LEARNING SUMMER 2008

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LEARNING SUMMER 2008 - Archive

What I Learned Yesterday - Tuesday August 19th 2008

My heart is pounding, my heart is racing, my heart is doing the craziest of things. It's because my mind is growing so fast and the world around me is too.

This is what happens when change occurs. I and the world that I'm around is going through so much, it's hard for the heart to catch up.

The heart can be your best friend and worst enemy. It doesn't like when it's being worked so much and it will try to force you to make changes so it won't. But you can't listen to it during these times as you know it's for the best to keep that heart pounding as fast as possible. The more the heart works in a lifetime, the stronger it becomes. The trick is to go through so much change and heartache without it killing you, so the heart pounds as strong as it can so you can overcome everything.

I think back to even 5 years ago. No way I could handle then what I'm going through now. The heart just wasn't strong enough. Now I'm fine and hoping to get stronger. Even though I hate it when it's going on.

What I Learned Yesterday - Monday August 11th 2008

I love doing the radio show. It's the future. And every show is taped and edited after wards and will be around forever! And that makes me happy.

The energy I've felt from it in the last few weeks has been tremendous. I thought I was happy, but there is another level to it.

Which brings me to Tom Cruise. Maybe this guy is just the happiest guy in the world and people think he's crazy because he's so happy. Maybe that's all there is to him. A guy doing what he loves to do everyday of his life. And maybe he's really in love with Katie and her back at him. So it's that simple. A guy who loves life and people don't know how to react to it.

If I were a betting man (which I am), I'd bet the house on that's the riddle of Mr. Cruise. He's just a happy guy.

What I Learned Yesterday - Sunday August 10th 2008

Damn those Olympics sure are getting me excited! I feel good because they are on.

Whomever came up with this every 4 years thing is a genius. I thought it was Papa Smurf when I was a kid but I now know that the writers of that kids show could of given the Popster that claim under false pretenses. But doing it with that huge gap is so important because it now means so much.

The trick is to not get too greedy in life but to pace things out. Then the worth becomes much greater.

What I Learned Yesterday - Saturday August 9th 2008

Meetings are important, but not too many meetings because then they don't mean anything anymore.

The trick is to know when a meeting must be held to boost the moral, to re-evaluate things and to make sure everyone is on the same page.

What I Learned Yesterday - Friday August 8th 2008

It's all about the Olympics baby. So much can be learned in this event.

The trick is to overlook at all possible the big business/corporate influence, the political drama being that it's being held in China, and the whole steroid/performance enhancing drug mess that will eventually happen when an athlete gets caught cheating and losses their gold metal.

It's easy to pinpoint the negatives and/or easy targets. Too easy. And easier if you really want to get inspired, to just watch these athletes perform their sport at its highest level under the highest amount of stress.

I remember when I was 11 years old during the 1988 Seoul Olympics thinking that if they can excel at their passion, so can I at whatever my passion will be. It's that simple.

What I Learned Yesterday - Thursday August 7th 2008

I was born a few years before the generation that will more than likely take this world to new heights. The Generation Y Group (born 1980 to 1994)! The generation that will go down in history in my prediction as the greatest ever.

This generation is smarter than my generation already and we've obviously had a few more years of learning time. Anyone who attempts to criticize younger people are the morons of our society.

This generation EMBRACES things. Especially technology and spirituality - the cornerstones of making the world a better place. They are impatient and want things now and that is a good thing. They have less fear and therefore get to know themselves a whole lot more.

I noticed this today because the newspaper industry is dying and are tying to make excuses for it by saying that this generation is too dumb and doesn't want to read. Say what? I looked through USA Today, New York Times and the local Toronto papers today and NOT ONE of those papers had any mention of the Brett Favre trade than happened late the night before.

The newspapers went to print too late to cover the story. But within 10 minutes of the news that the trade happened, I knew about it through internet means. It was all over the place. Articles from terrific writers were already done within 2 hours and everyone got their fix.

