Rick Beeman

It was a very challenging day at work today. Im the General Manager so ultimately everything is my responsibility. I have no problem raising my hand and admitting mistakes or taking the blame. But apparently that is not the norm in this culture. There is a habit of deflecting blame at every turn. They all nearly strain their elbows as the reach around to point at others so much. Maybe I just admit to much more than is my fair share. No matter. But there was a lot of pressure at work today. A strange thing happened. The more the heat got turned up, the more peace I felt. I feel like Im walking around psychologically invincible. Now this is not my own doing as Im not relying upon my own strength. But my faith has grown to such a strong point that I know whatever happens, God has an amazing plan. So that allows me to be super confident in God’s provision and thus helps me remain positive. Positivity is contagious and in a sense a self-fulfilling prophecy. So faith in God ...

It was a real up and down day for me today. It’s late so Im not sure how long this blog will be. I had a good morning but the afternoon for some reason…I was just zapped. I was absolutely unproductive. Im so much more efficient when I have a lot to do. But since we finished all three productions everything came to a screeching halt. Maybe I just needed to re-energize or something. I tried to be productive but it was like I was just moving in slow motion. I got better towards the late afternoon. Then even more productive in the evening. We had a meeting for our Funniest Person in Bahrain contest. Im so proud of crew because they are proud of their association with me. We are becoming quite popular. They have done a nice big write up about us in FACT magazine and we are going in the main paper tomorrow. So we have a growing fan base. I think this sort of thing would be popular in Los Angeles too. Maybe Im onto something here. There are a lot of really big things happenin...

Yesterday was a very tough day. But I stayed focused on the grace of God and the promises that He gave me. He wouldn’t have brought me all this way to leave me hangin. So in a way I sort of bore down and told myself that I’m going to break through this, no matter what. I was going to trust God no matter what. Even though the negative circumstances were tough I was not going to be intimidated by them. I woke up this morning and I rolled out of bed. I always like to start the day on my knees as a sign of submission to God’s will. I renew my mind daily like Paul teaches. I also pray against the spirit of fear. So I’m on my way to work like every day. I made a conscious decision that I was just going to trust God no matter what. That took all the pressure off. Remember, God brought me here only because I was a willing vessel. And God will provide for me here because I am a willing vessel. I hear a song on the radio, Torn…by Natalie Imbruglia. And the peace and joy of God ...

It was a tough day today. Im not really ready to fill in the details, but I should be in a couple of days. Please pray for me. OK…the good is that we finally completed project #2 and the client was finally happy with it. Now it has to go to the client’s boss for ultimate approval. So I’ve made about 10 re-edits on this project and still it has to go through one more hoop. I have talked to many other producers here and apparently this is pretty normal. I so have to adapt to this. It is pretty frustrating. I had a great meal with a guy that runs another production company. He is from the UK and has been in the industry for many years. I chatted with him a great deal at dinner. It has been nice getting his point of view. I have met with him a few times since I’ve been here. We have a mutual respect for each other. I stayed for quiz night afterwards. The two coaches joined me. Then I had a surprise that was kind of cool. Pat one of the coaches invited his star player Lamo...

Well…I get the feeling that my six weeks of challenges are just about over. It seems like a heaviness has been lifted. If this had been a test, I think I passed it for the most part. I fell asleep while writing my blog last night. So I woke up at 4 am finished it up and by then I was awake. So I watched part of movie, did some emails and went to bed when the sun came up at 5 am. I slept til 10 am and felt a sickness coming on. I had flu-like symptoms when I went to bed and I think I had the chills in the morning. But I prayed it away…and about an hour after I named my sickness and claimed victory over it, it was gone. I really haven’t been sick since I have adopted this method of prayer. It really works. Though I am still a diabetic, and I’ve tried to pray that away to no avail. This is where the “God’s grace is sufficient for me” part comes in. I woke up and went to my favorite little Mexican restaurant for breakfast. I was really sad when they told me they were going to...

It was a very good day today. I think I’m nearly coming to the end of the 6 weeks of suckage. Not a moment too soon either. I stayed out last night way too late. After drinks at my friend John’s house, a bunch wanted to go to swanky club. I truly hate clubs which is a shame, because of my connections I could get a lot of perks. So I got to sleep really late. I got up early for church. I so wanted to sleep in and skip it. But last week I did sleep in and Pastor Graeme noticed. So this week I had to make sure I was there. But wouldn’t you know it, Pastor Graeme wasn’t there. After the service I met these two really interesting characters. They are both coaches for a professional basketball league in Bahrain. We went to lunch together afterwards and really had a great time. I invited my friend Mr. Harlem over, Art, and we all had a great time talking and getting to know each other. One of the coaches is looking for a new place to live and Im looking for a roommate. So he c...

