Mormon movie star visits USU campus
“I love my life,” said Kirby Heyborne, an actor, musician and comedian who spoke at the Common Hour lecture series Wednesday in the TSC Ballroom.
When Heyborne was 16, he was skiing with his brother. Trying to impress his brother, he went down a black diamond ski run – a ski run with a high level of difficulty – and jumped off the cat track while tucking it. Heyborne said he could have touched the skis of those on the ski lifts above.
Heyborne said there was a quiet moment while flying through the air when he thought, “Oh, crap. I’m going to die.”
Heyborne focused his thoughts at the Common Hour talk on this ski moment: making the most out of those quiet moments when one realizes a mistake has been made.
Heyborne said to make big goals and then small, achievable, realistic goals. He wanted to be an actor, so after doing films and commercials for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah, he and his wife moved to Los Angeles with their son.
The big goal was being an actor, Heyborne said. The small achievable goals were moving to Los Angeles, becoming a member of the acting guild and getting an agent. Heyborne told students to make sure when they achieve goals, they keep moving forward and celebrate little victories on the path to achieving goals.
Be prepared and smart. Don’t be dumb, Heyborne said. Be creative. Go outside.
Heyborne encouraged students to believe every experience they have is for a reason. He gave five questions to ask oneself during an experience.
Heyborne said the first question to ask is, “What opportunities are opening up?”
While he was in Los Angeles striving to be an actor, Heyborne said he got an opportunity to be in a play. The sound designer of the play was the executive director of a Christian audio book company who offered Heyborne a chance to record audio books. Two opportunities opened up and Heyborne grabbed them, one of which he is still doing it.
The second question, Heyborne said, is, “Am I doing my best?”
Heyborne said if someone is doing their best, they should put in some extra effort to do more. Heyborne said there were several auditions he was in when it was going wrong and he just tried to make the best of it.
In one audition he had to dance, though he said he is not a dancer. The other three men auditioning were professionals. Heyborne was dancing shyly when the director told him to dive in. Heyborne did just that – he pretended to dive. The director played along and told him to be a shark, then an octopus and jellyfish.
“Third, am I lifting others?” Heyborne said, encouraging students to be a rescuer, not a victim.
He said to be happy and build even though people destroy.
Heyborne’s fourth question is, “Are you serving others?”
Volunteer work is good for mental and physical health, he said. If one is depressed, the way to deal with it is to serve others.
Heyborne said the fifth and final question to ask is, “What am I supposed to learn?”
Heyborne said to look at life and see what can be improved.
“You are the only one that pronounces judgment upon yourself,” said Heyborne.
Students said they enjoyed Heyborne’s comments.
“I thought he was really funny,” said Ashley Lee, a senior majoring in dietetics. “I like what he said about optimism.”
Bailey Love, a freshman majoring in international business, also thought he was funny.
“He was really good and funny,” she said. “He had good advice and wasn’t stiff about it. I had a good time.”
-marissa.neeley@aggiemail.usu.edu