You gotta have hope in this life. No matter who you are and where you find yourself at this very moment, hope is something you must grab onto, especially when things are dark or heavy or the light at the end of the tunnel is too dim to see.   Hope leads to belief and belief leads to courage so that you can face the next hour, day, week, month, and year ahead. Life is too precious to live it in misery or regret. Do what you have to do to lift yourself out of whatever hole you may find yourself in today and embrace the possibility of living a life filled with hope.

This has been a challenging year for me – a year of change and uncertainty. And yet, I start each day in hope. Do doubts come? All the time. But I think the challenge for all of us is that you carry on believing despite the doubts, despite the present circumstances. I would have given up on my writing a long time ago if it had not been for hope (and friends and family who continue to believe in me). I believe every script I write is gold. I believe that I’m a good writer who can be better and have much to learn (which excites me). I believe in hard work to get to where I want to be. I believe that hope gives me the courage to carry on despite the constant rejection that comes in this crazy business.

Don’t be afraid of putting in the work to get where you want to be. The work can be hard, lonely and sometimes not very rewarding, but I believe it does pay off. No matter what goal you are trying to achieve in this life, hard work matters.   When you put the hard work in and you pursue your dreams, whatever they may be, your hope will grow. Nurture hope.   Treat it with respect.   And it will surprise you one day….maybe today.

Speaking of surprises, I just found out that my screenplay The Great Surrender, placed in the top 10% out of over 6000 entries in the The Page International Screenwriting  Awards. Next round of cuts comes August 15. I’m re-writing the script now because if I make the next round, writers are allowed to submit a new draft of their script. Here’s hoping….

I just finished a re-write of my latest screenplay, The Living Water. I look forward to sending this script out to potential producers/contest judges/ or whoever will read it.   It’s a story that encompasses themes of lost love, racism and dreams. Someone will buy it one day. Someone will want to make a film out of this story. Here’s hoping….

I started out 2016 wanting to have 3 complete screenplays that have either been newly created or re-written and ready to go. I’m in the middle of that process. I have another script about 2 boys growing up in the 70s that will be my next project. I’ll be spending most of the fall on this story to complete it by December. Here’s hoping….

So, I leave you with hope and pray you will reach for it and hold onto it tight for sometimes it is the only thing we have.