Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Help Haiti Fast

A week ago today, multiple networks broadcast a special called Hope For Haiti Now featuring a bevy of Hollywood stars and musicians. The program raised $60+ million (and counting) for relief efforts. When it comes to tragedies like this, we all respond differently.

For my dear friend, Erik Guzman, the response was more than just ‘different’.

I’ve told you previously about Erik, aka ‘The Merry Monk of Love”. Erik was deeply moved by the plight of these poor Haitians and donated some money, but still felt he could do more. After some pondering, he figured out what that ‘more’ should be…

“I am going to undertake a fast for the 40 days of Lent to raise money for relief and rebuilding efforts in Haiti through Tony Campolo’s organization, EAPE. Will you sponsor my fast?

Here’s the skinny on the fast (Get it? Skinny!):

- I pledge to consume only liquids (water, fruit & vegetable juice) for 40 days
- You pledge an amount of money per day I can make it ($1 / day yields $40)
- Consider joining me in the fast and solicit sponsors of your own

- 100% of the money goes to EAPE”

Get the full details at TheMerryMonk.com and please consider sponsoring Erik.

Is this a radical stunt? Yeah. But when things go upside down in an instant– the way they did in Haiti– a radical approach can sometimes be the most rational.

- Matthew Porter

PS: Join us next week for Great Quote Monday and hear about the quote that has been haunting me for more than ten years.

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Vaya Con Dios, Coco

I have been an avid fan of Conan O’Brien since he took over Late Night in 1993.

His unabashed goofiness and self-deprecating humor is just so refreshing and endearing. It’s like he is willing to go absolutely anywhere necessary to get the laugh. That approach– to forsake trying to be cool, to embrace your ‘inner goober’– is just amazing to watch, the polar opposite style of, say, Dennis Miller (whom I also dig) whose cool, erudite delivery is so polished you can see your reflection in it.

Conan is funny in a wholly unique way and believe me, just being funny alone is hard enough. That he has Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons on his resume, well… that just puts it over the top in my book.

As such, tonight being Conan O’Brien’s last night as host of The Tonight Show is sad– on a number of levels.

For one, it seems like he didn’t get a fair shot at establishing himself in just seven months. Even his tenure on Late Night, which eventually ushered him to the host chair at The Tonight Show, had a rocky start that lasted for 2-3 years. I was in a similar situation, albeit on a much smaller scale, about ten years ago. After preparing for months to take over a popular radio show in Orlando, all the while being encouraged by the station’s brass, I was unceremoniously fired (via e-mail no less) by the station’s less-than-courageous GM just weeks into the gig. It wasn’t the suckerpunch termination that hurt, it was having to let go of the cool plans that could have been realized, but would never be.

Two, from the get-go, it felt like Conan was still in Leno’s shadow. Sure, there was a thirty-minute buffer of local news between them, but didn’t it still feel like the previous setup– Jay on The Tonight Show followed by Conan– had just moved up by an hour?

Finally, this whole thing is sad because I love The Tonight Show. I clearly remember staying up late– or trying to, at least– to watch the show back in the Reagan era. Watching Carson’s monologues had a profound, lasting influence on me. I can literally remember jokes I heard just one time when I was only ten or so years old. That’s why the changing of the guard host-wise is significant. It’s the comedy equivalent of electing a new pope. And that’s why this scheduling / programming misfire is frustrating. It’s like the white smoke gone up the chimney, but then out come a bunch of folks saying ‘Oops, my bad. Do over.’ Come on, man. You only had 17 years to get a plan together for this.

I think it’s great that O’Brien is getting millions of dollars in severance. Pretty good as parting gifts go. But when you get to a certain level of income, I think the dollars mean less than the ability to bring your own vision to life. At least, that’s my theory — and one I’m keen to test.

So vaya con Dios, Coco. Looking forward to seeing what you do next.

- Matthew Porter

PS: See you here next week for Great Quote Monday. That is, if Jay Leno doesn’t take over my job first.

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Yesterday, we started talking about goals. I posited that no goal, no matter how well thought-out, can be accomplished until the goalmaker is first truly and irrevocably committed. This act of going all-in is what allows us to lose our big ‘buts’.

Around this time last year, three friends of mine each set out to accomplish goals of their own. Each goal was unique; each goal was daunting.

Here’s the rundown:

Scott W. Smith

Scott W. Smith

Scott is an award-winning director / producer and screenwriter. In 2007, he started an inspiring blog called ‘Screenwriting From Iowa’, focusing on Hollywood success stories that had roots in ‘flyover country’, in Iowa and beyond. The blog netted him an Emmy. Based on this success, he committed himself to a formidable goal: to post a blog entry every single day of 2009. As of last Thursday, Scott completed his goal. Now, before you just blow past this accomplishment, think about this: the bad stuff we do is nearly always easier and more fun than the good stuff, but we don’t even do the bad stuff every day. Scott could have said, ‘but I’m constantly traveling all over the country.’ Instead, Scott lost his big ‘but’.

