We’ve had several opportunities to connect in conversations that are inspiring and uplifting, and this discussion about the importance of powering life with the positive didn’t disappoint.
CW. Darrin, you have been fortunate enough to have a career that you and others love, but you have also used your platform to reach others. Why has that been important for you to do?
DH. I believe the platform is not just for me. It’s to afford people the opportunity to be inspired, so they can be able to move on and do something for their lives as well.
For any of us, when you receive something, it’s not just for you, but for you to share with others.
CW. Have you always known that the creative process was the way you would reach the world?
DH. I have! Creativity is my form of communication. Communication when it comes to the arts, like everything else, is consistently evolving. That has given me a variety of ways that I can communicate: acting, dancing, speaking, writing, etc.
There are so many ways we can expand. I’m just using some of those tools right now in my life.
CW. One of the things you have talked about is purpose. I believe that one thing that keeps people from walking in their purpose is fear. How have you not allowed fear to stop you?
DH. I do get fearful, but I use fear against itself. Some fear is good fear, stopping you from doing things that are detrimental. When it’s fear of growing we know it’s not good. You have to go through fear to get to where you want to be. Sit down, write down and figure out what you desire in life. In order for you to get there you’ll have to go through fear. There is no other way.
If you understand that everything you want is on the other side of fear, you’ll understand why stopping is not an option. Be scared but do it anyway.
CW. I mentioned that the world has gotten to know you, in one way or another, through the way you communicate. When you hear the response to your work, is that validation that you are accomplishing what you want?
DH. Yes I do. Especially when it comes to my books. I want to remind people that they are bigger and better than they appear to be. I want to remind people that doubt kills more dreams than anything else, and never doubt what they can achieve. If they are willing to do the work anything is possible.
1.What is the way you communicate to the world, and what can you use from Darrin’s approach to help you do it more?
2.How can you change the way fear is keeping you from living a positive and more productive life?
Power Your Life BY MAKING A DECISION
“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.”
—Rosa Parks
Power Your Life BY REACHING OUT
“Fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.”
—Shirley McClaine
Power Your Life BY FINDING YOUR HAPPINESS
“Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get, you’ve got to make yourself.”
—Alice Walker
Power Your Life WITH A SENSE OF WONDER
“There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
—Albert Einstein
Shine a Light on What Makes You Special
Actor, Producer, and Recording Artist
John Schneider
Whether you recognize him as Bo Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard or the infamous Jim Cryer from Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots, John Schneider has made name for himself, not just in television and movies, but in music as well. Over the last few years, he has been able to explore another arena, that of being a writer and producer, with his 2014 horror film Smothered getting rave reviews.
We talked about his career, his passion, and how he has stayed true to himself along the way.
CW. John, it is a true honor to speak with you for this. You have had such an amazing career in front of the camera and on stage. What has it been like for you to bring the characters you have to life?
JS. It’s been fantastic. I am so delighted to be have been around long enough to do what it is that I love and to have someone recognize my work.
I think that we all have different parts in us. As an actor, you have a chance to shine a light on a particular trait, and to have people respond to that is amazing.
CW. Did you always know that acting was the gift, that you were put here to do?
JS. Absolutely. I went from watching movies when I was very little to being in my first play when I was eight years old. I wanted to be on stage, wanted to be on camera … wanted to have people eat popcorn watching me, and I never really strayed from that.
We are designed to do something. I think what I see more times than not is probably what you were designed to do is not something others understand. Hopefully your friends and life don’t talk you out of it.
There is nothing more depressing to me than seeing someone who is not in pursuit of their dream. It’s better to be pursuing something that you’re passionate about than spending your life doing something that you’re not.
1.Have you, like John, realized early on that there was something that you wanted to do in your life? Have others supported you or discouraged you?
2.How can you hear and learn from the message that you were given something that was meant to be shared with others? What do you want to share with others?
Power Your Life BY DEVELOPING
YOUR OWN IDENTITY
“If we stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by who we are—we can all be freer.”
—Emma Watson
Power Your Life WITH CURIOSITY
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence.”
—Albert Einstein
Power Your Life WITH CONFIDENCE
“If you’re presenting yourself with confidence, you can pull off pretty much anything.”
—Katy Perry
Power Your Life BY NOT FORCING IT
“If only we’d stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time.”
—Edith Wharton
Be Confident, Even on the Bad Days
Supermodel and Author Tess Holliday
Supermodel Tess Holiday first got on my radar because of her inspiring (and oftentimes funny) messages online, but when I discovered she was from my home state of Mississippi, I became even more intrigued with her, because she was yet another example of what was possible for anyone with a dream. I didn’t