HOW TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF

Want to feel good?  Try the following :D

Firstly:

Here I am having fun on set - this was a shaving scene :D
Made the crew laugh :D

• You come first - that's right you are number one.  People always put others first but if your mental and physical well - being is in an unbalanced state you are putting yourself in a negative place and will feel bad as a result.  You see by putting yourself first you actually put everyone else first because they get the best out of you and so do you.  So take a moment to think how you can improve your current state of being.

Next:

• Learn to love yourself for who you are - I always say you should learn to love yourself because you will take yourself everywhere you go.  That's right, the only person you can't escape is you so the best thing to do is to learn to love who you are and embrace your individuality.

• Be thankful - make a list of everything you are thankful for and focus on these points instead of putting all your time and effort into negative energy and people.

• Surround yourself with epic people - your peer group can build you or break you down.  The people who we surround ourselves by should build us up and not tear us down.  If you are surrounded by people who walk all over you, you may want to consider new relationships with people who will nourish and support you and you them.

• Do things you enjoy - there is nothing more pleasurable than doing things you enjoy.  Make a list of what you love and treat yourself.  Make time for yourself and this will build you up.

• Make a plan - planning and plotting can really help you to create a structure in life.  You can factor in different activities that make you feel good and you can also build your confidence in certain areas by dedicating a little time each day to cultivating your chosen subject. 

• Exercise - exercise is a wonderous thing.  Your saying yeah right.  Well I never used to exercise when I was younger and my weight span out of control.  But enough about me.  Exercise gives you a feel good factor like nothing else.  Not only does your body release feel good hormones but you become stronger both physically and mentally which aids in the quest to feel good.  You build the body which builds the mind.  Not to mention your movement patterns will increase making everyday tasks a breeze :D

• Nutrition - feed yourself with nourishing foods and your body and mind will thrive as you are supplying yourself with the optimum building materials for the body and mind.  Many overlook how much nutrition can help you feel good so research research research.

Spend time with the one's you love -
I love being around this pup :D

• Make a list - make a list of things you want to accomplish in your life and use a plan (as mentioned above) to schedule these activities in.  You can also get leverage by stating dates you want to achieve the activities by too.

• Go to an acting class - I know I keep mentioning classes but they really do help you to express your inner creativity as well as allowing you to socialise with others.  When you take an acting class you will learn new skills and techniques that allow you to express the sometimes suppressed inner energy inside.  It will build your confidence in a nourishing environment which will make you feel good.

Just a few suggestions guys

Thanks for reading and KEEP PUSHING FORWARD :D

MOTIVATE THYSELF

Motivation?

We are all capable of having amazing motivation but some people find it difficult to find/create.

So for the one's who find it difficult and have low motivation at the moment please consider the points below to help you get back on track:

• Look for inspirational stories - look anywhere and everywhere for inspirational stories.  You can find stories of people overcoming their greatest obstacles and making their life what they want it to be.  Read Sly Stallone's story or Bruce Lee - two of my favorites.  If others can and have got there so can you.

• Announce your intentions - a good motivator is to announce your goals to the world and make people take note of what you are doing.  Saying the goals will make them real and notifying others will give you a reason to follow through.

• Chunk things down - don't despair if your objective is huge, simply break things down into smaller tasks so that you can have little wins that will ultimately over time lead to your big goal.  So break it down and little steps will get you to your destination

• Praise your success - no matter how big or small give yourself credit for what you have achieved.

Decide today is the day to kick butt

• Reason - write down your reason why? Why do you want to be motivated?  Put enough emotion behind the reason and anything is possible.  Don't live in despair because one action didn't produce your desired result, simply keep pushing and try, try and.......try.

• Look at your competition - get the competitive edge - this can push you towards your goals and give you the motivation you need to kick butt.

• Support network - surround yourself with individuals that will build you up and not break you down.  We all have people who make us feel great and on the flip side we know those who don't, so recruit the one's who build you up and ask for their help.

• Music - get yourself into the mood and bang on the tunes.  Music can be inspirational and make you feel energized which will help you get things done.

• Visualisation - you can visualise anything and this is a fantastic ability as it can put your mind in a peak state which will help shift the way you think and feel.  Take time each day to visualise yourself the way you want to be and hold this image in your mind.  (5-10minutes minumum)

• Be like an old train - to keep going you have to feed the furnace and the more you feed it the faster you go.  By this I mean that when you get moving you tend to keep going so accomplishing tasks will give you the drive you need to keep smashing goals.  It's all about that first step.

• Remind yourself - buy some little notes you can stick around the house that have motivational quotes on them.  You can also put your objectives on the notes so that if you wander off the path you can look at a note which will remind you of your chosen goals

• Walk and talk - go for a walk and talk to yourself out loud.  Self talk can be a powerful motivator as you can stir up your emotions which will in turn give you the intent to accomplish your goals..

