This post has moved to my writing blog.
Fun and comprehensive entertainment blog feat. movies, TV series, actors, movie-makers, music & books: 1980 - Present
Posted on Written by ripitup
Posted on Written by ripitup
First, an introduction:
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX3eJRwJqlc[/pro-player]
The New Edition
You see the cover. You turn its back and read:
WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU WANT TO QUIT YOUR JOB
Brilliant. I did want to quit my job when I picked up this book. But yes, it might really and irrevocably encourage and motivate you to quit even if you don’t. You see, this is a business book that tells you everything you want to know if you do not want to be stuck in an office from 9 to 5. And even that 9-5 was an old time ago wasn’t it? Most people I know would consider 9 to 5 a positive change in lifestyle because usually they work at least 2-3 hours more than that, lose a couple more to the commute and if they are really, really “lucky”, they don’t work on Saturdays.
I had a job that required me to be there from 9 to 6.30 (minimum) and put in hours on Saturday as well (from 10 to 5). The pay wasn’t great but OK. It had certain advantages and it wouldn’t look bad on the resume. It was a small firm and the industry was pretty OK with employees dressed in jeans (although my old-fashioned boss would just love it if I wore suits, really). And there is a bonus to working long hours as well as working on Saturdays. It doesn’t leave you much time to spend your salary. So you can save money, which was why I got the job in the first place. But after having worked there for 5.5 months, having read Timothy’s book and being no longer able to resist the dreamer in me, I quit. Truth is, I would have quit without this book eventually but it speeded up the process and I am glad.
The great thing about this book, it informs you in a very entertaining and interesting manner. It is such a page-turner, you would think you were reading a thrilling work of fiction. But just because it is a fun read, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t attack it with bookmarkers and magic markers. Ferris doesn’t just tell his own life story. He talks about all the steps you can take, the resources you can use and everything you should consider. He even talks about insurance for the self-employed. So he literally leaves you no excuses to reconsider your life. If you are actually enoying the office life with the cubicles, supervisors, the bosses, the hours, codes, the culture…..Fine, by all means don’t read it. Or read it and find about a very interesting entrepreneur.
Now, he is not only an entrepreneur. It is not like he quit his day job to set up his own office and be his own boss. He did it, so he could have more time, more money and more freedom. He literally found a way to work as less as possible and work whenever, wherever. Hence the picture of hammock on the cover…And no, Timothy doesn’t just outsource and sits down on his butt (although you can, if you prefer the lazy life). He uses this time and money to do whatever he wants. Such as being a Chinese kickboxing champion. Learning Japanese. Starring in Japanese shows (yes, speaking Japanese), being a Tango champion in Argentina. Traveling the world…He does all this and more. Learns things from scratch and excels at them; while most of us try to figure out a way to balance career with social life, barely finding time and money for the things we always wanted.
He doesn’t offer a get-rich quick scheme. You do have to work. But instead of slaving away, you will be working efficiently towards the life you always dreamed of. Oh, and even if Tim is pretty well off at the moment, he is not loaded like an A-list Hollywood star. But it doesn’t matter. He also shows you the tricks to live like a millionaire even if you aren’t one. And he was 30 when this book was first published.
So, he is one of my idols. In fact, he might be The Idol. If you are a dreamer who wants to really enjoy to path to his/her dreams, Tim is The Man and this is The Book.
Posted on Written by ripitup
It’s so easy and so common to get into this way of thinking. As you grow older- even if you are in your mid 2os- you hear this phrase a lot. People talk about how late it is to start over. How late it is to make a dramatic career change. To start a new relationship. As depressing and somewhat convenient to feel that way, it’s also insanely ridiculous. It is hard to shake the thoughts if you are living in to a society where people seem to be dying to start their careers and get married and have kids. And it looks like a lot of societies are like this. Hell, the first time I heard the words “my biological clock is ticking” was on American TV and the woman was merely in her late 20s. Come on, give me a break! I don’t know why people are so willing to conform to such inconvenient stuff. The fact that some people met the love of their loves in high school doesn’t automatically oblige you to marry your boyfriend at the moment in a rush. And if your friend has gotten his/her dream career at the age of 23, it is her life. Not yours. There is not a timeline everybody can follow or has to follow. Luckily, I manage to isolate myself from this syndrome most of the time. I used to have a strategy to cope. Whenever I seemed to be lose hope, I would remind myself that I would never forgive myself if I didn’t just work my ass off and didn’t do everything humanly possible. But then I read a great life story and well, I figured the advice in that book was much more effective and efficient. A Turkish drama student went to the Stated upon graduation. He was 26. He started to live the starving actor’s life, in a different country and at the age of 26. His name is Aykut “Ike” Ogut and about a decade later he was pretty much where he wanted to be – with still a lot of things to do for himself. Oh, and believe me the guy didn’t have it easy. He went through poverty, drinking too much, having health problems, depression…But he didn’t give up. And he made it. He jokes that he is yet to be in a movie with Tom Cruise. But from where I look, he is doing pretty good. He lived in L.A and New York, he played both little and big parts, he directed sound departments. He is happy, well-off and quite successful. Not the mention, it is quite a long and complicated journey. But he did it. First he had to start and he started at 26. So it is only natural that he would write a book on self-growth and motivation and how to achieve the stuff you want to achieve, no matter how insanely difficult it might seem. His words work just fine for me and I’m 25. And my plans are just as complicated, including the whole going to L.A. and making it in Hollywood thing. Of course he is only human and he does occasionally get depressed and wonder if he can pull some stuff off.Like writing this book when he was 35. Writing is hard and I can imagine how much endurance books will take. But he didn’t give in. This time he just read about the accomplishments of authors who got published after the age of 35. See? It’s a wonderful way for the mind to work.
