Crackberries, Trippin' and ROI

I have been focusing more on radio and fitness lately and less on my acting and VO stuff. A welcome break from about two years of insane L.A., driving, wacky non-union casting calls and endless internet VO submissions. One day, after a pretty cool gig - that at one point would have left me dancing on clouds yet now left me feeling comfortably grateful - I started to think about my ROIs (return on investments). It's a frightening concept if you give yourself time to think about it in depth. But, it also gives you clarity and direction. And, there's no better time to quietly reflect than on a vacation, (before you upgrade to a crack-phone, of course). The term "trippin" is, quite honestly, correct. I prefer the non-drug altering type, but whatever...it hit me at the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The ROI for the family that has been carving away at this monument is tremendous in an almost immeasurable way. I can't do the story justice without writing several pages but it did remind me of this: when we are pursuing our dreams, sometimes the sweat and tears amount to buckets and sometimes they come fleetingly. Sometimes the returns are tangible and sometimes, not. And, when we are in the middle of it, it's hard to know if what we are doing is worth it. Especially if you don't know what IT is. When was the last time you took a time-out from your normal schedule and traveled at least a few hours (or mega hours) to get perspective on IT? It's difficult to do unless you are AWAY from that which stares you in the face everyday. Standing in front of this gigantic, beautiful, barely-finished carving, thinking of the sacrifices and the poignant stories that follow the Native American Indians...visualizing my home and my daily activities and my frustrations and my joys and how MY personal journey affects those I care about so deeply, it suddenly became easy to distinguish the better choices I've made. I'm not saying that the hours driving to downtown L.A., or Burbank weren't worth it, I'm just saying that I have a better perspective on my big picture ROI and how the smaller pieces fit into IT. So...I'm feeling really good and super "freed" up to enjoy right where I am; to accept that I am really diggin' radio and fitness right now (even though I used to tell myself that I had moved on from those careers and that I needed to focus on acting and VO work); to accept that I can go on auditions once in a while and that I can pursue some VO gigs when I feel like it; that it was okay to change my podcast from bi-weekly to monthly and that if I were to join another realm of life (the next one after this earthly one), that I would have done a good job with my RIO's and my Blackberry, for God's sake! What about YOU? What about IT? Oh, yeah, and what about those Crack-Phones, right? Addicting? Hell, yes. I can see how that might happen, especially when I figure out how to work it. Thank goodness I got my phone during the last two days of our trip. I refuse to become one of those annoying Crack-Berry Heads! Especially, now that I have Crazy-Horse-Memorial perspective. It's time to get your own, or renew it. And, may you find peace and joy while you do!