First Word

I admit it when I am watching obstacles build. I recently have been watching the barriers build like a brick wall -- one after the other. Life loves to build brick walls, but then it's my job to take them down, brick-by-brick. Sometimes when the bricks are too many and the feeling overcomes you, "How am I going to take this one down?" You have to look for a jackhammer. Today though I sat down up against my current brick wall and just sat and breathed heavy. I can't find the jackhammer or the wrecking ball, but oh! Here's a tiny pic. And in Andy Dufresne style from Shawshank Redemption , I think I'm going to get me a poster, a pic and time. I'm going to pic out a hole to the other side. And that's the life and business lesson you learn. When it's just a brick, it gets kicked aside. When it's a brick wall and you have no jackhammer, you find yourself a pic, a poster and time. So let's start today! Each moment of the day is an opportunity ...

Storytelling (film, TV and books) always have the ability to pull out emotions. But there are some great moments in stories that make me cry every, single time even when I know it's coming (because I've seen the film so many times). What constitutes a great tear-jerker? I couldn't say what it is specifically. Maybe it's the build up. Maybe it's the words. Maybe it's the acting. Maybe it's all those things combined ... but here are my top tear-jerker moments. Terms of Endearment --when Aurora goes absolutely nuts and demands the painkillers for her daughter. Her utter desperation and pain is so conveyed. I know this scene is coming and here we go: tears! Gets me every single time without fail. The Color Purple --when after so much longing, pain and loss, Nettie FINALLY gets her kids back. The moment when they show up off in the hazy, farm field distance ... yep! Here come the tears. Then she stands in the field in the end scene and they play the little gi...

Fantastic quotes stick in your head. My greatest goal as a writer is to write a quote that resonates so strongly with people they continue to say and repeat it for years to come. Can't say I've achieved that success yet but someday I might come up with that unforgettable line. I thought it would be fun to share a list of my favorite lines that I've never forgotten that touched me or just made me smile or laugh. Get busy living , or get busy dying. ~ Shawshank Redemption And I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life . ~ American Beauty What we do in this life echoes in eternity. ~ Gladiator I will see you again... but not yet... not yet... ~ Gladiator Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies tha...