Hollywood Screenwriter Takes On Real Life

"I thought my life was over."  Hollywood's Dirty Little Secret by Misty Taggart  Misty Taggart Certified Christian Life Coach   I was living my dream. To be a Hollywood writer was everything I had wanted since I was a very young child. There was never a time in my life when I didn't know absolutely what I wanted to do. And there I was, a member of the WGA, a working Hollywood screenwriter. It was glorious. My life was so exciting! Each day was an adventure full of running to studios, pitching stories, writing and rewriting. Location shoots and lunching with Hollywood insiders.   I was so very fortunate to meet William Hanna of Hanna/Barbera fame. He told me he liked my "drive" ... my passion. It reminded him of his own. Bill quickly became my mentor and very good friend. He believed in me and my talent so much that it was this famous and very generous man who made it possible for me to be one of the first women to ever write for animation. Until then, it had been a closed boys club ... and yet, there I was writing dog dialogue for Scooby Doo in my own office at Hanna/Barbera Productions! How incredible it was to be sitting in the many recording sessions with all the big name voice-over talent.   I was so proud as I watched my talented husband, Joe, appearing on Days of Our Lives, General Hospital and Three's Company. Our friends were all in the business. We were surrounded by lights, cameras and action, all the things I had dreamed of and worked so hard to attain. It was an exciting time in my life. The strange thing was, I thought it would go on forever.   But under all the glamour and the fun, if you are in this industry very long you will find Hollywood's dirty little secret. What is that? Well ... Hollywood will not allow you to grow older! They simply won't allow it! They don't say it ... but it is made very clear. Opportunities to pitch stories stop coming your way. Meetings are difficult, if not impossible to get. It is heartbreaking and irreversible. You are on your way out! It is as though the "Hollywood Powers-That-Be" believe a human brain stops working, in any cognitive fashion, when you near the BIG 50! (A testimony to that thinking can be had by simply watching current TV.) I laugh when I think that just perhaps their skewed thinking has come back to bite them in the behind! When it was clear that my life as a Hollywood Screenwriter was over, I was truly devastated. I felt my whole life finished. Depression and fears set in--stealing any joy I had left. Hollywood had done a good job on me. I bought all of the lies. And those lies almost killed me. I was convinced my dream had been stolen. I was too old to ever have other dreams or to truly enjoy my life ever again. Going on living that way, wasn't an option. But I was so very wrong! God simply had new dreams for me in this season of my life. But I didn't come to this discovery easily. It's taken time and the willingness to work with my own Life Coach. No, she didn't do it for me, but she listened to me ... gave me new ways to look at my life. Things I hadn't thought about in my devastated, crisis state. She asked the hard questions and I found answers. It was an amazing process. Could it be that I was getting excited about life again? Together, my coach and I made a PLAN OF ACTION that fit me perfectly. I began slowly but surely to move toward a new dream. My life coach shared her knowledge, giving me many incredible and solid life tools to deal head on with my depression and feelings of worthlessness. My faith became stronger and I was empowered to see the possibilities God was offering to me. And, with her encouragement, I had the desire to reach out and grab them! Wasn't this what Bill Hanna had loved about me? My drive! My enthusiasm? I realized I was the only one who had given up on me. God had done His part, as always .. now it took action on my part.   Would I give up on the rest of my life, brokenhearted over the past? Or would I find new vistas to conquer? I had a choice to make and I chose LIFE! I chose TODAY and all of my tomorrows. I looked at my life and all of the many trials and victories. I longed to share that with other women. To let them know they could achieve their dreams. It all became so clear! I began the study necessary for me to become a Certified Christian Life Coach. With my faithful readers, like you, at Ordinary Woman/Extraordinary God, who had been with me for so long, I began my practice.   Now, I want YOU all to experience the POSSIBILITIES for your lives! Don't give up! The definition of life is CHANGE. Helping other women walk through transitions using what I had been through myself became my passion ... My life is once again filled with excitement and I get up each day with true joy. I look forward to the day. God had not taken dreams away, but given me new ones. This is why I'm so passionate about Life Coaching. I've been where you are! Let's do this together. Don't you want a Life Coach who has been in those stuck and dark places ... a coach who knows how it feels to be frozen in place by fear and hopelessness? Give it a 4-week try!You will be amazed at what you will accomplish. See: http://www.ordinarywoman.com/TASTEYOURNEWLIFE.html   For more about Misty's Life Coaching, go to: http://www.possibilitiesbootcamp.com/

GRAND PRIZE DRAWING!   Misty is making this new 1-month Life Coaching experience available to you for free, if you are the grand prize winner of this blog tour drawing. Did I say free? I meant to say FREE! $75 value. Great opportunity. Don't miss out! Leave your comment here to be entered in this great contest.   And for those of you who don't win, here's another freebie for you: INTRODUCTING MONDAYS WITH MISTY! Start your week off with inspiration & a coaching tip of the week! Listen as Misty gives 2 - Live 10-min Laser Coaching Sessions. Each Monday! 10am (Pacific) - 11am (MNT) - Noon (Central) - 1pm (Eastern)  To join us on this Free call or to receive a Free Laser Session with Misty on the call<a href="mailto:mondaycall@ordinarywoman.com" title="mailto:mondaycall@ordinarywoman.com" target="_blank"> CLICK HERE to SEND an Email! You will receive a return email with the Dial-In number and Access Code! MARK YOUR CALENDARS! INTERESTED IN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MISTY? CONTACT HER PUBLICIST, KATHY CARLTON WILLIS, TO ARRANGE AN INTERVIEW OR SPECIAL EVENT.

National Women's Health Week

I read Dear Abby every day via e-mail. Here's one of the reasons why:

National Women's Health Week is May 11-17, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Women's Health is offering a free Health and Beauty Kit. It includes "tools for making informed choices about the cosmetics and other products women use every day." The fact sheets are available in English and Spanish. The FDA signed a landmark Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act in 1938 that focuses on promoting the safe use of health and beauty products.

The information will be sent without charge, since this effort has already been paid for with taxpayer dollars, including postage and handling. For the quickest service, order online at www.pueblo.gsa.gov. If you do not have online access, send your name and address to Health/Beauty Information Kit, Pueblo, CO 81009, or call toll-free: (888) 878-3256, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, and ask for the Health and Beauty Information Kit. Quantities are limited!

Here's to your health - because you're worth it.

Happy Mother's Day!

My dad called at 7:30 am to tell me Happy Mother's Day. Then Michael asked me what I wanted him to do for Mother's Day, so I got brave and told him what I wanted:
1. to go back to sleep and sleep until I wake up on my own
2. have him fix all the meals for the day

Can you believe he agreed?! I am one happy Mama!

Hope yours was half as good as mine...