by: Wayne Frazier

“Don’t give up”, “stay focused”, and “believe”! Especially in the acting world these phrases are used often. Inspirational thoughts are warming to the soul, the mind and the spirit. These are words to honestly live by if you apply yourself. But how often do we give up on our goals, or allow our dreams to get cut short? Do we just kind of glide through life.? I personally believe, we don’t have time to stop!

Don’t give up…or you are simply defeating yourself in this crazy thing called life. There is no guarantee how long we get on this planet. If you have ever lost someone suddenly, you know that life is way to short. The fact is you have only 3 choices: move forward, stay static or sabotage your own outcome.

By the time you are eighteen, hopefully your parent(s) have tried to set you up for success as you enter the adult phase of life. Whether you are moving on to college, joining the military or raising a family ‘giving up’ is not an option. It doesn’t matter what your aspirations are, what matters is that you don’t let roadblocks get in the way and stop your flow. If ‘following your dreams’ was an easy thing to do, everyone would do it. It should not be about surviving, it should about taking charge of your destination and not letting anything stop you from your goal. Don’t give up!

Stay focused…this is much easier said than done. In today’s society it’s hard to even stay on top of twitter feeds! How the Hell am I supposed to “stay focused” when the bills are piling up, I am bogged down at my survival job, or I’m just exhausted from my 14 plus hour day? Well, it’s not easy! But, perseverance is my magical word, and I encourage others to fit that word into their vocabulary. As tough as it is with life’s constant changes, setting goals is important. No matter what you want to accomplish, raising the perfect kids, writing the next New York Times bestseller or serving your country we all must remember you and only you are responsible for your actions.

Here a few ideas I use to help stay focused:

Write it Out-Writing in a journal helps immensely in keeping me on track.
Get Moving-Physical workouts with a friend, spouse or co-worker gives you that little extra boost.
Tune In-Meditation techniques like yoga help to relax your mind and spirit making this a powerful tool.
Rock Out-Take a moment to listen to your favorite song. It’s amazing what that can do for your mood.

You are responsible for your own physical and mental outcome. So, put yourself into succeeding mode! Stay focused on your well-being, and good things will happen!

Believe…in yourself. Believe in life. Believe in setting goals. Sometimes we get torn by life’s ‘ups and downs’. Divorce, death of a loved one or stupid mistake can destroy a psyche. That is going to happen to each and everyone of us several times in life, and it stinks! But it is not the end, remember if you live your life to the best of your ability at least you know you tried. There is always hope, and the light will eventually shine through no matter our darkest moments. Don’t give up, stay focused on your dreams and aspirations no matter what they are. Most importantly, believe in yourself. With that, I leave you with my favorite quote by the one and only Mr. Jon Bon Jovi “It’s My Life and it’s now or never…”!