There are some all too familiar sayings we’ve all heard a thousand times, and they’re ingrained in us, yet whether we really believe them is debatable. “You are what you eat”. “What goes in, comes out”. “You can do anything you put your mind to”. They all generally state the same idea. Whatever you focus on the most, you achieve. Doesn’t necessarily mean positives only. One could spend every waking minute convincing themselves they’re a serial killer. Does he become that? I genuinely believe so.
I can take ownership of this train of thinking, in line with the aforementioned slogans, if you will. In both looking back and looking forward, I can clearly see how and when I convinced myself I was a certain person and I became them. Him. You know what I’m getting at. As a young teen, I used to fantasize I was this cool, rich, rock star guy….Okay, I guess that one didn’t really pan out. Alright, let’s try it again. When I impregnated the mother of my children, I could have walked away and continued my life as it was (which…wasn’t golden at all). Instead, I wanted to make it work so I CHOSE to be a parent, and a flippin amazing one at that. Why go mediocre in a game of human poker? I mean, am I wrong? I don’t what that means either.
The choice was life defining for me, it was bigger than huge. The choice shaped not only me, from who I was to whom I became (which some may debate it’s who I always was anyway. I just needed that scenario to show myself I had it in me), but also ended up shaping the lives of my offspring. Second to following God, I’ve never made a more important choice.
As of one year ago, there has been another potentially and eventually life altering choice I have made and that is to become a television writer. I’m not doing this small scale. I don’t intend on completing my work, and patting myself on the back, filing it away somewhere and down the road telling friends, family and random strangers, “I once wrote a sitcom. No biggie.” No! I have CHOSEN that I want to write a pilot and so I am. I am two scenes away from completing my first draft. And it won’t stop there. I will finish it, along with a few more episodes and ideas for several seasons. And when the time is right, I will pursue getting it made.
This is who I am, and I am many things. A father happens to be one, and a television writer another. We can be whatever we set our sights and our hearts on. I’m done with thinking so small and not really living. Sure, there are other aspects of success, such as work ethic and drive, but ultimately, once you set your chosen path and truly believe in yourself and in your project, nothing shall stand in your way. Do you believe that? I believe it so much that it inspires me and spurns me on. I live it and it’s this kind of passion that I’ve always wanted for myself. It’s a choice! It really is a simple yes or no.
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