How to be the Luckiest Person Alive

Tivoli Bays (a lucky place) photo by Wayne Pyle

The title of today's post comes from James Altucher's blog post about How to Be the Luckiest Guy on the Planet in 4 Easy Steps. There's a link to his original post at the bottom of this one.

He recommends 4 practices: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual

He says that when he practices these daily, he ends up being the luckiest guy alive and when he lets these practices go, he ends up in the downward spiral that I seem to find myself in right now.

So, I'm taking on Jimmy's ideas and I'll explore them here and post about how they are going for me.

I started today with the physical.

Let me preface this by saying that we lost our house a few months ago and it was quite difficult emotionally, financially, physically and mentally, but it was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

I'm not a big believer in home ownership. To me it's a really expensive box to put all of your crap in. George Carlin said that first, I believe, and I've always took it to heart. Do we really need to go in debt to the banks in order to say I "own" a home?

I don't think it's necessary.

Anyway, we lost our tiny overpriced box and had to move north of where we were living to a tiny village called Tivoli. It's a quirky place with Bard students and famous artists and blue collar workers and has a fabulous bakery and some really great restaurants, a small public library and the place where I'm writing this from - Tivoli Bays. (pictured above)

We still have not been able to get rid of the tiny overpriced box and now the neighborhood kids have been trying to steal things out of the shed that is still on the property. So I went there last night and emptied the shed, grabbed our bikes, garden tools, an artist's easel and came home.

Today, I rode that bike for the first time in more than a year. The chain slips, the gears don't work right, the thing weighs a ton, but I was able to move through space and get out of the house and it felt good and right to do that. The photo I took is a result of that ride.

I'm sitting on a dock right now typing this, instead of being in the house we are sharing with a friend, and the loons are calling and the trains are blowing their whistles and the wind is rushing through the marsh grass and I do, indeed feel lucky.

The mental aspect of James' practice is about making lists and coming up with ideas and I've been putting that into practice as well. I teach a screenwriting class at a local community college and the thing that seems to be the most difficult for some of them is coming up with ideas. James' recommendation is to make lists of ideas until your brain hurts. I made a few today, ideas for screenplays, ways to make more money with less frustrating work, book ideas, ideas for leading a more creative, nurturing, uplifting and fulfilling life. His theory, as I understand it, is that by making these lists, our brains have to fulfill some of them at some point. We get a brain itch and our bodies have to scratch it!

Emotionally, James recommends letting go of negative people in your life. One of the things I've done recently is purge negative people from my Facebook page. At first it felt scary because I genuinely like people, even the negative ones. But after I pushed that button that said "unfriend" and "block" I felt relief. I don't really use Facebook that much anymore anyway. I find it to be a giant bathroom wall with graffiti scribbled on it, "Like me", "I eat spinach", "My girlfriend dumped me", "Look how cute I am", "Come and play with me" and it's mentally exhausting. 

I do like seeing friends' photos, but I've realized that I have not really seen any of my friends face-to-face in a really long time and I want to start to change that. When I'm with friends and we are just hanging out, talking about life, laughing, playing, I feel like I've been plugged into a phone charger and my green battery signal is going up and up and up. Right now, I really only spend time with people if I'm working with them. I work and work and work and then when I get home I work some more. 

As Jack Nicholson's character in THE SHINING says, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Probably an unlucky one, too.

The final practice is spiritual. I'm not religious. But, like James, I do find that reading books by spiritual leaders, practicing meditation, doing yoga, being in nature are all very spiritual things that make me feel more connected to the world. I've also found some great apps like Omvana that allow you to create and play guided meditations and that leads to a spiritual practice in a different way. I'm not connected to Omvana in any way, I just really like their app. Let me know if you try it and what you think.

Sitting out here on this dock on the bay and listening to the world existing around me is a spiritual experience and I do feel lucky to be here.

Here's the link to James' original post:

http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/02/how-to-be-the-luckiest-guy-on-the-planet-in-4-easy-steps/

Be lucky!

You can follow me on Twitter @waynepyle and follow James @jaltucher or buy his book How to Be the Luckiest Person Alive by clicking the link below. (As an Amazon associate, I get some pennies just to say, "Look, pennies." Thank you!)

                                                                      

Dumping Toxic Waste is Good

James Altucher recently posted a blog about the loveliness of his migraines and how they were a warning that his thoughts were toxic. (Full post here: LINK)

I recently had a similar experience and wanted to share how it changed my toxic thinking as well.

Just a few weeks ago, the negative mental energy was starting to build. I had recently applied for a full time position at a certain community college for an opening in their Theatre program there. I had been working there as an adjunct for the past three years, mostly in the Communications program, but my degree is in acting and I've been a professional theatre artist for more than 30 years now. I'm thankful for the break that the Communications program gave me to start my teaching career, but I'm really a theatre artist. It's where my strengths are. I'm not sure why the Chair of the Theatre program is uninterested in my work in theatre, but we'll get to that in a moment.

