Blog of Actor Chad Bozarth - Chad Bozarth

Fear, Anxiety, and the Path to Success

5/21/2016

That's me with my wife and my niece on board a big beautiful plane about to cross the Atlantic Ocean. As you can see, my wife is peacefully closing her eyes enjoying a moment of rest, my niece is having fun just hanging out with her awesome uncle and aunt and well, there I am, trying to hide my fear and anxiety with a lame, no teeth, smile. Yep, I really don't like to fly. I've flown a lot over the last ten years or so. I couldn't even really tell you exactly how many times I've flown over the Atlantic. It's quite a few. Even with all that experience; all those uneventful, smooth flights under my belt, I still get nervous. Remember Bob from the classic movie "What About Bob?" As he walks outside of his apartment onto the streets of NYC he says out loud to himself, "I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful..." That's pretty much what I look like when I'm about to get on to a plane. I get my music pumping and say to myself "I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful." I put my head down and focus on my little video game and just hope the flight seems quicker than it really is. It rarely does.

Everyone has dreams. Everyone has destinations in their mind they want to get to. Sometimes along the way, we encounter difficulties. We think to ourselves, "wow, if this is really what I'm supposed to do it wouldn't be this hard," or maybe "is my dream really worth it?" Yes! Your dream is worth it!

Maybe your issue isn't with flying. Maybe you have an issue with public speaking, or doing something your family thinks you're crazy for doing. I don't know. You know. I'm willing to bet though, somewhere, somehow, sometime, along your journey, you will face something that will scare the heck out of you. You won't want to keep going forward. You have the dream in your heart, but it just seems too scary. Don't give up! Put on your seatbelt, hold someone's hand and keep going! The world needs you! Don't let fear stop you from getting to your destination! You can do it! If I can fly across the Atlantic you can too!

Being Human Ain't Easy

4/16/2016

Clark Kent: [returning from the bathroom, Clark discovers that his seat next to Lois has been taken] Excuse me sir, you're sitting in my seat.

Rocky: [referring to the bathroom Clark just exited] You're seat's in there, four eyes.

Clark Kent: Somebody ought to teach you some manners, sir.

Rocky: Oh, yeah? Well, let me know when he comes in.

I've always loved Superman. When I was little I would dress up in my Superman pajamas and go outside and pretend the sprinklers were laser beams. I would put my hand out and stop those lasers from hurting anything. Of course I would always get really wet and dirty. Thinking about it now, I'm surprised my mom never really got mad at me about that. Thanks mom. Anyway, I always loved Superman, but there has long been a part of me that maybe liked Batman a little bit more. I mean, Superman is an alien, I could never really be him, no matter how hard I try. It is possible to be Batman though. With enough money and some awesome training someone really could be Batman. Maybe that would make a good infomercial? For only 5 easy payments of $599 you too can be a Dark Knight. Anyway, I digress.

You know, none of us could ever become Superman, but according to the movie Superman II, Superman could become one of us. Remember that one? It was pretty good. Superman was in love with Lois Lane and in order to be with her, he had to relinquish his superpowers and become a human. There's some obvious Messianic parallels here, but that's not really want I want to talk about today.

Up until this point, Superman was not like any other human. He didn't bleed. He didn't hurt. He could run fast. Leap over tall buildings with a single bound (yeah, Superman was a leaper before he was a flyer.) He was practically invincible. When Superman fell in love with Lois, he was so focused on his love for her, that he was willing to do anything. He had a dream and he was willing to do whatever it took to fulfill his dream. I think maybe Superman didn't think this one all the way through though.

I think it was the next day after he got rid of his powers that he finds himself at a little diner, grinning from ear to ear, with Lois his love by his side. He comes out of the bathroom and finds that some jerk has taken his seat. Well, you remember what happens. These two guys get into a fight and Mr. mild-mannered, Clark Kent does not win. In fact, he gets beat up up pretty good.

Superman had to give up his powers for his one true love. He quickly found out that being human ain't easy. Humans can get hurt. Humans have to deal with anxiety because we can get hurt. The world can be a scary and dangerous place for us humans.

