Seal of APproVal

A dog cemetery. Nothing to do with the post.

I was able to clean episode 5 up yesterday and officially have a full story. Today is my day to write so I plan on touching it up before sending it out for feedback. Once it receives the official “it’s ok” seal of approval I’ll be ready to advance toward actual production.

One aspect of screenwriting that I enjoy much more than novel writing is the prevalence of dialogue on each white page. Expressing the inner monologues of characters is not an option for screenwriting (unless, you know, it’s told that way). This makes the motivation of the characters to be more important and difficult to portray.

I like dialogue heavy scripts because I can easily access scenes from the vantage point of each character. I start with my main character and progress through each scene as if I’m standing in his shoes. I judge his reactions, feelings, and lack of response by how I would respond in that same situation. Each character we sculpt as writers is an aspect of our own personalities. I always try to frame a character by a specific theme that drives them. Ryan, my main character, is always driven by his gut instinct. He acts on intuition above all else.

Another benefit about reading through your story this way is that it allows you to find opportunities for conflict that you may not have seen previously. As I proceed through the story I frequently ask “what’s the worst thing that could possibly happen here?” It can be a challenge at times to help your character discover a way out of a tricky situation, but that will make for fulfilling entertainment. It will also determine who your character is in the eyes of your viewer/reader. Character always reveals itself when facing a difficult decision under pressure:

Imagine there’s a gun to your head. The person holding it tells you that you must choose between giving him your wallet or beating a nearby pedestrian down until they handover theirs. The ethical and moral conflicts provide intrigue, the decision you make will define you (in the eyes of others).

I have another zoom meeting today with the meetup groups I’ve formed in the area. I’m looking forward to it, though I have to be honest I am exhausted and rapidly declining. Nevertheless I have discovered that maintaining a sense of community helps me stay focused on my goals along with my dreams and ambitions. Enjoy your Sunday.

Suspense & Drama

My father, deep in thought.

Just finished my 4th 12-hour day in a row at work, and tonight will be my last (until next week). I am happy to say I’ve found time when I’m off duty to edit and improve the script – though there is work to be done. If I have a readable version done by tomorrow I can get some eyes on it and take steps toward production.

The show primarily falls into the suspense category. It is about a man chasing down a mysterious group in order to find his wife. It revolves around the questions:

1.) What happened to her?

2.) What is the cult about?

3.) Is the main character losing his grip on reality?

Because it falls within the genre of suspense, the main emotions I want to evoke from the viewer are: Uncertainty, urgency, psychological danger, and thirst for more information. Each episode varies to some extent in which subgenre it may fall under, whether it is action, thriller, or mystery.

I talk often on here about my desire to infuse more emotional chaos in the scenes that I write. Much like a partner with bipolar disorder, the more emotional variety that occurs within a scene the more your viewer/reader will find themselves invested in the events – ESPECIALLY if they a) relate to the main character and b) that character is the one experiencing the roller coaster of feelings.

Some of the trouble I’m currently having with the script are due to my inability to unify these two objectives. I have a scene written that starts as a therapy session and transforms into something more dangerous and bizarre. Initially the man leading the session, Dr. Howard, was warm, welcoming, and prideful. The meeting felt like a relaxed meet-and-greet where my main character (Ryan) sits and listens to each speaker as he tries to narrow down his primary suspect.

As I reread the story I realized the stakes were way too low, the urgency non-existent, and the threat of imminent danger about as worrisome as a breakfast taco from the local gas station.

So I began approaching the therapy session from a new perspective. I added a timer mechanism by including a spinning wheel that selects the next speaker. I incorporated unanimous suspicion that Ryan was not the person he was pretending to be. I provided threats that he would not leave if he were lying about his identity. And I included a mysterious punishment involving the placement of closed boxes in front of him for every wrong response. The same small boxes cause another group member a hysterical freak out.

I am happy with these changes. They are here to stay because I can already feel scene’s importance and tension being elevated.

But here’s my predicament – how do I include chaos of emotion while still using these plot toys to raise the stakes? The more I elevate the stakes, the greater the suspense (which is the point). However, the greater the suspense, the less room there is for my character to experience joy, sadness, love, excitement, and empathy within the confines of the scene.

I currently think my solution to this problem will be to have Ryan swiftly moving in and out of unease. I can do this by developing Dr. Howard into an untrusted, and unpredictable group leader. Instead of having him threaten Ryan directly, his threat may be interpreted as passive aggresive suggestions or perhaps the (overly used and permanently cliche) false sarcasm. I could also split Dr. Howard into 2 separate characters so that there is a kind side and a wrathful one.

