UPDATED - TED: Virtual Choir

Absolutely amazing and sends chills.


Added April 11, 2011

Gazing Upon the Most Gorgeous House

Located above Kamala Beach in Phuket, Thailand is this beauty: Villa Amanzi

Stepping Stones

April 6, 2011
DailyOM
One Day at a Time

The years of our life do not arrive all at once; they greet us day by day. With the descent of each setting sun, we are able to rest our heads and let the world take care of itself for a while. We may rest assured throughout the night, knowing that the dawn will bring with it a chance to meet our lives anew, donning fresh perspectives and dream-inspired hopes. The hours that follow, before we return to sleep once more, are for us to decide how we want to live and learn, laugh and grow. Our lives are sweeter and more manageable because we must experience them this way: one day at a time.

Imagine the future stretching out before you and try to notice if you feel any tension or overwhelm at the prospect of the journey still to come. Perhaps you have recently made a lifestyle change, like beginning a new diet or quitting smoking, and the idea of continuing this healthy new behavior for years seems daunting. Maybe you have started a new job or are newly married and can feel an undercurrent of anxiety about your ability to succeed. If you can shift your focus from what may happen years down the line and return it to the day that is before you right now, you may find a measure of calm and renewed confidence in your capabilities. You may also discover an inner faith that the future will take care of itself.

The way we show up for our lives today and tomorrow has an enormous affect on who we will be and what we will be experiencing years from now. If we can remain fully engaged in the day at hand, enjoying all it has to offer and putting our energy into making the most of it, we will find that we are perfectly ready and capable to handle any future when it arrives.
via DailyOM

Making it in Hollywood

Words of Wisdom from the Game's Barry Floyd

No Distance Too Far for a Dream
While it’s possible to act anywhere, the heart of the movie business is in California and, according to Floyd, that’s where anyone that’s serious about acting, writing or producing needs to be. “A lot of people try to do it from Atlanta or New York because this is a long way to move for people,” he says. “I came from the East Coast—that’s 3,000 miles—with no friends or family out here so it’s an intimidating thing to do but you have to do it because even though there’s work in New York and Atlanta, most of the work is here [in LA]. You got to be out here and you got to be making connections. That’s the main thing just having the courage to move out here and just go all in.”

An Uneasy Journey
With more actors than there are roles in Hollywood, most neophyte thespians have to pay dues in other ways before getting any substantial camera time. “A lot of people get discouraged because they're not doing what they wanted to do right away,” says Floyd, who toiled behind the scenes for three years before getting his big break. “You have to be okay with taking a PA job or something that’s not the job you initially saw yourself doing because you’re going to have to work your way up.”

Network Your Ass Off
According to Floyd, connections are just as important as talent. Throughout his years of paying dues, he made sure to forge solid relationships and a reputation as a hard worker. “Had I not been the best PA [on Cuts] they wouldn’t have been so hype to recommend me for the job [on Girlfriends] so hard work pays off,” he says. “Also, it’s definitely about who you know and how they feel about you that will determine how far you get in this business, because people always hire their friends and they look out for people that’ve done good work for them in the past.”

Work Your Ass Off
“Once you get here you got to have the work ethic, because it’s not going to be easy,” says Floyd. “Even when you get a little bit of success it’s still not easy because that’s when the real work begins. You still got to keep grinding to capitalize on that success you got.”

Save, Save, Save!
From the outside looking in, the life of an actor looks like all glamour and glitz. The reality, however, is much more like the everyday man. Before moving to BET this year, The Game was cancelled for two years, leaving Floyd on the unemployment line. “This isn’t a stable industry,” he says. “You might be working today and you don’t know when you’re next job is going to come or how long it’s going to take to find that next job. So you got to save your money; don’t blow it all on the cars or whatever when you get your first check. I saved a lot of my money from The Game and I had unemployment and you get residuals when they show the reruns, so I was able to manage my money to last me until The Game came back on air.”

Don't Quit
The reason most people fail at achieving their goals is not a lack of talent but a lack of dedication to seeing their dreams to fruition. “If you come out here [to LA] you got to be here, you can’t be like, ‘Oh, I’m going to give myself a year and if it doesn’t happen I’m going to go do something else,’ because it might take a lot longer than that,” says Floyd. “A lot of people come out here and give up before they catch their break and miss out on their opportunity—don’t give up.”
via BlackEnterprise

One Day Without Shoes

Will You Join?
Tuesday, April 5th

A Friday Morning's Breath

As I sat out this morning, I could do nothing but smile and be incredibly grateful.

With the beautiful sounds of falling water, warm Spring breezes and the soft yellow sun soothing my face, I returned to a morning in my past as I relaxed on an Italian villa in Florence as a student of the world.

This morning, I was in my element and although I will not bore you with another long speech about living life to the fullest, I will tell you this: if life is ever beating you down so bad that you feel you can not go on - go find a quiet space, close your eyes and begin telling/asking yourself the following things:

• Those times when I was my happiest, what was I doing? Where was I?
  
• How have I controlled the course of my own life?
• Am I holding on to something that needs to be let go?
• What makes me special?
• What am I most grateful for?
• In 5 years from now, will I remember what I was worried about today?
• Today, do I remember what I was fearful about 5 years ago? 1 year ago?
  
• When was the last time I noticed the sound of my own breathing?

We are all in this together. Make someone else smile today.

One Life, You Decide™