So what's my point? In order to succeed at pretty much anything you have to get rid of your protections. You have to become vulnerable. You can't have love without the possibility of getting hurt. You can't be 100% secure and take a risk at the same time. You can't pursue your dreams without the possibility of failing. It's part of the deal. What have you been unwilling to give up to pursue your one true love? You can't get out of it. You can't avoid it. Being human ain't easy, but it's worth it.

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Go. Now! Unless you stink, then do something else.

4/5/2016

New Orleans Street Poets

New Orleans Street Poets

Write without pay until someone offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may look upon this as a sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for. -Mark Twain

People wait around wishin too much. You got to get up and go baby. Stop waiting for a big break. If you're a writer, then start writin. If you're an actor, start actin. If you sing, sing in the shower until someone hears you. Do your thing. Don't wait for outside validation before you do. Just do. Don't wait for your mama or your friend or your wife to make you feel good about yourself. Get up and go! Training is good. Experience is good. But stop using those as excuses to not do. Go out and do! Now!

Of course, at some point, if you receive ZERO outside validation for something you've been doing for awhile (awhile being three years according to Twain), then in the words of Sinbad on the classic movie Houseguest, "If at first you don't succeed, give up and try somethin else." Seriously. Some folks need to check themselves before they wreck themselves. I will never be a WWE wrestler and that's ok.

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You Have to Be in the Race to Be in the Race

3/20/2016

Chad and Angela Bozarth

I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure. -Eric Liddell (Chariots of Fire)

I got up way too early this morning to go downtown and support my wife in the Dallas Rock n' Roll half marathon. It was a gorgeous day. I always enjoy going downtown and walking the streets in between the tall, big buildings. Even though I'm a skinny guy with a mustache, I always feel like Batman when I'm downtown. I even keep my eyes a little more wide open in case I see any crime that needs to be dealt with.

It amazes me to see the masses of people that run in these things. They pay fifty dollars or whatever it is to take part in what seems to me to be an almost religious experience. As runners whizzed by me while I walked down Elm Street, something occurred to me. I was traveling on the same street as the runners and yet I wasn't really in the race. If an outsider had been watching what was going on they may have thought I was in the race as well, albeit slower than everyone else, but I wasn't. I was just an observer.

You see, the real competitors had to sign up and pay money to participate. They had to train and sacrifice to take part in this event. It doesn't matter what the situation looked like. I wasn't as involved as it may have appeared. These people were running 13.1 miles. That's a long stretch. I was just walking around.

Ok, so what's my point? I think I have two actually.

1) If you want the medal, you have to work.
It's not enough to just be in the vicinity of successful people. That's nice. That's motivating. But you, yourself, have to get up and do something. Nobody can run your race for you. YOU have to do it! Just cause you're in the race doesn't mean you're in the race.

2) Watch out for people who show up for photo ops.
I looked like I belonged. I may have even looked like I was in the race. But I wasn't. I hadn't paid the dues. I hadn't trained. I just showed up.

There are no shortcuts in life. You have to pay your dues. You have to train. You have to be in the race to be in the race.

I did do a good job cheering on my girl though. She did awesome! And it was pretty cool to see Blues Traveler live.

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Old Books and Dirty Bathrooms

3/3/2016

Chad Bozarth

I love old books. I love how they look, how they smell, and the ancillary history attached to each one. I wonder who owned this book before? What did they do? Why did they sell it? Did they need some extra cash? Did they just not like the book anymore? I like to own books. I know the concept of a library is fairly commonplace in our society, but, I want to make a book my own…I want to keep it. In fact I have a bit of an addiction. I have much trouble leaving a bookstore without buying a book.

I stopped into a used bookstore one night as I often do and like clockwork, like “Old Faithful,” like, ummm, always happens whenever I enter a Blockbuster or a book store or some place that requires a bit of browsing, I was all but overcome by the need to go to the bathroom. I cannot escape it! …I went into the bathroom and was somewhere between disgusted, disappointed and just over all frustrated when I saw how nasty the bathroom was. I think the inside of my trashcan at home is more clean…well, maybe not. I went in and relieved myself. As I walked up to the sink I saw an employee with a broom and a dustpan. As I walked out of the potty I pondered what I had just seen. This guy was seriously in there sweeping. I mean the place was all but toad infested, but man, he was right on that little piece of toilet paper on the ground and the dust on some vent in the ceiling. I’m not trying to diss the guy. In fact the little scenario got me thinking about life in general.

