Build Your Creative Spaceship

Is there anything more inspiring and mysterious than the time a man went into space for the first time in history? It happened on April 12th, 1961. Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet astronaut was the first human to see our planet from orbit. I can only imagine what an inspiration it was for science fiction writers and filmmakers all over the world.

I think this historical event inspires me today to write science fiction stories for my films. There’s something eternal in searching for the reasons for our existence by experiencing the latest technologies. It moves us to the next levels of thinking and seeing the world. It helps to become better human beings, kinder ones.

Because of space travel, people now have seen Earth from above in high-quality pictures from magazines like National Geographic. Almost everyone in our world has an image of our planet from space in their head. Each time you imagine this peaceful image in your mind, it becomes easier to be a better person. You realize that all the reasons that made you angry and irritated are worthless in comparison with the eternal wisdom of the universe.

Space is still the final frontier. We are a long way from knowing what this world is made of, but we are on our way. It seems like every decade there’s a new mind-blowing technology that pops and blows everyone’s mind. It is also interesting to notice that new technology becomes a regular everyday occurrence. The beautiful part is that it all starts with a crazy idea that many people don’t believe in, and then it turns into a real achievement, which later becomes an everyday thing.

It’s been like that since the beginning of time. We always come up with newer, better, smarter, faster ways of doing things. Creativity goes hand in hand with progress. If Sergei Korolev, the chief engineer of the spaceship Vostok-1, the one that sent Gagarin into space, wasn’t creative, the rocket wouldn’t exist. First, it was an idea in his head, which then with hard work turned into a real spaceship. Isn’t it incredible? You can do that too.

What thoughts are you having as you read this article? Pick any of them and turn it into something tangible. Write a story, make a film, or perhaps design the next rocket that could send safely the first man to Mars. The limit is your imagination. Remember, if you can imagine something, it means that it is possible to create it. Our minds won’t give us ideas that are impossible to make real.

To help you with connecting to your creative self, you can check out my book Vitamin C for a Soul. Each chapter ends with an exercise that allows you to connect to your true creative self, and everyone’s true self is a creative one. Let’s build our creative spaceships and send our first men and women into space so that we set the new standards of what the human mind is capable of. Good luck! I believe in you.

The power of digital detox

Once I was a 10-year old spending a weekend in a fun tribe-like camp in the forest near Saint-Petersburg, Russia. We lived in Wigwams, (a Native American style cone-shaped tents), ate food cooked on a bonfire, and made our own tools out of wood. It was great.

There was no technology inside the camp. So, we had a lot of time for boredom. When you have so much time and no digital distractions you naturally start to use your creativity to amuse yourself.

Some people were creating improvisational theater plays in the forest, others were singing, many more were creating sculptures out of the things they've found among the trees. 

I was making bows and arrows and was wandering around the forest with friends shooting cones from pine trees. I enjoyed every moment of it. Also, I was participating in a fun crowd-dancing around the bonfire. Everyone felt relaxed and joyful, nothing was distracting us from being in the moment.

That weekend was one of the best human-being experiences that I’ve had. I was living in nature, talking to real people, and exploring my creativity. On top of that, I was developing a deeper understanding of myself and my purpose in life. 

Today, however, in the technology-dependent world it is hard to re-create that experience. We’re so addicted to our devices that a single thought of leaving home without them scares us. 

But we must try to find a way to break free from addictive and distracting technology, even if temporarily.

We must reconnect with ourselves, because we are losing the sense of who we are.  It affects our emotional state, and our relationships suffer. We are less creative, easily annoyed, irritated, and can't stand long periods of boredom without reaching for our devices.

How do we create a digital detox in our lives?

1)    The good news is that to start it doesn’t have to be a long process. About 10 to 30 minutes of meditation will do. 

Directions: Set a timer, then simply focus on your inhale and exhale. Take a deep breath in, then breath out, as you do so, analyze your body, and relax any parts of it which are tensed. If you mind wanders, it's okay, just get your attention back to the breathing. Do it until your timer goes off. This practice will give you a nice teaser of what detox can do for you.

2)    After you've experienced a glimpse of digital detox, it's time to make it a bit longer. Go on a 1 to 3-hour hike. 

Directions:  Get your hiking gear in place. Put sunscreen, get a hat, and a bottle of water. The key is to leave your smartphone and other devices in a car or at home. When you start ascending the hill the first part of it may feel boring and pointless, but then your mind gets into the flow state where great creative inspirations will surprise you with their generosity. You’ll start noticing nature around you in a new way. The only way to fully understand that feeling is to be there. Each week gradually increase time of the hike until you reach a 3-hour mark and then walk a little longer. 

3)    Now you a little bit more ready for an advanced digital detox that could last 1-3 days. 

Directions: This one requires much more planning and conversations with your family and colleagues. You’ve got to tell everyone that you’ll be doing a digital detox. You have to make it clear to your family, friends, and co-workers that your vacation from technology will better your relationships with everyone. There are several options you can choose from: 

• Digital detox retreats, which are quite popular in California

• Solo camping in one of the national parks

• Hotels or hostels somewhere in nature. 

The goal is to be in nature, mostly alone, without access to your phone. The best way is to leave it at home, because if you have a device, you will cheat.

Now, you have a simple blueprint of how to reconnect with yourself and discover some extraordinary things that you may have forgotten. Enjoy your detox session! 

Work, Finish, Publish!

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Work, finish, publish! This is the mantra I repeat to myself each time I feel like I’m not sure whether I’m capable of completing a project. When you create a piece of art, the main idea is to share your message with the world. You can do it through books, fine art, or movies. Any medium you want is at your disposal. The process will be the same for all of them - work, finish, publish.

