Anybody else ready for a new year already? *hand raise*
2017 was a big one. Lately I’ve been going through what worked this year and what didn’t.
The good stuff:
-More festivals for June Falling Down! Winning Best American Indie at Sonoma International! (and having Leonard Maltin tell us how much he enjoyed our movie!! did that really happen??!?) Also: being done with festivals feels satisfying and also kind of a big relief. We did it!
-New friends! I’ve met so many wonderful people this year in the film world, in the LA world, in the online wellness/fitness world, and on Instagram of all places. It’s been such a blessing and makes this year stand out. And old friends that we saw on our travels this year! It’s been a hoot!
-Screenwriting. This was a writing year, no doubt about it. I got my first job ever rewriting a script and it was a big, scary job and I felt very responsible to do putting everything I had into it – and I did. I also wrote a strong draft of my latest script this fall and it knocked me out, but it was a finalist for a Sundance Lab and holy moly I’ll take that any day of the week. It’s a sign that I’m working in the direction of what I want.
-A new day job. Something about the phrase “day job” sounds trivial, but I spend hours a week supporting myself with other work so that I can pursue an artistic career – so finding a new one that I love is a major, major success in my book. I started working as an online wellness/fitness coach and I love it like crazy. Here’s a blog about it. And like my Facebook page! I’m sharing new stuff there all the time. You gotta hustle to make this life happen, people. Take care of your health first.
The Hard Stuff:
-This January and February were awful, not gonna lie. I got three colds in a row and *rump was ambling into office. It’s been a dark year for kindhearted, open-minded people. It’s been an awful lot of pettiness. We’re all doing our best though. The balance between being informed and just ruining your day with the news is getting harder. Stay strong, friends.
-We lost another family member this year to cancer and it’s just been devastating. I’m so sorry if you also have been going through something like this. It’s woken up a lot of my feelings about my dad. It’s just a lot. And it’s hard during the holidays.
-The acting career went a little sleepy this year. Or let’s put it this way- it was more of planting seeds than anything. Some years are like that and you can see some amazing things happening down the road…I had some smaller bookings and I revised some of my tools with new headshots, postcards, etc. I also took some big chances just reaching out to people and I feel really good about that. But I also kept leaving town for festivals and never really got momentum. But still. It’s hard to explain how bizarre this pursuit is and how the small progress steps can actually be huge. I’m ready to not be traveling to film festivals in 2018 and to really be here in LA and get to work.
-We stillllll haven’t mooooovedddddd. We keep wanting to move to a better apartment. But we haven’t. LA rents keep going up and we just kept traveling to film festivals. So there went our extra money. But we still love our little town and I hung up Christmas lights a few weeks ago and we’re doing our best. We’re gonna find a new place though. I swear.
(me on my birthday on Sunday – with the tiniest donut that ever was)
And of course there’s a lot more. But that’s what I’m willing to share publicly, ha! Good stuff and hard stuff.
Next up? I’m going to figure out what I want to do in 2018. I have some strong contenders for goals, but first I’m actually going to return to a book/process I’ve found really helpful for years: Danielle LaPorte’s The Desire Map.
I actually feel like in a way I need to come out of the closet about all the personal development stuff I’ve delved into over these last, jeez, 10 years? Making a movie has been scary af and I never could have done it if I wasn’t constantly coaching myself into being someone who COULD make a movie and COULD be that ballsy/insane.
But I love this book. I’ve found it incredibly helpful. All about finding your core desired feelings, 4-5 words that get to the heart of how you want to feel in this life and what actions you’re going to take to feel that way.
Touchy-feely? Yup. Deeply effective? Yup too.
Look, I’ll do what it takes to make my dreams happen. I’ll read corny books (though this one isn’t corny), I’ll do programs. I’m not cool and I’m never going to be. But I am going to keep making movies and I’m going to take care of my mental game so I can do it well.
And, BONUS. I’m totally leading a free group on the book (just women) while I go through the book between Christmas and New Year’s. Just in time for resolutions/goal-setting. Just in time to start fresh and reassess our priorities. Please join if it’s of interest to you – I’d love to have you.
And that’s it for now! What a crazy week this is going to be. Yiiiiiiikes. Let’s do it!
And happiest, happiest holidays to all of you!!
