Blake Hill is an over achiever with an easy going attitude. Talking to him, you get the sense of a calm guy going with the flow, but underneath, he is paddling like crazy to get to the next big wave.
After surviving a stroke, the turbulence in his life continued to increase, to the point where he was biking up a mountain in Canada and knew it was time to write Westfalia. We explore the events leading up to his mainly auto-biographical novel in this episode.
To listen to episode, click the player above or click this link.
About Blake Hill
Blake is often thought of as a quiet person. Put a strong cup of good coffee in him and he becomes a chatter box. Although quiet on the surface his brain is always engaged and bounces from thought to thought. If you ask him his greatest accomplishment in life. It would be his role as Dad. Blake has two amazing children. He has spent countless hours flying on airplanes and traveling the world with his pro-surfer son. They have chased waves from California to Europe, Mexico, Indonesia, Japan, Australia and countless other destinations. He’s the proud dad of a daughter who’s strong and independent with a passion for dance.
Blake’s professional life began in the movie business doing lighting for movies and TV shows. During this time period he would balance working on set with cultivating his passion for writing. His day would typically begin at 3am. He honed his craft for writing screenplays while also working on the set of movies. Over the years he amassed a collection of ten screenplays and a children’s book along with having his poetry published many times.
Once his children were born he chose to quit the movie business and focus on his kids. This was truly an amazing time in his life and a true gift from the universe. He is truly grateful to have had so much time with his children while they were growing up.
There’s an adventurous spirit that lives within his soul. He’s been riding motorcycles since he could walk. He’s raced motocross, hare n’ hounds and spent days riding across the Mojave Desert and camping under the stars. His rides across the USA have taken him through blizzards, tornadoes, and across the Arctic circle.
His passion for life was dimmed one day when he encountered a stroke. It was as if a light switch had been turned off. This experience was beyond humbling and fueled his passion for living even more. He’s not only physically strong but he’s mentally fit. The stroke tested his will and mental fortitude. He kept the event private with only a few friends knowing about his mental capacity. He was challenged by the everlasting question of; how are you feeling? His focus was on healing and getting his memory back. He didn’t want the constant reminder of what had happened. His physical self is truly one hundred percent. His mental self is challenged occasionally with loss of memory. He is extremely grateful to be where he is today on a physical, emotional and spiritual level.
Blake’s typical day begins at 4am with an awesome cup of coffee, splashed with cream while spending some quiet time with his two dogs. He works out with free weights, resistance bands, hikes with his dogs and tries to surf every day. He believes that keeping active mentally and physically is the key to happiness. He’s 55 years old and with each and every wave he surfs, he strives to ride the next one better than the last. He truly feels blessed for his amazing life.
You can find Westphalia at Amazon* or wherever you find your books.
Writing Practice
Blake's method of writing combines old school and new.
He starts with a distraction-free environment. To keep himself in the mindset of writing every time, he listens to the same music -- Jackson Browne's Solo Acoustic Volumes 1 and Volume 2.*
He also does all his drafts on yellow legal pads.
These habitual behaviors help ease the brain into writing mode. It's another way of leveraging the power of neuroplasticity -- the nerves that fire together, wire together. By reinforcing these patterns repeatedly, it makes it easier to write in the future.
Then, he takes his handwritten drafts and types them up. As he types them in to the computer, he's doing a first editing pass.
Visualization
Blake talks about the importance of visualization.
He describes how athletes learn to enhance their performance by visualizing that performance. In their mind they go through the movements, activities, and successful results. The idea is that parts of he brain can't distinguish between actually doing a thing and visualizing doing a thing. You get extra practice.
Last year, Peter Levine, author of Stronger After Stroke, talked about the same thing. Peter talked about it from thew scientific/medical perspective.
According to studies with FMRI machines, when you watch someone walk or run, you activate the same part of the brain that lights up when you actually walk or run. Imagining the activity gives you similar results to doing the activity.
The best parts of visualization is that it's free and completely harmless. There is no downside and there is a significant upside. So when you have a few moments or hours as you try to get back a limb or control your jaw, take some time to imagine yourself doing it again and again.
To learn more, listen to my interview with Peter G Levine in this episode.
Hack of the Week
Blake talked about his strategy for dealing with the massive life changes after a stroke.
- Accept where you are. You can start to fix a situation or otherwise address it.
- Process it. Spend some time with the situation and feel your feelings about it. Ignoring your feelings isn't going to help.
- Forgive yourself for your feelings. If your feelings are counterproductive, that's okay. Forgive yourself for feeling that way. Then you can work on the situation or reality that you are in.
- Visualize where you want to be. Leverage the power of your brain to engage your natural neuroplasticity. Figure out how you want your life to look, and visualize your life that way and your abilities that way. Do it again and again.
- Use your mantra. A preferred phrase or mantra can help you center yourself and bring your mind back to focusing on your priorities and where you want to be.
Links
Helpful resources for more information.
(If you don't see the links below, visit http://Strokecast.com/ByBlakeHill)
Where do you want to go from here?
- Learn more about Blake and his work at ByBlakeHill.com and connect with him on Instagram @ByBlakeHill
- Share this episode with someone you know by giving them the link http://Strokecast.com/ByBlakeHill
- Subscribe to the free Strokecast email Newsletter at Strokecast.com/News
- Don't get best…get better
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