You can come up with the most creative and innovative idea in the world, but if you only dream about it, no one will see it. 

As the great Bruce Lee once said:

“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do."  

Let’s move to the first one: Work.

When I was in the tenth grade, I was preparing for a swim competition, and our team captain Venera was an ex-Deputy Police Chief. Even though her name means Love, Beauty, and Charm, she was none of those things when she was preparing us for competition. During our team’s swimming sessions, she wouldn’t tolerate any procrastination.

When we’ve been exhausted from muscling through the laps in an Olympic-size swimming pool and barely could raise our hands, Venera would march from another side of the pool. To us, it appeared as if she was a lioness who was approaching her prey. At the end of the session, we felt that we'd done some serious training, and Venera showed her love to us by giving us new cool sports uniforms.

Next week we won the competition and were hugging Venera for that. All that happened because we worked hard. Or to be fair, have been pushed to work hard by Venera. Force yourself to work hard or find your Venera.

Which segues to: Finish.

This one appears to be the hardest for the majority of creators. Because we afraid of saying, even to ourselves, “That’s it! That’s all I got at this moment.” 

Neil Gaiman puts it nicely:

“Whatever it takes to finish things, finish. You will learn more from a glorious failure than you ever will from something you never finished.” 

I learn the importance of this step from, literally, crossing the finish line at a Spartan Race. Because the moment you do so, you realize all the things that you could’ve done better: train more often, eat cleaner, and had better recovery.

Our fears trigger procrastination, and therefore, nothing gets done. Our fears, even if we deny them, are the true reasons for our dawdling. Every single individual on planet Earth has a creative side of the brain. The reason that only a few people become known is that they spend their time working on developing an idea, then they have the confidence to complete it, and at the end of the process, the courage to release it into the world.

All of the artists and creators are aware of the fact that some people won't like their work. They don't let the opinion of the critics to guide their creative process. 

That leads to the final step: Publish.

In my college years, I used to perform in theater plays. One time, we went for a national theater competition where I’ve learned the significance of this idea. The size and scope of the theater were phenomenal - over a thousand people were the audience, mostly students from all over the country. I had to perform two plays, one was a comedy, and the other was drama.

When it came time for the comedy one, I was incredibly nervous. I felt the humongous size of the audience by sensing the volume of their applause for the previous play. There were three other actors in the same play with me. When it was time for us to step on the stage, the first thing I did when I saw the audience in front of me - I entirely forgot my lines.

The three other actors were staring at me and expecting my reaction. I thought it was the moment when I died. I started to improvise in the worst possible way. As I was doing it, someone from the audience whispered, “This is not funny,” which killed me a second time in a row. When the play was over, I rushed out of the stage, as if the audience was hunting me.

I think it was the moment when I seriously considered signing up for the one-way Mars mission that was going on at that time. If you’ve seen Quentin Tarantino’s, “Once upon a time in Hollywood,” there was a scene where Leonardo Di Caprio character going through a meltdown in his trailer, that was something I did when I exited the theater building.

The worst thing was that I have to do the second play the next day! So, after a day of hiding around the campus, I decided to stop fooling around and learn something from my glorious failure. I went to the rehearsal room and put my best into becoming the character so, if I forget the lines, I could continue anyway.

Second day, the environment is similar to the comedy play, tons of people in the audience, and now our turn to step on the stage, and... I said the first lines that I supposed to say. I was doing quite well, and I overcame the fear of forgetting the lines again. I felt like the audience was actually watching us and reacting to the right moments, which was an incredible sensation.

By the time I finished my monologue, I heard someone in the audience whispered, “He’s good.” That was the moment I was born again. That day I learned the lesson that will stay with me for the rest of my life, “The only way to grow fast is to fail.”

When you complete your theater play, there are no extra drafts - that’s all you got, and people just saw it. When you write, however, we tend to write forever, not because it takes us that long, but because we’re afraid to show our work.

And if there's no real deadline in combination with some life-threatening stakes. This process can go endlessly. So, without publishing, or in other words, without sharing your piece with the world, the work that you spent torturous hours of your precious time was for nothing. 

Now, everyone has the power to send a message to the world, I’m sure of it, but I’m also aware of the fact how hard it is to build something from scratch. Avoid falling into the trap of procrastination. Every one of us has a unique set of experiences that we could transform into a powerful message. When in doubt: work, finish, publish! 

YES, YOU CAN CREATE. YES, PEOPLE WILL JUDGE YOU FOR THAT, BUT DO IT ANYWAY, BECAUSE YOU CAN. 

Want to learn something? Start Now!

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You’ve read a blog, watched a YouTube video, or an episode of a Podcast. Now, you think you’re fueled with energy, you’ve inspired. Nothing seems to stop you from applying the knowledge you’ve just learned, BUT a week later you realize that you haven’t even tried techniques from the inspirational material that you’ve so passionately consumed.

WHAT HAPPENED?! 

The answer: You haven’t done it in the moment, which is the greatest mistake that you can ever make when you’re trying to become a better you. Why does this happen? The inaction that you perform by not doing something right away triggers a complex chain of thoughts and feelings in your mind that wants to prevent you from doing that exciting thing. 

The mind is scared of trying something new, and it feels that it would be safer for you if you stay where you are. The ways that your brain tricks you are incredible. For example, when I was in a High-School, I was thinking of participating in a school play, so I watched a clip on how to deliver a great performance on stage. When I finished watching it, I committed the fatal mistake of not practicing the skills at the moment. A moment later, my mind switched to cooking soup for lunch. 

First moments of cooking, I was extremely excited about how great my performance would be when I apply all those wonderful exercises from the video. By the time, I started eating my soup my mind was in an entirely different place, I was thinking of my math homework for the following day. Obviously, I haven’t even tried any of the performing techniques that day. 

