Hey guys and girls!  Happy Saturday!  

I wanted to share a few quick words of motivation with all of you today!  

The main message that I would like to remind all of you of is that you have the power to achieve anything that you set your mind to.  Life can be difficult sometimes, however if you keep your sights set on your goals for your life - however lofty they may be - you can and will reach them if you never give up.  

Take everything one step a time toward achieving your goals and continuously encourage yourself.  Remind yourself that you're getting one step closer every day to accomplishing your goal. 

It's equally important to enjoy the entire journey along the way while pursuing your dreams.  We are never promised tomorrow - and all we have is this moment.

So, friends, live it up!  And have a great Saturday. 

Jesse

Being exactly who you are is one of the most vulnerable - and also one of the most important - things that any of us can do in our lives.  

I often write about the importance of embracing individuality as an actor and in all areas of life.  (I essentially dedicated my entire 2 1/2 years of writing for Acting.About.com to this topic!)  I believe that it is so incredibly important in order to be you in order to live a fulfilling life.     

Remember, friends, there is only one of you out there.  There's no one else who is like you!  Your quirkiness, your awkwardness, anything for that matter - it's all a part of what makes you so amazing!  

It's also important to recognize that not everyone is always going to like you.  Don't worry about that.  Simply try your best every single day to be the best possible version of yourself that you can be and you'll be doing a great job.  

As my amazing friend and acting coach Carolyne Barry used to say, "You Are Enough."  

Jesse x 

Hey guys and girls - Happy Monday evening.  I hope you're all doing well!  

I've had a busy weekend and start to the week - I worked as a print model for a clothing brand on Sunday and I had an audition for a film this morning!  I was also able to visit Mama Daley!  :)  

These experiences have been wonderful, but I've felt very distracted (as I'm sure many of you have been too) by the incredibly sad news that has come out of Orlando, Florida after the shooting at Pulse nightclub early on Sunday morning.  (I also spoke briefly about this on my new YouTube video which I posted today.)

My heart goes out to everyone who has been impacted by this event.  Truth be told, I think that everyone has been affected in a certain way, and I believe that it is up to all of us to honor the victims and share as much love as we possibly can with one another in order to make it through this tragedy.    

Overall, the news definitely tends to report on dramatic and disheartening stories.  And recently, news reports have been seemingly riddled with upsetting stories, including the Stanford sexual assault case involving ex-Stanford University student Brock Turner and the untimely death of beautiful singer Christina Grimmie.  

These events which have been highly publicized (for obvious, important reasons) remind us that we never know what tomorrow will bring.  And we also never can know what another person might be going through or experiencing in life.  For the families and loved ones of the aforementioned events, for example, they are undoubtedly struggling.   

I have read numerous comments from individuals expressing their thoughts about these horrible events that have been in the news.  Rather than sharing my own opinions about these events, I have chosen to utilize my platform of "Behind The Sign" to simply remind all of you, my awesome readers, of the importance of sharing compassion.  

Sharing love and compassion is so incredibly important every single day.  Even simply saying hello to someone you see in passing, or flashing a smile at a passerby can remind him or her that someone is thinking about them and is offering a gesture of love to them.  

I aim to remind all of you about how much I appreciate you and how awesome you have been to me through social media. You are my friends.  And we are here for one another on good days and not-so-good days.  

So, again, to the victims and loved ones affected by the events I mentioned here as well as any other difficulty that some of you might be going through in life, try to keep your focus on compassion. This is certainly not easy to do when we are upset.  But I truly believe that life has a way of balancing things out; and love will always ultimately prevail.   

With lots of love and compassion, 

Jesse x  


PS - I also want to include a link to RAINN - which is a sexual assault helpline.  The incredibly brave victim (whom I refer to as a survivor) in the above-mentioned Stanford assault case, wrote an incredibly powerful letter about her assault.  It is another reminder that we must stand up against sexual assault and abuse.  

Guys and girls!  Happy Monday!  I hope your weekend was lovely, and I hope the week is now off to a great start.  

(I started writing this post last night on Sunday, and I've chosen to keep it here in the blog!)
I'm currently sitting here on the balcony in Orange County at Mama Daley's place and watching the sun dip behind the hills over in the west.  Such a beautiful sight to see.  

It's also pretty amazing to be drinking a Malibu Rum - pineapple infused beverage. Haha.

I often write about my feelings regarding enjoying the moment to the best of our ability. My experience as an actor has taught me that in order to remain fully present and connected to a scene or another actor in a scene, it is absolutely essential to listen, react and stay focused on what is happening in that exact moment.  Otherwise, a scene is not going to be truthful or real.  Remember, acting is being.  (Check out more about this at acting.about.com.)

The acting training that I have received which is focused on this idea of being rather than acting has primarily been through studying "The Meisner Technique" of acting.  (Again, I have written extensively on this topic on About.com, so if you have a minute, please jump on over there to check it out!)  

I've found that I apply my training as an actor to every aspect of my life.  And the past couple of days have once again reminded me of how important it is to constantly aim to stay fully present, fully connected and fully committed to what is occurring right in front of me, right now.  

When we aim to enjoy the moment rather than constantly thinking about or worrying about what is "next," we can more fully appreciate what is happening today and we can more fully appreciate the men and women who we are blessed to spend time with today.  
This past weekend, I had such an incredible time with some amazing individuals, including my mother, Mama Daley!  She is such an inspirational woman.  Our favorite breakfast place is "Cappy's Cafe" in Newport Beach.  Honestly it's the best restaurant in SoCal, and everyone who works there is kind and happy.  If you live in California, I suggest that you check it out!!  (Be sure to tell the staff that Jesse and Judy sent ya!) :) 

While Mama Daley and I enjoyed our Mai Tais, coffee and our breakfast food, we didn't think about anything other than what was happening in that exact moment.  We were simply enjoying the food, bite by bite and the drinks, sip by sip. You know, the world just moves so quickly, and people rush all around, but in a moment such as this example, all that is important is the person who you are spending time with and the experience of feeling happy and feeling good.

I strive to enjoy moments like this at all times.  It is not always easy to do - especially when going through a struggle or when trying to pay bills and find work, for example.  But happiness is a choice.  And it is certainly possible to try my absolute best to stay fully connected and to stay fully present at all times.  

Life is not about the destination, friends.  It's about the journey.  It's about right now, this moment which will not ever come again.  Seize it with everything within you and soak up the happiness from every single second.

For more thoughts about living in the moment, be sure to check out my YouTube channel. (Here's the link.)  

Lots of love - and cheers to this moment!

Jesse x