When you make plans, you have to take into account the unexpected. Especially, when big money is at stake and the world, in general, doesn't want to cooperate with you. Or you're simply unlucky. Getting money from the ransom and arranging your wife's kidnapping might not be a piece of cake. The same goes with hiring a group of totally not like-minded people,...
It's difficult to follow your dreams. You devote hours of training and preparation without any guarantee that it will go according to plan and you'll be appreciated. You have to have luck. And you have to learn how to get up once you fall with a bang. That requires courage. A group of young people in a ruthless world, stuck in their everyday...
While the majority of writers dream about instant success and leaving the legacy along the lines of Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, or the financial paradise of J.K. Rowling or Stephen King, a lot will face the bitter pill of professional drawbacks. And if your literary career is dying a slow and unappreciated death, can you use your talents for a bit different craft?...
If there is someone you can associate with adventure, it's Indiana Jones. A scholar beloved by his students can also be the protagonist of a series of exciting films and a womanizer. And, as every complex character, he's bound to have some women issues and father and son issues to make him more of an ordinary human. Ordinary is not something he seeks,...
We all come from somewhere: our current location, dream job and desired destination in the world of emigrants and immigrants cannot wipe out our roots. And these roots, entangling our toes, feet, and ankles, remind us of long-forgotten history, ancestry, and family. But in the melting pot of new traditions, Starbucks' culture, borrowed ideas, foreign fashion and languages isn't it good to go...
Seventeen is not really a dream come true age to get pregnant. That's right, you can glorify it in teen reality TV dramas about how teenage girls try to juggle growing up and motherhood, but you can have a better idea about your future and not really want a child in it (either at all or for now). But your country/state/politics might not...
We love the lives of the rich, beautiful, and successful. However, there are only a few of those who will have a chance to enjoy luxury lives without limits. The reality is far harsher. Some of us will at some point in our lives lose their jobs, witness the break-up of their marriages, and face the struggle with the system that doesn't respect...
We got used to male detectives: Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's Hercules Poirot occupied our consciousness for decades. What we needed was someone new and fresh. And a woman. Because what was for decades ignored by others, was female intelligence, bravery, and the ability to notice what to man's eye is unseen. So wouldn't you like to engage in a...
You can't be successful forever and in any profession, there will come younger, more talented and eager. But giving them a chance, might change your outlook on your career and allow you to go with the time dynamics. The values of each generation won't stand the test of time for the younger, just as video casettes were replaced by on demand streaming platforms....
Go fight the forces of nature and find out how small you are and how weak! Pride is our greatest sin; our belief in our unstoppable, unsinkable, undefeated - laughed by Mother Nature with countless casualties. And we tend to forget about it just as often as we are reminded. We established rules, which are here to curb our wild tempers but up...
We've been obsessed with immortality for centuries. The fact that we believe in Jesus Christ's resurrection, reincarnation, and afterlife tells us that we, people, do fear death and the unknown beyond it, and, having gotten used to the life's charm, would like to prolong our stay on Earth as long as possible. This leads us to the pursuit of life eternal. Imagine people...
The human body doesn't have the limitless potential and godlike powers. Unfortunately, either the brain or the muscles have finite capacity and can't accomplish the impossible. For anything that should work we need teams. And maybe one Ethan Hunt alone (or if you prefer Tom Cruise alone) wouldn't be able to save his beloved from certain death or the world from collapsing, but with...
You cannot treat Hollywood too seriously. At the end of the day, it's a business. Award-winning shows, gossip, scandals, blockbusters and flops, big money, bigger loves, even bigger falls, and sexual exploitation are the background for the hundreds of stories which are just stories with fictitious characters, decorations, and costumes. But what is great about it all is the fact that this business...
What a better way to be entertained than to engage in a police case of chasing ruthless criminals, with the assassination of Elizabeth II, the President or guests at the Academy Awards in the background? Especially, when your protagonist, a policeman, Sergeant Frank Drebin is not a typical successful representative of the profession. Full of unbelievably bizarre situations, hilarious serendipities, no respect for...