The next day when I remembered my intention to practice, it wasn’t as strong as it was the day before. Then I’ve shared my goals with my friends, which reduced my desire to practice even more. A few more days have passed, and I overloaded myself with different tasks that I needed to do, which were absolutely unrelated to my performance training.

For the following few days, I was watching new educational videos, overwhelming my brain with information. Eventually, the night before the performance I realized that it was too late for practicing and I had to cancel my plan to perform that day. It was easy because I haven't even officially signed up for it. 

Later, my friends were asking why I wasn’t on stage, and I gave the most universal answer you can hear: “I was busy with other things.” I felt horrible. All this happen, because I was too comfortable and lazy to act in the moment.

It’s essential to start now. It’s a message you declare to your mind, that you are serious about your endeavor. To accomplish that, you have to overcome the following obstacles:

1)  If you comfortably sit in a chair - stand up.

It’s so easy to get cute and don’t do anything if you’re sitting in a comfortable chair, so if you’re serious about taking action now - remove the chair and stretch for a little bit, then practice the skill you’ve just learned.

2)  If you feel sleepy - take a shower.

Sleepiness is a sister of procrastination, you have to get rid of her at all costs, a shower is the most affordable and accessible way to wake up, and if you spice it up with some cold shower session, you’ll have the laser focus. Right after the shower do the exercise from your learning material.

3)  If you're low on energy - go outside.

Lack of oxygen and light can get us passive and idle, so if you feel zero gas in your tank, go outside, preferably to a park and spend there at least 15 minutes. You'll realize that you do have energy and the fresh air bath will make this energy stay inside of you for hours. As soon as you return home, get to your work immediately.

4)  If you want to tell someone about it - don’t.

When you tell someone about your plans, especially in the beginning, it creates a false sensation of completing the task. Your mind thinks that if you’ve told someone your intentions then they are completed. Keep your plans in your head until you have first results, then share them with others.

5)  If your devices are on - turn all of them off.

This should be a no brainer in this day and age. Unfortunately, we tend to ignore that part and then can’t figure out why nothing gets done. Turn off your time stealers and get the job done.

6)  If you don’t have tools to practice - improvise.

When I watched a "how-to" surfing video. I was in a city that was thousands of miles away from the nearest ocean, but it didn’t stop me. I immediately went to a home improvement store and bought a piece of wood that I’ve turned into a balance board. Later that day, I started my surfing practice while listening to some of the Hawaiian music. There’s always a way to improvise, please do that!

Whatever it is that you intend to learn, act now, no matter what. Show yourself that you’re serious about your education and use the techniques that I’ve shared with you to overcome the obstacles that prevent you from immediate action. Do yourself a favor and start NOW! 

3 solid steps to make a new friend

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When I moved to Los Angeles from New York, the first thing I've noticed that no one really uses a subway or busses because the majority of people drive cars. Everything is designed for vehicles, multiple freeways, various drive-thru restaurants, and a lot of parking structures that seem to take more square-footage than houses for human beings. All this combined creates a sense of isolation for people who inhabit this wonderful city of opportunities.  

Unfortunately, this situation creates an unhealthy environment to make friends. If you live in Burbank and you meet someone who lives in Santa Monica, you should have a rather solid reason to meet that person physically. You wouldn't waste 2 hours in traffic for your round trip. That is sad, but many people who live in Los Angeles notice that.

So, what should you do if you have no time to spend on commute just to meet someone for a coffee? I’ll take you through the 3-step process from how to find time for meeting people to how to become friends with them.

Step 1: Meet a potential friend.

Sundays and mornings before 6 AM are your best helpers. These are the best slots of time that would allow you to get to any part of the city in about 30 minutes. Plus, on Sundays, parking is free in most of the places. Find a person who you would like to connect with and schedule a meeting with them in one of the time windows mentioned above. 

To save your time, I’ve created a script that you can use to approach a potential friend:

Hi [Person’s Name],

Let me know if you'd be interested in meeting up over coffee or a hike. I’d love to connect sometime to learn more about some of the projects you have coming up and to share how I think I could help. I’m available on [DAY & TIME] and [DAY & TIME], which one works best for you?

If one person can't meet this week, find another candidate and send them the same message. Do that until you find a person who’s ready to meet you. When you come to meet the person arrive at least 5 minutes early, you’re the one who did the invitation so if you’re late it tells another person that you don’t respect their time. Be early. 

Now, when you meet the person, just be yourself, and have a fun conversation. Speak the way that is comfortable for you. When you end the meeting, mention the person's name as you say bye. One of the best sounds for a human being is the sound of his own name. Show that you care. 

Step 2: Meet the person from Step 1 every week

Building a friendship is a process you can not force someone to become your friend. What you can do is to make sure that you meet your potential friend regularly. When we were growing up, we were naturally making new friends because other peers always surrounded us.

Kindergarten, High-School, University are the great incubators for making new friends. Because we are required to go to these institutions at least 5 days a week, that's why it's important to create your own system that would allow you to meet your friend regularly. When both of you have a mutual habit of meeting one another it becomes normal and, eventually, transforms into a friendship

Step 3: Meet new people together

After spending a few months in building your friendship, you've developed an individual bond. You know a lot about one another, and you’ve seen each other in different moods. There’s a sense of comfort when you’re with a person who you’ve spent several months with. You’ll have much more fun meeting new people in a new environment because both of you would be in your private insider's club.  

This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about your friend. Observe how your soon-to-be friend behaves with other people, and how other people react back. If everything that you see satisfies you then, congratulations, you can officially call each other friends. If not, go to step 1.

