The Dreaming You

Giving Yourself A Second Act

Until recently I didn’t know that movies had three acts.  It has been part of my screenwriting education to see the structure underneath the movies I love.  Now when I watch movies, I know how to look for the things that happen at 30 minutes, 60 minutes and so on.  What has recently struck me are the things that happen at those same points in our lives.

 

In a screenplay, one page of the written word translates to roughly one minute on film.  I believe in our lives – the ratio is often closer to one year.  In a film, the first 30 pages are about “the normal world”.  This is when we find out what it’s like to be the main character.  In life - this is when we find out what it means to be us.  Then long about 30 pages – there is the Decision to Act.  It is this decision that takes us in to Act II – the meat of the movie – when our hero leaves the world they know and goes out on an adventure.

 

So here I sit at 35 and I realize that I am on the cusp of my very own Act II.  I am contemplating my life as a storyteller.  I plan to continue my beautiful day job and some wonderful opportunities there.  I also plan to continue taking my life and my understanding of it into writing.  How exciting is that!

 

As with any adventure, I’m not sure where this story goes next, but I am ready for the journey.  As I take the first steps  and continue to learn a new craft - I know this is right.  So often in our world we are taught to fear these changes in life.  We call natural transitions a “crisis” – when it is actually a gift.  It’s being able to look at your life and give yourself an Act II.

Overcoming Obstacles

When Jeane Whittenburg was little she wanted to attend the Art Institute in Kansas City and work for Hallmark.  Over the course of her life, there have been a lot of people that told her she couldn’t do what she wanted.  She had parents that said, “There’s no money in art.  You have to be a teacher or a nurse”.  Then she had a husband (now an ex-husband) that said she couldn’t take even an hour away from him to work with horses.  The good news is she did it anyway – and that’s what I like about her!  She did work with horses and she’s found many ways to be artistic.

 
 

In preparation for my interview with her, I looked Jeane up on the Internet and found out two things about her.  One – she recently designed holiday cards as a fundraiser for a local organization that provides equine assisted therapy to individuals with disabilities.  Two - Jeane just won volunteer of the year for her region based on the work she does with this organization.  In fact she is one of only eleven people selected for this honor out of the more than 30,000 volunteers with the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association.  That’s right - the same organization her ex-husband said she couldn’t volunteer for – just honored her for over 24 years of service and involvement in therapeutic riding.  Add to this - she wrote and illustrated her own children's book based on stories she heard growing up.

 

Guess what Jeane’s favorite kind of horse is?  A Paint.  Isn’t that fabulous – an artist that loves Paints!  And there’s more to the horse story, especially in terms of what it teaches us about how Jeane has overcome yet another obstacle – Schneiderian Papillomas.  Jeane has a rare kind of tumor that develops in the nasal cavity.  Over the course of her battles with these recurrent sinonasal tumors, Jeane has had 31 surgeries and cranial radiation, which has left her without her left eye – but she doesn’t let it slow her down or prevent her work in therapeutic horsemanship.

 
 

Every horse person can tell you intimate details about the first horse they ever loved.  Turns out, the first horse that Jeane loved was a horse named Pal she met growing up – long before the tumors.  Pal was a palomino that was blind in one eye.  She was one of the few people who could ride him, because she was sensitive enough to remember all the things you needed to do to make him comfortable – which side to approach from, how to avoid obstacles – all skills she is very adept at now.  When I asked her how she felt about her cancer  - she said “I have a hole in my head.  I hate it.  But I’m alive and I’m having a blast”.

 

Like many people who work with animals, Jeane echoed the sentiment that one of the things she liked about it – is that horses don’t judge you or feel sorry for you.  They just work with what they’ve got.  I like that too.  Turns out both the animals and Jeane have a lot to teach us – about taking what you’ve got and pushing past or working around anything that stands in your way. 

 

I admire that Jeane has overcome a lot of obstacles – most of them related to the limitations other people put on her.  Where she takes it to the next level is her volunteer work.  Jeane uses her experience at Therapeutic Horsemanship to help people with disabilities do the very same thing she does so well.  She helps them push past obstacles to do things they never could’ve imagined – like riding a horse!

