One Man's Sacrifices

I grew up in a military family. My father took us everywhere he was stationed when he could and we traveled all over the world. As a child this was so exciting to me, seeing new places, meeting new people. Even though we were never in one place for very long, I made friendships that lasted a lifetime.

I remember once my father and I were hanging out. It was a quiet Sunday morning much like today. We sat out on my back porch over a steaming hot cup of coffee. He told me how sorry he was for dragging us kids all over and  he wished that he had provided a more stable environment for us. I saw the sincerity in his eyes. He honestly thought we should have had more than what he offered.

My upbringing was interesting to say the least and adventurous to say the most. There is not one experience if given the chance to do over, that I would do anything differently.  I love the sense of curiosity our travels created in my own life. The eagerness to see first hand how others live. Because of him I was taught to see the world from many different perspectives; that was a gift greater than anything money could buy.

My father was the one who made all the sacrifices. He volunteered and served in the Vietnam War and then put in many years after, serving his country and the people he held dear. He was away from his family at times and did that so he could better himself and provide for us all. I love and respect him for the sacrifices he made. But most of all I love him for the values he taught me.

There were many in my family who served and I have the good fortune of still having them with me and yet there were so many others that paid the ultimate price. It takes a certain kind of individual to serve selflessly for our country. I want to give them all my deepest, sincerest gratitude. I also want to thank my father for his service, thank my uncles, cousins, brother, friends and all of those who have fought for the freedoms we often take for granted.

I know my father is flying his flag today as he does every day and tomorrow on Memorial Day he will honor and remember the ones that came before and after him. I want to wish everyone a wonderful 3 day weekend and ask as we enjoy the day off to remember the ones to which this day is celebrated.

Happy Memorial Day!

We're All In This Together

There is a lot of competition in the business of the arts. Whether you are an artist, writer, musician, even the corporate world, whatever realm of creativity you walk in, the competitiveness is insurmountable. Millions of people all trying to do the same thing, find success. For every winner there is a loser and we have all had our fair share of losing.

I have said it before and I'll say it until the day I die, the industry exists because someone made it, there is no reason why that someone cannot be you or I. I have built my career on studying those who have come before me. I was meticulous and calculating in the steps I took to move my career forward, most times I'd lose, but those experiences built knowledge of what works and what doesn't. Trial and error so to speak, I learned what not to do as well as paid close attention to the things that turned into successful ventures so I could repeat those steps. If it worked once, there is always a good chance it will work again.  

A word of advice, kind of off subject but in any case, take notes and refer to them often; you would be surprise what you forget. Write everything down, especially names and contacts. Keep this information stored in numerous places as a back up so you will always have another resource to turn to if something is misplaced or lost. It takes years to build relationships with industry people who can help further your career, it would be a shame to lose them all in a split second of carelessness. 

Back to the subject at hand, this is where I want you to change your way of thinking, to not only benefit yourself, but everyone on the same path as you. Stop looking at fellow artists as competition. We can learn from each other, prosper from each other and help each other grow. Everyone has a certain strength to bring to the table, work with those that are strong in things that you are weak. Share your knowledge with others who fall short where you are strong. Never stop learning and never think for a second that you know it all, the moment you close your mind to a piece of knowledge, you may be potentially closing yourself off to the one element that was holding you back. We are all in this together.

Hey, I get it, we're human and we're greedy by nature. But there is enough to go around and we all excel in different things. I'm a firm believer of karma, never step on a toe in order to improve your own position, this will come back to haunt you, do not think for a second it wont. Never forget the journey and struggles and when you reach the top, be sure to always make sure the fortune keeps trickling down. You achieve this by information sharing, introductions and a simple, "Hey, how can I help", whenever and where ever you can. 

I'm still climbing but I would be a fool if I said I have made it this far on my own, there are countless people that have paid it forward for me, I hope I may be able to repay the favor one day. 

The Unsung Hero

Today is Mother's Day. This day is a celebration of the woman that gave me life. Everyone has their stories be it good or bad. I was raised in a very close knitted family. We were taught to stand beside each other no matter what came our way. That was the definition of family in my house and my parents lead by example and Mom was the tie that kept us all together. 

