds into darker narratives of our current status. Nobody ever looks at where they have come from to see where they are going. In our twenties you were more concerned about the party and dating. The thirties arrive suddenly along with more responsibilities and expectations. And then your forties creep up and very subtly grow into your fifties.

Procrastination!  It is now January 1st, 2024. Thats right! The previous paragraphs were written exactly a year ago. And how did that happen you ask? I blame the voice in my head that kept on telling me "You can work on this tomorrow." And "Go ahead. Take a nap first." Blah, blah, blah.

This part of the post adds on to what I was saying before the time jump. Procrastination totally limits us in ways that are definitely connected to placing limitations on ourselves. So, what causes some of us to procrastinate you ask? I did some digging into this topic. And when I say "digging" I actually mean I "Googled" it. And no, I don't feel I have become an expert in this area just because I read a website. But to be truly open to self-care and growth, you have to do the work on both fronts.

Most of us think that procrastination is a bougie term for laziness. And granted, a nap sure does seem to be a great reason to put something on the back burner. There are some interesting psychological triggers in the mix that I had never even put through my thought process.

We all procrastinate from time to time. You would be selling yourself short if you said you didn't. And the general result is that some tasks you have given yourself to do became a "not completed" task. And once the dust settles from that you start to feel bad for putting it off because you really did want to get it done. 

Let's take losing weight as an example. Our decision to lose weight is done with pure and honest intention. The process is simple. We see ourselves in the mirror and notice that our shape isn't what we want it to be. Maybe we also recognize we are feeling sluggish and out of breath. We exclaim we want to lose weight. We give ourselves the pep talk. We are going to exercise and change our eating habits. We even tell our honest intentions to our family, partners, friends, and our dogs. But what happens to our honest intentions that make us not achieve that what we set out to accomplish? 

According to my research, and when I say research, I really mean "Google hits," we procrastinate for the following reasons: lack of energy, perfectionism, fear of failure, lack of motivation, overwhelmed, decision fatigue, fear of criticism, avoidance, and chocolate. It was actually a longer list and chocolate actually wasn't on it. I chose the more apparent reasons. And the more I read into this list of causes, the more I felt it was actually more of a list of excuses. Why didn't I exercise to lose weight? Because I was too tired. Why didn't I quit smoking? I was too overwhelmed because it was too hard. Why didn't I finish writing my blog post from last year? Because I was too busy taking a nap. Sound familiar?

Now having said all that, there are exceptions when someone is dealing with a mental illness. I don't want to minimalize that. But for the people that are just going through the motions, how can we recognize that we are in that "excuse" mode? And how can we overcome it? For me, I noticed I used the word "because" a lot. It seems to me that word is a popular precursor to anything I give an excuse for. So being an aware person, I have decided that when the word "because" appears in my process, I will just stop. Nip it in the bud. Thats the first step. 

The next step towards getting over procrastination is to recognize that you need some planning. Over the last year, I realized that I have stopped my process planning. Its why this blog post was never finished until a year later. Have you ever gone grocery shopping without a list? Did you remember everything you needed? Let me guess, you got all the things you didn't want, and didn't get anything you needed. And you also spent more money in the process. With planning, like a grocery list, it becomes imperative that you the need to write down everything you need to accomplish your honest intention. The grocery list helps you with your plan. Like a blueprint. Another example. 99% of us can't make a budget only in our head and follow it. You really need to write it down.  Make your goals concrete by writing your lists and steps of process. Focus on working on your results. It makes them more real. It also gives you a checklist to map your success or make changes if you aren't getting the desired results. And it allows you to visualize yourself being successful more than if you kept it in our head. Keeping it in your head only allows your brain to talk you out of it. Plus with all the information we are bombarded with, things tend to get a bit jumbled and distorted. And believe me, my brain talks to me a lot.

