In this solo podcast episode, Tony Suriano uses the filmmaking term “opening image” as a metaphor for the starting point of a person’s life‑film and hero’s journey. He explains that recognizing your current opening image—your present self‑portrait—gives you a clear launch pad for growth, goal‑setting, and purposeful direction. Tony shares his own past opening image (a shy, insecure teen) and his present one (an author‑coach helping creatives direct their lives). He stresses the difference between big, scary goals and mundane checklists, urging listeners to prioritize meaningful objectives. To discover one’s opening image, he offers three practical tools: (1) look at yourself in the mirror for a few minutes each day, (2) ask a trusted person for an external perspective, and (3) journal or script the scene as if writing a film. He argues that awareness of this starting point prevents getting stuck on autopilot, fuels personal growth, and deepens connection to others. The episode ends with a call to share, review, and a promotion of his upcoming book “Direct Your Life or Someone Else Will,” which outlines a 15‑beat system for life direction.
Chapters
Do not get stuck in an opening image because the opening image is the beginning of the journey. There's so much more out there for you. It's a hero's journey. You're the hero of your own life film. My wife says this intro sounds like a conspiracy mystery. So I'll stop that voice and tell you, this show is for you to get you on the track you want for your life. I'm going to share encouraging educational content, hopefully entertaining, that will help you direct What if your life was the greatest movie that ever existed? Well, it is if you become the director of your life. And today I want to talk about what we call in filmmaking the opening image. I'm Tony Suriano. I'm your host. Let's get into it. Because when you understand your opening image, Your starting point, then you can start your hero's journey. So in filmmaking, the opening image is essentially that— the first image or scene that you see in a film or in a script that essentially is the starting point for the character's journey. The hero. The hero's journey. And if you can Look at your life personally, professionally, and honestly, so you can find out where you are right now. That is the only way you can get to where you're going. If you know where you are now, understand your theme, what your setting is, so then you have the ability to create a target. My opening image decades ago was a. Shy, mumbling kid that went into his late teens unsure about things, not confident about talking to people and having conversations, not a person that would go on dates, just someone that was lost in the shadows and felt misunderstood. Until I realized, wow, there's 7 billion people. They probably have some of the same feelings I have. You're not alone. That was my opening image for my life. And then since then, there's been development. I've learned so much, and that taught me that I know nothing, right? Mm-hmm. But I mentioned that because that was one of my opening images, but we have multiple So you don't want to go back years ago and find your opening image, really. You want to start now, because if you get lost in the past, you don't make that much progress. And you want to make progress because progress equals happiness. And hey, we all want to be a little more happier, right? So what's your opening image now? For me, At this moment, my opening image is an author that wants to help and lead creatives like you to direct your life so that your life is the greatest movie that you've ever experienced, a movie that you would like to watch and rewatch. Because how many of you out there have those films you rewatch every year or more than every year? Like me, I watch Terminator 1 several times a year. I just love that film. There's something strong about it. I want you to feel like that about your life. I want to feel like that about my life. I want people to be excited to rewatch my life someday or watch it currently. And most importantly, myself. I want to experience the fullness that life can be. And if you don't understand where you are right now, you can't truly be present and you can't set goals that matter. And by goals, I mean hard, difficult things That sometimes scare you, that sometimes you don't even know where to start because it's such a big goal. And that is a goal. It's not a task. We don't want you to be just doing the little checklist for small things. By the way, I love checklists. You know, I add them to my day as well, but you don't want to get confused with a checklist versus a goal list. And you have to make sure you prioritize. So what's your opening image? Where are you right now? If you don't know, I have 2 tools you should use today. They seem simple, they seem obvious, but they work. First tool, look in the mirror. Look at yourself, not just for a quick glance. Did you know most people, they avoid looking themselves in the eyes? There's so many people out there that just don't understand that there's a lost kid in them. There are dreams that have fizzled out over the years. And because of that, there's this subconscious thing where you don't want to look at yourself. But I implore you to look at yourself in the eyes and just hang out with yourself in the mirror every day, at least a couple minutes. If you're new to this, just do it. It's going to be uncomfortable, weird, and strange. But how I do it and how I make it fun is I make silly faces at myself. I've been doing that for decades. Even when I've been in tears or upset or really frustrated or angry, we always have to use the bathroom during all those emotions. So I've gone into the bathroom and I've looked at myself. I'm dead serious. I've had tears in my eyes. And then I just give myself this wacky smile and it, it just kind of gets me back into the present. And there's some sort of gratefulness that happens when you do that. But this will tell you where you're at. Now, if you can't do that or if that's not working and you're like, I look at myself all the time, why don't you ask someone you trust, someone that will support you? And it could look like this, or sound like this rather. Hey, person that supports me and I trust, where do you think I am right now in my life? I mean, you know me, you know some of my things, my problems, my dreams, my circumstances. If my life was a movie, what would my opening image be like? How would you describe it? And when you hear it from someone else, something different happens. There's a new perspective. And it's similar to writing it down like a script. So if you don't want to talk to someone else, if you don't want to look in your— in the mirror, write it down. Journal about where you are right now. What would it look if you were writing a novel or you're writing a script for a film? What would it look like? Then You start to feel what it looks like. You start to embody your opening image. And that's your starting point. You have to be aware. This is the gate to awareness. And that's the beginning to directing your life and growing further than you ever have before. And we all want growth, baby. You know it. We want to feel energized and we want to grow. And we want to connect. And if we're not aware of where we are, if we aren't aware of our opening image, we can get stuck in it. And there's nothing worse than getting stuck and making no progress, because when that happens, you get on autopilot. And what happens is you silently I don't want that for you. I don't want that for anyone on this earth and beyond because it's not a great feeling to be silently quitting, unconnected or disconnected. I don't think unconnected is a word, okay? I call myself out on that. But we want to be alive and connected and following our passions. And growing. That's just the facts. Ask a billionaire, ask a person of poverty. That's what we desire and we deserve. Remember, you're a miracle. Remember, it is insane that you made it this far. You actually survived through all of your ancestors, and now you're here. So don't waste it. Do not get stuck in an opening image, because the opening image is beginning of the journey. There's so much more out there for you. It's a hero's journey. You're the hero of your own life film. So make it rock. Choose the genre, choose the theme, go after it, and have enthusiasm to live it. And get out there and direct your life. That's it for this episode. I wanted to just throw it at you while I'm driving. To my destination. If you love this, if you liked it, please share it with someone. And most importantly, leave a comment and review the show on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening. It helps a lot. I appreciate it. There's gonna be a lot more coming at your, your window of opportunity here. I have a book coming out called Direct Your Life or Someone Else Will. It's a 15-beat system to help you control your life optimally and positively. So that drops very soon. If you want to be notified, go to tonysuriano.com/directyourlife. That's it for today. Thanks again. I'm Tony Suriano. Go direct your life.
