Movie Premiere for “Saturday’s Warrior”
Last night at a movie premiere of a classic remake my friends have been working on for years, I was approached by multiple people in the foyer with a look of surprise on their face to see me. In essence they all said how they were surprised to even see me in public, as I’ve seemingly disappeared to the public in their opinion, yet they were so inspired and grateful for my blogs and social media posts.
This was surprising as I know a few people who like what I write but didn’t realize the effect it has on a person’s every day life. For example one person said, “I go to your Facebook page at night before bed, in case I haven’t seen what you’ve said for the day, as it is kind of like my surrogate family, it brings me comfort to see you with your family, or on stage, or just living your dreams. Thank you for being there for me without even knowing you are.”
Woah. I didn’t know that was happening.
And where plenty of people still come up and say I’m funny, ask for a picture with my silly faces, and that’s great, a majority are now approaching and saying Thank You for your words, they are what I need to read every day.
Again, I’m not sure how that is possible, but thank you.
I’m often asked what my day looks like, as the guy who Speaks, Entertains, Emcee’s events throughout the month for a select group of clientele. Here is a video of gig day if you haven’t seen that. Often people assume I just show up and do that one thing, and lounge at the pool the rest of the time, much like people think news casters just show up behind the desk once the cameras roll for the 10 PM news. Ahhh, were it that simple for any of us, but there’s a lot going on behind the scenes.
When there is not a gig that day, my life is actually completely full to the brim with everything to do:
7 AM: Alarm goes off. The only way I can actually get out of bed from being so tired due to the day before is my wallpaper screen shot of Frank Zane, my favorite bodybuilder of all-time, flexing his arms to the sky pose and telepathically saying to me, “Don’t sleep anymore, to look like me you must get up!” I stumble through the house, opening the blinds, rousing the boys for school, and get my work-out clothes on for the day.
7:30 AM: Protein Shake, with oats, almond milk, almond butter and an apple. Tami makes the lunches and does the boys’ hair while I either read out loud to them, or we just talk before their pick-up at 8:15.
8:20 AM: Cardio on treadmill in basement, watch Netflix and documentaries, while walking at a 9-10 incline at about 3,3-3.5 speed, for 30 min.
9 AM: Daughter, 10, is up and going, ready for homeschool. We begin with prayer, scripture, move into goals for the day, reading together in her Michael Vey book and circling words unknown to become vocabulary and spelling. If there is a reference to Van Gogh we look him up on Google and study his life. If it talks about voltage and sonar we study the science of electricity. If there are places we don’t know we look them up, see their beauty, learning about the whole world. This is just while reading together the first page. I’m learning as much as she is. We’ve covered a little in art, science, history, geography, biography, writing, spelling, vocabulary, it’s not even 11 AM. Awesome.
10:30 AM: I have to eat every 3-4 hours on my new program: cheese stick and apple.
11 AM: She looks up words in dictionary yet to be discovered from her books and I do a little work on business. People forget, sometimes even I forget, I’m still running a business here. Work doesn’t come to me as it used to when I was on the road 20-25 days per month, or chained to my office chair the rest of the time 24/7. So now I’m uber-focused to get the most important things done, emails sent, marketing targeted and hope people bite.
11:12 AM: Find out I’ve lost a gig due to low budget, one I had turned another offer away for. Dang.
11:13 AM: Forget about the gig I lost and keep marketing.
11:30 AM: Daughter is done with vocab research, time to discuss meanings and set goals to use words in daily life.
12 PM: We get sucked into a YouTube video montage of Lewis & Clark animations that are equally awful and wonderful, such a great way to learn about history and the exploration westward. We laugh at the claymation bird and watch over and over and over.
12:30 PM: She helps me with a few business needs, which I am training her to become an entrepreneur so she can create the life she wants. After 15 minutes she confirms she wants to be a doctor.
12:45 PM: She plays with little brother for 15 minutes while making lunch for him. What a great girl.
1 PM: I need to leave for my appointments for the day –
30 min drive to Personal Trainer’s office, I make 3 business calls, great use of time.
Personal Trainer measures me with the fat pincher method (plenty to pinch). I’ve lost 5 lbs of fat and gained 3.5 lbs of muscle, guess those work-outs and consistent eating are paying off, body transformation is happening. I eat my pre-packed meal of raspberries and a protein bar, glad I’m getting in the habit of taking all meals with me everywhere.
More calls, mentoring, discussing business, life, spirit, habits, etc. Coaching others is a part of the whole day. I sing along to a few songs in the car, laugh my head off at one creation I think could work for a gig, we’ll see. Eat again in the car a whole wheat wrap with turkey and spinach. Receive 5 gig requests via text, need to field them tomorrow. I get home by 5 PM.
5 PM: Kiss the boys, my girl, my wife, and we plan to leave by 6 PM. I finish up a few things in the office as daughter reports a great day of progress, including Math tutoring she loves. Self motivated girl. The boys are playing with a friend and she joins in. Awesome.
6 PM – 10:30 PM: Take whole family to movie premiere where friends and neighbors have remade one of the LDS Classics from 1989 into today’s great version, fun to see so many colleagues in the cast and enjoyed pics on the red carpet. Laugh and cry through the movie. Love it, it’s called “Saturday’s Warrior” if you want to see it.
10:30-11:30 PM: Drive home, family prayer, beg the kids to go to bed. Too much sugar for them at the movie.
11:30-11:40 PM: Check emails and calendar for tomorrow, lost another gig but looks like we may firm a couple that could be incredible. Interesting the roller coaster of marketing and business.
11:40-12:45 AM: Run on treadmill for one hour, didn’t have a chance to do real work-out of weights today at LTF.
12:45 AM: Realize I need to eat, have egg based protein smoothie. Shower, in bed by 1:30 AM.
2:30 AM: After reading blogs about homeschool ideas for an hour I pass out for the night.
This was not the perfect day. This was a very busy day, but a very normal one for me. I love having a business and the freedom it allows to try and get gigs, make work happen, and at the same time homeschool my daughter. The boys are staying in school for now, as I’m not sure how I could actually take on another person during my day, but hope to figure that out as my daughter and I find our routines that work for us. Problem is, we have few routines in our life, with my work, so it is a balancing act.
Today I woke up and did the same thing, and life is very cool how it unfolds. I admit I am scared to be a homeschool dad and run a business, but am grateful my wife is willing to help with carpool and other activities when I’m away. April will be very busy, but March was gratefully open enough for us to begin this journey.
And with that, I hope you’re willing to jump into the life you’re scared of doing, but begin to take those steps. We can’t get everything done in a day – as you can see, I had little time with my boys this day – I hope tonight after school we will get that time and work on Scouts we love to do together. I also hope the right gigs come in, so we’ll see.
But what is holding you back from creating that life? The one you think you want, dream about, hope for? Is it fear of failing? Is it finances? Is it that the challenge seems too daunting? There aren’t enough hours in the day? Trust me, I get all of those concerns and I too doubt what I am doing a lot of the time. But somehow I also feel extreme peace and know it is worth the effort as this is the time I will never get back with these little ones, and in gratitude we move forward with our best efforts.