 

Finding Your Gateway Dream

David Mizejewski knows some really cool things about animals and it makes for a really fun interview.  David remembers an early interaction he had with animals when he was just 4 years old and found his first bird’s nest.  He can still vividly recall the sense of wonder at finding the nest.  He thought it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen.  He also recalls the intensity of his anger and frustration when a neighborhood kid messed with the nest and ultimately killed one of the baby birds.  It’s not hard to see the budding conservationist in that story.

When he went to college, David continued to follow through on his love for animals as he studied Human and Natural Ecology at Emory.   One of his original plans had been Environmental Law.  I have no doubt that he would’ve been very good at it, but even though he cared deeply about the policy issues, the adversarial nature of the endeavor wasn’t for him.  This career was close, but not quite right.  So now what?

David decided to apply for jobs in Conservation out in the “real world”.  Luckily he had a great degree, from a good university and plenty of experience.  Only problem – he didn’t get any of the jobs for which he originally applied.  He didn’t even get an internship with the National Wildlife Federation.  The funny thing is that all of this “rejection” is the GOOD NEWS  - because what happened next helped him to find his own unique way to help the animals he is passionate about.

The job David did get was working as a naturalist at a kid’s summer camp.  Turns out - his enthusiasm was contagious.  Kids left camp – loving animals!  See - that’s what’s so much fun about interviewing David or watching one of his Today Show Appearances.  He loves these animals and after awhile you do too.

 

He took his enthusiasm for connecting people and animals and continued to work in the field - always staying in touch with the National Wildlife Federation.  Three years later - they called him.  That’s right - the same organization that didn’t originally hire him for an internship – was now calling him for a job!  They wanted him to run their Backyard Habitat Program, which David did until 2007.  Like everything else, he took the experiences he was having at the time and used them to build something bigger.  He wrote a Book on Backyard Habitats and ultimately got his own television show on the Animal Planet.

In addition to the way that his career represents a perfect merger of natural ability and interest - one of the things that intrigued me was David’s ability to help people, who might not otherwise care about conservation, connect to animals.  He made me laugh when he told me that in order to do this, he usually brings out the “Charismatic Megafauna” first.   By this – he is referring to all the cute and cuddly animals.  Truth be told, he is a big fan of amphibians, but the first thing that most people care about are the “front men” of the animal kingdom.  These animals serve as a kind of “gateway drug” to escalating interest in animals.

I think David’s approach to getting people connected to animals has something to teach us all about connecting to our dreams.  Sometimes your childhood dream functions like a gateway – getting you out of a rut, by showing you what it can feel like to care about your dreams.  Ultimately these early dreams allow you to connect to that unique set of gifts – that if we combine them with our work – creates amazing possibilities.  That is certainly what David has done.  He has taken that very infectious enthusiasm and uses it to make a difference for animals and ultimately inspires all of us to follow our dreams.

Thanks David!

Defying Social Criticism in Creating Your Art

I recently had the opportunity to meet the artist, Paul Tapia.  Paul “paints abstracts for people who don’t like abstracts”.  I love that.  I think what makes him remarkable is his ability to see past “social criticism” in to the heart of the creative process.  It’s all in there.  He told me a wonderful story about an experience he had with a room full of young children when he asked them each to draw an apple.  The kids drew every size and color of apple you could imagine, but one child drew something different.  When Paul was telling the story, he stepped over to a whiteboard and drew an all pink piece of paper with little circles drawn around the middle such that they formed their own little circle – kind of like an aerial view of Stonehenge.  I thought I was being creative – because I thought the child had drawn the seeds – seeing inside the apple.  Turns out it was teeth.  Teeth biting in an apple.  Right there on the spot, all those years ago – Paul paid the little boy ten dollars for his drawing.

