Today I rode a bike to the place of my childhood, the place where I grew up, OB (Ocean Beach, San Diego, California.) Everything is different, everything has changed, as I have.  Talk about change, I feel that on this trip I have been changing.  I am seeing and feeling what is important to me.  The freedom I have been experiencing is a good thing.  I like being with other people, but even with other people we are often alone.  We must be comfortable with that.  I’ve wanted to keep people I have known over time in my life still, but am seeing that people move in and out of your life, more will come, more will go.  Fear of the unknown, I have none.  Fear of death, this fear is not a part of me.  I’ve lived my life and have tried add to people’s lives, which I think I have, satisfied with that.  When death comes, I am comfortable. Nice to live life without any fears.

Getting back to my ride. I cruised down streets where I used to play, passing a recreation center where I used to practice juggling.  Then I got to Newport Street, the main street where I grew up (I actually grew up at 4522 Newport Street, up in the residential section.)  You will find Newport Street here:

I remember riding my 7 foot unicycle up and down Newport Street, hard to imagine.  In high school metal shop class I had built a 14 foot unicycle, if you can believe it, I even rode that down Newport Street, ducking under power lines. (hard for me to even imagine that.)  I talked with some shop owners who remembered me and my unicycles.

Although this is where I grew up, I am beyond OB now.  Not sure where I will end up spending the next segment of my life.  It’s certainly fun to explore where I might want to end up.  A tiny home on wheels is going to be my next place to live, I just don’t know where I will place it.  I plan to build it myself when I return from down-under (does that mean we are up-over?)  Here is the tiny home, hope you are as intrigued as I am:

Anna and I in Balboa Park, San Diego

I will write you soon again with changes and advancements?

What a wonderful last couple of days I have had.  After leaving Boulder on Sunday evening, I traveled for a time and then found a place to sleep.  I am sleeping in my van on a cot/bed, very comfortable.  I shower when I stay with people, or, when I am on the road for a few days I will pop into a motel and use their pool for a swim (yes, a big bath.)  Before I go in I put a small amount of shampoo on my head so that, once I am in, I can wash my head and body with it.  Quite the life.

On Tuesday night I got into Salida, a neat little town that has a circus school.   I was two days early so I looked around the town for things to do.  As you know, I ruined my other laptop and had no way to reach you.  I went to the library in Salida to use their computer (bought my new Acer yesterday.)  There was a nice old women seating next to me.  We had a nice conversation and ended up going to lunch together, a nice talk with “Felice”.  Felice happened to know Jennifer, who runs the circus school and set up the presentation.  So, we went to visit Jennifer.  Jennifer was able to set up a place for me to stay that night, Tuesday.  After we talked with Jennifer I drove Felice home.  When we arrived I saw two large deer to the side of the house–they looked like statues–then I saw them move.  What a wonderful sight.  After leaving off Felice it was off to meet up with Jennifer, who lead me to where I was going to stay that night.  And, what a wonderful place it is.  Lori and her ex-husband built this place into the side of a hill.  Stones and wood prevail, large logs.  With a horse pasture right out in front and a barn and large garden behind the house and up the hill, it is like paradise.  Lori’s two kids were there, and, of course, I taught them to juggle.

On the map, the road from Boulder to Salida, Colorado looked somewhat barren and boring, yet, what a fantastic drive.  Mountains, forests, streams, small quant villages.  Reminded me of Southern Germany.  I love to drink fresh clean water from mountain springs.  This is something I have not been able to do in years because of where I live.  The taste of the water was so refreshing.

Going forward on the road, off to the right I saw a dirt road that had a sign saying, “National Forest”.  After driving some ways into the superb setting I parked under trees and saw no humans for the whole time I was there– no connection with my phone, my radio could not connect to any stations, no people anywhere. I am enjoying my solitude (wish “you” were here, though.)  For that time I was hiking, reading and resting–how pleasant.

But don’t you need a casting director to give you a part? Don’t you need a publisher to give you a book deal? Don’t you need a record label to sign you? No, no, and no. If you’re an artist, don’t put your success, your passion, and your life in somebody else’s hands.

Don’t be an aspiring author, an aspiring actor, or an aspiring musician. The difference between an aspiring artist and an artist comes down to one thing… an artist creates. An aspiring artist wants to create. They talk about creating. They dream about creating. They tell others they will create someday. They wait for someone else to give them approval before they create. They wait until their name is called.

I get emotional about this because I have a lot of friends who are amazing at what they do, but they don’t get it. They wait around for someone to give them the nod of approval. “If I could just get that part,” I hear them say. “I nailed that showcase but never heard back from anyone.” My motto is “if you can’t join ‘em, beat ‘em.”

History is full of examples of artists who decided to take matters in their own hands. Examples include Colbie Caillat, an unknown and unsigned singer-songwriter who had success on MySpace and has since won Grammys and has had hit songs, to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck who wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting. Where would these artists and thousands of others be if they didn’t take their life into their own hands and create?

Here’s a more recent example – Ambrose. Ambrose is my favorite new rock band. Several months ago I heard them on Sirius Radio and immediately loved their sound, which doesn’t happen often. When I got home, I went to Amazon.com and tried to order their CD, but couldn’t find it. I did a quick search and discovered they didn’t have a traditional CD — they only sold their album on iTunes – which I quickly downloaded. Their whole album is amazing. I’m becoming a huge fan. I go to their website, which is actually just a MySpace page. I watch a great video and then check out their tour dates and notice they are playing a bunch of venues in LA such as the Viper Room, the Roxy, etc. Now these are cool venues, but small. I started to think Ambrose wasn’t as big as I thought they were. It turns out, I was right.

I emailed them and the lead singer, Zak Ambrose, emailed right back. They are unsigned, which means they don’t have a record label. I also discovered that Zak is not only the lead singer, but also the band’s publicist, manager, web designer, promoter, and just about everything else. I told him I wanted to interview him about how he is able to pull it all off.

Zak Ambrose gets it. We talked for several hours. He is a hard worker, passionate about his craft, and is doing everything he can to make it (based on his talent, I’d be shocked if he didn’t!). He hasn’t waited to get signed. He’s gone out there and made an album. He sells it on iTunes. He books concerts. He sells merchandise. He interacts with fans via social networks. He does all of this even though nobody has told him he can. He didn’t stay in his garage waiting for somebody to tell him he was a musician. He knows he’s a musician, and what do musicians do? They make music.

The most successful artists are going to be those who create. Not the ones who wait around for approval.

So what’s the takeaway? Don’t wait for permission. Don’t make excuses. Get out there and create something — anything. Stop aspiring and start creating.