Myspace Layouts - Myspace Editor - Image Hosting
WHEN THE DUST SETTLES
In life there are movers, shakers and detonators. Men who would not be denied as to their rightful place in society; they have what some may call “iron in their blood†and are driven by that steel-like will-not-be - denied quality.
What makes these men tick? What causes them to rise to the occasion no matter what comes against them? Is it something they were born with - inherited from their genes? Is it something they acquire from the leaders who, as if by design, step into their life? Is it the refining process which brings out the best in them during their struggle to swim upstream?Most of us are born to succeed, yet we acclimatize ourselves to failure. A baby elephant once chained to a stake, tugged and tugged, unable to set himself free. After several years the conditioned animal - though full grown, the spike removed, and the wound healed, yet refused to set himself free. That’s how most of us live our lives.I’m always amazed by the genius in kids, as these same kids become adults, conditioned by their environment to fail, their goals and dreams become unreachable. They let people question their abilities and believe those who do allowing them to kill their dreams.I admire people with an undeniable quality, the will to win, you just can’t stop them. Whenever a problem presents itself, they go through it, over it, under it or go around it.Come with me as I take you on my 10 year will-not-be-denied journey through “venomous†Hollywood, the hub of the entertainment industry, where the stakes are high, dreamers as well as dream killers are plentiful, where hard work, guts and determination is the call, or if by mere luck nepotism finds you. So many claim to have a dream, yet they gave up when attacked by the snakelike attitude of the dream crushers of today. They lose their will to persist, failing to stand when the dust settles."Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." ~Thomas Edison.
In this amazing inspirational book: Author John A. Andrews tells it all. The names of those involved have been changed in order to protect their identity.EXCERPT:After the Screen Actors Guild commercial strike in 1998, compounded by the effects of 9/11, I struggled as a commercial actor. Previously I’d had a very successful streak of national television spots, landing nine within a 13-month stretch. So off I went searching for ways to make things happen. I wasn’t going to allow the industry drought to stop me.Out of the universe, a hunch nudged me: “Why not become a filmmaker? That’s what most successful people in Hollywood do.†Some of my acquaintances were already climbing that ladder of success, so I submitted to the idea.At the time, I had no experience in filmmaking, except that which I had picked up on a few movie sets. Nonetheless, I was determined to succeed. There was a classic 1970’s film I liked so much that I thought about remaking it. For the next three weeks, I made phone calls to find out who held the rights to my intended pet project. When I finally made contact with the studio, a woman answered the phone and told me they were not interested in selling the rights to a third party.That statement didn’t sit well with me. You see, my plane had already taken off, the fasten-your-seat-belt signs were already extinguished, and the hostess was serving the beverage of the day. I composed myself, contacted a writer friend whose script was recently optioned by a major studio, and asked him to assist me in writing my script. He did one of the best things a person can do for another: instead of giving me a fish, he showed me how to fish by sending me guide-lines for writing a screenplay. I got busy. My mantra echoed, “I’ll write my own. I’ll show them. They’ll be begging for my work someday.†My imaginary air-plane was swiftly gaining altitude.The initial draft of that first screenplay was completed within 29 days. Later, I gladly showed one of my scripts to an acquaintance of mine who is a director. He not only told me I was such a novice, but also said it was the worst screenplay he had ever seen. That hit home like a ton of bricks, and after a few sleepless nights I went back to the drawing board. I could have given up right there, run and hide with my tail between my legs, pack up and return to the “cattle call†way of life, or back to New York. Thereby allowing him to kill my hopes of finding an oasis, instead I became unstoppable. About a year later, he read one of my action thrillers and remarked, “I think you have the knack, guy. Not too many people can do it this way.â€A similar situation occurred when I decided to attend acting school back in New York; those closest to me thought I had fallen off the deep end. They dangled a rope for me by reminding me of how great I was at other things. Then, when the decision came to move to Los Angeles, they warned me that California is in danger of falling into the Pacific Ocean.I refused to let small thinking chart my course in life. David Schwartz states in The Magic of Thinking Big, “Nothing — absolutely nothing — in this world gives you more satisfaction than knowing you’re on the road to success and achievement. And nothing stands as a bigger challenge than making the most of your-self.†And Danforth exhorts in I Dare You, “I dare you to achieve something that will make the world point to you with even more pride than the present is pointing to those who have gone before you.â€In August 1963 in a speech to civil rights supporters at the March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. declared, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.â€Fast forward to today: With 2 screenplays in development, my first book published last year, book 2 awaiting release, 3 and 4 already in the pipeline. The best is yet to come.Dreamers let nothing stand in the way of victory. You can smell their tenacity like expensive cologne because they have a feeling of their own worth. What people do, think or say, does not deter them from their worthwhile contribution to mankind; they think, “I can, I will, and I shall not be denied.â€Copyright © 2008 John A. Andrews