 

I think Paul appreciated that this little boy wasn’t just drawing the same apple as everyone else– or even trying to get it right.  This little boy tapped into the big creative process – perspective.  This same gift for perspective is also at work in Paul’s abstract paintings.  Inside of them there is form and light and proportion – but they are blissfully free of social criticism – free of the ability to know for certain what it is – even if the proportions are that of Madonna and child.  For me the story is contained within the whole.  We can look at art through many perspectives when we aren’t trying to “get it right”.  No more drawing the same circle with little lines shooting out of it to represent the sun.  Instead, lets ask what things look and feel like to you.

 

My question is:  what would you draw – if you didn’t know what “it” was suppose to look like?

A Look Inside the Interview Process

I thought people might like to see how I get to these elemental moments of who we are and begin to put the pieces of the story together.  To that end, I am posting a recently completed video interview with Craig Jung.  Craig is an impressive entrepreneur who started the website - St. Louis Green.  It is an online source for everything local and sustainable in St. Louis.  Craig has shown remarkable skill in bringing together a lot of different groups and he has a remarkable personal story as well.

First a Personal Disclaimer - Please excuse the homespun nature of the video!  Clearly I am going to have to take a class on editing and get better equipment!  Regardless – I think you can get a sense of who we are and the process.

 

After watching the interview, I think it’s going to be interesting to see what Craig does next.  I wonder if things change when you can see these core elements of who you are and use it to your advantage.  No matter what - I know there are great things in store for Craig and St. Louis Green.  It’s going to be fun to see what happens next.

 

Thanks so much to Craig for being my first video interview and for being such a great sport throughout!

How Do You Become a Famous Rock Photographer?

Well it certainly isn’t linear.  My interview with Joseph Cultice has given me a lot to think about – both in terms of fame and in terms of sticking to your own creative vision.  Joseph has taken many recognizable photos – his iconic Marilyn Manson cover, Ozzy Osbourne in the rain, and more recently, the Jonas Brothers.  So he has seen many different sides of fame.  One of the things that struck me was the separation he sees between the machine for producing fame and the real person somewhere deep down inside of all of that – the person he photographs.

 
 

When Joseph started he was like many kids, daydreaming beneath posters of rock stars.  What makes him unique – is he ultimately ended up taking those photos – not just looking at them.  When he started out he planned to be in a band – not take pictures of them, but then his friends The Meat Puppets needed a photo for their album cover.  He was a Fine Arts major and had been taking photos of the Punk Scene he was a part of musically.  The Meat Puppets’ album cover was his first paid job – and the photo they used was actually a Polaroid he sort of took accidentally.

 

As his band gained local prominence he could see his life and people’s perceptions of him start to switch.  Suddenly it wasn’t OK to have a bad day or just be tired in the morning.  People had expectations every time they encountered him.  He said these kinds of experiences helped him to understand he wanted to be a photographer, not a rock star.   The experience of being behind the camera and creating an image – one that uniquely reflects the person he is shooting – this was going to be his career.

  

Once the realization was in place, he started logging his 10,000 hours.  He did whatever it took to learn photography and had many exciting experiences at the New Times in Phoenix.  Sometimes this involved carrying equipment, assisting on another photographer’s shoot, or in the days of film – learning how to do his own development.  At one point he sold the car his grandfather bought him for college – so he could move to New York.  Now that is a leap of faith and one his parents fully supported.

 

When I asked him how he made it – there was again this combination of finding

people who know how to do what you dream of doing – and then being responsible enough to show up and do what you say.  It’s funny how consistent that is across disciplines.  Keeping your word – appears to be essential to attaining your dreams.  This combination of taking risks and being open to learning helped Joseph to find out what a “photographer really does”.  As it turns out it involved more travel, more logistics and more time – than he probably understood in the beginning.  But then the photography experience also opened up to reveal parts of people he didn’t know – the way it allows him to see inside their world and behind their makeup.

 

What I admire about Joseph is his ability to see through the things that might distract others and create a truly unique image that reflect each artist as an individual.  He doesn’t just put every subject into his own particular style.  He allows a part of them to drive the creative process. 