Last year, I had the honour of playing the role of Bill Sikes in the musical Oliver. It was my first dive into musical theatre in 36 years. When I look back at that experience, I can honestly say that I really grew as an artist in that the preparation and rehearsing were great examples of how to avoid procrastination. I had all my cast mates relying on me to do my part. And I relied on them to do theirs. The producers themselves made it easy because they had processes in place that showcased their vision. They had lists and diagrams of choreography. They scheduled promo pictures, radio and TV interviews, costume fittings, along with several music and scene rehearsals. And all within a 2 1/2-month span. Wow is not the word when it comes to organizing something of this magnitude. I did it again this past December playing the role of Sergei in Matilda. And again, it was a crunch of time. We performed Matilda in front of 1000+ people each performance. And all because of what was organized around us.

How do you think they did that? Could any sort of procrastination be a part of the structure of these productions? We for sure know the answer to that. Absolutely not!

So here we are at the end of the post. And what have I learned from all of this? Well, first off, homemade buttermilk pancakes are amazing! Mimosas are sneaky. And last but not least, I am going to have one kick ass 2024! Write down your goals. Work on the steps to attain them. And avoid using the word "because" when justifying why you backburnered your success. Its all up to you!

Happy new year! May your 2024 be full of joy, abundance, and mimosas!

Three characters I played in Matilda The Musical

The trials and tribulations of a growth mentality: Is it a curse or just the way sheep get us to count them when we think at night...in bed....staring.....

Yes! I survived the plague! And sorry for the absence eh! I sure hope that no one out there was holding their breath for the last couple of years waiting for me to post. Ok...so my readership peep count is not very high. But one can dream, right? 

My absence wasn't because I had a mental breakdown over the "you know what." It was more about not wanting to add to it. It was the topic of discussion no matter where you went. I really didn't want to contribute to it. Think about it. How many times did you get together with friends, family, or the kinda strange people wearing tinfoil hats sitting in a park on a bench not knowing the bus really doesn't stop there? We found ourselves constantly talking to others about something related to the "you know what?" Every single F%&$#ing time!

Sometimes we tend to get focused on things that we have no control over. It consumes us and causes lots of anxiety. But have you ever been in a situation where even though you had no control over what was going on, it was the only thing you could think about. Like damn! Why is the self checkout line at Walmart slower than the human lines? We really just need to take the mindset bias that evolves from these situations and just break our state just like your mom did when you were making lots of  noise whilst  jumping on the bed when you were a kid. Her threatening a shoe throw stopped you dead in your tracks because you knew she was accurate. Those situations trigger our fight or flight perceptions which then triggers the same anxiety you would feel if put in a dangerous situation. Just like navigating the toilet paper aisle at the grocery store during the "you know what."  Mind you, if the anxiety was because you are in the path of a massive tsunami or Sharknado, I would definitely recommend running to higher ground or into a cave. Good thing Sharknados only happen on the coast.

But how do you stop that loop? How do you break your state? Unfortunately there is no easy answer to doing that because you first have to become aware. Awareness is the hard part. One you aware, you only have one box you have to check off in those situations. And that's the check box which asks if are you in a safe place and is that really an avocado flying at your head? If you become aware that you have no control over what is going on and can confirm that you are safe, then what? Well folks, that is where a growth mentality starts to take hold. Because once you shift yourself away from the uncontrollable, you can now focus on what you CAN control. 

This is one of my favorite quotes that totally sums up growth for me:

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

– Harriet Tubman

Whenever I read that that quote I just go "WOW!". We are all dreamers to some degree. Dreams do not just what happen in you sleep. The also get created when you are awake. When you start thinking about a new project, a new house, a different job, a trip, chopping down a tree. No matter what it is, anything that you visualize as a focused goal is considered a dream at first. For people that become aware and move toward change, this functions as a catalyst for a shift towards a growth mentality. It includes the little things too. I had a dream that my cell phone bill was down to zero. I imagined myself paying it and felt the emotion of how amazing it was to have a zero balance. The context of that is just to simplify exactly how a dream can become a focused goal. And that a focused goal can then be shifted into reality through action taken by you. The first part of focused goal setting is to dream of  how it would feel to attain that which you dreamt of achieving. And here is the awesome part. It is easy to dream of something that you can feel the positive emotional energy of achievement for. It is just the first step towards that action which is the hardest. But what Harriet Tubman was really driving home was the formula of how you can affect change on many different levels. The formula is simple and easy to apply to anything:

Strength + Patience + Passion = Change

You dream by reaching for the stars with a purpose for wanting change. You use your strength to put it into action. And you temper all of the above with patience. You need to be aware that focused goals, and life in general, have to be treated like a science experiment. There is no such thing as "mistakes" or "failures." Only results.  Having that patience is knowing that when you are not getting the results you dreamed of, change parts of your process to get a different result. Like hitting the side if your computer when the printer doesn't work. Did that work? No? Then try something else like banging your mouse on your desk. All you need to be is aware that your goal should be fluid and constantly evolving. 