Otherwise, now that you have a new friend, keep having regular meetings, and explore the world together. Reinforce your friendships by enjoying good times together and show support during bad times. Remember, a good friendship is not eternal. You have to regularly maintain it because if you not, you may lose your friend. A true friend becomes a family to you, and that is the best award you can receive for being a good friend yourself. Protect your friendship, and you’ll have a happy life.

Get 20 ideas in 5 minutes

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How often do you get stuck because you think that you don’t have any more ideas? Most of the time, there are two general settings in which you can struggle to work on your creative piece.

1) You either sit in a crowded coffee shop where there are lots of noises, aromas, conversations.

2) You lock yourself in a fully isolated room at home, where everything is perfectly tuned for writing in peace.

In both scenarios, you will come to a point where you have no clue what to write next. This situation makes you anxious and frustrated, and it seems like it's better to give up or work on something else.

Hold on. There's a cool and fun practice that you can do to hack into the treasure room of your beautiful mind. Each time I use it, I get a bunch of brand-new ideas within the first minute. 

Here are a few simple tools you’ll need for the practice:

·      Pen/Pencil

·      Notepad

·      A timer (a smartphone will do)

·      2-3 Brand New Magazines

The essential part here is to get the newest magazines because it has to be something that you haven't heard, watched, or read before. It has to be new to you. All magazines have to be different and, ideally, the ones that you usually don’t read. The main reason for using magazines in the first place is that they have tons of images.

Find yourself a quiet room where no one will distract you, could be a library reading room or your home (if you live with a partner or a family, a library would probably be the safest bet), and get all your tools on the table. Now comes the fun part.

Tune your mind on one specific project that you need new ideas for. Let’s say, for me, that would be brainstorming ideas for a new outline for my TV pilot screenplay. That could be applied for discovering new ideas for any project: public speeches, business, books, movies, etc. 

Set your timer for 5 min and start turning the pages with an approximately 5-second interval. As you scan each page, focus on images only. Skip all the text. Keep your mind concentrated on the project, that you need new ideas for, and the moment you see an image in the magazine that gives you an original thought, write it down in the notepad. Avoid describing in detail, just the main point in a few words.

Allow your mind to float freely. The image content is not as much important as the thought process that it triggers in your head. The idea that comes to you from the image can be entirely different than the image itself!

If you didn’t find anything useful, then move to the next page. The key here is not to get stuck trying to force an idea out of your mind. Don’t spend more than 30 seconds on each page. If nothing comes to your account, keep turning the pages. Go through all the fresh magazines that you’ve got for yourself.

When you finish your process, look at your notepad and see how many ideas you got in 5 minutes if you weren't distracted by the surroundings, you can have 10-20 new ones shining at you. 

Now, you have something to work with. Grab a pen and be merciless, choose 3 best ideas, and expand them to a few sentences. Finally, pick your best idea and go conquer the world! BONUS TIP: If you don't want to buy magazines, go to your local library, and you'll have them for free. 

Use this technique each time you feel like you run out of ideas. You’ll immediately prove to yourself that you are way more creative than you thought. It will feel like Genie from the magic lamp fueled your brain with creativity.

I used this process to create my music videos.

Discover your confidence sensei

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Imagine a situation when you’ve been offered an opportunity of a lifetime, everything is ready to set it in action, you’ve got the necessary skills, but you still think that you’re not good enough for the job. People expect you to accept it, but you say 'no,' because you feel the need to improve in this area or get some experience in another.

The moment you make this fatal decision, you realize what kind of damage you've just done for yourself, and, despite that, you still believe that someone else would be better for this job. Isn’t just a thought of it a frustrating experience?

At this moment, you have 2 major options:

1)    Accept that you’re an insecure and timid person

2)    Do something about it.

Unless you’ve chosen the first option, let’s do something about it!

When I was in my high-school years, I would consider myself an insecure person. Every decision was a struggle for me. I wanted to please everyone, which led me to do things that I wasn't interested in doing at all. I’ve accepted the first option, but then I’ve encountered an acting coach who taught me a few power poses exercises, which eventually led me to my confidence building journey.

Later, when my acting coach wasn’t around, I was in search of a person who would be able to push me in my confidence training daily. I've realized that the coach was inside my mind all along. I called him Confidence Sensei, and from now on, he was always there to push me a little harder when I was about to give up.

After years of training, I've filtered out 7 areas that must be trained regularly to maintain the proper amount of confidence for everything that you may need in your life journey, and Confidence Sensei is there to keep you on track.

1)    Exercise

This is a foundation. If you start your day with a few sets of 15 - 20 push-ups, you'll feel the difference right away. Do it for a week, and you'll be ready for your first public speech. It doesn’t have to be push-ups, of course, any regular exercise will do. Physical activities decrease stress hormones and boost the ones that are responsible for your happiness. This simple change in the hormone’s dynamic transforms your inner dialogue when you face the tasks that require confidence. Now, you’re highly likely will make a more confident decision. While exercise in itself is always an excellent choice to start building your confidence, you still have to challenge yourself to actually make that confident decision, which leads to the next area.

2)    Practice small confident active decisions

Making no decisions is a decision as well, so be careful with that. Small active decisions, on the other hand, are the best low-risk practice to build up your confidence one small step at a time. Pick an area where you struggle to make a decision. Possible settings: grocery shopping, getting ready for a date night, or choosing a movie to watch. Once you’ve chosen a low-risk area, now it’s time to prepare yourself for future decision-making. Let’s say. You need to choose what movie to watch, and instead of sitting in front of a TV and scrolling through the endless list of movies, decide in advance what specific film you're going to watch so that the next time you open 'search,' you know exactly what to type in. Don't let yourself slip into the rabbit hole of indecision. Apply the same principle for other small and active decisions to build up your confidence for the big ones.

