UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH CELEBRATED ACTOR & AUTHOR
by Kristen Kucharski
It was personal, authentic, and moving. It felt as if I knew Colin my whole life. He was genuine and affable as I asked him personal questions about his life and about his new book, Agile Artist, published earlier this year. We talked about his current aspirations to inspire others through motivational speaking and one-on-one coaching; and along the way, I discovered a very kind, compassionate, caring individual, with a very funny side. He was open about his heart-felt passions, inclusive of wanting to be a positive influence in the lives of children, and the hopes of working with area schools to communicate his message of encouragement.
As the story goes for many Hollywood stars, Colin grew up from humble beginnings. In fact, he went to high school in Chicago Heights, IL – graduating from Marian Catholic and going on to study medicine at the University of Iowa. Just prior to the MCATs, his path changed when he decided to start following his heart and live the life he dreamed about, versus the life that was expected.
This came as no easy task and he failed more than succeeded while pursuing a modeling and acting career; but, what he learned through these experiences ultimately became the foundation of his daily mantra. He learned that he must wholly believe in his vision for it to become a reality, and although there was no evidence in his life that he was currently a famous star, he began using positive affirmation. Rooted in confidence, Colin led with his heart versus his mind to bring his dreams to fruition! He no longer tried to act like a character, he became the character – emulating scripts of what he always wanted to say to people, but never had the courage, allowing him to find his true voice.
“We are so afraid of what people think of us that it prevents us from taking action,” he says. “Get out of your comfort zone and give yourself permission to fall down and be able to learn from your mistakes.” He adds, “Everyone seems to have a limiting belief that I’m not good enough; however, if we identify where we want to be, what our goals and aspirations are, and then work backwards from there, dreams become a true reality. With the internet and the ability to Google just about anything, resources become abundant, education becomes free, and associating with similar goal-minded people connects the dots.”
Embracing this core philosophy, he began to act like a star, associating himself with successful people; and although he had yet to land a single role, he began to feel like a star in his gut. This resulted in the fame that Colin had only fantasized about.
Today, Colin is a Hollywood actor, best known for his portrayal of Dex opposite Kate Hudson in the movie "Something Borrowed" and Soap opera fans may remember him as Erica Kane's son, Josh, on "All My Children." His extensive list of credits also includes "The Client List," "Melrose Place and "Rizzoli and Isles and he has been fortunate to have shared the big screen with many Hollywood icons, including two of his own idols, Sylvester Stallone and Gary Oldman; yet, with all this success his ultimate dream is truly just beginning today.
“I want the world to be a better place because I was in it,” Colin shares. “Life is all about perspective and you can either look at the positives or look at the negatives.”
He encourages people to find their Hell Yeah in life and follow it! Colin’s Hell Yeah is being fully self-expressed and making a positive impact on the world.
Most might think that’s an easy statement when you are a celebrity that has modeled for Versace in Italy, walked the red carpet in Hollywood; and traveled the world promoting your book; however, like all of us, Colin has had his fair share of pain along the way.
As a two-time cancer survivor, these conversations are still difficult because it caused him embarrassment at the time. He had testicular cancer and felt it affected his manhood and was uncertain what his life would look like after surgery and the radiation – would he be able to have children, would it permanently change his physical appearance, etc. He needed to become okay with who he was regardless of what was going on down there. What Colin discovered along the way was that the more he opened up and shared his fears, the more it allowed other people to share their fears while building deeper, more authentic bonds and relationships; hence why he wants to impart these personal experiences with others to create more positivity, encouraging others to think beyond the obvious.
Colin’s family is everything to him and one of the main reasons he has moved back to Chicago to be closer to his mom since his dad passed away three years ago. Just prior to that, Colin was fortunate to carry out his personal life lessons of positivity to resolve his conflicts with his dad, choosing their relationship over a resentment he carried with him for 30 years.
His daily mantra is offering the freedom to live a life of no regrets; fully expressing empathy, compassion, hope, and joy; and although he is often mistaken for Tom Cruise, Colin Egglesfield is indeed his own authentic, genuine, caring, and inspiring person that seems to engage most people who immediately want to be a part of his positive posse.
He certainly had me at Hello!
For motivational speaking or one on one coaching with Colin visit https://www.colinegglesfield.com/
