Every Friday, I am going to share some perspective on how I’m filling my personal buckets (priorities). I hope that it will inspire you more to identify what’s most important to you (buckets) and GO FILL YOUR BUCKETS.

I'm sure you all know someone that puts a smile on your face with just the mere thought of them. When you see them in person, their smile is contagious and their presence is up-lifting. For me, one of those individuals is Amy. Her caring heart is followed by her infectious smile, then she leads you into a great day with the tone of her laughter. There are few people in this world that I’ve met who are as genuine as her. I've known her for thirteen years from the early years of college, and my impression of her has never faded no matter how much distance stands between us. I've witnessed the dark side of her experiences, but I've also experienced the light she continues to shine through that same darkness. I had one of the rare opportunities to sit down and talk about what is most important to her during this phase of her life - newly married with a new job. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did and smile the whole way through because I know I did. 

Tina is a lovely woman with a charismatic personality. She is a beam of positive light, even in the darkest places. Those dark places sometimes looked like the inside of an emergency room when she worked as a trauma nurse, or sometimes they looked like the inside of herself as she dealt with her own health. That positive light may or may not be inspired by the Disney films of our time, because she is hands-down the biggest Disney fan I know. She is the wife of one of my best friends, and she is the mother of a vibrant young girl named Austin. As a wife, mother, and friend, she has the kind heart of a southern woman, but let's not forget that the heart of a southern woman will keep you in check when you are out of place. She will correct you instantly when you’re wrong (as I, myself, have been wrong many times), and she will support you unconditionally when you’re right. She is strong in many ways, which explains why she has a firm grasp (see what I did there) of what it takes to be happy in life understanding that life is just meant to be lived happily.

I used to be on this urban choreography dance crew called Galing Cru. This crew started off making choreography in their garage with five original members. Those five original members grew to about 50 members, so it's crazy to think about the evolution of their growth. They went from being underdogs to one of the top three teams in Houston. Sean was one of those founding members, and while I was on the team he was one of my directors. I was on the team long enough to see the progression and improvement of where they are now from where they came, and I don't mean as a dance crew. I am referring to the improvements and growth of the members themselves. I have watched many of them mature from students to leaders. In particular, I have seen Sean go from a dance director in school to career man with a lovely fiance (Nancy). In this conversation with Sean, I learned more about what is important to him now versus years ago while on the team. Coincidently, the love and passion that we had in that environment, while on that dance team, was not necessarily for dance itself. It was more for the camaraderie and community that created the foundation of the team. As we enter new phases of our lives, some of our priorities will change. When it comes to the desire for community and connections, I'm certain that will never change.

If there was any family that I could identify as a reflection of my own, it would be Adam’s. Although, the similarities to our families have not been created by chance. We use Adam’s family as a baseline and an example of the family dynamic we strive to have. As for Adam himself, he is the baseline of the husband, father, and friend that I personally strive to be. We have known each other since college, and we have supported each other to make it this far as fathers and husbands. Regardless of the circumstances each of our families have been through, the baseline that both of us have always reverted back to is faith. We both have faith that no matter what happens we will be okay, the storm will pass, and we will continue to be happy with God and each other.

A couple of years ago, Melissa taught me that the role of an actress is not to insert the character into themselves but rather insert themselves into the character. So is life. Since high school, Melissa and I have shared the struggles of navigating through life as ourselves rather than allow life and the rest of the world to take over. We both realize what a monumental task this has been, yet here we are still standing strong. She is a strong woman who has found a bit more of herself as she has survived the many tribulations that would punish the rest of us. Through all the many circumstances she has been through, she still puts forth effort in supporting her loved ones - me included. We’ve known each other for well over ten years, but this conversation is where I learned the most about her. She is one of the few people whom I interviewed that is truly passionate about what she does (inside and outside of her day job). Whether she is rehearsing for a commercial or rehearsing for surgery, her hard work and dedication for her crafts have led to her success. I also learned that success is loving yourself fully and all that you have or will accomplish.

[TO BE CONTINUED] Throughout my thirty two years of life, this might have been the first time my brother Rob and I sat down to have a thorough life-reflecting conversation. He is one of the many who has guided me through the difficulties of life whether it be in finances or funerals. I have always recognized him to be successful simply by comparing the number of commas in our bank accounts. But, as we continued this conversation, I quickly realized that he is not more successful because of monetary fortunes. He is more successful because he has the talent and perspective to simplify the most difficult of decisions the rest of us have a hard time coping with, and he does so with compassion and empathy for others. If you have older siblings as well, I highly encourage you to learn from them as much as I have from my own. Growing up, I underutilized their wisdom as a resource, but now the older I get (or the more lost I become) the more I understand there are people within reach who will help you get a little less lost - like family.

Life is like dancing. Sometimes you let loose to the music and go with the flow. Other times every movement is planned out before you take a step. You can do it solo, or you can move together. Michelle (and her husband) are the chosen few we choose to move together with through life. We share many passions together such as dancing but also to live life with the purest of hearts. My wife and I have learned so much from them and continue to do so every time we link up. We have many similarities from trying to grow a self-made business to how to raise a four-year-old girl. It turns out you can be equally as lost in both. The struggles are real, but so are the joys. The play dates we’ve coordinated as parents, the conversations we’ve had as dancers, and the laughs we’ve shared as human beings are the joys that outweigh all the struggles and challenges that life brings our way. Through this conversation, I learned that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side … unless you continue to water it. She lives a lifestyle she chooses to, but there are still ups and downs. She inspires me more to follow a path towards a career that fulfills me knowing there are as many hard times as easy ones.

I’ve known Chizi for 15 years, and he has always been the strongest person I know. Understandably so because he has consistently included exercise into his daily routine since the day I met him in the early years of high school. He is one of the many people I define as successful - traveling to more countries in the world than I can think of. He goes from working hard to hardly working practically every weekend. But, I have also come to learn that he sees me in the same light (success) with the wife and kids that I have been truly blessed with. One day soon we will obtain each other’s riches and share in the moments of traveling with our families while squeezing in a good lifting session before getting on the plane. He is extremely humble, intelligent, and has grown further in touch with his true self inspiring me to do the same through conscious effort – mentally and physically.