Again these are only suggestions - please give them a try and KEEP PUSHING FORWARD :D

CULTIVATE YOUR CONFIDENCE

I would of never imagined getting in-front of a camera :D

Confidence was practically non existent in me growing up.

I would shy away from social encounters and dodge bullies - keeping quietly to myself sitting in the back of the class watching the clouds pass by.

I was a quiet character who's theory was:

If I keep quiet it will go away and they will leave me alone.

This (along with other things) created low confidence and self esteem and fed the fears in my mind.

I had unknowingly created a routine of fear, avoidance and dread.

Through influential factors - our environment - our peer group we unknowingly become a victim of low confidence and self esteem.

Anyway enough about me - below is a list of action points you can implement (as I did) into your life to get you feeling good and to cultivate your confidence.

• Escape the internal dialogue  - we all encounter an internal and external world.  We have thoughts and feeling, these can become very negative and self defeating if we let them.  We need to not give our mind too much mind space to ruminate with unwanted thoughts and feelings.  Practice being mindful of the outer world and don't give yourself time to have mind space.  There will be a video with this article with a couple of suggested techniques you can use.  When you feel yourself sinking into a low place get up and move.

• Dress to impress.......YOURSELF - huh?  Dress smart and feel good.  When you dress smart and take care of your appearance you are raising your standards to a higher level of being and this will not only make you feel better and motivated but it will have a positive impression on the people around you.

• Feed Thyself - that's right, to be confident we require abundant energy.  Where do we get this energy?  From the foods we consume.  Do a little research and enhance your nutritional intake so that you have strong and stable energy throughout the day.  People often overlook the benefits of good nutrition, which can dramatically enhance how you think and how you feel.  I teach a short seminar on the benefits and how the food you eat can optimise your mind and body.  Do a little research and implement a good strategy so you are giving yourself the best nutrition possible.

• Hydrate - hydration aids in optimal performance and a slight decrease can knock you off of your game so when you think you are feeling sluggish grab a class of water to keep performance high.

• Significance and negative people - firstly the negative people - negative, nasty people will drag you down like a lead weight - they will do anything and everything to make themselves feel significant by making others feel insignificant.  Kind of like a vampire draining you.  You have to dispel them and move away to break free of their never ending negativity.  Focus on what makes you feel significant and what raises you up.  Once you focus on yourself, great changes will take place and your life will become balanced.

• Do things that make you feel good - make a list of activities you enjoy doing and do at least one activity off of the list per week.  Really enjoy the activity and be mindful when you are doing it so that you fully engage in the process.

• Just do it!! - When you get that feeling of impending doom because you have to take an action that you know will benefit you but it seems scary; say to yourself, JUST DO IT and keep repeating it over and over and just do it :D

• Expand your knowledge - live and learn about the things you are passionate about and begin researching where you can perform the certain activity.  Look into groups you can join and network with other like minded individuals.  Share your energy and enthusiasm with them and allow yourself to enjoy it. 

• Join an acting class - classes equip you with new skills that can be transferred into everyday life along with the creative community you are surrounded by.  You will get into an environment where like minded people will build you up.  Classes are a fantastic place to express yourself and build your confidence.  They also allow you to socialise with others which will stimulate your interlectual mind.

• Help others - helping others will give you an immense feeling of pleasure.  

• Watch funny videos - we all love a good laugh so put on a comedy film or watch funny video's online.  This will lift your spirits and make you feel good.

The above list is obviously just a start but you can work the points into your life.

As with everything, the cultivation of your confidence will take time but it is up to you to implement actions that will steer you in the right direction.

As I say with everything I say (lol) - be flexible enough to give things a try and what works for you, keep and what does not, simply move onto the next.

KEEP PUSHING FORWARD

DON'T BE AFRAID TO PLAY

Here are a few VO experiments I did with different scripts.

Don't be scared to see how far you can go.

Pick characters well known and mimic their style and then choose characters you don't know and use your creativity to make something new.

Experiment and play 

GIVE GROTESQUE PHYSICAL THEATRE A TRY

A fantastic technique for you to push the boundaries of what you are capable of:

Please like - share and enjoy

A MOTIVATIONAL LESSON FROM A DOG - KEEP REACHING FOR THOSE DREAMS

Something I came up with after observing the behaviour of my dog :D

Keep kicking butt :D

LINE LEARNING

Different ways to learn lines for a role:

Please try and see if these work for you.

VOCAL WARM UP

Nice short video on vocal warm up:

Please try the mentioned techniques and keep pushing forward.