 

So what happens when you quit chasing fame and start following your creative vision?  I think Joseph’s career can show us some of that – especially as he moves beyond the front man to pursue personal projects – and stays true to his own voice.  What is exciting – is for each person he photographs – he will continue to find what is unique in them and express that in a beautiful image.

You can See Joseph Cultice's work in St. Louis at S. Carmody Photography

The show is scheduled for April 9th, 2010 from 6 - 9 PM.

2707 Sutton Boulevard

Maplewood, MO 63143

314.401.8089

How One Mom Continues to Dance

Michele Rene Munz is a Health Reporter for the Saint Louis Post Dispatch – and a Hip Hop Dancer.  Add Mom to this and you’ve got quite a powerful combination.  What really inspires me is that she somehow manages to do all three.

 

Michele started out taking Dance at three years of age and grew up listening to Michael Jackson.  Apparently – she could actually do the Moonwalk.  Something I still want to see her do!  She remembers hours spent rehearsing in the mirror – and the enjoyment that dance has brought to her over the years.

 

When she went to college, she moved away from Dance and into track and field.  This experience brought her many good things – including her husband!  However, it left little room for dance and it wasn’t until the birth of her first child that she decided again to reconnect to the old world.

 

Now it was time to find Dance classes for grown ups.  Having tried to do this myself – I can tell you it takes some work.  Eventually she found Kari James, now at Technique Studios, and started moving again.  And, most importantly, she found kindred spirits.  Great Dancers without a competitive attitude – that still manage to push each other to be better – to advance.

 

Whether Michele was talking about running or dancing – there was a consistent theme.  She was always finding a way to get better – and I admire that.  I also admire that she has taken risks and time to herself in order to pursue her dream.  She has gone to LA and taken classes at famous Edge and  Millennium dance studios.  She has also gone to New York to study at The Broadway Dance Center.  She is doing all of this - at an age when most people quit.  Instead she works to make herself better.  And her husband watches the kids!

 

One of the things many Moms ask me is - “How do you find the time?”  I think this question is about the guilt we all feel for taking time for ourselves.  The answer is – “First you find support, then you don’t try to find time - you create it! “  I think Michele’s dance experience shows this.  When I asked her about making time for dance and being away from her kids, she said she thinks dance – actually makes her a better mother.  It recharges her batteries.

 

What I like is that Michele doesn’t let her fears, or old-fashioned notions of who can dance - get in the way.   She knows that happy moms are better moms!  So make time for you kids by being an example to them.  It’s time to get out and Dance!  I know I am going to really enjoy a little Hip Hop.  (Just ask my family- LOL)

Go Big – Start With a Little Dream

Why do little dreams first?  Because they show you that you are a capable person.  You know what most people lose growing up?  It’s not talent or force of will.  No – it’s their sense of themselves as doers.  That’s it.  They get stuck following a bunch of non-believers, never realizing they can step out of the crowd and just freaking do it. Whatever that is.

OK - so maybe you’re not ready to quit your job and fly to Tahiti to begin training dolphins in a natural setting.  But the foundation of this site is the fact that you can systematically show yourself who you are by first reconnecting to your small dreams.  Making sure you’ll be ready for the big ones. 

The more interviews I do - the more I realize the only thing that separates an unhappy person from one who follows their dreams – is the doing.  That’s right.  Nothing more complicated than that.   While others waste time talking or criticizing - Dreamers go out and do it.  Most of them will tell you it isn’t necessarily talent and truthfully it isn’t always connections or who you know.  It was doing it – day in and day out -  whatever “it” was  - no matter how many forms it took  - or what they had to do.  In a word - Persistence.

I can’t believe how my one small dream of going to screenwriting camp has changed my life and ultimately led to this Website - My Big Dream.  So - start small.  Pick one dream you know you can connect to and find a way to do it.  Take a cooking class, do the dance class at your community center.  You name it.  Then use this experience to show yourself who you are – what you are capable of doing. Show yourself you are a doer. 

Turns out - Following Little Dreams – is a great way of taking Big steps toward even Bigger Dreams!  You can do it.  No really – you can!