3)    Wake up at the same time every day

When you do so, you develop a habit that makes your life a little bit more predictable, and when it is so, you won't be lost in your decision-making process. You start to trust yourself more because your body can rely on your regular wake up time and, therefore, you can be more confident. While when you don't care about your waking time hours, your life becomes chaotic, and it's much harder to make any decisions in any area. Now let's move to some of the more challenging areas.

4)    Practice public speeches

This one is the best investment you can do in your confidence and your carrier. There are so many opportunities nowadays to practice and study orator's skills, and my favorite one is the Toastmasters organization. They have classes almost in every major city all around the globe. The most important part is not to just sign up for the club, but actually attend it and give speeches. The club is a safe environment where you can develop a confident voice in front of the public. The speaking clubs are amazing, before AND after each speech, every speaker receives a generous round of applause, which is in itself a fantastic confidence boost. You’ll learn how to speak, listen, and practice thinking in front of the crowd, so then when you need to make your confident decision, you know your strong and weak points as a speaker.

5)    Take acting classes

This is a fun one. I understand that for some of you who've never taken any acting classes, the idea of it may sound terrifying. Do it anyway. Acting teaches you how to be truthful with your emotions, and the most common way of getting there is relaxation. You’ll learn various techniques of voice and body relaxation you’ll free your muscles from tension, so the real you can come out. When there's no tension, there's nothing to worry about. Therefore, it's easy to make a confident decision. As a bonus, you'll practice your memory skills each time you memorize a monologue to read in your acting class.

6)    Record yourself

For some reason, this simple and enormously powerful practice is overlooked. If you're afraid to listen to your voice, it means that your voice, tone, and body language aren't in their best shape. I know, when you listen to your voice recording, it may sound like torture, I've been there myself, but your job is to work through all the elements that are bothering you, so your next speech can sound better and which is most important, more confident. If you do this analysis after every speech, you’ll become a master of your voice and body after 10 sessions. And remember, however bad, you think your voice sounds now. Every one of us has a 'perfect natural voice' that is pleasant to you and the people around you. If you're confident in your voice and body language, you can easily ask for a raise at your job or even act in a movie. Your ambition is the limit.

7)    Practice being you

Last but not least, this is a reminder not to lose a sense of who you are. When you study people with admirable confidence, your job is not to copy them, but to study their learning process. When you try to become confident like someone else, you may actually do some damage and appear like an arrogant person. Confidence is not about being externally confident, but about being able to internally make decisions that scare you and dare to act upon them. Work on the inner confidence, and the external will come.

Now, with the help of your private Confidence Sensei, you'll be able to act upon any decision that you've made, and nothing's going to make you hide in the sand, avoiding making hard decisions. Make sure your Confidence Sensei is pushing you to work on all of the above 7 areas of confidence development. Listen to him carefully. Do not ignore him, and you'll surpass your master. Do the first step and record yourself NOW, so you’ll be able to know where to start your confidence building journey.

Befriend your city

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Do you know your city well? You've been living, working, and studying in it, but can you tell yourself that the city is your friend? Some say right away that, of course, it is my friend. Friendship, however, is a mutual relationship that builds over time. You have to invest your time, and which is more - spend it in full presence with a person or a city who you consider to be your friend. There is an abundance of ways that you can devote your time to your city. 

One way that I’ve discovered for myself is to explore your city's landscape on foot, especially the ones you've never been to. The key part is to forget about all types of transportation there are, including mechanical ones, like a bicycle. When you explore your city, you must be flexible to go in any direction without worries that your bike gets stolen. 

Ideally, you want to leave your phone at home or at least put it in an airplane mode. You may pre-load a book or a podcast, which you can listen as you walk, but make sure to give yourself plenty of time to walk in silence. Get a proper, comfortable uniform appropriate for the weather and make sure you have a bottle of water. Set yourself a destination that will be worthy of talking about later. I’ve come up with a walk from Burbank to the Santa-Monica Pier, which is a 7+ hour walk. I've tested that trips like this make people’s eyebrows rise to the sky, which is an excellent indicator of a good story. The best time to start any walk would be 30 minutes before the sunrise. The air is at its freshest, no cars, low noise, and you are able to focus on your thoughts. 

At the beginning of the walk, it may feel a little scary, perhaps even miserable, because the sun isn’t out yet, but as soon as you witness the first pink beams in the sky your mood elevates, and the real journey begins. When the city catches you walking for more than an hour, it starts surprising you with its hidden gems, that are customized for you. A few things I've discovered that I haven't seen for five years living in LA were the hidden parks with their exquisite statues. On top of that, you meet unusual birds and fascinating wild animals as you explore these parks. At times it feels like the city is a big house and a host at the same time. It treats its visitors with the best things from the house. 

When you reach the third hour of your journey, you realize that you get to know the city, you start to feel it. After that, the city and you are the best pals. You converse in an unspoken language and understand each other well. By the fourth hour, your legs get exhausted, and it's essential to keep going because if you sit, it would be much harder to stand up later, almost impossible. At this point, only the cool destination that you've set for yourself keeps you going. 

When there’s one hour left until the end of your trip, your brain focuses solely on the finish line. The fact that you have this 'tunnel vision" allows you to let go of all the fears and worries, which automatically puts your mind into a meditative state. In turn, it opens the portal to incredible ideas, like a horn of plenty for your brain. A gift that your friend, the city, made possible in return for your time spent with it. When you finally arrive at your destination, which to me was the Santa Monica pier, you may proudly claim you rest.

Congratulations! You've befriended your city. Now, maintain your relationship with it by scheduling your next long walk.

Write in a diary - win the day!