The newspapers will have to cover the story the next day after most people have read everything they need to know about the trade. Afterall it will be 32 hours later. Young people want IT NOW! They're dumb? For being interestws in learning about things right away instead of waiting. You don't learn much when you wait do you.

The Y GENERATION has 211 BILLION dollars of discretionary buying power, they are tech savvy, studies have proven that this generation is more driven to succeed than any past generation in history, they are overachieving and over scheduled, they are bored and lose interest with OLD STYLE environments (school anyone) and BEST OF ALL - they don't accept CRAP!!!!

This is the generation that will be MY generation's employers. It's happening and the world is better off for it.

So please shut up older generation as your fear is taking you over. Listen to this generation and they have a lot to say.

What I Learned Yesterday - Wednesday August 6th 2008

Do the thing you have to do but don't want to do first and get them out of the way. Because if you don't do them right away, you'll never do them.

What I Learned Yesterday - Monday August 4th 2008

Starting to get really comfortable being on the radio.

What I Learned Yesterday - Sunday August 3rd 2008

Played an hour of soccer yesterday at the local field from where I live. I usually go there to shoot some hoops, but I found myself in a game of recreational but very competitive soccer.

I don't know anything about soccer and it's true creativity, so I just fell back to my hockey playing days and stuck on defense and defended/harassed the best offensive playing on the other team. In my adult years in any competitive team sport I've learned to play strong defense which leads to immediate respect from everyone on the field.

I'm still not a big fan of soccer and I am very much a North American sport guy - Baseball, Football, Basketball. But I do have to say that this is the sport that can get people into shape. 10 minutes into the game I was completely winded - and I thought I was in good shape - while everyone else I was playing with hadn't even hit their stride.

If I play soccer an hour a day and do weights for another 4 days a week, I can live until I'm 120 years old!

I resisted soccer in North America for a long time but I do have to admit now that maybe soccer is a good thing for the kids. It will get them in shape far more than football or baseball will. And it could limit the lumpiness our society has become.

I never thought in a million years I would say this but go soccer -- it's good for our society.

Life sure does throw a wrench at your beliefs at times.

What I Learned Yesterday - Saturday August 2nd 2008

I'm in a good groove in my life. My mind is focused and I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and go away for months at a time and just get things done.

I need my daily people fix but otherwise it's time for me to really push my creative zone to newer heights. And the only way I can do that is to limit my people influences.

What I Learned Yesterday - Friday August 1st 2008

Sometimes going for a walk for a half hour is the best thing you can do. Not sometimes, most times.

The mind needs to be clear into order to answer the most important questions you need answered. I know that but I don't do it enough. Time to make it a routine for myself.

What I Learned Yesterday - Thursday July 31st 2008

The Dalia Lama once said - "Many times it's your disappointments that force you to end up where you're suppose to be."

I fear failure so much it's what drives me to succeed. But I also know that my failures are what makes me learn the most.

The things that teach me the most are what I work hard to stop at all costs.

It's that kind of irony that makes me love this world. You can never figure it out.

What I Learned Yesterday - Tuesday July 29th 2008

I had a very hard day at work yesterday. One of those days where I kept plugging away as I was on a mission to get many things done. I even did 6 loads of laundry too!

Setting yourself up to do a lot of things is extremely productive. And if you HAVE to do it or else, then that is even better. I don't think I feel better than by getting things done. Because I know this makes me a smarter person, and a better all around person too.

I'm getting close to that stage where I will be able to delegate many things and then concentrate back on my filmmaking career. It feels good but I have lots of goals that I want accomplished and a lot a missions to get to.

I believe the art to a happy and great life is to master the following traits: DISCIPLINE, HARD WORK, SUPPORTED and POSITIVE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE, INTEGRITY and ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS.

I first had to value those traits a great deal before I set out to master them. I have a long way to go, especially the organization part, but I know I'll get there before I pass on.