Where my toxic thinking started to affect me was when I decided to apply for that full time position. I wasn't remotely interested in working there full time because of the way the Chair of the Department treats people and (in my opinion) his terrible ideas, attitudes and educational methods. The reason I was applying for the job was because, well, I NEEDED THE MONEY.

As an adjunct teaching in today's higher education system, you get paid one fifth of what your colleagues who are full time get paid. You have to work at many different schools, work other jobs, continue to try to keep up your professional work and try to find some time to spend with your family and (rarely) friends and colleagues. We all have terminal degrees but are making just over poverty level wages. Many adjuncts I know are struggling, really struggling, to pay their bills while working as much as they can in higher education.

When the position opened up I was encouraged by one of my colleagues to apply for the position, but I resisted, knowing that the Chair was not interested in what I had to offer. I had applied for two other positions in the past, both times being turned down for ridiculous reasons. I am highly qualified to teach my subject and all of my student evaluations and the performance of my students in my classes reflect that.

This person, for whatever small and petty reasons he might come up with, does not want to work with me. I know this and I usually say, "Hey, I get it. I'll move on." But this supposed friend and colleague encouraged me to apply anyway. So, I screwed my courage to the sticking place and decided even if I didn't want the job, I'd do my best to get it and then decide later if I actually wanted to take on the position. So I prepared. I smiled. I put together the best interview presentation I could. My family needed me to get this job, so I'd give it my best shot and forget about all the rejections so far.

Day of my interview, my supposed friend shows up 10 minutes late to my interview and sits and frowns the whole time I'm doing my presentation, then refuses to participate in an acting exercise I've used in my classes that has always been very successful!

I was livid.

When I later asked why the person was behaving that way she replied, "I was trying to send you signals that it wasn't going very well." She then told me how terrible the presentation was and how I went over the ten minute time limit, ruining my chances at getting the job.

WHAT?!?!?

The presentation I did was based on a similar presentation at another college that was responsible for enrolling 10 more students into their theatre program. The exercise I did is often cited by students as one of the main reasons they felt comfortable in my classes. What she said makes no sense unless someone already comes in with an attitude that they are not going to like whatever it is that I do.  Besides, I thought she was there for SUPPORT and ENCOURAGEMENT. Boy, was I wrong.

Needless to say, they hired a PhD from outside the state for the job, instead of promoting someone in their community who knows and relates very well to the students. They also told my students that I didn't have the job before they told me. The Chair never contacted me at all and still hasn't.

Anyway...I didn't really want the job, but...I had let all of this negative energy build up (and I needed the money because of the terrible pay of adjuncts) and as I did, I started having these really weird symptoms of extreme pain in the right side of my face, extreme fatigue, shoulder pain, strange migraines with auras and horizontal lines going across my vision, I started to forget the names of things and people, very weird neurological symptoms. So I hit the Google search button with my symptoms and started to worry. Did I have MS? Cancer? Lyme disease? Insanity? Early Alzheimers?

I made an appointment at a neurologist. She did some tests, some bloodwork, I had an MRI. Nothing was wrong with me! Medically. But after reading James' post, I am starting to think that it's the TOXIC THINKING that started to bring me down. When I asked the neurologist what causes migraines. She said, "We don't know. Incorrect chemicals get turned on in the brain. We don't know why." I said, "That's very interesting." TOXIC THINKING TURNS INTO TOXIC CHEMICALS IN THE BRAIN!!!

Those negative thoughts about why so-and-so betrayed me and why such-and-such doesn't like me and why can't I get a full-time position and I-suck-at-everything kinds of thought were having an actual, physical and neurological effect on my body. Applying for a job that I didn't really want because I needed the money and then being upset because I didn't get it...was toxic thinking. Thinking that it mattered somehow in the grand scheme of things what my friend and those people thought about my presentation was toxic thinking and it was making me sick.

Needless to say, I dropped those thoughts. Until just now. And I have to tell you something amazing. As I was writing this, the migraine symptoms started to come back for a second. The top of the computer screen started turning gray and it wasn't the computer, it was an aura, and my head started aching really badly. TOXIC THOUGHTS!!!

As I got down to this section, no lie, it disappeared. And here's the good news. After dumping the toxic thinking and making the decision not to engage with negativity or those negative people any more, my symptoms completely cleared up.

Not only that, but I've been struggling with my blood pressure for hmmmm THREE YEARS (notice that is the same amount of time I've been working at said toxic community college?) and I've been on Bystolic, a beta blocker, for the past two years. My blood pressure was consistenly at 130 over 90 something for several years. Well, after dumping the toxic thinking, dumping the beta blocker and dumping the community college, I went out and bought my first pair of running shoes in 10 years.

Now, I'm not back in the full swing of running again, but I've been running for about two or three weeks off and on, and when I went for my follow-up neurology appointment, my blood pressure, WITHOUT the beta blocker was 120 over 72! No lie. Amazing what dumping toxic thoughts, people and attitudes will do.

And here's the REAL KICKER. Not long after doing all this toxic dumping, I get called into the office of a real friend and real colleague at a four year institution of higher learning that graduates many more professional theatre artists than the community college I've been working for.

