Why I'm Doing ScriptFrenzy

I like to watch those fitness infomercials.

There's one moment in particular, in the infomerical for a product called "Insanity", that I really like. One of the successful graduates of that program speaks of how he feels after having gotten it done. I papraphrase, but basically he says, "after having done 'Insanity', I feel like I can take on any challenge."

The goal of ScriptFrenzy is to write a script of some kind, at least 100 pages, in the month of April. That might sound a bit daunting, but think about it this way... that's only 3 1/3 pages per day (and your typical script format doesn't exactly fill up each millimeter of a page). Having said that, this challenge will still require some discipline, consistency and motivation on my part.

I can do this though, and I see myself coming out on the other end feeling "like I can take on any challenge."

And don't we all want to feel this way?

I'm a bit behind at this point. I can supply any excuse I want... the vagaries of a busy schedule, competing priorities, etc.... in the end though, I know I need to do this. I have, right in front of me, a great opportunity to benchmark my levels of discipline, consistency and desire.

There are a variety of reasons I'm doing this...

• My kids. I want to show them that they too can conquer a challenge.
• Myself. This a chance to both measure and enhance how I manage myself and my time.
• My story. My screenplay should be a good one. It's entertaining... lots of action and emotion and what will be a climax that would leave audiences cheering. The story also has something to say about perserverance. The movie poster I imagine would read, "He just wanted change his life. But life fought back." Also, "there is a hero in all of us". The prospect of inspiring even one person through this story drives me forward.

Anyway, I'm not all that far behind. I have set a goal to get caught up by the end of this week. A very successful person of my acquaintance is very fond of saying "take action". Let's all take action this week and push something forward and maybe we can all feel like we can take on any challenge.

Let's get it done.

A New Freind

So I guess I've made a new friend. Maybe.

Okay, so it was months ago that I swore off those internet dating sites such as match.com, cupid.com, etc. A few weeks ago I recieved a "wink" from someone on match.com.

Now, I don't know if you're aware of how these things typically work. Statistics show that 99.999999% of the time it's men who first approach women on such sites. That's how it's been since time pretty much time began, probably since the cavemen first got involved in internet dating.

So I clicked through to her profile... not only is she as cute as you might imagine (maybe even cuter), but she seems intelligent, spirited and optimistic. Someone that, given a great deal of luck on my part, I would certainly be interested in, well... romantically... but also a person that I would love to have at least as a friend.

We had made arrangements to meet, but given the vagaries of work and child care schedules it's been something of a challenge. Basically, being a responsible adult and parent is not exactly conducive to dating or even just meeting for lunch and maybe starting out as friends.

So let's flash back to last Thursday.

She and I were supposed to meet for lunch, but she was unable as she found out at the 11th hour that she was supposed to pick up her daughter early from school. That's fine. I would strongly prefer a woman who puts her children first. Anything else is simply unacceptable in my view. She sent me a very contrite email and I responded that it was no problem... "kids are always first" as I put it.

That evening I was sorting through a batch of old emails and I found something less than pleasant. A few weeks ago I had received innumerable emails, texts and calls from a friend who was very upset about something. It was a situation that, while unpleasant, was something that she had no small part in creating yet somehow refused to take any responsibility for. I looked at the emails, cringed for a moment and quickly deleted them.

I then saw the last message I had sent to my new friend. I thought of how she made a very strong point that she worked to see the good in everyone and how she seemed resolute about staying at least "cautiously optimistic" despite the occasional disheartening experience.

And I smiled. What a wonderful counterpoint to my other friend.

So I sent her another message...

"Oh, and one last thing... there are things in this life worth waiting for and I'm guessing meeting you is one of them."

In retrospect, I hope that last message wasn't overkill, and I do hope I'm not perceived as pushing her too strongly in one direction or another. Ultimately I'm looking forward to the prospect of making the acquaintance of someone who goes at life with a strong, positive demeanor, who does the best she can for her child and certainly doesn't play the victim role. Anything else is just icing on the cake.

Self-Discipline

Self-discipline has been called many things, among them, "the master-key to success". Certainly, lacking some measure of personal discipline will keep you from maximizing your potential. Consider the extreme... people who don't exert any self-discipline frequently end up with their lives a mess and often destroyed. Look around you, think of the people you know... you'll soon know what I mean.