What I Learned Yesterday - Monday July 28th 2008

We were talking about art and commerce on our radio show yesterday. Taking your art (script, film etc..) and trying to bring it into the world and have it fit somewhere. That's another form of art and is especially important to think about in this world.

When I started to set up my career in 2002, I realized something very interesting: in order to be a great artist you also have to be a great businessman too! The irony was thick and I wanted to convince myself that it wasn't true. But unfortunately it's completely true.

I read dozens of business books so I can understand this Chinese language IN ORDER FOR ME to be a better artist in this world.

I looked at my favorite filmmakers, actors, writers etc... and realize that all of those people were savvy at business. So I had to too.

Yesterday was another reminder that I must balance my artist skills between the art of creativity and the art of creative business.

What I Learned Yesterday - Sunday July 27th 2008

I am getting a touch of writer's block for the first time in ages. I usually write for at least an hour everyday and I'm very productive in that process. For the last day or two, I've been blocked and it's a struggle.

I don't like it but I know why this is happening. My mind feels like ground beef paddies. My thoughts aren't free but blocked together in an organized ball. I can function, but I am not who I really am.

Now I have to figure out how to get out of this. I need to shock my body and do something new.

What I Learned Yesterday - Saturday July 26th 2008

Running these WILDsound events has taught me a lot. #1 thing I've probably learned is that people want to talk about good and positive things more than they do negative things. But one bad apple can influence people go to down the negative path.

Positivity is hard because when you go down that path, you begin to learn something new, NO matter what!

Negativity is easy and you never learn anything from it.

What I Learned Yesterday - Friday July 25 2008

We had our TV PILOT Screenplay reading last night. Great educational experience. Our moderator balanced between art and commerce with the 2 winning scripts presented and it was an eye opener for many.

I've been doing these screenplay readings for a long time and the amount I've learned from it has been extraordinary.

I love this business because it's a field that you can never stop learning at.

Martin Scorsese said three years ago in an interview - "I know only about 5% of filmmaking. I have 95% more to learn and the art and madness of the whole thing is that I'll never be able to learn it all."

What I Learned Yesterday - Thursday July 24 2008

We did auditions for our next One Page Screenplay film. Our director and writer was extremely happy with the level of actors who auditioned. Actors who were non-union.

We are now getting to that time in this industry where the union "professional actors" and the non-union actors are almost the same in quality. Where artists in general are learning to achieve compensation without entering the system of this industry.

It's 2008 and we're in this very magical time. In 10 years we're going to see a whole new industry.

What I Learned Yesterday - Wednesday July 23 2008

Life is all about treating others how you want to be treated yourself.

I want to be treated in an honest way. Sometimes I need to be yelled at as other times I need to be hugged. When I am not pulling my weight, I need to be fired. When I am a jerk, I need to be told that. I just want honesty. And most times, honesty isn't what you want to hear but need to hear.

The last thing I want from people is to sugarcoat things in fear that I might be hurt. Being hurt is a good thing a lot of the time as it makes you a better person. That's how I want to be treated by others.

I never believed in the phrase - "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

I'm not saying you have to be a jerk about it, but honesty a lot of the times it isn't the friendliest thing in the world.

What I Learned Yesterday - Tuesday July 22 2008

Yesterday before the radio show people who were hanging around were talking about how Maggie Gyllenhaal wasn't attractive or wasn't a good enough actress for her role in The Dark Knight.

That floored me because it's silly, but I guess many people think that.

First off, Maggie Gyllenhaal is a very good actress.

Before the show I was checking out the magazine section at a convenience store looking who was on the covers of all the mainstream magazines. Maggie Gyllenhaal was on a cover and then there was 15-20 model types on the others. The first person who raised by eyebrow and raised the organ that lies in the middle of my body was Gyllanhaal. All the other girls seemed to not have the same soul as her and I wasn't attracted to any of them.