The source of that dream is passion. Some people out there, such as Elon Musk, have that passion and on a grander scale. I mean, who else had the idea to have booster rockets land by themselves after a major rocket launch? What about the patience required to just try, and try, and try again? With every "try," changes were applied to the process to finally get the result he was looking for.  And why didn't anyone else try to be develop the same idea? Its because Elon's dream was fueled by his personal passionate dream of producing self landing rocket boosters. He had the strength to put that dream into action. And the result is we now have booster rockets that land by themselves. And that change shifted his business. How cool is that? And Elon, if you are reading this, thank you for being such a great example of how this all works. And if you are ever in Regina, Saskatchewan Canada, we should have a beer! 

So there you go. I really wanted t to hammer home the point that you all have the tools within you to accomplish anything you put your mind focus towards. Just be open and aware that your idea can evolve. Use your passion to dream big. Have the strength to put that dream into action. And have patience in your process to make the necessary changes for your goal to evolve.  And always try, try, and try again!

Be amazing until next time!

Glenn

COVID and the conspiracy theory of why I can't remember what I am going to call this post????

Hello everyone! Before I start with my reason for writing this post I just wanted to say that I hope you are all safe and doing what you need to be doing to stop the spread of COVID-19. Be strong and know we WILL overcome this.

So I was sequestered in my condo at the beginning of March last year with the start of the Canadian Pandemic shut down. I mean, there was this one month last year in a period called "Summer" where I was able to work from the office. And for a good chunk of this year I have been home...working...eating....sleeping....working....eating while sleeping....I know! The "lather, rinse, repeat" syndrome. Almost like Bill Murray's Ground Hog Day with the exception of wearing different clothes almost every day. Yeah, I did say almost every single day. Did you know you can turn them inside out? Boy do you ever feel good in clean clothes.

I do get everyone's frustration. I don't like wearing masks either. I feel that if this was a trend prior to the pandemic we would have been wearing them a long time ago. My point is simply this. I don't live out of fear of catching the virus more than I respect Mother Nature's ability to throw us curve balls the only way she knows how. Look through the ages. There was the black plague with black oozing pustules. The 1917 pandemic where you got exposed to it one day, exhibited symptoms the next, and was dead 2 days later. Those diseases sounded scary! But my thoughts about this are simple. People that advocate based on conspiracy theories with no science to back them up are only selling themselves short. If there was a pandemic of Ebola running through our communities, how many people would shutter themselves in and yell at all the people that weren't doing the same? I mean, wouldn't it be terrifying if there was a virus waltzing through our communities that made blood ooze from.....well, you get the picture.

I remember a time when I could find things. I mean really find things. And not just somethings. EVERYTHING! My keys. My phone. My socks. My pants. My paper towel stockpile. I was literally walking into a room seven times only to forget why the f&@k I was walking into that room in the first place. And for those that know me, yeah, I know I am 51. But I didn't do this before this chaos hit.

We are the masters of our own reality. After the first couple of months of the shutdown I started to go out on my balcony and started to yell at everyone to get off my lawn as a joke. And you know what? I made a ton of friends during this time of social distancing. The young family down the hall from me. The "not that old" ladies from across the complex. And the senior couple that would wave to me every time I walked by. When the restrictions lifted a bit we had a happy hour once a week. We would sit on the lawn in our chairs having a few drinks and just enjoyed each other's company. One of the "not so old" ladies said she was going to lay a blanket down on the front lawn whenever I was out for my morning jog. And when I moved last fall, all my new friends threw me a "Going Away" happy hour with food and drink, and all socially distanced. I even got invited back after I moved. I am a blessed man for meeting all of these amazing people. 