I desperately want this scene to feel vibrant with emotion while still satisfying the anticipated experience of a suspense/mystery story. At least it must start off that way in order for the transition to a more intense environment to have a fulfilling pay off.

These are just my current thoughts and speculation. Tomorrow I will have a full day to write with privacy. After I get some rest this morning I will write and edit today as well.

Hope everything is going well and you enjoy pursuing your passion this fine weekend.

Editing & Premise

This angry Chicken has nothing to do with the rest of this post.

Now that I’ve got a working draft for the episode, it’s time to edit. Editing is, by far, my favorite part of the creative process.

Think about any competition show you’ve ever watched. American Idol, Forged in Fire, Hell’s Kitchen – doesn’t matter. Chances are you’ve been entertained by a competition involving a skill that you know nothing about. I’ll bet that lack of trade knowledge didn’t stop you from judging the competitors!

Editing is the same way. Often it’s easy to know when something doesn’t read write or seem interesting. Fundamental understanding of story-telling elements will enable you to make corrections that fix the problems you find. If you try and make corrections sorely based on feel, there is a chance that you continue creating the same problem in a different way.

Writing is no different than any other skill-based task that we perform in our lives. Your story is an engine. The knowledge you attain pertaining to writing is your tool set. The more engines you build, the more likely they are to work better and more efficiently.

Each scene, no matter how mundane, will always incorporate and be judged by the following categories: Premise, tone, conflict, character arc, plot points, formatting/grammar, and dialogue. There are probably more, but these elements come to mind.

Your premise is the heart of your story. It’s the little description you read about a movie on Netflix before you decide to watch it. There are premises that are universally appealing, and there are premises that fall flat and die before they even get out of the gate. When you pitch a publisher or an agent, they want to hear about your premise before you submit the body of your work. If the soul of the story doesn’t appeal to their interests/market, they will not ask you to submit your story.

A lot of writers make the mistake of thinking that you can write a great story first and then find a way to summarize the plot into an intriguing premise later. This generally doesn’t work.

The most powerful tool I’ve found to grade the strength of your premise is to verbalize it to people close to you. The first time I tried to write a book and tell someone what it was about verbal diarrhea spilled from my lips. You will be able to tell instantly by the expression on another person’s face whether your idea has some legs or whether it was born with a debilitating genetic defect.

The premise is the question. It’s the driving force behind the story and should contain the major story-telling elements within a single sentence. The conflict should be inherent and natural, the tone should be felt, and the genre should be evident.

My premise for episode 5 is this:

Ryan discovers an anonymous love note hidden by his missing wife and learns some secrets are better left unknown.

It raises questions: Who wrote the note? Was his wife unfaithful? Why did she hide it? Was the writer responsible for her disappearance?

The conflict is inherent and the plot can be assumed: Ryan must confront the writer of the note.

The genre is all obvious: Mystery. A sense of danger is implied by the act of the note being hidden.

Anyways, this was sort of a rambling post. But today I get to edit and play with colors that are already on the palette. I enjoy that much more than staring at a blank canvas.

Have a wonderful day creating and pursuing the premise that consumes your own life.

Adding More Words = Good

I would love to use this location for a scene in Episode 5. Also, that’s my lovely girlfriend who refuses to let me take her picture… but what Kelly don’t know won’t hurt her ; )

I’m 15 pages deep for episode 5. The word count is meaningless, the important thing is that it’s shaping into a story.

I feel the more immersed you become in your own story the better the final result will be. I’ve always had a terrible habit of focusing on the words coming out from each characters mouth. I’ve given into the momentum of the ongoing discussion and spilled more gas onto the flame. Arguments can be entertaining, revealing, and engaging. But they are only one possible area for conflict.

I’m excited writing episode 5 because every action, line, and movement orbits around one centralized question:

Who left the bizarre note for Ryan’s missing wife?

I still have to write the ending before I can send it out to some close friends for peer review. And before I can even do that I will need to clean up some names, inconsistencies, and other grammatical disasters. I really, really would like to send out for the roles this week in order to begin casting.