Carl Creasman

Carl Creasman

As a full-time professor, full-time pastor, and full-time father of three, Carl didn’t need to add another title to this list to feel accomplished. Yet, his passion for speaking and challenging young people to live a life of success inspired him to write and launch an additional career as a motivational speaker. Throughout 2009, Carl continued to invest himself in this venture, increasing his number of speaking engagements by 40%. Today, he has written and/or contributed to three books and become an in-demand speaker, addressing thousands all over the country. Carl could have said ‘but I’ve already accomplished a lot.’ Instead, Carl lost his big ‘but’.

Erik Guzman

Erik Guzman

As executive producer for a nationally syndicated radio show and father of three, Erik had plenty on his plate, metaphorically speaking. But Erik also decided he had too much on his plate, literally. So Erik– my dear fun-loving friend who never met a scotch he didn’t like– set his phaser to ‘radical’. He stopped drinking and smoking cold turkey, became a vegetarian (he’s still meat-curious), started working out 5-6 times a week, and dropped 50 pounds. Erik could have said ‘but I’m too busy.’ Instead, Erik lost his big ‘but’.

Losing our big ‘buts’ means that we’ve decided no matter what happens, no matter how differently 2010 turns out than we’d imagined, we will accomplish our goals. This is a pretty stringent litmus test, but that’s the idea, to sift out the honest-to-God must-do goals from the resolution / wishes. The latter are fine and have their place, but when our lives get upended, they quickly become expendable ballast.

So, what’s your primary goal for 2010?

What’s your big ‘but’?

What’s your plan for losing your big ‘but’?

I’ll be sharing some of my goals and big ‘buts’ in the coming days. In the meantime, please share yours in the Comments section.

- Matthew Porter

PS: See you here first thing next week for the launch of Great Quote Monday!

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Welcome to Hey Porter!

Hello, Happy New Year, and welcome to Hey Porter! My name is Matthew Porter. I’m a full-time husband and daddy and also writer / director / producer. I created Hey Porter! as an online hub for all the projects I’m working on. As you can see I’m still ‘moving in.’ However, in the meantime, I’ll begin posting regularly on the blog section of the website. What kind of posts? Basically anything that falls out of my head that I think you’ll find entertaining or useful. We will have at least one regular feature: Great Quote Monday. On Great Quote Monday, I’ll share with you a challenging or inspiring quote to help start your week off right.

So take a look around, breathe in deep (ahh… that ‘new website’ smell), and let me know what you think.

Thanks!

- Matthew Porter

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A lot of articles and blogs will be published today with titles like ‘How To Achieve Your Goals in 2010’ and ‘How To Foolproof Your New Year’s Resolutions.’ I believe each of these will probably have something useful to offer. But there’s another element of the goalsetting that doesn’t get talked about much, and it’s shame, because you can set your goals, you can even create a detailed gameplan for achieving each of goals, but if you’re missing this one thing, you have just sabotaged your success.

What is this one thing? Let me introduce it by first sharing a golden moment in cinematic history known as Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. In this 1985 cult classic, the inimitable Paul Reubens plays Pee Wee Herman, a frenetic man-child on a cross-country search for his stolen bike. In the course of his adventures, Pee Wee meets Simone, a waitress with big dreams of visiting Paris…

PEE WEE: Simone, this is your dream. You have to follow it.

SIMONE: I know you’re right, but…

PEE WEE: But what? Everyone I know has a big “but.” Come on, Simone. Let’s talk about your big “but.”

Before distilling your dreams into goals, before forming a gameplan for achieving those goals, you need to determine how much that goal really means to you. In short, are you truly committed?

You’ve probably heard movie stars talk about ‘committing to a role.’ As a director, that’s what I ask of my actors. But what does that mean? It means the actor abandons himself to the part. He holds nothing back. He puts it all out there, swings for the fence. If you saw Dark Knight and witnessed Heath Ledger’s astonishing performance, then you’ve seen the magic that happens when an actor truly commits.

Let me put it another way… I can do a backflip. Or rather, I could do a backflip. I possess the physical ability to do this. What I lack is the mental commitment to jump in the air, throw my upper body backward, then tuck my knees to my chest as I rotate and land. Stop and think about that for a second: there are an infinite number of backflips inside me. It would only take commitment to make them all a reality.

So, what extraordinary things are inside you?

How do you plan to make these extraordinary things a reality?

As you think about your goals for 2010 in the coming days, be sure to first ask yourself– honestly– if you are fully committed. If not, you may still have a big ‘but’. BUT, that’s okay. We can lose our big ‘buts’. Three of my friends did. These are three ordinary guys who accomplished extraordinary things in 2009, just by losing their big ‘buts.’ I’ll introduce them, and their stories, to you tomorrow.

See you then.

- Matthew Porter

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