"Momma's Boys"
~ How Moms Influence Their Sons to be Successful ~
Boys are a bread all their own! They are known to be rough and tough and have energy most women know nothing about and yet they have a positive side and a soft calm side of them not often acknowledged. These are the two sides Dr. Jeanelle Lanham plans to share with the world through her "Momma's Boy" Project. The "Momma's Boy" Project came to life because Dr. Jeanelle was a single mother raising two boys on her own; her experiences as a mother of boys and a Teen Counselor opened her eyes to the way the world viewed boys and she wanted to change that view.
For over 10 years, Dr. Jeanelle conducted the study The Lanham Group's Mother and Son Study on how boys receive correction and whether they followed through or not. The findings led Dr. Lanham to recognize that boys receive correction from their moms differently than from their dads; the boys showed signs of wanting to "impress" their mothers (a female) a little more than they wanted to impress their dad (a male). Studies showed that each gender desired to get approval from the other gender more than they desired it from the same gender; we tend to compete against the same gender. Our boys desire to have their mothers active in their lives and when they receive it, they succeed.
Being a "Momma's Boy" normally has a negative connotation but with this Project we are going to turn that around. Dr. Jeanelle is going to show that being a "Momma's Boy" doesn't mean a son is weak or any less of a man. Rather, her interviews will show that being a "Momma's Boy" can also mean being a strong successful male loved and supported by his mother.
A Mom's love and guidance is important for the future of how our Young Men: view women, treat women, and treat their family. Here's a look at Jim Dailakis and his relationship with his mother.
Jim's Interview
Having a close relationship with his mother is one of the things Jim Dailakis is linking to his success. Jim's mother arrived in Perth, Australia all the way from Greece, all on her own when she was just 13 years old. She managed to take care of herself, that is, until she met the love of her life, Jim's dad.
With Jim's dad working, his mother had to care of Jim and his two sisters alone, while the family was struggling financially. Mrs. Dailakis strength and ability to manage a family, a home, be a positive role model and raise her children successfully is what Jim used as an anchor for his success. Take a look!
First I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me. Let's start out by having you introduce yourself.
1) Name: Jim Dailakis
2) Hometown: (City/State) Perth, Australia.
3) Current City/State: New York, New York.
4) Thank you _Jim__ for taking time to speak with us today on "Momma's Boy" Blog. Jim, you are a successful man and a great example to all young men and our readers are very interested in finding out what's new with you and we're going to talk about current and future projects in a moment. But first, let’s talk about how you got to this point in your life. We hear a lot of negative things about young men today and our readers would like to know what challenges if any did you face as a teenage boy?
One of the challenges I faced as a really young boy was bullying. I looked remarkably like a pretty girl and I was weak and lacked confidence. As a teenager, I took up martial arts, discovered Bruce Lee, Rocky and Al Pacino and my life changed considerably in a positive direction. This is the subject of my one-man show. Being bullied, confronting my own weaknesses and transforming into a confident, strong and determined individual. I believe if I did it, anyone can. I used humor quite a lot to get by. It definitely alleviated a lot of the stress. That's why I'm also looking forward to doing more motivational humor speeches to help others overcome their weaknesses.
5) Some boys have a hard time coping with adverse situations and it can cause them to take a more unfavorable route. Did your Mom play a part in motivating you to do great things?
My mother was an actress... not professional actress but a damn good one. I believe she won an award. She could also sing. This is how she met my father who was always overflowing with confidence at an incredibly great dancer. They were both in a romantic tragic Greek play and life imitated art because they fell in love for real and got married.
My mother was always extremely supportive of anything I wanted to do providing it didn't hurt me or anyone else. When I told her I wanted to go to New York to study acting at the same place Al Pacino studied, she was sad because of the distance but very supportive. To this day she often tells me that if I'm happy, no matter how much she might be missing me, then she knows she's done a good job. She's very selfless like that.
The other thing she taught me was to be very respectful of myself and others. Because of her, I have such an incredible and deep admiration and understanding of women and in my standup talk about how the fairer sex is also the stronger and smarter sex. :-)
6) Were you and your mom close?