Yesterday I visited my parents at their new home. It was great seeing them and I was honored to be with my family in a small celebration of my Birthday. I would like to use the location for episode 5, but I have two major concerns:

1. It is 5 miles off from a main road. The main road itself is already one of the most dangerous highways in America and requires 40 minutes of winding travel.
2. Last time I filmed near my parents home, my father shouted “You’re not a fucking movie producer!” in front of the hired cast and crew.

The major issue with the drive is that the actress who will be playing my wife in a flashback would have to make it as well. I imagine the entire cast and crew that day will consist of myself, one assistant, and her. I just can’t imagine a stranger would be comfortable with that drive to such an isolated area. The 2nd obstacle is self-explanatory (and highly unprofessional).

Of course, the major benefit to filming at this location is also twofold:

1. Free to use (saving $500 or more potentially)
2. Reusable and reliable for future episodes.

So these are just some of the items on my mind. I picked up an extra shift for tomorrow as it will go a long way toward funding the upcoming shoot. The downside is I will be working 12 hour nights for 5 days in a row. Typically that results in overall fatigue that prevents me from scheduling dates, budgeting resources, and sending out cast invitations as soon as I would like to.

Obstacles will always exists, however, and these are no different. The cool thing is that I’m finally starting to feel like I’ve got a really good story to show. I’ll keep updating here regularly, but that’s all I’ve got for today.

My mom’s two chickens. The rooster on the left is named Cocky, the hen on the right is named Crispy.

When Problems Beget Problems

I’ve finally begun a draft that I’m confident can turn into a solid mystery story. Working out the kinks to the plot has definitely been a challenge, but for the first time I’m beginning to have a solid grasp on “how to plot”. The key is that problems beget problems.

My natural inclination as I’m forming a plot is to think in a series of attempts and failures. For instance, the main character in episode 5 narrows down a suspect to 3 different characters. My first thought was to have him rule out different characters 1 by 1. He anticipates the suspect will have brought a red household item to a meeting and have been married twice. I initially thought my character could rule out a suspect by identifying the color of the item the character brought, and rule out another by directing inquiring about previous marriages. But that is boring, plain, and obvious.

A more entertaining method would be to have each of the characters describe the item they brought without holding it. Perhaps by describing it by its meaning to the rest of the group. Instead of asking the characters directly about previous marriages, maybe my character argues passionately that marrying more than once is a sign of immorality. Though this is a more creative way for him to hunt for the suspect, I still feel I can do better.

When problems beget problems, the attempts my character makes to grow closer to the truth may actually set him farther away. Perhaps when the characters describe the items they brought to the meeting, they instead describe something unusual they’ve used the item for. Maybe when my character makes a wrong guess about what the item is, the character describing it tosses the actual item in a storage bin and it is no longer allowed to be guessed, and no further attempts are permitted. When he begins an argument about the immorality of multiple marriages, he is discovered to be the husband of a recently deceased group member – outing his identity and becoming the subject of persecution by the group. These obstacles make his chase for the culprit more difficult and therefore more entertaining.

I will spend the morning writing some pages and am seriously hoping to have a working draft done by tomorrow. Once I am comfortable with the story and its characters I can send out for casting the roles and begin purchasing the necessary props.

I’ll keep you updated.

Writing A Lot Without Writing 1 Word

So everyday I fill up 2 bird feeders with Finch food. Now the tree outside looks like it grows them. If you look closely, you may notice they have become plus sized.

My return to writing so far has included circle walking, 30 minute jogs, and aimless movie watching. I have asked 2 actors to return to episode 5 and they have both agreed. I may contact others but it will depend on the script. Currently I plan on finding 3-4 new actors to play new characters. I would like to shoot in March.

Time and time again I have sat down with intention to write the script and wound up hurling vomit all over the page. Dialogue that is meaningless. Action that is purposeless. Tension that is weaker than a routine argument escalating by way of a rise in speaking volume. All the signs and symptoms of a shit story that nobody asked for.

So I opened some writing books today. Reread material that I’ve already digested. No matter what profession we find ourselves in there is always room to learn. As humans we fall prey to habits and oversimplification. We think we know everything when in reality we only apply the 10% of information we need to “get the job done.”

My problem: How do I tell 2 stories simultaneously in a setting where the characters sit around and talk about their feelings?

It sounds boring because it is. I knew I wanted my lead character to attend a group therapy session in a quest for information. I knew this group would block his path and interrogate him in 21st century fashion (like an internet opinion that is bombarded by the most hateful, blood-sucking internet personalities you’ve ever attempted to share a thought with). I had the feeling I wanted, and the general idea, but I didn’t have a plot, a purpose, or a story.