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This is an essential activity that is available to everyone, practically free. Once I was undergoing a series of emotional struggles caused by my decision to move abroad. It wasn't easy, because this basically means separation from everyone that you know and love, but I've decided that it was the best option for me. The first month in a new country was hard, but then one of my teachers mentioned daily journaling as a way to improve language skills.

At first, I was writing in the journal to practice my vocabulary and grammar, but after a few weeks, I've discovered the hidden benefits that I wasn't even aware of. Daily entries into my journal opened the door to a new world for me. I became more productive, and my mind was unusually focused. All the thoughts that were distracting me before were left on the pages of my diary and weren't affecting me whatsoever. On top of that, every morning, I felt accomplished by a mere fact of completing the required entry in my journal.

As a bonus, the simple activity of typing words on a paper was boosting my confidence daily. This regular journaling turns out to be much more than it appears to be. It is like an honest conversation with yourself, where your other self plays the role of a decent psychologist, who listens to you carefully and helps you to find your own answers.  When you do it over a long period, it cures the majority (if not all) of your mental struggles.

The key is to write your journal longhand – the thoughts in your brain transfer directly to the paper through your hand. Also, you're less inclined to change things along the way -  the ink stays on the paper and leaves you no choice but keep writing.

One year later, I’ve discovered another secret power of the journaling - it allows you to re-visit the same calendar date of your entry from a year ago. By comparing the two, you can figure out which day was more productive and full-filling so that you can make the necessary correction to your way of life. Besides, there's this magical feeling of discovery when you read about something exciting from your past that you've already forgotten. The diary remembers everything that you've shared.

After a few years of journaling, I've observed significant improvements in my mental health. Each time I had a tough moment in my life, the diary was always there to listen to my struggles. When you put your worries on paper, they seem to stay there, which allows you to go on with your life.

Apart from all the wonderful benefits I’ve discovered, journaling was still satisfying its initial purpose - I’ve noticed how my writing abilities improved without even thinking about it. During these years of writing in a journal, I've developed a habit of regular writing, which helps me to finish my screenplays, public speeches, and other written work, like this post.

You don't need much to start, get yourself a nice journal that will last for years and a pen that will bring you joy. Now you have everything you need to start a conversation with yourself that will dramatically change the way you perceive the world and yourself.

Ask yourself

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When you’ve lost a sense of mission, here are the magnificent seven questions to get you back on track.

1) Today is your last day. How would you spend it?

2) What’s the most challenging activity you’ve done?

3) If you were 90 years old, what would you tell your current self?

4) If your profession becomes obsolete in 12 months, what new skill would you start learning today?

5) Imagine that tomorrow you go to a one-way mission to Mars. Today you have 3 hours to meet your friends and family. Who would those people be and why?

6) If today you had time to volunteer, what type of work would you choose and why?

7) If you irreversibly lost all your possessions and money in the morning, what would you do for the rest of your day?

Remember that most of the things become insignificant when you compare them to the age of the universe.

Break free!

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Who said that we have to live life the way it’s advertised to us? All of us possess the inner beast that wants you to unleash him. This is not about people judging you. This is not about the bad news world throws at you. It’s about how brave you are to follow your dream.

I assure you, everyone has one. It’s already in you. Are you going to pause and succumb to the addictive content? Or you’re going to roll up your sleeves and commence the work of your life, the one you were born for. Wake up! It’s time. You’ve waited enough. You’ve got all the wisdom you need to start.

Turn off all the distraction and focus on what you desire the most in life. It must make your heart beat faster. Connect with the rhythm of your being. Feel it. It’s yours. As long as your heart beats, you have the power of the Universe on your side. Given that, you will work harder than you have ever done before.

Your success equals the amount of labor you’ve put into your desire. Now, get out of your old life as fast as you can and begin the fantastic adventure towards your life’s mission.

Budget your short film

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Before you make your next short film, it is vital to budget all the essential elements that you will need to get your film screened at the festivals. It could cost you zero money, but you should keep in mind all the essential elements.

Director/Director of photography

• The heart and brain of your movie. One person could do both.

Production designer

• A personal stylist for your film.

Cast

• The face of your movie.

 Producer/AD

• A competent person who takes care of all the non-creative stuff is priceless.

Sound mixer/Boom operator

• Without a good sound, no reasonable festival will accept your film.

AC/Gaffer/Grip

• They will make sure that your lights and camera are doing their best job. An excellent crew is your secret time saver.

Equipment

• You need something to shoot with.

Food

• A secret weapon for smooth production.

Transportation/parking

• Make everyone’s life easier and take care of it in advance.

Location

• A place where you’ll put your camera.

Insurances/permissions/fees

• For a peace of mind.

Music/SFX

• A soul of your movie.

Editor/Color/VFX

• This creator will get your film to the finish line and make sure it is ready for submission.

Contingency

• Add 15 % of your budget for unpredictable.

And remember that we earn money to make movies and not the vice versa. Have fun on your shoot.

Make your virtual library

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Having a physical library, that is perfectly organized, could be a bliss for some people. You would have 24-hour access to your favorite books, and pleasure of having interaction with beautiful paper pages.

Online stores make it so easy to buy books, so people buy more of them. At some point, we realize that we overspent on books without actually reading most of them. The books sit and collect dust on the shelves, and there is no one to clean them. That's when I discovered a way to have a virtual library of all book formats: paperback, audiobook, and ebook.

The solution is pretty simple - create a list of books that you read each year and use a public library as your primary supplier of reading material. It's free, and you don't have to accumulate the paper in your house. Also, if you don't like a particular book, you can quickly return it. When you finish reading a book, write some details about the book (name, author, year, type) and number your entry.