Dad played his role as well; he was old school, he provided for us and he did it without complaint. As a child we were poor, I never realized the struggle they had to feed 4 kids because back then, I never wanted for anything. They taught me values, responsibility and how to appreciate what we had instead of always wanting something more. We were as dysfunctional as the next family but we made our dysfunction work for us. The 6 of us were tight, we had each others back and genuinely enjoyed each others company. 

My Father was a military man and was gone often but Mom never missed a beat and when we saw him it made the time together all the more special. As a child I admired my Father so much, he was my hero, he could do no wrong in my eyes and over the years that has never changed. But I did not learn to appreciate my Mother until my adulthood. It was kind of like, she was always there, I was always happy and satisfied, but I took her for granted because I never had any needs, because they were always met. 

I was a head strong rebellious teen and my Mom and I's personalities clashed like the Titans. Maybe we were too much alike, but whatever the reason, as an adult I used to apologize to her jokingly for being such a pain in the ass. But she loved me unconditionally and I did not learn to appreciate that until I was older. 

We lost my Mom 7 years ago. It was a day that rocked me to the core and I have never been the same person since. I know she knew I loved her, and I always felt loved by her. The pain of that sort of loss never goes away, in time it does feel different but I miss her as much today as the day she went to her new home. 

She had a strength that was incomparable to anything or anyone and she loved her family above herself and never let us see her sweat. I am who I am because of who she was and who she will always be. I am my Mother's daughter and I hold my head high with a proud heart. I can only hope to be half the woman she is; I was never blessed with a child of my own but I pray that I may have an impact on someone's life the way she impacted mine. I cannot be me with out her, Happy Mother's Day, Mommy. I love you with all my heart.

Quiet Time

When things get out of control in our lives it is easy to feel overwhelmed. The emotions feed our negativity, we start telling ourselves lies about our talents. The thing is a creative person truly needs to have leather skin and not take things so personally. Unfortunately we are probably the most sensitive people on the earth.

We will hear the word, "NO" more often than we hear anything positive about our art. We have to understand you will receive a thousand no's, but it only take the one "YES" to make our dreams come true. Hang in there for that yes, because it makes all the hard work worth it and more.

In the mean time you have to allow yourself quiet time to refuel and rejuvenate. You need time for prayer or meditation whatever method you use to get to your happy place. On any given day we can be pulled in a million different directions and forced to put our energy into things that do not necessarily feed our creative self. It can cause turmoil and battles within our spirit. Sometimes succumbing to the fight can feed us to the

Photo taken by Christina Griffin

point we're able to find solace in a new song or a painting, whatever your medium may be. It is cathartic to say the least. Make your anxiety work for you, tap into those emotions to express your deepest sentiments.

It is the nature of the business and you have to work feverishly and relentlessly in order to reach the level of success you have set for yourself. I'll be the first to tell you the harder you work the luckier one becomes. But do not lose sight of the prize. Have you ever been so tired you get writer's block or you go days sometimes months with no motivation for anything? This is a common result to endless work and no play. It affects our ability to soar to the levels it takes to create our art.

Check yourself by the production of your craft. When I'm rested and energized I can write a song a day and sometimes more than one. But the more exhausted I become the more time passes between my creative productivity. My creativity is how I function it is everything I am, it is how I breathe. When the flow stops, so do I.  I fall into a depression and it offsets my entire being and balance.

I love to travel to get perspective and rejuvenation, or go for walks, sometimes a simple drive to the library for a change of scenery is enough to put me right again. You'd be surprise how busy one can be and then at the end of the day you have not one thing to show for your efforts. Whatever works for you do it, and do it often we all need to learn how to stop and smell the roses. We all need unapologetic space from the outside world. If you are surrounded by others that do not approve of your solace, then those people are toxic and must be removed from your life. Every one needs down time and you would be amazed at the difference it will make.

So, having said that, Happy Friday everyone, no better time than the present to put it to practice. Enjoy your weekend. Curl up with a good book, spend some alone time or enjoy the family, no matter what you decide to do, make sure it is relaxing and give yourself that time to recoup.