Meet Todd Miller | Business Leader, Professor, Actor, Writer, and soon to be Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Todd Miller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Todd, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
The work life balance question is an interesting one because I think we tend toward balance meaning equal time or equal components. I think this “equal” idea is why so many of us have difficulty finding balance. When my kids were younger, work/life balance for me meant making sure that my work allowed me the time to spend with my family. I never missed a game, a birthday, a concert, a first word or first step. I knew that this stuff was all temporal in nature. Once it is gone, it is gone. Now that my kids are more grown, I am able to put more time into work. For me this has meant pursuing a career in acting as well as an MFA in Film & TV Production. They do not need me as much or need me for different things now, so I have more time for “work.” When we think of work/life balance, we need to consider the season of life we are in and what is most important to us in that season. It may look different for different people, but it rarely looks like equal pieces of a pie.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I always wanted to be in film and television, but fear has kept me away for a long time. A few years ago though I was evaluating life and realized that I have a lot of it still ahead of me, but more importantly, I realized that I could not continue doing what I was doing for that long. I would lose my mind. So, in 2018, I started using an annual motto instead of a resolution, and it has made all the difference. My first motto was discipline and consistency. What I learned from this is that it is about applying discipline over time to get results. For instance since 2018, I have lost over 90 pounds. But this is about acting, so let’s get back on that. I started a podcast in 2019, and later that year I read Bo Eason’s book, “There Is No Plan B For Your a Game.” An exercise in the book is to make a declaration statement starting with “I will be the best…” So I did that, and what is funny is by doing so I started to do things towards that goal. I took an Improv class. Then COVID hit, so I found Backstage and within a month had a national commercial gig. A few months later I was in my first feature film, and it has just continued to blossom. Now, it is still not my full time work because I do have three kids in college, but it will be soon enough.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Since we are considering a week long trip, we would start by exploring Houston itself. We would hit the museum district one day and have dinner in the Rice Village. The next day would be a trip to the zoo and Hermann Park, maybe see if we can find the key from “The Secret” that is suspected to be in the park and then hit a local Mexican restaurant for dinner. Day three would be a trip to Space Center Houston and then a quick little jog over to Kemah for dinner and some amusement rides. Day four is a road trip to San Antonio where we would visit the Riverwalk and explore as many eateries as possible. Day five would be a drive up highway 16 to Kerrville for lunch, and then on to Fredricksburg to stroll through the shops and have some BBQ for dinner or maybe some German food. Day six would be a drive up through the hill country with a trip down the Devil’s Backbone. Probably have some gluten free pizza at Neighbors’ Kitchen in Bastrop, and then back home to Houston. The last day, we would take a drive down to Galveston and just relax at the beach and enjoy the sound of the ocean. Probably get some dinner at Gaidos on the seawall, and we will definitely be riding the Rainforest River Adventure ride at the Rainforest Cafe.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My main shoutout has to go to my wife for her support of me in all my crazy endeavors. She has never discouraged me to pursue anything that I was interested in. But I would like to give a shoutout to Bo Eason and in particular his book, “There Is No Plan B For Your A Game.” It has completely changed my trajectory in life, and I am truly grateful for his wisdom and teaching.

Website: https://www.imdb.me/toddscottmiller

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