I am attracted to knowledge first and foremost and first instinct Maggie is the person I would want to spend time with. She's the one who I know who it would take me a long time to not be bored by her. In fact, she'd probably get bored with me before I got bored with her.

And in a sexual way, she's the one I know who would be the best in the bedroom too. Most of these girls on the covers probably never even had an orgasm before and I can guarantee Maggie knows her body and has had multiples (probably just this week!).

But maybe I'm in the minority. When I began my life over in 2002, I realized that I was attracted to different woman and society's conception on what is attractive was probably the last thing I saw. My mind got shocked in a Shallow Hal way and I saw a whole new way of beauty.

To be honest, it's not as prominent as it once was as society has influenced me a tad in what I think is suppose to be attractive. And I know I have to fight it too.

Think back to when you were a kid. The last thing I saw when met people was the way they looked. When I was 7, I started hanging out with an overweight friend. I never even knew he was until my older cousins pointed it out and started making fun of him.

It was that time in my childhood that changed my life forever. I looked up to my cousins (one of many misguided things I've chosen) and was really influenced by what they had to say. I was hanging out with this boy because I liked him and we had a connection. I never saw anything but what he really was, not the mask he wore on the outside.

My cousins influenced me to look at people on the outside and if they weren't "appropriate", then you should make fun of them. (Ironically enough, those cousins are now completely bald and not the most "attractive" people in the world - both on the outside and inside - as I have full head of hair and are much more attractive than them)

I now fight for my innocence. The world is just not evolved enough to realize that the costumes we wear on the outside don't mean anything.

I am a person who is probably considered attractive on the outside. I can enter rooms and use my height and looks to my advantage if need be. I am someone who uses the bullshit conceptions of the world to my advantage.

But it's not right!

What I Learned Yesterday - Sunday July 20 2008

Communication is the cornerstone of life. I have a pretty good relationship with my business partner and radio co-host Jen Frankel, as we are always overly honest with each other.

Of course we are both flawed human beings with levels of insecurity and fears, so it's hard sometimes to be honest and understanding the difference between honesty and when you're just being a jerk. Jen and I have some great conversations and not so great conservations. The trick is to make sure the great out ways the not so great at least 80% of the time.

But the not so great is always a part of the madness of success and that's when you learn the most. You can't alway agree as that would not only be boring but also not productive. The trick when we don't agree is that we take nothing personal. And when we argue, it's always from an honest place. You can't get mad at someone if they're speaking from an honest place, no matter what they say.

When you partner up with someone in business or even a relationship, I realized that the trick is that you need to know the other person's discipline, and they have to know yours. Meaning that you understand what that person needs to do in their life in order for them to survive, work their best, be their best and be happy. The happier someone is, the better person in every way they are.

But we always need to understand what makes the other person tic. I am someone who needs to stick to a routine everyday while also doing new things -- but if I don't do my routine and the work I need to do, then I am unproductive and sad. So my partner must realize that and not take me off my rails.

And I need to do that for Jen in our business. I am not always good at doing this, but when I master it, then our business will take off. The two of us walking in unison at our best are unstoppable. She's the idealist/leftist, I'm too much in reality and definitely a moderate. I'm the bad cop, she's the good cop. I'm the planner, she's the executor. She's the master of excellence, I'm the master of quickness. We make a good team and have come a long way in 29 months (11 months making films, 18 months starting this site and the events). We've gone from nothing to something. Now it's time to be great.

What I Learned Yesterday - Saturday July 19 2008

Every time I get into my car and turned on the radio in the past week, I've heard the song CHANGES by David Bowie.

Logically, it's probably a song in the weekly rotations in the stations I listen to and just a coincidence that I keep hitting on that song.

But I am the type of person that doesn't believe in coincidences as everything happens for a reason. So this song is trying to tell me something and I guess it's that I need to start doing a lot of CHANGES.

I hear you Bowie. Thanks for the advice.

