Merriam-Webster defines success as the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame. Comedian/Actor Romany Malco returned to the town that adopted him as a teen simply to refute that definition, educate today’s youth on success, and inspire them to live an extraordinary life with his “Back To Baytown” event. If you haven’t read his biography, Romany is a Trinidad native who was raised in both the Caribbean and New York. As a teen, he moved to Baytown, East of Houston, TX. His breakout role was in the 2005 hit movie “The 40 –Year-Old-Virgin” where he co-starred alongside fellow comedian, Steve Carell. This past weekend, November 6-8th, the “Think Like a Man” star organically gave generously of himself as he met with fans and spoke to students. The ultimate goal? Simply to change the lives of youth by giving them insight on what success looks like so they could redefine success for their own lives. He did this through discussions of “introspection, forgiveness, diversity, empathy, and how crippling blame can be.”
“Don’t seek love seek purpose and let love find you.” – Romany Malco
Romany talked openly about his childhood. “My father was an alcoholic, and my mother wasn’t very emotionally stable,” he told me. “This is what I was explaining to the students today. Most times we [comedians] quite often come from some of the most traumatic situations. I was able to detect it well in advance and develop the ability to quell the situation. It was my survival personality that I created for the sanity and the sanctity of my household that eventually became my career.” Malco shared this part of his life with Baytown’s youth to encourage them to develop ways to process pain and use it [pain] as a way to inform them of their purpose. In turn, they will utilize their purpose as a way to determine how they will serve on the planet; truly being successful and living an extraordinary life.
“We are the immaculate perception of how we perceive ourselves. What you whisper to yourself at night…that’s what you really are.” – Romany Malco
So what is success and an “extraordinary” life? The “Top Five” star continued, “The idea of success is the acquisition of things, social status, and monetary gain – all three of which are synonymous with debt and can be accomplished without having a sense of purpose. As a result you never have a sense of personal fulfillment and as a result of that you are enslaved by this wheel. You buy more work, and you never get to experience what it is to have a life because this type of success is a temporary fulfillment. The extraordinary life is freedom and freedom is the ability to explore without fear of consequence to truly live.” He explained in depth how to have a career in entertainment; it takes 100% of you working hard all the time until your career is built. There’s no diluting the efforts. “This job (entertainment) requires everything. It takes about 15 years to build a career…ALL of you for 15 years and there’s a lot of collateral damage with that.”
He wanted the youth to pull away with a sense of waiting for what is perceived to be the “life” and actually using the time that they have now to develop qualities that will lead them down a road “less traveled”; their actual dreams. “Most kids do not aspire to lead an ordinary life, they set out to lead an extraordinary life,” he told Houston Style Magazine. However, kids sometimes get off track and get distracted by the opposite sex, fast money, clothes, and other material things. Malco said one has to be focused and be willing to put in the hard work, period. Malco had to focus himself to determine his career goals. The handsome funny man who wanted to be a rapper at 7-years-old didn’t start acting until he was 30.
Although he ventured to various schools, it wasn’t all lectures, the comedian, of course, shared his humor. He even allowed his fans to meet & greet him while sharing in an open Q&A. He also used his time back home to venture to local businesses to take pictures with owners and fans. He wrapped up his #BackToBaytown event with a “Night Out with Romany” party at The Dirty Bay Beer Company. As a philanthropist, Malco donated proceeds from the weekend to a charity very close to his heart, A-Place.org. The not-for-profit organization is devoted to inspiring a sense of social responsibility and activism while improving the quality of life for those in need of change. A-Place.org aims to create a world where justice, opportunity, and compassion are equally available to every individual regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or religious belief. For more information on how you can donate go to A-Place.Org visit their website, www.a-place.org.
Check out the hashtag #BackToBaytown for pictures of the entire weekend. Connect with the talented, down-to-earth, actor/comedian Romany Malco on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @RomanyMalco.
Follow Me on Google+