My point is simply this. We are all frustrated. I get it. Its not easy for anyone to have to live through any of this. People have lost their jobs. Business have closed. My heart was broken not to have a Canadian football season where I did my best yelling....all positive of course. It has affected everyone. And even with this virus only affecting a certain percentage of the population, it is absolutely everyone's duty to the vulnerable to do what they can to protect them. Doing anything less is selfish. One death from COVID is too many. I don't want my parents to catch this virus. I don't want to catch this virus. And I certainly don't want to give it to anyone else. And it isn't fake! I don't believe there is a one world order forming and that all the countries in the world are plugged into this. And I certainly don't think the government is putting microchips into the Pfizer vaccine I received 2 weeks ago. It has really been a bizarre time for the human condition.

So why don't we all collectively help each other out? Why does there have to be so many conspiracy theories of control out there? Why isn't anyone protesting the big tech companies that are stockpiling our information and sending us down the algorithmic rabbit holes that some of us are finding ourselves in? I mean come on! Since I turned 51 and armed with a single status on Facebook, I have been getting bombarded with erectile dysfunction ads along with senior dating applications ads. And why doesn't Facebook know that I am a fit man that eats well and has no dysfunction whatsoever? Do they not see my food porn photos along with my workout photos? (And the lovely comments do make me smile) Does Facebook not realize how handsome I really am?  Right? That, to me, is the biggest conspiracy. Long story short, we are dealing with people's belief systems dovetailed with their subconscious bias that gets amplified when filled with information being pulled from the InterWeb. And from my NLP experiences, we cannot argue or debate with someone that believes what they feel is true to them. That's why I choose not to argue with them. 

The human condition can be a mystery sometimes. I really and honestly believe that if we respected one another enough to put on that mask, wash their hands regularly  and get vaccinated, we could get through this sooner. If we can land robots on Mars, invent super computers, and cars that park themselves, why can't we just do what we have to do to get through this? Man, do I ever miss going to football games and being able to travel across the country to sit and have a beer with my dad. We should all find our reasons for this chaos to end.

Be safe everyone!

The perfect storm for mindfulness

Good day everyone! Its funny how I always start out my blog posts with "I know its been a long time since my last post."

 I am not even sure why I don't post more often. It isn't a procrastination thing. I don't have a limiting environment that would prevent me from posting. I have a creative mind that I constantly engage with. So what gives Glenn? Are you lacking adventure? Is your life humdrum full of.....you get the hint. There is absolutely nothing that would stop me from doing this other than yours truly.

I am totally grateful for the life I lead. I have a great job. I have tons of hobbies and interests that engage me both mentally and physically. I am fit and athletic with no health issues. I have a positive mindset. Add that all together and you get a confident man that follows his passions.

News flash!!! I haven't always been this way.

 I used to be a couch potato. I used to be a smoker. I used to be overweight. I used to lack confidence. I used to be a people pleaser. That's a lot of "I used to be's."

My NLP brain asks "How did you get to be in this state of mindfulness?" That's definitely a loaded question and it has caused me to really look back at the man I was. I wasn't a very confident one. Always a people pleaser....couldn't make decisions with confidence. Even my confidence with women was 2% at best. I blamed it on being a computer nerd.

What's the difference now? Why am I so happy and content with this person I look at in the mirror everyday? How has that inner voice changed over the years and what message is it giving me now?

We are a product of every situation, event, and relationship we have ever gone through.  Everything we have been exposed to has affected us in some way. Our subconscious doesn't differentiate between positive or negative. It just records how intense things were. When you access those memories, your conscious self attaches the emotional part and that's how you feel the positive or negative value you placed on it. Until you realize it, you can't change it.

So that was the technical part. How do we apply ourselves to the change train? Sometimes it is simple, other times it isn't.

I'm sorry, it has been a long time since my last blog post. From the time I last posted until now, I became a single again. This is a prime example of what most people call a traumatic event.  And as anyone in their late 40's can attest, starting over sucks. It is primarily because we carry a negative connotation to a relationship ending. And does it really suck?  It is very rare for someone in that position to look at the positive lessons we have learned. Was that person good for me? Were we good for that person? What have I learned from this? How can I improve? Where did I put my damn keys????"