Discipline is has two essential ingredients... desire and confidence. You obviously have to truly want what you're going after in order to exert any discipline. The other component is confidence (or belief). It's imperative that you believe you'll be successful to access that wellspring of discipline. You may want to be a millionaire (or have 0% body fat or write "The Great American Novel" or whatever) but if you don't think you'll get it done, you'll flounder... you'll stumble right at the starting gate. This is the primary reason why self-confident people are, as a rule, more successful in most endeavors than the population as a whole.

Imagine someone denigrated on a frequent basis, frequent enough that they would lose any and all belief they could accomplish anything. This poor beleaguered soul would unable to bring forth the discipline required to be successful in pretty much any endeavor. When you don't believe you can do anything, you won't actually do anything. Simple as that.

Just because someone is not taking action towards a goal, that doesn't mean they don't want it. It's likely that they don't beleive it's possible for them. One way to overcome this issue is to focus on the process rather than the objective. I have a close freind who would like to get physically fit. He goes to exercise classes here and there but has trouble sticking with the sustained effort required. My sense is that there's something of a tunnel vision on his part... he has a nice vision of his future fit self, but it seems so far away, almost unobtainable. I have another freind who takes fitness classes a number of times a week, jogs, etc. She's able to derive pleasure from the workouts themselves and take pride in the little milestones along the way. This is a good example of the phrase, "the journey is the reward". Savor each stepping stone and revel in the fact that you're a better person simply by virtue of your effort.

Developing one's self-confidence is also a great boon to self-discipline. There are a number of ways to do this. It was suggested to me once to list my good qualities. When you put some thought into such a list you'll find that you have actually more positive qualities than you imagined. What's been even more helpful (to me anyway) is the realization that others have succeeded and overcome some pretty tough odds, others that might not have had all the advantages I do. The day you can ask yourself the question, "why not me?" and suddenly all your old negative answers fall flat... that's the day your self-discipline really kicks in.

You should realize that your self-discipline is like a muscle... you have to exercise it frequently or else it will atrophy and grow flabby for lack of use. Setting small goals is great for this. Try getting out of the house in the morning in thirty minutes instead of forty-five. Have two cups of coffee instead of four. Watch only one hour of TV tonight rather than three. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Each time you exert that self-discipline muscle it grows even stronger than before.

Mastery of your self-discipline is, in the end, mastery of yourself. Once you're a truly self-disciplined person there's simply nothing you can't accomplish.

HOPE

Look into the face of a child. What do you see?

Innocence.

Wonder.

Curiosity.

Hope.

What (hopefully) you don't see is at least as important. I'll talk to some of my adult freinds and I see eyes full of disappointment, faces etched with cynicism and shoulders that bow under the weight of their many burdens... things I never want to see when graced with the presence of a child.

When I look at my own children I see the best of me... both in what I am now and what I could become. I see hope for them and me as well. It's as if all the best aspects of my personality have been dispersed amongst the three of them.

Peter, my oldest, is intelligent, thoughtful and sensitive. My hope for him is that he continues to develop his gifts and learn that his emotions are his to control and not someone else. I also wish for him to always use that amazing imagination of his, yet not forget to live in the real world.

David, my oldest twin, and therefore my de-facto middle child, is mature, responsible and confident. I hope his core of confidence never becomes twisted into arroagnce, as I've seen happen to so many. I can see him becoming a leader one day, and I want him to lead others to do good and achieve great things.

Joanthan is positive, happy, upbeat and loves animals. I hope that he is able to temper that positivity with some degree of pragmatism, while never, ever becoming cynical and negative. I wish for him to continue to love all creatures, animal and human. People may, at times, be harder to love than a cute kitten or an adorable puppy but ultimately they can give so much more back to you.

Most of all I wish for my three boys to be the best they can and learn to be strong in the face of any adversity and setback they may yet encounter. I hope that they truly live their lives and not hide all they have to offer the world. I'll do all I can to be a role model for them. That inspires me to be my best and to truly live my life as well.

Reaching me...

Should you wish to get a hold of me, might I suggest friending me on Facebook. Just do a search for me, Jim Moens. You could also comment on this blog. or send me an email at jim.moens@gmail.com.

Thanks!

OVERCOME

You may have been knocked on your ass by a divorce or a rough break-up, maybe a job loss. I've been through all three in the past few years (the latter two pretty much at the same time). I've had my ass handed to me in a variety of ways. I've battled depression. I've looked at my life and seen nothing but a mess... some of it my fault, some of it not. I felt defeated. I felt like a loser.

