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Free from bullshit…

March 24, 2011 2 Comments

Keep things clean and simple.

Don’t be diluted or muddied by the agenda’s of others. Don’t try second guess yourself creatively. Try not to commit adultery, keep yourself sacred and keep your motives pure… this way you will have much more space in your life to listen and to create.

So much money, human resource and time is spent cleaning up a dirty house and making it presentable again.

Acting with integrity and creating art out of a truthful place, can seriously streamline both your career and your life. Loyalty follows integrity, and by living and creating this kind of life, you can use the internet to gather a faithful group of friends who will support you, treasure you and share your work with the world.

You don’t need a marketing department anymore… you just need a group of loyal and committed friends.

Read more of this article at “The Bullshit Revolution”

I am struggling with confidence…

March 23, 2011 0 Comments

I am prone to feelings of inadequacy, there are times when I seem to misplace my confidence and I wonder whether I will ever find it again. I am having one of these moments right now.

To be truly artistic requires a huge amount of vulnerability. When you read a film script, watch an actor perform, listen to a song or look at a painting, you should feel as though you know the author. The work needs to reveal something of its creator… if does not, then they haven’t invested… if they haven’t made themselves vulnerable… they have failed.

This is why it is easy for the artist to struggle with feelings of inadequacies; they put themselves on the line, they open up and show you their vulnerable, sensitive internal self. The artist maybe the only true brave soul, for there is much rejection, whether it be intended so or not.

The money has stolen the magic…

March 22, 2011 3 Comments

Kurt Vonnegut, the legendary American novelist is famous for saying “the practice of art isn’t to make money… it’s to let your soul grow.”

Artistic expression is good for the soul; your soul grows as it searches and explores; the true artist throws of the shackles of a system and looks at the core of who we are and who we could be.

The love of money can make artistic expression very difficult; it forces us to guess or predict what people might want, it puts constraints around the artist, often forcing him or her to become predictable and to simply provide a service. Suddenly “the magic” is washed away and we are left with just a replica, reaching no one and discovering nothing…

The money has stolen the magic.

You can’t use market trends if you want to make a great piece of art; if you do then you are making something else, it might be entertaining but it’s not art; cause it’s soul has been stolen away.

If you are creating something, whether this be a character, a painting, a piece of music or a film, please let go of the concept of money and search for the story inside of you… it is longing to be found and set free and it cannot be purchased for any price.

A clenched fist or an open hand…

March 21, 2011 3 Comments

I have no way of knowing if my film career will be successful; frank honesty like this disturbs some people, for it easy to confuse doubt with a lack of faith and passion. No I have not lost my faith and my passion for storytelling burns within me like an eternal flame.

How about you… Do you hold onto your dream with a clenched fist or an open hand?

Something in me knows I was made to do this, that I was designed to walk this road; it is not an easy path to walk. It is paved with self doubt and littered with disappointments. I’ve missed a lot of game winning shots.

Success is not what we typically imagine, it isn’t a golden statue or a box office hit. Success is walking the narrow rugged road, singing songs of hope, not worshiping the road itself, but trusting in the hands of him who made it….

Talking doesn’t matter…

March 20, 2011 3 Comments

I’ve always really liked to talk so this blog is just as much for me as it is for anyone else. There’s way too much talking and not enough action these days. Too many meetings and not enough work. Too much religion and not enough charity. Everyone is stuck discussing the small print and taking a pay check.

Talking is often a form of procrastination.

We call it other things, like doing the ground work or good risk management but really we are avoiding risk, we don’t want to make a mistake, we don’t want to get our hands dirty…

You need to just start, I know you are not ready, I know you don’t know enough, I know you feel lonely… but nothing is going to change unless you start working.

My Birthday Blog…

March 19, 2011 2 Comments

Today is my birthday and so this is my seven sentence birthday blog…

Dear Geoff,

If you had one birthday wish what would it be? What would you like to see happen in this next year of your wonderful life? What would complete you… what would make this year the best year ever?

I think I would like to make a film, a big film that everyone gets to see; a film that affects people on the inside of their souls… I know, I’m a big dreamer, but hey it’s my birthday. What do you wish for me dear blog readers? Please turn it into a prayer.

Thank you for being such patient readers, wonderful supporters and the most magnificent friends, I love you very much.

So you flunked an Audition…

March 18, 2011 2 Comments

The beauty of acting and visual storytelling is that we get to hold up a mirror and reflect and explore the dramatic, the comedic, the thrilling and even the mundane experiences in everyday life.

The rejection you suffer, the humiliation, the bad reviews, the break ups, and the misconceptions totally suck! But here is the thing… all this crap adds to the rich tapestry of your emotional life; what was meant to hurt you, processed right can become a powerful artistic tool.

Your life is an artistic piece of clay and “the pain” is all part of the chiseling process; remember good things take time.

Being broken down is humbling and uncomfortable, but it breaks through the thick layers of self protection that keep you emotionally locked up an “apparently safe.” It’s a difficult thing to be “simple”, throwing off layers of pride and judgment that get in the way of us empathizing with others.

If you are experiencing pain, discomfort or discouragement today stand firm, think not of the art you wish to create, instead look inside to the great work of art that is being created.