Today I set out to change that. I was determined to write the script from start to finish. I am willing to accept imperfection or even dog-shit-wrapped-in-plastic if it means production over stagnation. Well, I did not write the script. Not one word. I did something much better: I found the answer to my problem.

A riddle.

Ryan will find a note, a letter, or a business card that alludes to Melanie having had an affair with intention to go on a hike with some mysterious suitor. This gives Ryan the impetus to find out more information about who the culprit is and how involved they were with his missing wife. The clue will narrow down the results to only those present in the bi-weekly group therapy session.

In order to escalate the tension, the group must be equally determined to stop him. I can have Ryan’s initial attempts to interrogate group members explode in his face. Maybe the group is forced to relocate and bans the anonymous account he created when he started slandering the group online (or interrogating them).

It is only the beginning of the story, but I finally have my golden seed from which all the branches of my story shall sprout. I have accepted that a strong story must be built with a reliable foundation despite my eagerness to have a working draft. It’s one thing to put words on the page, it’s quite another to have those words accelerate emotional momentum towards an electric boom.

I will continue to try and post regularly but I must choose what I do with my free time wisely. I hope the day finds you well as we each attempt to solve the riddles in our own lives without getting banned for our anonymously pondered thoughts.

And yes, “A Lot” is two words, not one.

The Logic of Illogic

I’ve begun writing episode 5 but I have been hindered by a post I made recently. It was about emotional movements and how rapid fluctuations help engage the viewer and rope them deeper into the story. I stand by what I said, only I have realized this appeal toward emotion does not come naturally to me.

There are 3 primary methods used to appeal towards the perspective of others:

Logos – Logic

Pathos – Emotion

Ethos – Ethics

I have been seeking to infuse conflict into my story by way of argument. After-all, I envision the bulk of the story will take place with a group seated in a circle. On its face it sounds boring (obviously), but I strongly believe with the right glue this can be an entertaining and engrossing dynamic. What have I realized as I write, however, is that I almost entirely rely on Logos to appeal to the viewer. Through the medium of cinema, logos is probably the least appealing of the three.

I find when I am in “my zone” I build differing viewpoints up and strengthen both sides of the argument until it comes to a natural conclusion with an undeniable victor. This is ok, but it is plain and without flavor. People don’t watch cinema so that they can follow along to a list of bullet points and root for the character who makes the least grammatical mistakes – they root for the character who plugs a 9 mm into the ear canal of the hyena shouting “It’s just a prank bro!” and responds by saying “So is this.”

I’m trying to reshape my writing habits and apply emotional beats that viewers will find more appealing. By focusing scene movements more on ups and downs, actions and reactions, I believe the story will be more compelling and the tension more effortless. Reasonable people do reasonable things, but afterward they click on an article about Cardi B and how much money she spent on a car that she doesn’t know how to drive. I don’t need to write reasonable characters, I need to write chaotic ones.

Along with writing I’ve been playing guitar more often. It’s a beautiful, unparalleled joy to be creating again through both forms of art.

When we behave as consumers we are the ones who become consumed. Our emotions, moods, interests and well-being are decided by outside factors. We eat to feel happy, we watch the news to feel disparaged, and we use alcohol and drugs to subdue our dissatisfaction with our own realities (I really shouldn’t say we when it could just be me.)

I find when I am creating my dreams are more pleasant, my mood is more upbeat, and my mind grows sharper. The art becomes an escape into the light that I am otherwise blind to. On top of this I’ve taken the initiative to lead a second meet-up group (for the time being) and will be holding an online meeting this Sunday. I have made contact for another potential filming location and feel confident I will be able to find a spot to shoot for < $500. The day of filming will be a major area of focus for myself once I have the story written, because I will have to race against time to avoid wasting hours on set-up, rehearsal, or retakes.

Enjoy your opportunities to be creative today. It is not about the end product nor is it about the ability to receive payment/admiration for your work. The act of creating is more fulfilling than consuming. The more this truth is realized the less power our vices have over us.

The Promise

The major plot points of a story consists of the inciting incident, call to action, midpoint, all-time low, and climax. Your first act is the set-up, act 2a is the planning stage, act 2b is the action with progress stage, and act 3 is your ultimate battle. The midpoint is the turning point of the story where new information changes the stories trajectory, builds the stakes, and propels the drama into a race against time.