By the end of the year, you will have a long list of books you've completed, and you don't have to worry about buying a new bookshelf. In case you have an urge to reread them, it is remarkably easy to place a new hold at your local library. If you still have a desire to build your physical library, you will have an opportunity to pick the best books from your list. You will enjoy the fantastic selection of great manuscripts based on the personal reading experience. As for me, the virtual library concept works exceptionally well, so I will stick with it for a while.

My filmmaking journey

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The earliest memory that connects me to filmmaking dates back to my elementary school years in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. My grandfather brought me to a film set for the first time. It was an unforgettable experience. Each time coming with him was like a magical trip to a different world. People called my grandfather the "king of extras." What I loved about my grandfather the most was the fact that he was a soldier during World War II while he was having lots of fun as an extra, like a kid.

Film sets have something special in them, something that is hard to describe. When I come there, it feels like home. During these set visits, I fell in love with cinema. I started to watch a movie after movie, followed by re-watching sessions. I was trying to figure out the way they were made. It inspired me to make my home videos using a miniDV camera that I got as a present. Friends and family liked them. I even won some prizes at the local film festivals. It was a hobby, but I enjoyed it very much. I didn't even think that making films can be a career.

I got into a finance university, which was a common path, especially in the city where I lived, but I felt that it wasn't something that I wanted to do. I took an academic vacation and went to study English in New York, USA. A whole new country, an entirely new world, appeared in front of me. While being there, I realized that making films can be a real job. I started to visit filmmaking schools all over New York. I checked all of the film programs, and, eventually, I found one school that offers a scholarship for MFA in filmmaking for international students. I set myself a goal to apply for the school.

I went back to Russia and switched to an accelerated study program at my finance university to get a bachelor degree as soon as possible. A year later, I am in NY again. But now, I am learning how to make films. I realized how exciting director's job really is, even though it's challenging. We were shooting films every weekend while studying the theory of directing, acting, screenwriting, cinematography, and editing. I found out that in the US, people usually watch foreign movies in the original language, whereas in Russia all international films are dubbed. I learned how films are made on a big scale and the importance of developing screenwriting skills if you want to be a director. 

While at film school, I was involved in various student film productions. I was taking every crew job possible. Also, I had experience working at the Universal Studios backlot, where I learned about a production process on big studio sets. The hands-on experience taught me a lot about the movie-making industry as a whole.

Some days, we were shooting more than 16 hours. Occasionally I slept in vans with film equipment. I wanted to save money on parking and guard the equipment at the same time. I learned how much time it takes to make a good shot and how to manage time on set well. The more prepared you are as the director, the more effective production becomes, plus you gain trust from the crew and cast.

My ultimate goal is to create worlds where the audience would be able to escape and experience all kinds of emotions, like during a long-term adventure. I want to prove that there is no limit to imagination.

Public speaking impact

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Speaking in front of an audience can be terrifying, especially if you haven’t been doing it regularly. Focus your preparation on the effectiveness of your communication. It is explained in a few facts:

The percentage of data our minds receive from a speaker:

• Words: 7 %

• Voice tone: 38 %

• Body language: 55 %

Effectiveness level (0 - Ineffective, 10 - most effective):

• Performance (Speaking at the audience) ===> 0

• Presentation (Speaking to the audience) ===> 5

• Conversation (Speaking with the audience) ===> 10+

Level up your speech. Spend time mastering your non-verbal vocabulary and find a way to have a conversation with your audience. Good luck!

Writing Elixir

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I write screenplays regularly, so for me, it is unacceptable to have a writer's block. Therefore, I am continually looking for great pieces of advice that revive my enthusiasm. Here is the first block that I compiled for myself that I want to share with you. I like to keep the list short because too much good advice gets you anxious.

• Learn how to tell a story in one line. It's essential.

• Write long and then narrow it down.

• Note-giving and note-taking is a crucial part of your editing process.

• Reading your script should feel like watching a movie.

• Writing is like surfing: "You do too little or too much - nobody does it perfectly."

• Have Beginning-Middle-End to everything you do.

• You have a deadline, and you must deliver.

• The lesser you known, the more projects you should have.

• Don't send your pitch in email.

• Call WGA when in doubt, they protect your rights.

• Make a rip reel out of created work, instead of spending a lot of money on a proof of concept.

• People in a pitch wants to know who YOU are.

• Storytelling is a muscle - regular practice is essential.

That's all for this block. Now you can go to your desk and write.

Wealthy seven

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We live in a world of distractions. There are so many things happening, and you want to be a part of everything. The fear of missing out, which already has its acronym (FOMO), rules our decision-making process. This phenomenon forces us to look at urgent tasks and takes our attention away from the big picture. 

There are various types of wealth. I break them down into seven significant kinds that have to be regularly fueled to experience genuine prosperity. When you ignore fulfilling one of these areas, that's when you sense that's something is missing. If you feel like you've reached the ceiling of improvement in one area, contribute to another. Here are the seven wealth types that will get you to the inner bliss:

1) Personal kingdom. Develop a stable relationship with yourself. Do the things that you enjoy doing alone. Remember your childhood, things that you loved doing back then are most likely the same things you would enjoy now. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you are engaging both your creative and analytical side of the brain.

2) Your body temple. Take care of your nutrition and exercise regimen. Commit to the physical activity of your choice. It doesn't have to be a gym. Consider trying skydiving, acro yoga, or horse-riding. Get your body moving and don't forget to feed it well.

3) Circle of love. This one we tend to ignore the most, because we think if it's there, then we don't have to care about it. I'm talking about developing a deep connection with your friends and family. Create a strong bond of love with people you surrounded yourself with, and if you don't feel like building a relationship with certain individuals, then you probably should consider spending less time with them.