We can be in the midst of something crazy, something dirty, something that is clearly a mess to the rest of the world and everyone else around us, yet we busy ourselves sweeping up, when we really need to bust out with the Pine Sol, a rag and some elbow grease. How often do we deceive ourselves into thinking that “we’re ok” or that we are being productive, when really we are just engaging in busy work that will do nothing to clean our “bathrooms?” Are you fat? Diet Coke won’t help. Are you skinny? Reading a muscle magazine won’t help. Are you lazy? Buying a book about making money won’t help. Life is short. Stop sweeping and start mopping.

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Your Life is a Book Not a Page

2/25/2016

Just Keep Swimming. -Dory

I have a tendency to over dramatize things. When I’m sick I want everyone around me to feel bad for me and when I’m happy I just can’t figure out how anyone else could possibly be sad. Maybe I’m just an egocentric, self-centered, narcissist. It’s dangerous to take a snapshot of a moment in your life and pass a self-verdict that such a shot is an accurate summation of your life in its entirety. Maybe you don’t do that. I do. There are days I feel that a gray veil has been placed over the world. Other times, the birds are singing and the sky makes me want to fly. (Please note that I do not do drugs…except for the occasional Prilosec to abate my acid reflux or a friendly Tylenol to massage my aches and pains).

Life is a book that has already been written by God. Sometimes we find ourselves on a page or a chapter we don’t particularly like or approve of. Other times, the chapter just simply does not make sense. My simple recommendation is to keep turning the pages. Take Spiderman for example. On page one you might read about a guy getting bit by a spider. Who wants to get bit by a spider for heaven’s sake!?…and a radioactive one at that. Some people might get discouraged and stop on that page. Who wants to read about a guy getting bit by a spider? I’m sure Peter Parker was not particularly fond of that page either. But flip a few pages or chapters ahead and you have a man in a really cool outfit climbing buildings and shooting spider-webs out of his wrists. That’s pretty sweet if you ask me. You see, the pain only makes sense in the context of the entire story. Some people want Spidey-sense without having to get bit by the spider. Some people would say Parker was unlucky to get bit by a spider. I would say he hit the jackpot.

We all have a tendency to complain…about everything. Of course, complaining about the present is kind of silly in the context of the entire story. Spidey stopped complaining pretty quick once he realized he could jump off of buildings and not die…HELLO awesomeness.

Let me sum up this ragged tale. Don’t envy great people, because they probably went through a lot crap to become great…or else they got bit by a radioactive spider. Don’t get discouraged if you are currently wading through a pool of dung as it is such swimming lessons that make for greatness. The End.

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Why You are Not as Creative as You Could Be

2/22/2016

Frog

An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail. -Edwin Land

You were created to be creative. You are hardwired to think creatively. Unfortunately, most of us do not experience creativity at the level we are capable of. Creativity is the root of all greatness. Many books have been written on the keys to success and so forth and many of those books are very much worth reading. There is something to be said for hard work and perseverance. There is no substitute for those brothers of success, however shoveling dirt from one pile to another is hardly worth the sweat. Creativity is not a substitute for hard work and perseverance, but is rather the spark that makes such work worthwhile. Hard work without creativity is worthless, as is creativity without hard work.

What is the difference between you and the great Creatives of our world? Is creativity a gift for only a select few? Yes and no. Are there some outliers like the DaVinci's and Steve Jobs' of history who have a unique gift for thinking creatively? Yes, but I would like to put forth that creativity is like a muscle. Although there are a gifted few, we all can increase our creative prowess just like we can build any other muscle, namely, through proper exercise and use. Trust me, you have much more in you than you realize.

Why are you not as creative as you should be? I'm sure the answer varies by person, but generally the answer is fear. This is the part where you roll your eyes, and think you are about to get a bunch of psycho babble. Well, I'm no psychologist, but humans are pretty much all the same. From a very early age we are encouraged to be creative. We draw pictures that look horrible and are told they look beautiful. We pretend to be our favorite superheroes and dream of one day conquering the world. We are asked what we want to be when we grow up and are met with encouragement no matter how crazy our answers are. Then, as we get older, something happens, and society is less interested in us expressing our creativity and more interested in conforming to best social practices. I'm not sure exactly when this happens, but it definitely happens. One minute, you are a knight, conquering the world, the next minute you are forced into doing things the way everyone else does things.