Yes and we still are. My whole family is very close and I consider it one of my greatest blessings.
7) What do you remember most about your mom when you were young?
How selfless she was. She's the epitome of the devoted mother. She always kept us clean and well behaved. She was a loving disciplinarian. I still have memories of her overwhelming sensitivity not only towards us but to everyone. I've often said that if everybody had my mother as their parent, there'd probably be no wars.
8) Was it important to you to get your moms approval?
Yes. Because she was so sensible, I knew that if there was ever any indication of disapproval, she was probably right. Looking back both of my parents were right almost 99% of the time.
9) We always hear negative connotation with the title "Momma's Boy" where you ever called a Momma's boy and did it affect you in a negative way?
I would say I was the exact opposite of a mama's boy. It's an enormous misconception to believe that you're a mama's boy if you're close to your mother or if you respect her. I will admit that there are some Greeks that have their mother do everything for them. If that's the case then I'm the antithesis of this stereotype. Both my mother and my father taught me to be self-sufficient and self-reliant, especially when I turned 12.
10) There is a positive connotation associated with being called a Daddy's girl and I as a mother think that it should be the same for being called a Momma's Boys. When hear the name Momma's Boy do you feel proud to be called that or does it upset you?
It has way too many negative connotations. It's mostly reserved for men and women who have become adult spoiled brats. This may not be the case but it's definitely the first thing people think of when you use those two phrases. In fact, I was somewhat reluctant to do this interview because of that title so I guess that proves my point. :-).
11) Before we talk about what's new with you is there anything you'd like to say to or about your Mom or that Special Female influence in your life?
She's the salt of the earth, kind, gentle, loving extremely sensitive, unbelievably selfless and devoted to her family beyond anything I've ever seen. I'm so grateful I came to this earth through her. Interestingly, I've been influenced by a lot of females as well, especially pertaining to my comedy career. Rita Rudner, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, Ellen DeGeneres were the comedians I've always looked forward to watching and learning from. As a kid, Meryl Streep and her talents blew my mind. Of course, I also had my male influences that were all very macho... Bruce Lee, Stallone, Schwarzenegger, DeNiro and so on.
12) Thank you so much for being a positive role model to young men. So let's talk about what's going on Now. Any projects you can share with the readers?
As mentioned, my movie project, one that I wrote as a vehicle for myself, already has a distribution deal. It's called All My Friends Are Getting Married. I cannot believe the caliber of talent it has attracted. All I need is for the financing to come through (which isn't a lot) and we're ready to go. The beauty with this one is that investors will not have to worry about their movie sitting on the shelf. The distribution deal has already been signed.
My one-man show, Conversations with Myself and the Celebrities in My Head is currently going through rewrites. It deals a lot with being bullied and transforming myself with the help of all the celebrities I was influenced by. I basically play about 15 characters. Bruce Lee talks to me at the same time as Sylvester Stallone talks to me, as they talk to each other and to Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino all at the same time. I go in and out of all the characters very quickly. It should be a lot of fun. I'm shooting for a January 2012 opening date in New York City.
Also, I'm looking forward to inspiring others with my career as a motivational humorist. It's a lot of fun to be the catalyst for a room full of happy people when it comes to being a comedian so I'm looking forward to not only making people laugh, but inspiring them at the same time and alleviating a lot of their stress.
Conclusion: Jim, thanks again for being a part of the "Momma's Boy" Project. I appreciate you and your mother sharing your relationship with our readers. I’m sure it touched their lives like it did mine. Your relationship proves that a mother’s presence is important in the live of their sons.
Before you go, please share with our readers how they can get more information about your future shows and projects?
Thank you for having me. I enjoyed sharing my mother’s story and our relationship with you. As for my information your readers can go to http://www.comedianjim.com. Thanks again for this opportunity.
Tags: Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Meryl Streep, Women, Sisters, New York, Greek, Al Pacino, Rocky, Bruce Lee, Bullying, Teenager, Comedian, Comedy, Family, Momma's Boy, Moms and Sons, Sons, Moms, Mothers, Jim Dailakis
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