There are very few stories that are known by practically everybody in the World, and truthfully so, they deserve to be. Whether you're in your seventies or in your teens, you are familiar with Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, R2D2, C3P0, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala, Rey, Kylo Ren, Yoda, and many many more. George Lucas did something unthinkable for...
It's funny how as teenagers we dream about our ideal future and as young adults, we tend to plan our lives, marriages, children, careers, but these dreams and plans turn up to have little to do with reality. But can you really plan these things? When all your friends are dating guys their own age can you expect to fall in love with...
The most frustrating thing in life is to run into a stumbling block of your ambition. But some things are just so difficult to overcome. Money, class, background, education - these things you won't easily acquire and there are no shortcuts. But if once rejected, you badly needed to be accepted back? What can you resort to in order to make your plan...
It takes time to learn your true vocation. You might get in the trap of money, sex, and idleness and be too blind to learn the value of work and love. But time is a great teacher. What comes easily to you, can be as easily taken away. True skills, however, will stay and help you recover from the greatest misfortunes. The loss...
You always remember those who wronged you, don't you? Even one critical remark lingers for years, one hateful comment blurs hundreds of positive ones, one failed purchase sours your mood and memories of many successful ones. One accident leaves you traumatized and one failure in a relationship makes you cautious with the subsequent loves. But if you're innocent, entirely and blissfully and there...
Some die young. Yes, tragically, not everybody is going to make it and enjoy their lives to the fullest. Some will end up with many unfinished stories and unfinished business. But if you had a chance to come back in another body with memories of your past life and were able to mend what was once broken? Young Robert Downey, Jr. and Cybill...
Have you ever experienced a job burnout? However motivated you might be entering a profession, after a while, after months and months of problems, conflicts, or simple overwork, you start to lose the sense of your vocation. What if your job is playing in a science fiction TV series which has been dragging for some time and even fan meetings started to be...
I've read somewhere that now it's a good time to have a daughter. She can decide on her future, make her conscious professional and personal choices, and add so much to the society. Still some countries perceive having a daughter as a waste of resources: abortions of unborn girls are common as families welcome boys. Boys: the future, the business resources, the fathers,...
Every epoch has its do's and don'ts. And if you're set firmly in the society and wish to fit in the norms for the reasons of career and financial security, your personal feelings and happiness might be completely disregarded. What if a man on the verge of getting married met a woman who redefined his idea of love and passion? Would he follow...
At times, you rebel against your family's vocation, deciding to become a baker in a clan of actors or an actor in a family of dentists. Occasionally, having no better idea for yourself, you step into your parents' shoes, inherit the family business, or climb the career ladder competing against your family members. Blood is thicker than water, you know it. And very...
What can you do for love? Can you change your bad habits and turn back on the route to righteousness? Can you repent for your sins and save a life that was doomed to be lost? Can you give a taste of life for those who have lost it kept in the bubble of protection? When the cruelest of hearts are melted by...
If you devote your life to just a single aspect, you might find there's something missing. Education is one of these things. Burying yourself entirely in books doesn't guarantee that your life will be happy and fulfilled. But if you realized it just at the last moment of your high-school marathon and there was just one day to catch up on days wasted...
As a child, you want to have a best friend. Someone loyal to play with. Someone special. You often end up with imaginary friends who would suit your needs and don't require that much protection from your parents' side. But what if your house was visited by someone from a different planet and both of you formed a unique connection that surpassed death...
When you're in your twenties, you have still time to make major decisions. You can make mistakes, you can change your mind. You can switch your career path, there's a chance for a new relationship, for that gap-year, for wasting your savings away. A total revolution is nothing strange and frowned-upon. Time flies by, however, and for some things, it might be already...
