Delayed Reaction

So if I've supposedly been so captivated by the Hollywood archetype for 35 years, why have I only pursued acting for the past 10? Short answer: I listened to all the naysayers from early on and bought into their crap. I was very impressionable. Since then, I have learned that anyone who tells you that you can't or shouldn't do something that you find fulfilling is someone to be wary of. Their ideas about my dream became a part of my belief system. On the outside I believed that pursuing an acting career was a wreckless venture, one I figured I'd probably fail at anyway.

Nevertheless, a sense of responsibility nagged at me. A responsibility to myself. A responsibility to my children for the example I would set for them by living the life I knew I must in order to be happy. I had to ask myself a very important question: What do I want out of this life? As a husband and father of two little girls, I fully understand the every day trials and tribulations that come between a person and their ideal life. I do. But there's no such thing as an ideal life. A gazelle taken down by a pack of cackling hyenas isn’t living it's ideal life. It wants to run free on the wild plains for eternity, but it never tries to be something it's not. I had to choose to live and die like the gazelle. Once I did, I was happier.

A perfect example of someone who knew exactly what he wanted out of life was Bruce Lee. In 1969 he clearly stated what he wanted well in advance of achieving it when he penned his "definite chief aim":

My Definite Chief Aim

I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental super star in the United States. In return I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. Starting 1970 I will achieve world fame and from then onward till the end of 1980 I will have in my possession $10,000,000. I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness.

Bruce Lee
1969
 

I've always made sure that I could support my family through this crazy, unpredictable process, and as a result I have gone without many of the niceties that are considered commonplace, as has my ever faithful and supportive wife. But here's the thing, I choose this life. I can't help myself. It's what makes my heart sing.