I am a believer in the 3 act structure. I am a believer in plot points. I am a fan of linear structure. However, these elements alone are not what engages the audience.

When we watch movies and read books we do not care about the structure. Most reader don’t even know a story structure exists. You can hit every plot point perfectly, down to the page number, and still produce a boring read that no one will bother with. The viewer is searching for something different.

It starts with the promise. The first scene of any story is a promise to the viewer that a specific emotion is going to be aroused throughout their experience. It may present love, psychological mind games, breath-taking anxiety, or even a simple conversation meant to develop empathy with the hero.

In The Matrix, we are introduced to Trinity bending the rules of physics in the world as we know it. The Dark Knight opens with a scene of the Joker carrying out an elaborate bank robbery as the viewer struggles to identify him. Happy Gilmore and Big Daddy open with a relatable male struggling to accept that his value to the outside world is determined more by superficial judgements than his intrinsic generosity.

The inciting incident is an external event that sets the story in motion. The promise is the drama that compels the viewer to keep watching.

The entire first act should continue to build on the initial promise. Figure out whether it is confusion, empathy, internal longing, or vengeance that you have given the viewer a taste of. Continue to feed the viewer more bites with different seasonings.

Another important element that should happen at the start of any good story is character revelation. When writers contemplate character they consider values, beliefs, desires, goals, etc. But in the mind of a viewer character is only truly revealed by the decisions they make under pressure.

Place your protagonists in a situation where they must choose one of two options. Spend some time building up the importance of the decision and create a conflict where there is no easy choice. The path they choose should be the irregular one – this is what sets your hero apart. For this decision to pay off you must keep in mind your intended audience. They should be the subset of individuals supporting this controversial decision.

I don’t watch the Super Bowl. I never have. I enjoy the parties for friends and food, but this Sunday I drank Jameson and watched movies with my girlfriend instead. This is an example of an irregular decision that distinguishes me from others. If I was the character in a story than my bizarre behavior would be found captivating to viewers who also don’t enjoy jubilant gatherings as much as they’re supposed to.

Stories serve a primitive purpose for us. We use them for survival. There was a time where we relied on stories of tribesmen who died from eating the wrong colored berries. The stories were given a deeper meaning by applying character traits such as arrogance and disobedience to those who perished. From hearing these stories we learned to value qualities such as listening to our teachers and using caution when approaching unknown things.

Always think of your stories as being an instruction manual for life. As the viewer browses through Netflix they are choosing which thematic elements they would like to engage with by subconsciously searching for an answer to their own problems. Give them a hero that wrestles internally with similar conflicts. As the hero evolves to accomplish their goal your viewer should gain insight into how they can overcome parallel obstacles in the real world.

Enjoy your journey today and may all your roadblocks be left sideways and marked with your footprint.

Thoughts and Speculation

Today marks the first day I begin making true progress toward episode 5. Today I will begin the script.

After more online searching last week, I’ve discovered a website called “Peerspace.” It is like the Uber of filming locations – normal citizens offer their allotted space for filming and photography. The average rate, from what I’ve seen, is about $100+ an hour. I’ve come across a couple locations available for $35/hour, and some more for $50/hour. Beyond peerspace, I have opened up conversations with friends about using their garage or personal space, and they have been open to the idea.

I am leaning toward using peerspace to find my location. They have a few available spaces near me, however they are much too expensive. They many in Los Angeles, and I am willing to make the roadtrip. I have not yet looked into using AirBnb, but will check that out today. The reason I am in favor of peerspace is because these individuals have a track record of renting out their space for film and will be reliable. If I have a good experience I will feel more comfortable using this service in the future and may finally begin to produce short films more frequently.

As far as writing the script goes, I am certain I would like to aim for a runtime of 15-20 minutes and include an A,B, and C plot. I feel that variety is required to engage any viewers and allows for a better build up of tension.

The main part of the writing process that I would like to approach differently is the plot. I typically begin with a few images of what I would like to see and write toward those moments. From there I implement various plot devices to build up the conflict and put the main characters actions under escalating pressure.

My major issue with the story of Episode 4 is that it felt a little flat for me emotionally. The entire story has a consistent tone and I feel the individual scenes could have used more twists, turns, and suspense. So how do I combat this?

I feel the first draft is imperative toward laying the blueprint for a fulfilling arc. That is because the first draft of any story is the only time the writer is experiencing their story as a viewer rather than an editor. You write the events as you see them unfold.