What I Learned Yesterday - Friday July 18 2008

When I recovered from my addiction problems in 2002, I became a whole new person. A better person in my opinion and a worse person in others.

One of the things I began to study and attempt to master was discipline in myself so I could always be doing what I loved to do. Making sure I don't get distracted in life's roadblocks and end up in places in my day where I don't want to be.

I realized that I am very much influenced by people and the less time I spend with 95% of the population, the better it is for me in the long run.

So I really only stick close with a small group of people while also managing to have at least one major conversation with another person in the world each day. And picking the right people has taken a lot of trial and error, but I think I've mastered it.

Sometimes they come to you when you end up sitting beside the right person at the baseball game or in a lineup at the DMV. And sometimes you have to go to them, where you observe someone's activities and realize to yourself that you'd really like to meet that person. And sometimes you just end up approaching each other at the same time. It's those times that usually end up in lasting friendships and relationships.

Our rising star intern Matt Dunbar says it best - "The trick in life is to realize when you have to dump the baggage. Get rid of those people who are not improving your life. And that's hard because a lot of those people are good or even worse, troubled, and you feel sorry for them and they need help. But you know they can't help you at the present time in your life to be a better person.

That's the trick. I am not a professional shrink and I am not going to really help those troubled people if they don't think they are troubled and don't want any help. So you have to move on. If you don't, then you end up becoming the troubled one. There isn't a worse contagious disease in this world than fucked up people putting their fucked up feelings onto you.

I sound somewhat heady in this day's blog, but this is what I realized back then that this is what makes me a better person who can learn faster and improve faster into a good man.

What I Learned Yesterday - Thursday July 17 2008

This baseball all-star break is killing me. Two days without baseball is like a year for me.

I live in mid-town Toronto, close to a busy intersection that's loaded with people during the 9 to 5 hours. It's a good place to observe humans and hear/see what everyone's talking about.

One thing I notice during these summer times is all of the office worker woman who wear these high heels days after day. I do have to admit for some reason that shoes on ladies turn me on. I don't know why I am attracted to that, but I am.

But boy am I glad that I am not a woman as I would never in a million years wear high heels. It's a tad inhumane in many ways. I see all of these woman who are co uncomfortable wearing these heels, but still do it. Are they doing for us men?

So I'm locked in that dilemma where I love the high heels but know that they really should be outlawed. So I'm very conflicted.

What I Learned Yesterday - Wednesday July 16th 2008

All I have to say is that was a terrific Baseball All-Star Game. A nice 15 inning affair filled with some of the best baseball I've seen in over a year. Made me a very happy person as I learned a whole lot.

One thing that came to mind for me out of left field (literally), was the professional movie critics who moderate our film festival events.

I never read a movie review or TV review in my life until we inserted reviews on our website and when I started meeting all of the critics at the WILDsound festival. I never saw the point of someone telling me what to think before I saw something.

Still to this day I do not like watching movie trailers. I have my pre-screening ticket for The Dark Knight tomorrow and I am proud to say that I have only watched 15 seconds of a piece of a trailer/commercial of the film. All I know is that The Joker is played by Heath Ledger, one of my favorite actors Aaron Eckhart is playing Harvey Dent and Maggie 'I might marry one day' Gyllenhaal is replacing Tom Cruise's current wife. I know nothing more and I will go into the film with a clear mind to what I'll be seeing. Which is how I think a movie should be watched.

But because movie reviews are now a part of my business, I have come to appreciate them. There's a distinct line in what makes a good review and a bad review. And this theory of mine can easily be used in other matters of life:

A good piece of writing is when the writer is trying to influence you to think about something. You might not agree with them, but it's an interesting and unique take.

A bad piece of writing is when the writer is trying to TELL YOU what to think about something. And this is the kind of writing that should be flushed down the toilet because nothing positive or good can become of it.

I see this in conversation too. When someone is so emotionally involved, they need to be right about what they are telling you. Those are the people I like to walk away from and never speak to again.