Im pretty tired so I don’t know how long this will be. I was invited over to my friend John’s house for drinks. I met a lot of people my age…30’s-40’s. It was a night full of interesting conversation. I really enjoyed it. Today was an up and down day for me. God was really speaking to me in the morning that I need to spend more time in silence before him. My meditation time is way off especially since I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to kayak. I try to tak the advice of Paul and pray constantly. So I always strive to be a in a spirit of prayer. But taking the time and just being with God I haven’t been doing enough of. Oh…I’ll take five-10 minutes in the morning and at lunch, perhaps listen to a podcast of a sermon back home or have my CD of prayer music. But actually just stopping and being still before the spirit…is something I need to much more of , and not just for a few minutes at a time. If this was new year’s I’d make it a resolution. One benefit of living alon...

I actually have been debating and praying whether I should write this blog all day. I don’t want to use this forum to always detail the actions and justifications of X. I certainly want to be fair, honest and forthright. I don’t want this to be perceived as a platform for me attacking another person or being petty. So this is the petition I talked with God about. Should I write about what has recently transpired or not. The answer was very clear. I don’t think this blog, or the life Im living right now has anything to do with me or selfish ambition at this point. This is part of me having to deny myself daily. Im writing and living my life as tool that hopefully God can use to inspire others and sow seeds for His kingdom. Im hoping that my life will be an example to others. Perhaps this is one of the main reasons why I wrote this blog. I have had so many people say to me…I thought my situation was bad…but yours is much worse. Somehow this revelation helps them put what the...

Well I had a meeting with the client today to go over our video for the 8th time. Im so flustered by this. Next time Im going to do it a lot differently but we are kind of stuck on this one. So we go to the conference room and it starts off poorly. They complain that the quality of video is not up to standards and then detail of how I have failed and how others have done so much better. They compare me with other projects that had half the budget and were much better in quality. Now I have a pretty good esteem and am objective, so I stood up to the client to defend myself and it got worse. I reasoned that Im proud of this project and it really is quite good. They said they are abandoning the deadline and are going to work on the project til they feel satisfied. What???? More re-edits. I talked to several other people and this sort of tactic is common. So I said lets get started with the video. About two minutes through they had me stopped it and again pointed out how unp...

It was an up and down day for me. It started out bad the night before. Now you remember that I didn’t let the outburst of my boss affect my joy and it didn’t. But I let something else do just that. Right before I went to bed I spoke with my Middle son. I love that kid. I tried to talk to my other two children (whom I also equally love) and they didn’t want to speak with me. Plus, I was informed that neither my oldest or youngest plan on spending thanksgiving with me when I come back to the states for 10 days. Now that hurts…bad. I know X will spin it like this is all my fault like she spins everything to be my fault and say this was their choice and she did not influence them whatsoever. If you believe that, I have some desert sand over here in Saudi Arabia I’d like to sell you. It’s a textbook case of parental alienation. X will probably even let them see this blog to prove that she is doing nothing to alienate the kids, but the proof is in the actions. I love my children...

It was really different day today emotionally for me. I think it was proof that Im living my life right, right now, even though things are difficult. I was so focused on finishing my projects. I keep mentioning that because at the same time I still have to focus on the day to day aspects of running the business. The frustrating thing about the first year here was the learning curve. The Arab business culture is just different. They are very demanding and very particular about the little things. So my problem is they keep making minor changes on edit 3, 4, 5, 6. Everytime we screen the supposed final product they find something else they want changed about it. If they would have made all the changes at once like they are supposed to, we would have been done with it. So these two big projects were supposed to be completed weeks ago, but because of the changes they’re still not done. The problem with this, is we can’t invoice until the projects are completed. That has put us i...

Today was a whole lot easier than I thought it would be. Which hopefully is a good omen. I’m hoping this week will be a whole lot easier than I anticipate. October is almost over….Yay!!!!! I had a conversation with God today (boy I know how strange that must sound, but we really do have conversations). He let me know that the worst of the six weeks is over whew… So today I got up to do the new voice over for project #3. We went into a very old but workable studio. They recorded the session on ¼” reel to reel. Are you serious? Yes..I am serious. It felt like I was in the 1960’s. The VO guy was great. I was following along the script in Arabic, and remember I don’t speak, read or write it. But I could tell when he was making mistakes and cut in, and it turns out I was right. Im learning so much about communication. Words are not that important when you communicate. Being over here is really helping hone my listening skills. So we got the project done in half the time...

I really needed this day. I woke up early and got ready to go to church. Now I wasn’t that sleepy, but I really heard God’s voice tell me to go back to sleep. I know that sounds crazy. But I heard it quite clearly over and over again. But I tried to ignore it. So I got in the shower and got ready to go. Then I heard the voice again, to go back to sleep. I know this sounds crazy because if you are a Christian, you are supposed to go church. We go on Fridays, the first day of the weekend here. So finally I heard the voice again, Go back to sleep. Then I realized why. I set my computer clock to West Coast PST time. We are about 10 hours ahead here. So I always subtract two hours and I know what time it is here. Well every once in awhile I forget that my clock is set this way. So as I walking out the door, I grabbed my cell phone. It wasn’t 9:30 a half hour before church. It was 7:30 am…2.5 hours before church. No wonder the voice was telling me to go back to sleep. So...