I would like to place the bulk of the episode within 1 interior location during 1 specific event. The B and C plots will be born out of this central story and exists to raise the stakes and tie into the ending. My goal with the main plot will be to convince the viewer they are seeing one thing only to discover they have been fooled, just as the protagonist, at the “big reveal.” This will be a challenge because the story they think they are seeing will still have to be entertaining to keep them watching. The big reveal has to show a story that is not only more intriguing, but a complete surprise – even when the viewer is suspicious, they must still be looking in the wrong direction.

On top of that I need to provide a reason for the main character, Ryan, to be instrumental to the cult he has been chasing after. If his existence is no more important to them than any other curious individual than the story lacks the glue that binds a hero to his enemies. The cult must be just as obsessed with stopping him as he is with understanding them. Think about Jason Bourne – Jason is trying to find the agency and understand why they are after him. But if he discovers the information that he is after then he has the ability to expose the shadow agency and destroy them. The major difference with my story is I will also require a motivation for the cult to keep him alive and possibly even to convert him. I am leaning toward information as being the key reason – possibly information that Ryan has that he does not even know. It needs to be more spicy than this, however – it needs to be BIG.

Anyways, this is my one day of the week to really set things in motion and get the ball rolling. I have written on here before about how I started a film network in my local area through Meetup. The group has hardly done anything due to the Coronavirus, but I have been offered to lead another filmmaking group nearby due to the former leader chose not to continue running it. I might take this on because it gives me access to 150+ aspiring filmmakers. I may not, however, as I have hardly done anything with the group I already have.

May the day find you well, and may you mold the next 24 hours to serve you and your goals, rather than allowing the next 24 hours to mold your goals and you.

Sea of Misdirection

smartcapture

Have you ever woken up and known exactly what time it was, down to the minute? It’s an amazing mechanism, our internal clock. It’s a gift we have that we don’t appreciate and don’t give much thought to. If this intrinsic device is monitoring the outside forces without our control, what else do we have inside of us that interacts with the outside world?

Our autonomic nervous system is comprised of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system is also known as our “fight or flight” response. It is influenced and aroused by outside factors. When someone pulls a knife on you, your sympathetic nervous system will produce a rise in adrenaline and help your body to react in a way that is intended to help you find safety. The parasympathetic nervous system, on the other hand, is known for controlling the “rest and digest” process – the things your body does to keep you alive without any input from your conscious mind.

Perhaps these systems exists on a spiritual level as well. Perhaps this is the reason the “Law of Attraction” seems to work.

But I once watched a documentary about The Secret (or the law of attraction) and found it was more propaganda than anything. If you’re not familiar with the idea, I can summarize it in one story I distinctly remember from the film: A man spoke about how he had been drowning in debt. He told himself he had money even though he didn’t… then POOF! A mysterious check randomly landed in his mailbox and he was saved.

What’s dangerous about believing in this magical phenomenon? Your psyche, for one. If you think your perspective on the outside world alone is enough to manifest physical developments, you might as well spend your entire day convincing yourself your problems have already disappeared. This is a formula for living in denial that will only enable your problems to worsen by not properly addressing them.

Now let’s return to the internal clock and why that is significant. It regulates and interprets an external value without our control or conscious effort. I believe we have an internal spiritual “clock” – only rather than time, it monitors direction.

Keep taking steps, actions and initiatives that take you closer to where you would like to already be. Imagine you at that destination in life you would like to arrive at and shape your day according to that. Spend no time contemplating whether your effort holds any value if the fruits of your labor will never be fully ripe. The system of thought that avoids this destructive, purposeless doubt is known as faith.

When you shape your actions, thoughts, and beliefs to align with a successful outcome you are becoming the person you want to be. As you constantly dwell in a system of perpetual growth each new achievement will come to you without surprise. Your goals will be accomplished because you corrected yourself to attain them, not because you convinced yourself you were capable and your level of blind confidence was enough to fool the physical world.

Just as we have an internal clock to subconsciously monitor time, I believe we have a metaphysical tuning fork that informs us about the direction we are heading in. We know when we are shaping ourselves into the creator we aspire to be just as we know when we are crumbling into a creature of destructive habit.

I hope you take this day to direct your thoughts and actions toward your ideal self. If you take to the sea with your boat and allow the wind to shape your journey you will die lost and starving. Bring your map with you so that even the storms will not misdirect you. Do that, and one day those same storms will only be remembered for helping to shape the greatest captain who ever took to the sea.