I was worried, toxic thoughts started to creep into my brain pan, but I breathed and let them go.

"We've got a temporary, full-time position for you next year, " he said. "If it were up to me, I'd bring you on full time right away." Sure, it's only temporary, but I'll be taking on a lot more responsibility and filling in for some people who are leaving or retiring. It'll be full time and I'll be getting paid enough to not have to go back to the toxic energy of that other place. I can focus on working for one school and one group of students. Dumping the toxic thinking led to what I wanted in the first place, a job with people who are supportive and who are making great theatre and training the next generation of theatre makers.

I highly encourage all of you to see where you are storing your toxic thoughts and dump them right now! Welcome those migraines with their beautiful auras and horizontal gray shadings and lightning pains shooting up the sides of your faces. They are a message from your beautiful brain, "Stop this toxic thinking and dump whatever it is that is causing it or I will put you through hell until you do!"

Live Life Creatively, folks!
Until next time...

You, LLC

As you may have noticed, I'm changing the name (and focus) of this blog to YOU, LLC (You, Living Life Creatively).

After my last post about the importance of creativity as an opposing force to destruction, I realized that while, yes, I am an actor and those experiences are important to me, I'm also a human being who is interested in how to live a more creative, nurturing, uplifting and fulfilled life in all areas of my life. I'd also like to share that interest with others.

Instead of focusing on just one aspect of creativity that I'm involved with - being an actor - I'm going to explore many different aspects of the creative life: writing, art, film making, teaching, cooking, being a parent, husband, partner, friend; all of those areas of our lives that can be made better by applying creativity and creative solutions to them and then seeing what happens.

I like the idea of taking a legal term, LLC (Limited Liability Company) and turning into something of a mantra YOU, LLC (You, Living Life Creatively). I like the idea of a life lived creatively with boldness, freedom and expression as a priority. I like the idea that the members of this LLC will learn new ways to think about old problems, discover old ideas that can be applied to new problems and hopefully have a lot of fun doing it. Oh yeah, I also just like IDEAS.

Thanks for reading! I'm looking forward to our journey together.

Wayne Pyle, LLC

Back to the Blogging Board

Wayne Pyle ©2013 Dima Otvertchenko

It's that time of year when everyone starts making new year resolutions and then promptly breaks them a few weeks (or in my case, a few hours) later. So, I've given up on making resolutions...much like my partner, Heidi Eklund, says she is doing in her blog Natural Thoughts from a Busy Voiceover Mommy.

Instead of resolutions, Heidi made some realizations about herself and by acknowledging those, she's hoping to make some small changes that will lead to more joy. I've decided to follow her lead and do the same. No more resolutions, just realizations that will lead to small, positive changes that can add up to more joy over time. 

When you fly a plane (in a flight simulator for me most of the time), any large over-corrections cause your plane to veer far off course and if you try to wildly over-correct your previous over-corrections it eventually leads to a virtual crack-up. Thankfully, it's only virtual and the plane resets and you can fly again in just a few moments. 

By making small corrections over time, however, you can avoid cracking up altogether and get your plane back on its proper flight path and land safely (and THEN get back to work instead of messing around with the flight simulator...glad I'm not making any resolutions about not playing computer games). 

I think the same is true in our lives. Making small corrections over time will help us find those paths that lead us to more happiness and fulfillment.

Currently, I work several part-time jobs in academia. I'm directing GLASS MENAGERIE this Spring at SUNY Dutchess. I'm actively seeking film and television work and participating in two new play readings, and raising my son, Willoughby. I'm also trying to stay active in the lives of my other two sons, Alexander and Stephen, who live with their mother in Pennsylvania. Time seems scarce and tensions run high. When I start to feel this way, I know it's time to make small corrections to stay on course.

The first small correction I'm making is getting back on this blog to help clear out the MIND CLUTTER. This is a good exercise for anyone who has too many things on their mind. By EXPRESSING the thoughts you are having, you will find your mind clears and allows you to process those thoughts that are just steamrolling around in your mind.

The second small correction I'm making is reaching out to more people who might be in a position of giving me work or creating work with me in the film, theatre and television industries. I realized that I have not been doing a very good job of this overall in my career and, yet, I've been fairly successful. I'd like to see if I can make a profound difference in my career by making a small, effective, change. Rather than send out lots and lots of emails, postcards, headshots, resumes to everyone, I'm going to target the people I'm interested in working with. I will post how things go here.

The third small correction and the final one for this entry is that I'm going to try looking for new income streams in addition to the traditional ones I've been pursuing. This might mean more publishing, more writing, more getting ideas out there, more trying of new things that I might have not thought of before to see what works and what doesn't. I want to push myself just a little more in that direction and see if any of it can make a difference - small corrections that can lead to greater overall change.

Let me leave you with a connection to a cool blog called Tiny Buddha by Lori Deschane. This entry is about 40 Little Things that Make a Big Difference in Your Day. Try doing one or two and let me know how they worked out for you. Enjoy and keep LLC'ing!

WP
http://imdb.me/waynepyle
@waynepyle