Unafraid and Little Bit Unreasonable

I really enjoy working with Barri Evins because she is teaching me about the power of being unreasonable - first hand.  Barri is a Hollywood film producer and teacher I met through Cinestory.   She has had a long career in the industry – which she partially attributes to being unreasonable.  How else could you persist in an industry that is famous for exclusivity and rejection?  As she said,  “Any reasonable person would pack up and go home.  But where is the fun in that?”

 

So how has she done it?  I think the key is to understand that ultimately she is fearless.  She will ask for anything and work for anything if it is something that matters to her.  Here’s an example:  Barri once decided that the children in the Head Start programs she was working with should have the same warm Santa experience that other children have when they receive their gifts for the Holidays.  There would be no more plastic chairs and boring backdrops. 

 

So this nice Jewish girl decided to design sets for all of the Head Start Programs her literacy charity was working with that year.  First she built a small six inch model and then it was simply a matter of taking the steps – one after the other – until every school had their own fairy tale land complete with working lights, fake snow – you name it.  Ultimately it was a matter of asking a lot of people to work together to support a common vision.

 

That’s how she does it.  Barri starts with a vision of where she is going – and then it’s just a matter of taking the steps and asking for what she needs – often beginning with the first thing she does know how to do on her own.  Frankly, this is exactly what I needed to learn right now as I work to build this site.  I have to be unafraid – whether I am approaching people to be interviewed or simply asking you to take your time to read my posts.

 

What a powerful combination – Unreasonable and Unafraid!  Just think what we can accomplish with those two simple traits.  So – Thank you to Barri for being a role model and for believing in me and my Unreasonable Dream of building this site!!!

 

Here’s to being Unafraid!!

Puffin Power

I have always been afraid of drowning - deathly afraid of drowning.  I have been afraid of this ever since I can remember.  No – I didn’t have a terrifying experience as a child.  I am a good swimmer – but I have always been afraid.  I recently had the opportunity to overcome this fear and push past it in dramatic fashion.  All of it inspired by a man named Lou.  

I met Lou on a National Geographic Cruise to Alaska with Lindblad Expeditions.  The cruise was an amazing experience, not the least of which, because you meet great people when you travel with them.  Lou DeLustro is the kind of guy that grabs life by the horns – whether that involves a martini mixed with glacial ice or a very icy dip in the ocean.  Lou had the idea to go swimming in 44 degree water and crazy me – I thought that was a good idea too.  Turns out - I was tired of being afraid. 

So what is it like to swim – even briefly - in water that cold?   Well it’s cold – crazy cold.  But it isn’t terrifying.  I can admit that all plans to swim around or see who could stay in the water the longest were quickly abandoned.  But being cold and in the water – was not the end of the world.  Yes -I was highly motivated to get back in the boat – but as luck would have it – and the order in which we jumped – I stayed in the longest.  And I am fine.  Actually I am better than fine – because I am no longer afraid. 

So you may wonder what this trip has to do with Childhood dreams.   It has to do with fearlessness and finding friends along the way.  Turns out that five people made the dive that day.  We nicknamed ourselves the Puffins.  Puffins are these wonderful birds that are stuck somewhere between being designed for flying and diving.  I absolutely love them.  You should see them work like hell to get airborne.  Most birds have these light airy bones so that they can fly easily, instead Puffins have bones that are heavy enough for them to dive in the water and catch fish.  I think they make the perfect analogy for dreamers.  You have to work hard to fly and be heavy enough to dive – and ultimately face your fears. Which I got to do!

 So I want to say thank you to my companions in the dive - Lou, Angie, Randeen and Cindy - as well as the people who waited for us with warm towels and open arms –Dane, Hanna, Chuck, Frank, Sue, Linda, and Billy.

And to Lou in particular – I am raising a glass to you becoming the inspiration for many more people’s adventures!

 

Legal note – This was not Lindblad's idea.  We did this at our own risk and I am not asserting that you should risk hypothermia to prove a point – only that I did!  LOL