From my life experience, it is all just  a perfect storm of mindfulness. There are three parts to my theory. The first part is applying the principle of emotional intelligence. The second is using empathy to better feel what the others are feeling. The third is to how to focus on resilience. Resilience is the most important part of the equation because it is that internal process that you put into place that allows you to move on. It is a focus on things that bring happiness into your life that makes a difference. You own your own happiness so take care of it!

Using a relationship ending is definitely a good example of a disappointing event.  You have to reel in all your emotions, roll along the roller coaster of emotions that go from happy to sad in the blink of an eye. And while all this is going on, that dang inner voice starts.

We all know that inner voice. When something goes wrong its that voice we hear in our head saying things like "You idiot! Why did you go back to the buffet for seconds?" Its the voice that guilts you...makes you feel small.  It is that voice that reflects what direction your mind state is going and it is the most powerful voice you will choose to never hear. And I did say choose.

Guess what? You do hear it! It is always loud and clear. The issue is, we choose to ignore it just like we choose to ignore our kids fighting loudly in the other room until one of them cries out in pain. We start to focus on the negative and never realize what it takes to reframe it to the positive. Why do we do that? What purpose in advancing our lives and evolving as people does that inner voice serve? Truth? Listening to that negative inner voice only serves to limit you. It stops you and places you in a perpetual loop of despair. That's where the questions like "why me" and "what if" come into play. Why does this happen to me and what if I did something different? Why doesn't this person love me and what if I tried harder? I could go on and on about the inner messages we send ourselves. "What if" and "why me" serve absolutely no purpose to you

What if there was one "what if" that would hep you determine your path to happiness?

What if there was a way you could change that inner voice? There is a way and it all starts with the effort of you telling that voice to shut up! Its that simple! Its like when those same kids fighting in the other room get louder and it finally gets to you. What do you do? You yell "SHUT UP!" And what do they do? They stop dead in their tracks because you just broke their state. The same goes for that inner voice of yours. It reflects your state of being. You tell it to shut up and then you ask yourself the following questions:

Does this dialog serve a greater purpose? Does this dialog allow me the limitless freedom to evolve?

If your answer is "No" to either or both of these questions, then it is time to tell yourself to shut up! You tell your inner voice that this is not serving a purpose that will allow you to live your life versus letting it pass you by. How do you change the dialog you ask?  You need to take stock in what you have right now. You also need to take what positive lessons you actually learned from the situation, and dove tail that with where you want to go and evolve as a person. Notice I never once said to focus on the negative parts? That's because you are going to leave that behind that crap and change the dialog to reflect positivity and a direction that won't limit you.

Its one thing to feel that sense of loss when something wonderful comes to an end  or a situation that doesn't turn out the way you wanted. It feels amazing to be liberated from the negative feelings that would stop you in your tracks. You need to be able to focus on where you need to go and evolve as a person. You need to change your inner state to something positive which will then change your outer state.

Thanks for taking time to read this post! I truly hope you have an amazing rest of your day/evening!

The signs of the universe through the sleeves of change....

I hope this post finds you in great spirits!

Change is all around us. Being a 70's child, I always reminisce about what it was like way back then, and how everything is now. The obvious areas that most people that have been around for awhile focus on are music, clothes, cars, and technology. We have gone from having only 3 channels, rabbit ear reception, and manual channel switching to internet connected TV's, computers and cell phones.

But what about us? Why can't we notice what changes occur in ourselves?

Change is not always about technology and lifestyle. Inner change is a huge deal too. The way our subconscious works, we have to be open to possibilities on how we view the world and ourselves. The world doesn't change because it needs to. The world changes because people make changes, positive or negative. The signs are there in many forms and we just have to be open to them.

For example, I have this dress shirt that I love wearing. When I bought it, I was starting my journey to being 290 lbs. At one point I couldn't wear this shirt any more. It was always hanging in the closet, calling out to me to put it on. And I would put it on and  wince at not only the possibility of buttons almost popping off and ricocheting off the walls, severely injuring me, but I was also made weary of how heavy I had become.

Then I lost weight....

