The Alchemist

I’m soon headed for Chicago to take part in the filming of “Rory’s First Kiss” as an extra (specifically, a hospital patient). And… I gotta tell you, I’m completely jazzed about this! Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re saying to yourself, “Gee, self, I wonder why is Scott so excited about being an extra in some little movie in Chicago? Didn’t he tell me he wasn’t really all that interested in extra work?”

And, yes, that is very true. But you have to understand that “Rory’s First Kiss” may not at all be what you think it is. It’s a big-budget affair rumored to be in the $200M range! And after all, it’s pretty exciting to have a chance to be in a film starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and many other very awesome actors!

Plus, I gotta say it’s a little like completing a circle after having had my chance to star as the “Caped Crusader” in Star Trek Versus Batman. Gotta love that!

But alas, this might be the last I can say on the subject as I’ve been told that I will have to sign a confidentiality agreement on the set. Nevertheless, rest assured that I will tell you what I’m allowed to!

Hey, for those of you that missed my last ComedySportz performance, you missed a great show full of new games! For my part, I got 2 of “6 Things” (a variation of the “5 Things” charades game) completely correct and I was very close on 2 others… and for some reason the ref only gave us 4 1/2 minutes to do it in! If only I had remembered that “Start Me Up” was a Stones tune!

Anyway, if you did miss it, worry not…

My next performance is Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 PM.

See you there!

I just wanted to share this powerful and extremely disturbing story from William Lobdell, a Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, about his personal journey of faith.

Clearly, I saw now that belief in God, no matter how grounded, requires at some point a leap of faith. Either you have the gift of faith or you don’t. It’s not a choice. It can’t be willed into existence. And there’s no faking it if you’re honest about the state of your soul.

I highly recommend this as a story worth reading and considering to anyone - regardless personal belief toward God and religion.

A young boy went to an old wise man and asked to learn the ways of wisdom. The wise man answered that the secret of wisdom was understanding the epic battle going on inside each person’s mind.

The wise man said, “The battle in your mind is between two wolves: One is an evil wolf - it is filled with anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, lies, inferiority, and false pride.

“The other is a good wolf - filled with joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”

The young man considered this for a moment, then asked, “Which wolf will win?”

The wise man replied, “The one you feed.”

Which wolf are you feeding?

(A big thank you to my friend Bob Fraser for bringing this wonderfully insightful old tale to my attention!)

That’s right, I’m back onstage! I’ll be performing at ComedySportz on Saturday, August 18 at 7:30pm. Come join me and participate in some fantastically fun improvisational games!

Reserve your tickets now!

See you there!

It’s so nice to see your baby mature. The little company Jay, Steve, John, and I created in 1999 to serve nonprofits has now been purchased by Blackbaud for $24.8 million. It’s fantastic to see such a wonderful event come from all the hard work we put into the company. Congratulations to everyone there at eTapestry! Doing well by doing good.

It’s also personally gratifying to know that the custom software and architecture which I designed and built to run eTapestry was given a “superior” architectural rating and is now serving more than 3,000 customers of up to 300,000+ donor records each!

The news is being reported everywhere now, but the most unique article I’ve seen is right here from our local paper, the Indianapolis Star.

Isn’t it interesting how everything can seem to change in a moment? The way you view your life, the choices you make about your future - indeed, the opportunities you have available to you - everything can be affected by a single event. Perhaps it’s the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, being fired, finding money, an accident, a new opportunity - any significant event can immediately and irrevocably change your perspective.

Change is the one constant in life. So the key to success is the ability to adapt to change. The only power we truly have that that to change ourselves and our perspectives to best fit changing situations. But that is the greatest power of all - for it is only through change that we grow.

Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.

Embrace change - it is opportunity.