4) Professional mastery. Find the great job that fits your character, if it doesn't, keep looking. We spend most of our time at work, so you must strive to find the activity that fulfills you. Also, if you're temporarily stuck at the job that you hate, then force yourself to find ten things that you love about it. Don't forget to do your job well. People notice that.

5) Financial victory. Apart from developing your professional skills, it's important to plant seeds in different areas that will grow into your financial stability in the future. To achieve that, each month, you have to put aside a certain amount of time and money towards building assets. It could be a new business, intellectual property, stocks, real estate, or something else that would bring you're a steady passive income in the future. In the beginning, however, you have to put an enormous amount of "sweat and blood" into creating the asset.

6) Memorable lifestyle. Experience life in new ways. Proper rest is essential to have a productive life. Travel to unusual places, try exotic food, do the things that you think are crazy. Practice getting out of a comfort zone in a fun way. Your brain will create new connections that will upgrade your "biological software" to the next level. Have fun.

7) Gifts to society. Giving is the most satisfying thing that you can do. Give often and be generous. It doesn't have to be your money. Volunteer doing something you love. Build an organization that helps people. Say compliments to random souls on the street. Consider creating a legacy that will live long after your time is over. Perhaps you will be one of the first human beings to fly to Mars.

Keep building your wealth in all seven areas, and remember: "If you prosper in your mind, you thrive in life."

Epic meltdown

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Many years ago in Russia, I was at the prestigious student festival - Student Spring ("Studencheskaya Vesna") it took place in Tumen', Russia. I was there as an actor. Our troupe was rehearsing for many weeks before arriving at a large theater of the new city. The teams from all over Russia were performing there during the festival. The size of the stage was close to Metropolitan Opera in New York.

I had two gigs, on the day one it was a comedy play, and drama piece the day after. When it was time to perform, the theater was full. On top of that, there were several famous Russian comedians as judges. I went on the stage, and after a few moments into the play, I forgot my lines. Three seconds were like an eternity. For a moment, I felt like hell is a charming place. I looked at my scene partners, and they realized what just happened to me. I started to improvise, but it wasn't funny. In silence, I could hear somebody saying: "This is not funny," which made me even more nervous. I couldn't wait until this torture was over.

When I left the stage, I run away to the fire stairs where nobody could see me and was having an epic meltdown until my troupe found me there. The next day, I decided to work extra hard for my second drama performance. All my hours I devoted to mastering my role even after the troupe rehearsing time was over.

The results were phenomenal. During my monologue, I heard somebody whispered: "He's good." It felt immensely satisfying. Don't get discouraged with your first failure - a life lesson I'll never forget.

Life rules

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Navigating your life can sometimes turn into a nightmare. When a crisis happens, it's hard to find a ground under your feet. I felt the need for creating a foundation of practices that would serve as a guide in case of emergency. After ten years of trial and error, I've developed the list of rules. Anytime I feel like I'm "losing it," I can easily open my file and check whether I'm on the right track. 

The number 22 is a "Master Number" in numerology, which means, it has a powerful vibration. It has the potential of turning dreams into realities. Of course, over time, some of the rules will evolve, so I don't limit myself to follow only these exact ones my entire life, but I maintain the number.

1. Write in a diary - win the day!

2. Work hard on your dream.

3. Exercise regularly.

4. Own your actions.

5. Certainty => Potential => Result => See, I told you!

6. Read wise books at least 1 hour a day.

7. Dream big, act daily.

8. Listen carefully.

9. Compliment people often.

10. Your habits = YOU

11. Ask yourself: "Is my heart in this work?"

12. What would [Insert your hero] do?

13. Love yourself like your life depends on it.

14. Travel more.

15. Take risks daily.

16. What will people talk about your achievements 300 years from now?

17. Spend quality time with your family.

18. I'm an average of 5 people I spend my time with.

19. It's either "HELL, YEAH!" or "No."

20. Cheap costs more.

21. Can I solve this problem in one day?  

22. Less is more.

You can either use this specific list or build your own. It helped me many times, and I believe it will benefit you. Remember to act upon the rules you've created for yourself. Otherwise, it's a useless practice. Remember, action cures the majority of our problems. Make a list and follow it.

Tips for your next film

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I've been making a variety of short films with different budgets and crews. When each project was over, I was writing a list of lessons learned. I've decided to combine the best of them as a guide for future productions. Use it with pleasure.

Get the best script possible first, so then you can get the most desirable cast and crew to help you with it. It's important because it makes the filmmaking process less painful for everyone. Choose an AD who understands your film to its bones and has the potential to become your longtime friend. Have the best people you can find but keep the crew small. Also, don't try to reduce your team to "Never-mind-I-do-it-myself-production." A professional sound person on set will make or break your film.

Put in the budget everything you know and add 15% for contingency. Stick to your budget. Have all the payments to your crew scheduled and agreed in advance. Make sure you have required signatures on the paper, if something changes, get it resigned by both parties as soon as possible.

Schedule well so that you can shoot in fewer days. Know what essential shots you need to capture by heart. It will help you to stay true to your vision in the moments of doubt. When you have a schedule, it's easier to adapt to unexpected circumstances. Synchronize everything you want to execute with your key crew members. Provide a good lunch, especially when everyone works for free.

When on set with your dream-team, exude enthusiasm every day. Work harder than anyone else. Make sure every single person of your crew performs a task he was assigned to do. Keep it that way. As you go along, allow people to express their opinion but make final decisions yourself. You are the creator.

Prepare different ways to convey your ideas to the actors. Know the essential on-set vocabulary. Shoot in a spacious place, so you have enough room for a camera and equipment to make the shots you need. Avoid shooting in distant locations, unless there is absolutely no other way.

Imagine that the whole planet will see your movie, but make the film for yourself. It has to entertain your most capricious inner critic. Have fun on your next shoot.