I started wearing the shirt more until it became apparent that I had lost more weight than I was at when I first bought said shirt. But I didn't care. I liked the shirt. For the last few months I have been paring down my clothes. Most of them I swim in so I figured I would donate them to charity.....but I kept the shirt.

I was wearing this shirt one day at a training session at work. One of my colleagues kept on pointing to her sleeve and laughing at me. It took her 5 times of doing that with me reacting by giving her my "confused smiley face" until I realized she was actually looking at my left sleeve. I looked and my heart sank! The elbow was worn out and showing skin. What was I going to do? I'm never going to look handsome again! I could never wear this shirt again! But then it dawned on me that maybe this was a sign from the universe telling me that I needed to move on and start my new journey by letting go of something that anchored me to my old journey. The shirt symbolized  something to me...I felt positive and empowered in that shirt.  Now that I am a fit and very positive person, I didn't need this shirt to make me feel that way. It was in me already. I just needed to see the signs and take that first step towards the next part of the path I am going to travel. 

So I folded up the shirt and placed it in a storage container with other things that have symbolized a milestone. And now I am looking at my new path.....and it was just made brighter by a smiling face.

Cheers!

The universe and how it's awesome to be too good to be true....

I have to say I'm not very good at keeping up with this blog. Yes, I know there are a few that rather liked to read the wise words of wisdom I have graced the internet with. But really Glenn? One blog post a month would even be better than none right?

A lot has happened since my last blog post. My son made a full recovery from his drowning incident. He has since moved out on his own and is working full time which means that even though he is now a productive member of society.......the nest is empty.

Life moves at a tremendous pace. You either go with it or fall behind. Its easy to get overwhelmed with how a person moves through this maze of  twists and turns. The only question that needs to be answered is when change looks in your direction, Are you going to run towards it or run away from it?

Change is the catalyst that gets us to our life's next waypoint. Sometimes it is caused by us and sometimes it is caused by things outside of our immediate control. One form of change is calculated and on purpose, while the other is forced upon us causing us to react. For me, this last year has been a combination of both.

It started in November of 2016 when an announcement was made that affected over 50 people that I work with. They were moving our jobs to another city and that we had 6 months left before they turned out the lights. A week after that announcement, I attended the premiere of my latest movie project, Patient 62. My son moved out during that same month as well. So while I was sitting there pondering my options...well, it was more like panicking because now I had to start looking for work after being gainfully employed with the same company for over 9 years. The fact I was going to be 47 and looking for works scared the crap out of me.

 Emotional times eh. The winds of change were blowing like a hurricane and 2017 loomed over my head.

Then a funny thing happened.......January 1st, 2017 hit. I spent the day feeling the optimism of a newly minted year. I felt a great energy that everything was going to be ok and that I will land on my feet....somehow. I knew this was going to be a landmark year. The template was there, I just didn't know who or what was going to fill in the blanks.


Losing my job rippled through other parts of my life as well. No more corporate rates for my gym activities. That's right, I was forced to change workout facilities because of my pending job loss. I was also single again and feeling the gravity of yearning for human connection. It was a very overwhelming period. With those negatives came some developing positives. Patient 62 struck a North American distribution deal, my training as a certified NLP practitioner was nearing completion, and I made a deal with myself to focus on losing weight and getting into the best shape of my life.

All this was on my plate for 2017! My old mindset would have already been telling me that there is no way you are going to accomplish any of this. But my budding NLP brain told me that you need to focus on the journey, put the proper things in place and before you know it your goal would be reached.

Now I can write about my entire 2017 journey in this one blog post, but we are now in 2018. So let's look at how my year went but in point form:

*I went from 280 lbs as of Nov 2016 to 196 lbs as of right now. See the picture below for the results
*I got hired by a major bank.
*The movie I play a lead role in, Patient 62,  has successfully launched on major VOD platforms all over North America (iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, PS4, Xbox One, Rogers VOD, MTS, Verizon FIOS). We just made an announcement it will be in China this spring!
*I became a certified NLP Practitioner.
*My production business, Dead Rockstar Productions, has started to attract clients for marketing and corporate videos. Soon I will be producing my first feature film called Faccioun (sounds like faction). A thriller based on a story I wrote about a secret society of serial killers.