Well…I think last night was the turning point for me. I mean that the laughter is the best medicine part. I’ve had so many people all throughout the day approach me and congratulate me on what a great show it was last night. They just rave and rave. It really feels good. So I feel partially like a proud papa and partially like a very good director. As I was coaching them the night before It hit me…I am a great director. Its important that I say that because as an artist I sometimes doubt myself. With the instability at work this past month I’ve been doubting myself a lot. The cast wanted me to give them more criticism so they could hone their craft. So during the walk through for the show, I did give them a lot of pointers, tips, and tricks. They all responded to them really well. I told them which technique worked and which technique they were having troubles with. They really do trust me. What is amazing is the comments I got about the people that a few weeks ago were...

Laughter is the best medicine, some say. I guess Im living proof of that. I have gone over and over this past week the heaviness that has fallen upon me. Now that is so contrary to my character, its hard to take. The pressures at work of having to use my left brain (analytical) far more than my right brain (creative). Im much happier and fulfilled when I can be completely creative. But having to bring a company out of the financial mess we’re in is proving to be quite daunting. Now part of this mess was my fault because of not hiring the right people and not preparing for the dry months of summer I was warned about. I know we’ll pull out, but its just getting there that is the hard part. So I took a break from all the pressure tonight with round 4 of the Funniest Person in Bahrain. I think everyone will agree that this was the best Funniest Person night so far. The comedians were on, and I gave them plenty of scenarios in which to shine. Im very proud of them. The energy...

Whew…what a tough day. The pressure is so thick at the office you can really feel it. Or maybe I can just feel it. It is suffocating. There is so much pressure to get work in, but then I have to finish the work we do have. I have to finish, and have it approved before I can access the funds. Im finding it much harder to get that process done over here. I had two meetings today to hopefully get the two big projects Im working on signed off so we can get the cash in. But the one meeting was postponed for another week. Then the big meeting didn’t go as well as I had planned either. They are caught up with the minute details. They wanted a lot of little things changed. Overall they were happy with the project. But then one person chimed in at the end questioning the philosophy of the main aspect of the project. I held my breath, because if he would have gotten his wish, we’re talking major major changes. But they all realized that they are up against a real deadline. There ...

Nice day today. Lots and lots of pressure at the office, but I have so much more peace today. Did anything happen to make that peace a reality? No, in fact things got worse. Instead I had an attitude adjustment. Im just looking at things through my Christ-shaded rose colored glasses again. Im trying to look at things with a new perspective. God has seen me through so many things before, Im sure he’ll see me through this now. All things work together for good. I got the day started with a great breakfast with Raimond, Tanya’s husband. I was partially able to convince Nader to bring Raimond on board as a consultant with us. We are in such a cash flow crisis, I volunteered to give up some of my salary to help offset the costs. I am not saying that to bring praise to myself, rather to show you how dire the situation is, and how desperate times call for desperate measures. The reason why I think Raimond is so good for the company is because he really excels at the things Im poo...

Wow it was a really tough day. I can’t wait for October to be over. It seems like its hitting me from all sides now. I know this is a season of testing for me. I must be a slow learner because it seems like the season has dragged on and on and on. There are certainly some good points out there but its hard to see the good through the muck. So Im sure in a couple of days I’ll bounce back and be just fine. I am nearing a year’s completion here at KSDi. While we’ve accomplished a great many things, the cash flow issue is very troubling. That’s my bottom line responsibility as a General Manager. I have to make the company money. Its hard to maintain a positive cash flow when you’ve had very little productivity from your sales department, you’re in the midst of a recession and you’re learning that business culture here is much different that that in the West. It has been a real learning experience for me and I’ve grown in so many ways. Have I accomplished what I set out to acco...

(Im having internet problems, couldn't post yesterday...sorry) I had a very nice and relaxing day today. It was almost like I was aggressively pursuing the relaxation. I know next week is going to be very very busy, so I wanted to make sure I was well prepared for it. I got to bed somewhat early and was able to sleep in. I met Russ for racquetball on the Navy Base at 11, that was good exercise. Then I came back and took a nap. My internet connection is off, so sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t work. It’s a little bit frustrating. So I don’t even know if Im going to be able to post this blog tonight. I woke up at 4, just in time for a sunset Kayak ride. The water wasn’t as calm today, but still its great exercise. There is just something incredibly therapeutic about the monotony and rhythm of paddling out there. I never see any other kayakers, only jet skis and yachts on the weekend. But during the week there is nothing. Today I had to dodge a big yacht that was...

I’ve been thinking about this blog post for two days as I didn’t want to react impulsively. Even now, I might write the post and then delete it as I’ve done numerous times before. I have nearly been in Bahrain one year now. I remember very clearly on my flight over here Oct. 21, of last year God spoke very clearly to me. He said while you are in Bahrain I want you to start a church and I want you to write your book. I started arguing with God, much like Moses did. How am I going to start a church when I don’t know anyone, and who would ever want to read my book, my story? He very clearly told me leave all the details to Me. I believe that the church is my small group on Monday nights, while this blog has taken the form of a book. Will it ever find a publisher if I decide to compile it? I don’t know. Would people want to read it? Well, I do have you reading this, and for that Im grateful. Im not really sure why your read but from tracking the statistics the blog has now gon...