Living your truth is not always as easy as it sounds.  It can be a vulnerable feeling to be so open about who you are.  Being true to yourself and your dreams requires trusting yourself and your instincts tremendously.  

Lots of people in your life (in fact mostly everyone) will have an opinion about what they believe that you should do and how you should behave in order to have a successful career, relationship and an overall fulfilling life.   Many of these individuals want to see you succeed, and their opinions come from a place of good intention.  

However regardless of what other people feel is best for you, only you can truly know what it is that's best for your life.  Your vision for your life is uniquely yours, and it is incredibly important to pay attention to your feelings about what you hope to achieve, even if that means going against what other people think is best for you.  

Friends, be you.  Listen to your heart and trust that everything will work out the way that it is supposed to. One of my favorite motivational authors, Dr. Wayne Dyer, often reminded his audiences that we are here on Earth for a short amount of time, and in order to reach our full potential we must pay attention to who we are and find our purpose.  (Check out some of his books and speeches, they are incredible.)  

What is it that YOU would like to accomplish in your life?  Who do you want to be a part of it?  What do you feel is your purpose here?  

By being brave enough to be yourself and listen to what you truly feel is best for you is a great way to start to answer some of these questions. 

Love you guys and girls,

Jesse x 

Hey guys and girls!  Happy Monday! 

As some of you are aware, I recently had an article published which I wrote for "Fearless Motivation" blog!  If you haven't checked it out yet, here's the link.

Also, I discuss a bit about this article in my latest YouTube video!  (Here's the link to my latest video which deals with the topic of success!)

I'd love to hear what you all think of both the article and my latest video!

Talk soon, and until then, live it up!  

Jesse x

There is no better time to pursue your dream or go after what (or whom!) you love than right now. 

It may sound cliché, but it's important for all of us to remember that right now - this moment - is the only time that we are ever granted.  And each little moment seemingly leaves us very quickly, doesn't it?!  (A few of them are already in the past since you started reading this post!)

Utilizing this moment as productively and positively as possible is very important in order to live a fulfilling life.  Wasting time thinking about regrets, feeling anxious, worried or being upset in general is not a productive way to spend precious time.  Obviously life can bring with it incredible difficulties, but it is how we choose to respond to the current moment (even if you’re dealing with a difficult matter) that truly defines our character. 

“Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.”  Dr. Wayne Dyer

After I reread a section regarding "living in the moment" from "Excuses Begone!," which is one of motivational author Dr. Wayne Dyer's incredible books, I felt compelled to share a story with all of you about how important it is to not waste the current moment worrying or in fear.  (This is a story that helped to remind me to always live in the present, for we have no way of predicting the future!)

I was working on a set of a commercial recently in up the San Fernando Valley which was filming outside for two days.  Gosh, friends, it was a HOT July day.  I mean, it was super unbearably and uncomfortably hot - and this is coming from someone who is obsessed with sunshine and heat! 

After day one of the shoot, and even though I was incredibly grateful for the work, I felt drained and exhausted from the heat of the day!  And when I drove back to set the next morning for day two of the commercial, I was preparing myself for another day of being outside in the blistering heat - literally in the middle of a parking lot with no shade.  (The weather report called for another day in the 100s, with clear skies.)

On the morning of the second day I noticed that there was some cloud cover, which was helping to keep the temperature down, yet I kept thinking about - and worrying about - feeling very uncomfortable again while filming.  I kept looking up at the sky, thinking, “It’s just a matter of time before the sun peeks out and bakes all of us here in this parking lot!”  (It was also making me nervous because some of the cast and crew were actually feeling very ill the previous day from the heat.) 

As the morning went on, however, the clouds remained in the sky, blocking the sun and its intense heat from everyone on the set.  This continued into the afternoon, when, almost miraculously, it rained!!

Yes, in the middle of July near the desert of Southern California, we experienced some rain drops.  (For those of you who don’t live here, that is essentially unheard-of, especially after the weather forecast predicted sunshine and blue skies.)  It felt like we had all hit the lottery in that parking lot! 
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The point of this little story is that it did me no good to worry about being uncomfortable or becoming ill because of the intense heat.  It never happened! 

Leaving Worry Behind

In life, we often spend time feeling upset about a past event or we worry about a future one, when in actuality, we have absolutely no control over any of these two places.  All that we have control over are our choices in this current moment. 

Hence, friends, don’t be afraid of the future.  And let go of the past.  Live it up as much as possible with those individuals you care about - in this exact moment that we are blessed to have! 
 
“I'm not afraid (I'm not afraid)
To take a stand (to take a stand)
Everybody (everybody)
Come take my hand (come take my hand)
We'll walk this road together, through the storm
Whatever weather, cold or warm
Just letting you know that you're not alone”
 
“Not Afraid” by Eminem

It is extremely important for actors to be enrolled in acting classes in order to continue to learn about the craft and obtain more overall experience as a performer.  However, even if you have no interest in acting whatsoever, enrolling in an acting class is something to consider, and here are 6 reasons why you’ll benefit from doing so!