Now it's time to fight back.

You may say it's not fair... others don't have to fight like this. Others don't have to start from square one or maybe even farther back than that. You're right. It's not fair. But if you don't fight back (and fight hard) you're letting those events and people conquer you. So are you really going to let your ex-lover or former boss dictate to you your mood, the course of your life or whether or not you pursue your dreams with a vengeance?

Hell. No.

You and I are made of stronger stuff than than to just fold whenever things get tough. You and I can decide to move forward, push the pain and own our lives again. We can and we have to. It's criminal to waste all that potential you and I have.

Also, let's be mindful of just what we have to fight for. For me, it's my kids, first and foremost. I want to provide a better life for them and be a role model of strength, positivity and discipline. There's also a few people out there who look to me for inspiration. They may be down (but never out!) and need someone to show them the way home.

I also have some dreams and goals and they deserve my best shot... no holding back.

You'll win.

It won't be right away. The path won't be smooth. You may take two steps forward and one step back (or some combination thereof). You may stumble or even fall flat on your face at times. You have to remember to keep moving forward even (or especially) when it's tough. You'll have to call on previously unknown and unused reserves of patience, perseverance and discipline. You can do it, because others have. In fact, you have to move forward. As above you owe it to your loved ones, yourself and your dreams and goals.

Moving forward with your life and moving towards your goals are far and away the best means of taking control. You do that and the steering wheel is now your hands. You control your destiny.

I'm winning.

I was depressed and unemployed for almost six months. Now I have a new job (what's more, a new career) and I'm respected and appreciated by my peers and superiors. It seems I've captured the affections of one of the great women of the western world. I've soundly beaten my former employer via the legal system. I've become a published writer.

I did it not without struggle or heartache. I exerted those reserves of patience, perserverance and discipline. I wanted to give up, to just fold, more times than I could count.

But I didn't and neither will you.

Forge ahead and overcome. You'll win too.

Star Trek Movie Review

I have a long history with Star Trek, dating back to the original series. Being something of a geeky young lad, I eagerly followed the adventures of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. I got older and my interest shifted to other things (uh… girls), but I would still visit the 23^rd century from time-to-time. I watched The Next Generation periodically and enjoyed that, but I never really got into the other series. I have to say that I enjoyed most of the movies, even the ones that were not so well-regarded.

It was probably a couple years ago that a new big-screen Star Trek was announced as sort of a Batman Begins style reboot. There were many who felt that the Star Trek franchise had run its course and re-starting the series was exactly what the doctor ordered. The last TV series floundered and the last couple movies had died a quick death at the box-office.

Many hard-core Trek fans (Trekkies? Trekkers? Whatever) were unhappy with the choice of J.J. Abrams, an avowed non Star Trek fan, as director. I thought it was a brilliant move. There’s always a sense of fun and drama in whatever he has his hand in and I was confident the same would be true with his new Star Trek movie.

I was right.

The new Star Trek movie is everything a big summer Hollywood blockbuster should be… by turns funny, thrilling and at times even moving. Abrams had me from the very first scene in fact, a surprisingly emotional set-piece that puts the rest of the story into motion. It should really be seen in a theatre… the audience when I saw it was clapping, cheering and laughing at all the right parts, a communal experience that made it even more fun. You don’t need to be a Star Trek fan, or even a science-fiction fan to have a great time at this movie.

The leads are all well-cast. Chris Pine captures that James T. Kirk swagger and bravado (and lustiness) without resorting to a William Shatner impression. Zachary Quinto also impressed me. His portrayal of Spock manages to show that undercurrent of passion and humanity beneath that Vulcan logic. Karl Urban is an actor who I’ve always liked and he did justice to his role as well, as Dr. Leonard McCoy. I was especially impressed by the gorgeous Zoe Saldana as Uhura… she was strong, confident and all-business, but she had a sensitive side too.

The story is exciting, involving, fast-paced and effectively “resets” the Star Trek universe while paying homage to what has come before. The biggest surprise to me was, as I alluded to above, how emotional this movie was, an element that was sorely lacking from some of the last few incarnations of Star Trek.

Technically, Star Trek is top-notch in every way. The special effects and production design are first-rate. The musical score is especially well-done… sentimental at times and heroic when it needs to be.

I urge you to go see this new Star Trek film. You won’t be disappointed.