So as you can see, change can be quite overwhelming when just looking at it. You know deep down inside that you must take that first step to start the journey. That's the hardest part. The amazing part is that when you get to the other side and look back at where you started from, it is a totally empowering moment to realize that you did make something awesome happen. The unknown path is a scary path. You just have to remember that you need to treat your goals like experiments being made by a scientist. If you are not getting the results you want, change something you are doing to change the results. Its funny how cliché that all sounds. It is part of the true path of making your dreams into goals, and your goals into reality.Ask yourself this question. Why can't too good to be true be just true?

Have an amazing day!!

The picture on the right was taken in Nov of 2016. The one on the right was taken in Oct of 2017.

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Private name....Private Number

Greetings world! Once again I say "Its been such a long time since my last confession......I mean since my last blog post. There have definitely been more ups and downs over the last year, but nothing in the world could have prepared me for the "down" that our family experienced this past Friday.


It was early evening when I received the call that no parent ever wants to get. The first call came in as a "Private name/Private Number" and because I have a new cell number I figured it was someone calling for the previous owner of the number. I let it go to voicemail....but none was left. It rang again a second time and again I let it go to voicemail and again no voicemail was left. It rang a 3rd time. Very persistent this person was....so I answered it not knowing that this was the start of what was to become a very rough and emotional weekend.


The lady on the other end said she was with the RCMP and that my son Brandon was involved in a drowning accident and that he had left by ambulance 10 minutes ago. That's what I heard. My heart sank...tears streamed down my face. I thought I lost my baby. When I told my girlfriend what was going on she asked if he was ok and all I could say was that I didn't know....I only heard the bad stuff. It wasn't until I put the phone back to my ear that I heard the officer repeat what she had said, that Brandon was ok and that he was conscious and talking and was being transported to the hospital.


A million things can race through your mind when confronted with your child going through a health crisis like this. I was told to relax and that he was going to be ok....but the only thing I focused on was the fact that my son could have died today....that he was very close to it and that if it weren't for those wonderful, quick thinking kids....I mean young adults he calls friends, I wouldn't be here telling you that my little boy, the very one that I have worked so hard to protect when he was younger, was now taking his first steps into adulthood by getting his driver's license! That's right! In one week we went from almost losing him to now embracing the big step of gaining that freedom he has worked so hard to get to. That, my friends, is something that generates so many emotions all at once that I literally cannot leave my cubicle at work for fear that someone might see me shed a tear. If things had worked out differently, this day would have been so sad. But it didn't work out that way.


My girlfriend is a very wise woman who I give a lot of credit when it comes to balancing our world. Even though in the beginning I wasn't listening to her when she said "He is all right" and that "he didn't die," today through reflection on the day, I see that I can focus on the positive and that he is all right and that he didn't die. My advice to you is that whenever you do get a "Private name/Private number" popping up on your phone, answer it! It may be the most important call you will ever get!


I want to share a huge milestone with you. Those of you that have followed me know I have been on a journey of self improvement. My journey started 6 years ago when I decided I wanted to be an actor and become more involved in my local film industry. Last year we were in a contest with a film project called Patient 62. We left the contest early and went out on our own to film it last fall. I am happy to announce that we are now closer to having the movie ready to show to all of you! We just released a teaser trailer and I am proud to say that we now have over 7,000 views! I will leave the link below for you to enjoy. Please share it with your peeps and Tweeps. We would love to hear your impressions so please leave a comment as well!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM3g1mmUnkI


Before I leave you today, I wanted to give you something to mull over. Its very mind boggling to think that since my last blog post on Oct 6th of 2015, there have been 206 mass shootings in the US that had four or more victims injured or dead. Since January of 2016 there have been 141 mass shootings in the U.S. involving four or more people with 5 of those happening since the Orlando incident. There needs to be a dialog and affirmative action taken on why there are so many guns available in the US. And oh yeah, please don't vote for Donald Trump.


Have a great day everyone! I will have more to post in the coming weeks so please come back!








Note: Mass shooting statistics were taken from the gun violence archive at http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shootings/2015?page=1