I guess the trick is to know what you're writing or your conversation with someone is just part of a string of many. So you can't really take it too seriously, while also caring about it at the same time. I guess it's all about balance and it if you land at the bottom or top of the teeder-todder, then you're in trouble. You either have too much control or none at all and both places are always the danger places in life.

Easier said than done of course. There are a few movie critics who have moderated our events who are masters at that craft. And this month's moderator Bruce Kirkland is definitely one of them. A man you can't help but learn something new after a conversation with him or if you read any of his writings.

What I Learned Yesterday - Tuesday July 15th 2008

I went back to a place I haven't been back to in ages yesterday and it brought a calmness to me. I had a meeting with an editor who's currently working on a Canadian TV show, so I went down to their production studio to meet him. The very same production studio that I spent hours upon hours at when I worked in the industry as a P.A. in 2000-01.

I walked around the busy set and recognized so many faces. Faces that are the same but just a little bit older in the features. I walked onto the main set when they were shooting (it's amazing what you can get to when you just appear to belong) and watched one of our past WILDsound moderators direct a scene. I realized that I had a blast being around this environment back then, solely because I learned a whole lot, but I just don't miss it at all anymore.

I like working on set now, but only when I serve as a director or producer. I left the mainstream industry because I knew I couldn't fit my career aspirations into their world. And just going back yesterday and getting a sniff at it made me realize what a great decision I made.

I already knew this, but going back made me feel even more confident in the decisions I made. I just wish I got the catering everyday that these film sets get. I have to work on that.

What I Learned Yesterday - Monday July 14th 2008

Had to drive a friend to the airport as she was going to Winnipeg of all places to do a theater show. This person's energy was high as she was ready to go away from her usual life and change things up a bit.

We always need to do that.

I didn't really drive her as she drove me in her car and then I drove it back to her parking spot. So when I was driving her car home, I felt great because this is a kind of car I never drive.

I've never been a car guy at all. Never interested me. I'm a sports guy all the way. A hunk of medal just never turned me on, which drove my car loving friends crazy growing up as my father was an Executive at General Motors and the company used to give him a brand new car to drive around every 3 months.

So I was living a dream for many teenagers as I used to also get to drive these brand new machines with wheels. I always needed to break the car in, but more in a sexual way, but that's another story.

Driving brand new expensive cars right off the assembly line for many friends of mine was like a Goth teenager having a major league baseball player for a father and being able to be the batboy for the team anytime he wanted to, but of course thinking that was lame. It drove them crazy just like that Goth kid would drive me crazy.

Yesterday driving this new car made me feel exciting and new, like I was coming aboard a new adventure. And it wasn't a boat cruise! I was ripping down the highway feeling like a whole new man and feeling a whole new set of energy to push my busy life forward.

Many times the tiniest adjustments shock the body into a better place. My friend was so happy to leave and do her show and I took her positive energy and ran with it. Kind of like the positive car version of Stephen King's Christine.

What I Learned Yesterday - Sunday July 13th 2008

I'm a busy boy. But I believe I can be a much better person if I continue on this column every single day!

It's important.

I am disciplined about many things, but my writing takes a back seat these days. I've been writing a journal about my life for years and I believe that it's made me a much better person. My memory is sound because all I usually need to do is think back to an event and remember what I was feeling inside. And what I was feeling inside is what I wrote about the day and then all of the details of that day come back to me.

Sporting events help me too. All I have to do is think about say the 1997 NBA Finals, Chicago vs Utah -- then I can remember every single day in detail when that series occurred.

The more I remember about my past, the more I know myself in the present. To never make the same emotional mistakes again.

But now I'm writing my journal to a mass audience and I guess that's a tad scary. But what I learned early on about fear, the more you have it in the situation, the more important it is for your life.

SPRING 2008 Archive Writing

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DECEMBER 2007 Archive Writing

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AUGUST 2007 Archive Writing