Meet Alexander Bounyavong

 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alexander Bounyavong a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alexander, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

My parents first. I’ve watched them go through some of the most difficult times. I am their first child and I’ve been there since they had very little in this country. They were refugees now United States Citizens. The journey was far from anything easy. Resilience to me is understanding the moments where it is hard, uncomfortable, and foreign. There is no navigation for this problem right now but we’re going to find out what to do and someway we will get through it; because we have to survive.

We have a Thai restaurant in Boise that has been open since 2004, and it’s a community gem that many people from around our city enjoy coming back to. This place has taught me some of the most valuable life lessons any young man is blessed enough to experience. The responsibility that was bestowed upon my shoulders always felt so high as the oldest son. Many days it felt burdensome. I wasn’t able to experience a lot of what my friends were doing in high school because I was always ‘working’. Has it had its ups and downs? Absolutely. Has the IRS come after us for ‘unpaid’ taxes? Yes. Do we choose to give up? Definitely thought about it, but it is still standing here till this day — in business and serving the community. This level of resilience was something nurtured in me and also quite natural simultaneously because I shared their genetic line — we come from a line of people who believed in a better life for their families.

Aside from my parents I believe I get my resilience from the Creator — God. I believe he makes us all strong enough to endure such hardships. I don’t think I’m the only resilient person on the planet. I believe everyone is resilient to get through life because this thing is NOT always easy. As long as I choose to live life to its fullest I believe God gives me the strength and resilience to endure whatever comes my way.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Acting: I am a vessel for the story. My body, voice, mind, and spirit is surrendered to the message. The audience is able to see a glimpse at life and its’ possibilities/realities. I as the actor gets the honor of being a conduit of information serving the magic of what can change someone else’s life.

Dancing: Some expressions just cannot be put into words. Because sometimes there aren’t enough words to describe our deepest and most honest feelings. Especially in the moment. The only way to express such emotions is through dance — which is very underrated and underappreciated.

Modeling: Our body is a vehicle. I love being able to create artful expressions with the tools I’ve been blessed with physically. I also love being able to see myself through different lenses — because there’s a version we have of ourselves in our heads, then there’s the version we see when that moment was captured. Some may call it vanity and some call it beauty. We’re human. The human form has long been something inspirational and transformative.

Teaching: One of the greatest things we can do for our souls is give back what has been given to us. There’s someone out there that needs to hear what we have to say, or experience what we’ve already experienced. The new generation looks up to the ones ahead as guidance and reassurance whether they like to admit it or not. The teacher learns as much as the student in duality that both of them benefit in this cohesive element of education. Knowledge and wisdom needs to be passed on.

I’ve just graduated from the Stella Adler Art of Acting Conservatory and we wrapped up our showcases this last week which overall went very well. Now focusing on getting representation and working on more projects in the near future. So for all the agencies out there I hope you clear up some room on those rosters cause I’m ready to get booked and work!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

LISTENING:
I believe I’m one of those people in the room who speaks the least but always has an opinion of my own. I won’t always speak up until I feel it’s necessary. Listening allows me to soak up every piece of information from my surroundings and better come up with solutions. Everybody is willing to talk but if no one is willing to listen then there will be no conclusion amongst the discussion. Listening deeply allows me to get closer to the truth.

Listening to the small inner voice in my head has proved to be my divine connection with the source — God. Learning to trust it has allowed me to enter the ever-flowing flow state and make decisions rooted in this state of being. The results have shown effective and more importantly I understand the experience when it’s happening at any moment.

It’s also extremely important to listen to our bodies. Our bodies tell us what we need and we have to take care of our health. Sickness is usually due to a lack of attention to our well-being, especially when we have hectic schedules and work life. Listen to the body — which areas are hurting, which muscles are tight, take ice baths, use heat pads, give it nutrients, exercise, stretches, and relaxation.

INTUITION: This comes from listening. Our body, mind, and spirit are in unison — they are working together not against each other. Our intuitive abilities can be enhanced when our tools are in better alignment with one another. If either one is out of whack it can throw our whole equilibrium off. The famous Albert Einstein quote speaks volumes on intuition, “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant”. A life guided by intuition allows us to be guided by the source. This way we will be living a more flow-based life. A life free from the stresses and complications of the world. A life full of meaning and purpose. Listen to that small still voice and trust that it will help guide.

EXECUTION: Take action on ideas. Do something about it. I may have not known how it was going to turn out but as long as I started some kind of motion in it the finishing product will be what it will be. If there is anything in my life I feel needs change I have to take action — the universe will reward me in the end. Ideas can be fleeting — not all of them get to see the light of day, or they do and it’s from someone else’s mind. If an idea has any sort of strong resonance with me I do my best to nurture that idea to it’s fullest potential. When I decided to leave my hometown Boise, ID to come to Los Angeles I realized I had to take necessary actions that aligned with what I wanted to do in a much bigger city. I had to execute body, mind, and spirit. Now realizing it was exactly what I was supposed to do. I am exactly where I need to be.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

I’m facing challenges financially being that I’m on some of the last couple hundred dollars to my name on top of paying rent, school tuition, gas, cost of living, etc. And it hasn’t been easy having to ask for help or money from friends/family members. My retirement account has been getting lower and lower from having to withdraw funds from the accounts. Luckily I’m fortunate enough that those who are able to give are able to help when necessary.

I’ve applied for unemployment benefits, an EBT card to buy groceries, and I’ve received them. Just enough to get by December 2024, the month I graduated from Stella Adler. I landed a job at Jersey Mike’s making sandwiches. I’ve only been able to have two shifts a week since starting in November. I was supposed to have a few gigs doing catering and security in January — most likely making a couple hundred extra bucks each gig, but it was all cancelled due to the LA fires. My account was in the negative all week last week until Saturday. It’s a slow build but I’m getting better at the job enough that I should be getting more shifts in the next week.

One big lesson I get time and time again is being able to ask for help — with anything. I am not entitled to anyone’s help but it’s a gift anytime I receive it. I’ll always be grateful.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Art of Acting Studio, Miguel Perez

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