1. You’ll Exercise Your Creative Side
​Acting is amazing.  And yes, I’ll admit, I may be biased because I’m an actor myself, but the craft of acting is an incredible art form to learn.  It is an art form which can take you on a fascinating, creative journey.  By taking an acting class you’ll learn foundational skills about how to be a great communicator, and the skills acquired from an acting class can be utilized in all areas of your life.  For example, I often compare auditioning for a role as an actor to going on a date!  (Read more about this here in another article that I wrote!)

By enrolling in an acting class, you’ll access and exercise your creative side and learn about this fascinating craft.  You will open yourself up to new experiences and opportunities while at the same time being educated about one of the world’s most famous creative activities.

2. You Will Learn More About Yourself
Acting classes can be very educational, and not only in the area of learning about the art of acting.  Participating in an acting class can help you to learn more about yourself and discover things about yourself that you might not otherwise pay attention to.  In fact, some of the exercises that are practiced in class require that you search deep within yourself, helping you to pay close attention to your emotions and your feelings.  When we pay attention to our emotions, our desires and and our feelings, we become more in touch with who we are.

I have found that my work as an actor has helped me to become much more in touch with who I am.  I’ve learned a lot more about myself by paying attention to all of my feelings and emotions, including why I may be feeling certain emotions at a specific time, for example.  Additionally, by paying attention to my feelings and my emotions, I have learned to become more fully present in all areas of my life.
“Acting” is all about “being”:  being who you are, being in the moment, being fully present and being connected to the material you’re working with and/or another actor in a scene with you. 

Signing up for an acting class will help you to learn more about yourself in these areas and many more.  I often hear actors refer to their acting classes as “therapy” or “psychology class”!  (And as a behavioral sciences major in college, I agree 100 %!) 

3.  You’ll Learn More About Others
In addition to learning more about yourself by participating in an acting class, you will learn more about other people too.  Simply observing your peers in an acting class allows you to learn a lot about other individuals.  I frequently express my admiration of the bravery that it takes for an actor to be so emotionally vulnerable, sharing sides of him or herself that are often very personal.  

I enjoy taking the time to chat with my fellow actors in class and learn about their backgrounds, learn more about who they are and what led him or her to the entertainment industry.  Actors come from all walks of life, and each and every one whom I have met has a completely unique story.  An actress with whom I recently spoke told me about her background in the Navy, which ultimately led her to follow her original dream of being a performing artist, for example!  What a fascinating individual! 
Actors in general are remarkable people, and you’ll learn a lot from them when you sign up for an acting class.  You’ll also meet some wonderful new friends!

4.  You’ll Improve Your Listening Skills    
Learning to develop listening skills is important for many of us, and enrolling in an acting class will help you to do this.  In order to be fully connected to another individual – in or out of an acting scene – it is imperative that we fully listen. 
One of my favorite acting techniques – the Meisner Technique – introduces an exercise called “repetition” (which you can read more about here.)  Meisner’s “repetition” exercise trains actors to fully listen to one another, paying attention to verbal as well as non-verbal body language. 

After completing one of my first scene study classes (in which Meisner’s repetition exercise was used) my active listening skills greatly improved.  Yours can be improved too - by signing up for an acting class!  

5.  You’ll Build Confidence
An acting class will undoubtedly help to build your confidence.  Specifically, being up in front of other people and feeling confident is a skill that many of us can utilize.
As I pointed out in an article about the courage that it takes to be an actor, “public speaking” has been identified as being the number one fear among Americans!  By taking an acting class, you’ll develop skills to overcome this fear that many of us have.  (Read about one way to overcome nerves and feel more confident here!)  

Personally, when I first started out as an actor I was terrified to perform in front of others.  I didn’t even like speaking in front of others let alone performing; I’d shake from being so nervous!  Yet after committing to taking acting classes and improving, I am happy to say that I no longer experience the same kind of nervousness that I did in years past.  I feel tremendously more confident overall, and I attribute this to my training as an actor.  I believe that you, too, will build lots of confidence by taking an acting class, because you’ll step out of your comfort zone.  Comfort zones hold us back from reaching our full potential, friends!

6.  You’ll Grow as an Individual
Simply trying something new such as learning about acting will help you to grow as an individual.  Any time that we try something new, we obtain more knowledge, and as the saying goes, “Knowledge is power.” (That quote is often attributed to Sir Francis Bacon.)  

Often we place limits on ourselves - limits which prevent us from reaching our full potential.  Let go of any preconceived ideas of your “limits” and try something new.  By taking a leap – like signing up for an acting class – you’ll prove to yourself that anything is possible to achieve if we have the courage to try. 
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Aim to constantly learn and grow, friends.  See you in class!