Your parents are grandparents seem to you old and weak people who need to be taken care of. But there was a time when they were also young: they had their romances, pleasures, and tragedies. They were wild, brave and unstoppable. The world belonged to them, their future was still uncertain and you - today's youth, weren't even taken into account as living...
Can one coincidental meeting on a train outline your fate for the years to come? Can one tragedy put a break to happiness and family bliss? How complicated is a mother-daughter relationship, especially when the roles reverse and the younger has to take care of the older one? Why do you get disappointed with both your parents and children and all are individuals...
Growing up has one common quality: you make mistakes. You think that as a young woman you have it all figured out, your ambitious plan for happiness is set to push you onto the road of accomplishment and love, but the reality can be harsher than that. Can looks, brains or having a loving boyfriend help you in your process? Or will you...
Imagine a world where your genes determine what kind of profession and lifestyle you are going to have. There are no job interviews, no doubts, no dreams. A simple blood test outlines your professional path and there's nothing to discuss. Either you're a champion or you're a loser. You can design your perfect child and this perfect child can be put on the...
What still seems to be difficult in the business world, is having a career by a woman. We are flooded with stereotypes that women are more emotional than men and less suitable for business. Women still have to cover their brains behind the curtain of pretty faces and sexualized bodies. Female workers also prove to be their greatest enemies, as a competition of...
It seems that the firmest prejudices are among those who have the least knowledge on the subject. The biggest racists are those who have no friends or acquaintances among black people. The biggest homophobes are those whose fears are based on urban legends, not actual experiences of knowing gay couples. Your eyes open only when you happen to witness. Your knowledge and testimony...
Don't you have a feeling that your relationship is a bit boring? Wouldn't you like just a little bit of... spice? There are moments in life when you need stability, crave something long-lasting, secure, and comfortable. At other times, be it recovering from your previous relationships or simply appreciating a moment in life, you'd rather go for the danger, uncertainty and the tempting...
Imagine yourself abroad when you don't know the language and nobody knows yours. This is, I imagine, what blind people feel among movie lovers and deaf people among music fans. This is what poor people feel among the rich. People have various points of reference and breaking out of your comfort zone is hard for everybody who lacks something. But what if a...
Sometimes you have to lose something to appreciate it. And often it means losing your best friend. But when emotions are running high and you are stuck in the world of professional expectations, loveless relationships, peer pressure, and a situation when the only person you care about is about to leave, you might lose it altogether. Equally hard is to deal with your...
Every mother-daughter relationship is hard. The former has devoted so much to raise the latter that the thought of that little one entering the adult world, getting married (to someone not good enough) and having children of her own is unbearable. However toxic it might seem, it's a bond that can never be replaced. Such closeness to any other woman in your life...
It's great when you're talented and your efforts are appreciated by your family members and the support has been given to you from early childhood. You then thank your parents when receiving another award and thrive supporting them in return. But when you're extremely talented and there is no support, not even acceptance among the members of your closest family, the talent and...
War is not a child's game. It's about politics and ruthless killing. But once you form a unit of juveniles, equip them with weapons and make them take care of a hostage, you might deal with another Lord of the Flies. How pristine are human reactions in the face of a common enemy? Why trust is so easy to break? Why leadership goes...
There's something wrong with the human race, as from time to time, it decides to hate one of its variety. Some think themselves better, others perceiving as monsters. But hatred between nations and religions is based on stereotypes and these stereotypes are easy to repeat. But what if during World War II a German, Hitler-obsessed boy was forced to accept a Jewish girl...
Sometimes in life, you need a sign, a signal from God that will lead you to a life vocation, a coincidence that will allow you to choose a profession that will make sense and make you fulfilled and happy. It can be a sign for your personal decision, retirement or resignation and making place for someone new. We change as a society and...
As a girl, you play various games: in your imagination, you can be a captain of a ship, a writer, a soldier, a TV presenter or a cook. And then, as a woman, you are limited to social status: single, married, in a relationship, divorced, or widowed and wonder what could possibly have gone wrong. What is the purpose of a woman on...