Some people never stop dreaming and these people are the people we admire or denigrate. You see, most people can't handle being on the tails of the Bell Curve. Most people can't handle the baggage that comes with being creative. Think about Steve Jobs for a moment. Imagine his life. Once he proved to the world that he was a creative genius he was then under almost constant pressure to continue coming up with the next life changing Apple product. Rarely was an Apple announcement met with neutral opinions. No, people either loved or denigrated Jobs' newest brain child. Human beings are excellent observers of other human beings and we quickly realize that creative people are either loved or hated. Have you ever met someone who had no opinion of an artist? Start talking Picasso with someone and you will be met with adulation or laughter. This is the price the Creative must pay and the question you must ask yourself.

Can you handle the praise and the persecution of being creative? Are you afraid of success? What if you tell someone your ideas and you get laughed at? What if your ideas are met with praise? Can you handle the stress of having to be creative a second, third or even fourth time? What if your creativity runs out? What if people love you because of your creativity? Fear is the root of your monotonous life. Before we begin to start talking about how to increase our creativity we must sit down and take stock of our own thoughts and emotions and recognize that fear of failure or even success could quite possibly be the thing that is keeping us from stepping out and being creative.

Ok, so you agree with me that fear is the problem. What do you do now? Here are five things to remember before you read any further:

People will judge you
People will love you
People will dislike you
People will judge you
People will judge you

So what? If you spend your life worrying about what other people say or think about you then you will never reach your full potential and you are giving people way too much control of your life. Wouldn't it be stupid if Bill Gates took all his critics to heart? Everyone knows Microsoft has plenty of haters. So what? Bill Gates is a billionaire who has produced a product that most everyone in the world who uses a computer uses or has used at some point in their life. Forget the critics. What if Jim Carrey stopped making movies because of the people who don't think he is funny? Do you think successfully creative people have no critics? Do you think they have magically received nothing but praise, adulation and encouragement their entire lives? Of course not.

There will always people who don't like what you do. How many amazing inventions would we be without today if their creators had listened to their critics? Didn't someone once say that the idea of a horseless carriage would never catch on? Didn't someone once say we would never go the moon? Didn't someone once say the world was flat? The neigh sayers are a dime a dozen. Me, I'm going to the moon.

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Run Forrest, Run!

2/20/2016

I can't remember whether I have ever sat down and watched Forrest Gump all the way through or not, but every once in awhile when it is on TV I'll watch it for a bit. Whether you’ve seen the movie or not, you’ve undoubtedly heard the famous line “Run Forrest, Run.” Something struck as I watched the scene where this line is first used. The boy Forrest was spending time with his best friend Jennie. As they walked home, they were confronted by bullies who began throwing rocks at Forrest. Forrest was hit and fell to the ground. As he began to get up Jennie yelled, “Run Forrest, Run!” Forrest, who by the way is a mentally slow child with leg braces, began to feebly mosey his way into an awkward movement which increased in speed with each strange step. As he got faster and faster, the leg braces busted off of his legs and what began as an awkward “waddle” turned in to a full out run.

What would have happened had Forrest not encountered those bullies that day? What would have happened had Jennie not been there to encourage him to run? It seems to me that his enemies were the catalyst to a major blessing in his life, namely walking without braces. Sometimes I get tired of the troubles that come my way. Sometimes I feel like giving up. Many if not most of us if we were in Forrest’s place would have looked at Jennie like she was crazy for telling us to run. “Can’t you see these leg braces?” we would say. But what if, in spite of your circumstances, in spite of your past failures, in spite of what you see…what if you tried again? What if you tried to run again? It’s easy to stay on the ground, but faith gets up, in the midst of flying rocks, leg braces, and discouragement and says, “I will Run.” The worst that could happen is you end up on the ground again, but what if, just what if, this time, the braces come off, and the crutches you’ve been holding on to for years, that have held you back will fly off in the face of your adversaries? Run you weary…Run.