Ogut’s advice relates all areas. I f you want to be an actor, but you are yet to start, you are supposed to encourage yourself by reading about people who have gone through similar paths. It is ridiculous to compare for an actress to be in her 20s to compare herself to Jodie Foster and say “Boy, I’m too late! I’m too old to start!” Well, by Jodie’s standards everybody is screwed. I mean she was acting in commercials when she was in diapers. She was acting with Robert De Niro when she was 13. You are not supposed to think like that. But by all means, please think about Gerard Butler. He actually has a law degree. He didn’t start acting until he was 25. Sure, he did fantasize about it but he didn’t even really try. He was from Scotland, and already in his mid-20s. But he hated the office and took his chances. Have you checked him out? He is one of Hollywood’s most sought after leading man. And Britain’s. He got to play Irish, Scottish and American roles. He did action, comedy, drama, romance AND musicals. He did theater and movies. This is the guy you should be reading about. Not Tom Cruise who got his first acting gig it in 19. You should also avoid the failure stories. Sure, not every one makes it but it doesn’t mean you are not going to be able to succeed.
It is not just about acting. It’s about everything. People can find true love at 50, or at 15. You can make your dreams come true at any age. Of course it might be tough if you try to be olympic-good at an athletic sport after 30,as Seth Godin puts it in his book “The Dip” . But other than that, you can bungee-jump at 83 (has been done and the guy is live. make sure to get some tests before though, just in case), you can be American and get to play in Japanese TV shows after you hit 30 (Timothy Ferris) or you can also get yourself published at 60. Of course I am not telling you to take it slow ans wait. I am just saying that whenever you get stuck, there are plenty of real life examples of people who come from similar backgrounds as you and that their stories are the perfect way to get inspired.
Oh sure, you will have a pessimistic friend who says he/she gets more depressed with stories like that. Hell, maybe even you are that easily depressed friend. You can always find an excuse not to put yourself out there. I am just trying to help out with finding the reasons not to stop trying.
Posted on Written by ripitup
They totally ruined it. They proved that indeed nothing is impossible if you have the soul, drive and guts.
They are self-made and they all started from scratch. Read on to see how they got to where they are (I also explain who they are, so keep reading even if you don’t know these guys or if you don’t know how they started).
Some people lead glamorous lives and live to talk about it. These are talented and driven people who have had the guts to try again and again until they’ve made it. These are the people who actually risked poverty (no,I am not being dramatic…OK-maybe a tad…), faced constant rejection and came back on top. My list has a lot of names,whose jobs I wanna have. Why do I feel they screwed me over? Because I know that there are people out there who made it,so I am tempted to try. Because I know am never gonna be satisfied with a simple paycheck and two days free in a week-and this is if you are lucky-in a city where there is so much traffic that you spend half your life on vehicles…Would I be considered such a dreamer had these people not existed? I don’t know…All I know is, life would be so much more boring.
So let’s start with the criteria: people like Gwyneth Paltrow don’t count. Born to parents in movie business??? So she is pretty and can act, but she has had the connections first!!!
So let’s go over Jon, Ed and Timothy.
1) Edward Burns: actor/director/writer/producer
So he did have this cousin or something who worked in a record studio but that didn’t really help Jon gain anything apart from observing rockers, cleaning the floors and recording at night when the place was empty. He worked at crappy jobs and worked his ass off to get noticed by the music industry. He started from 0, made all his dreams come true…Hell, the guy went beyond his dreams. He is the singer of my favorite band ever, he writes most of the songs and when he’s not touring or recording with the band, he is acting. He started acting from scratch too. He has played in a number of movies, got both big and small roles. He even co-stars in one of Edward Burns’ movies. Gotta respect this guy…
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3) Timothy Ferris: entrepreneur,writer,wrestler,tango dancer,actor…
But the guy with the most imitable strategies is not doubt Ferriss. Edward was lucky enough to be born in New York. Jon had the relative’s studio to wipe the floors of. Tim is a businessman. He is self-made. He has trained himself in so many areas and he has been having the time of his life ever since he set up his business. I don’t have Jon’s voice or musical talent. I don’t have the 25.000 $ Ed used to shoot his first movie “The Brothers McMullen” . Don’t get me wrong, he accomplished a major thing. However, 25.000 $ is a huge sum to me and to a lot of people but in Hollywood terms,it is nothing. He managed to scrape it together. Do you know his modest movie earned? 10,000,000 $ !!!! You can calculate the profits,right? His second movie had Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Anniston. But I don’t have any resources to get that first 25.000. If I do find 25 grand, it will be spent on one of the film schools I’ve been dying to go to. So I will combine everything I’ve learned from Tim, plus the drive and the relentlessness of Ed and Jon and fingers crossed, I will make my own dreams come true. What are they? Apart from becoming the female Ed Burns of my generation? To become a best-seller novelist, a freelance non-fiction writer for all my favorite magazines, a great dancer, speaker of 4 different languages, a really good-guitar player….Oh I have more. If you think I am wasting time writing this blog, you are wrong. The thing is, I have already gotten to work. Blogging is a part of the plan.
Now tell me, what are you waiting for?
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