P.S. I’m tired of writing, but I’d love to talk about the importance of having people like Jennie around you to encourage you at the right moments. I’d mention the fact that it was probably Forrest’s low IQ that made him more willing to try to run with such a hindrance on his legs (that what we perceive to be our weaknesses can in fact be blessings in disguise). I would mention that his leg braces, which began as a blessing, became a hindrance and how it is important to understand the seasons of our life and that what once was useful and good can become a hindering crutch stealing our potential right from under our noses. Maybe another time. Cheers!

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How to Learn a Foreign Language in Less Than A Week

2/19/2016

Listen and Repeat.

Just Kidding. Shame on you if you actually thought you could learn a foreign language in less than a week. Oh what a wicked, wicked microwave generation we live in. Anyway, although you cannot learn a language in a week's time it is possible to pick up enough lines to maybe ask some foreign girl out on a date (smoothness sold separately).

Anyhoo, in my endeavors to learn languages I have purchased quite a few programs. While they all make grandiose claims about their inherent greatness, many if not most come up quite short on performance. I've tried Michel Thomas, Berlitz, Living Language, a French Course in France and even this one that threw out French words in sing song (I know alot of people have probably heard of Rosetta Stone but I have not used it enough to really render an opinion). If you already know some of your target language and you want to hear some extra phrases or something then maybe one of those might be ok. If, however, you want to go from zero to hero in as short a time as possible and have fun whilst doing it, then you must needs get on the Pimsleur boat, baby. Pimsleur is by far the best language learning system I have ever tried. It will, in a short time enable you to pick up the skeletal system of a language making immersion and other systems exceedingly more worth your while. You can buy the first 10 or so lessons in Barnes and Noble or wherever and that will get you as far as asking a girl out on a date, but you can purchase like 90 lessons online. They are expensive, but trust me, it's worth it. I learn by listening and interacting though so if you learn by reading or some other way then it might not be the best for you.

Secondly, after you have immersed yourself in Pimsleur and feel that you are ready to see some real world language speaking in action then go check out French in Action. This site is awesome. They have 50 something episodes of this little-mini French learning show. Check it out!

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Dream Big

2/18/2016

Chad Bozarth

this is not a Nintendo game. There are no continues and there is no reset button.

Me in 2nd Grade

I remember Second Grade like it was yesterday. Although in many ways Second Grade seems like a whole ‘nother life ago I remember it well. I remember I had a crush on my teacher, Ms. Hogan. I remember recess when I would go underneath a building and play GI Joe’s with my best friend Marc. I remember playing soccer in the field outback, Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, and this rich kid at school who had those special pump tennis shoes. Man those were cool, at the time anyway. I remember dressing up like Superman and feeling like I had a million years ahead of me to live and conquer the world.

Those were the good days. But days, turn into years, turn into grades gone by and you suddenly find yourself out of college and well on your way to your destiny or whatever. Life used to be filled with possibilities when you were young and not surrounded by life-cynics. If you’re anything like me, you probably dressed up like Batman or Robin Hood or some other such thing too. But somewhere along the line you stopped dressing up. Life has a way of kicking you in the gut and forcing you to breathe in the funky air of your reality. Life turns into an 8-5 and you don’t even dress up like Batman on Halloween anymore.

Why am I writing this? One, because I’m a sentimental type and I like reminiscing about the past. B, simply because the future businesses, non-profits, etc. that will change the world will be formed by people who have decided to reject cultural norms, refuse to be thrown into a box of cynicism and “such and such can’t happen because,” and embrace a lifestyle of creativity, dreaming and dressing up. It’s never too late to dream. You never hear anyone say, “Man, I wish I would have continued with the status quo, same old same old.” You only have one life. And this is not a Nintendo game. There are no continues and there is no reset button. “Game Over” means Game Over. A canvas with a few mistakes beats a “clean” blank canvas every time. Carpe diem. And remember, it's not enough just to dream big. Bonsai's may have big dreams, but the pot restricts them. Sometimes you have to uproot yourself and find a bigger pot. Sometimes "you have to put your body where your destiny is," as my dad used to say.

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