Some of you may have already seen this video on my studio blog, and I apologize for the re-post. But I just have to. This performance is amazing. It gave me chills all over and I broke into a good cry. Oh Beyonce!
And a warning to you - I'm going to get a bit mushy before you watch the video...
I want to do something amazing and important during my life. Don't we all want this?
We want to matter, to feel like our lives are not a waste. We are seeking meaning.
If we stop for a moment and look around, there are hundreds and hundreds of other people just like us. They are seeking the same things. We all want to be happy and want our suffering to go away. We want to matter and want to find what makes us special. We want to contribute something...incredible.
I have spent pretty much all of my post-college days searching for this meaning. What do I want to do with my life? What will make me feel alive and fulfilled? What is my "calling"?
I kept searching and searching.
Sometimes, I would even go into little depressions feeling like I was failing. At what, I'm not sure. Maybe it was failing at feeling fulfilled with life. Failing at being something great. Some days, I felt like it didn't matter if I got up and went to work or not. I wasn't doing anything special. What was the point?
But it turns out, the answer that I was searching for was right there with me the whole time.
It was a huge step for me to take the plunge and start my own studio. Do you want to know how I finally found the strength and faith to do it?
It came down to one moment in India. I met a classical Indian musician and during our conversation I mentioned that I was a singer. His face lit up with excitement and he started to tell me about this school that he teaches music at. It's a school for blind children. This type of school is extremely rare in India. They have few schools available to children and definitely not specialized schools for ones with disabilities.
He asked if I would come sing for the children. He told me that it would make them so happy. They live really difficult lives in India, and hearing someone sing would be an incredible gift for them. It would be like an escape for just a little while, and a memory that they could keep with them forever.
And you know what is so sad? My first thought was not that I would love to sing for the children. It was doubt. My first thought was, "I don't know if I can do that. I haven't practiced in months - I wouldn't even know what to sing..."
And then it hit me, no matter how "good" I felt my singing was, I was able to sing and sing well enough that it would be enjoyable for them to listen to. I could do something that would put a smile on a child's face and maybe, even make them fall in love with music. This wasn't about me. It was about the gift I could give them.
I finally pushed through the doubt and found a "yes" waiting there patiently for me.
Unfortunately, Rob and I were only in town for one more day and the school was not able to change the schedule in time for me to come in and sing.
So I didn't get to sing for those children, but it was a lesson. A HUGE lesson.
I have a gift.
It will never be perfect, but it doesn't matter because that's not what it's about. It's a gift. And we all have one.
If I just open myself up and start sharing it, I may bring a little happiness to one person, even if it's for just a moment. A little piece of something special.
I knew then that it was time to stop doubting. Stop putting myself down and holding myself back. It was time to start giving.
I wasn't sure (and am still figuring it out!) how to share my talents in a way that is true to myself. By chance, a friend mentioned a website to me and when I checked it out, I saw an interesting e-course on building a business. I had read lots of books, but never had taken an e-course before. I felt strangely pulled to it, so I decided it was time to try it.
The course I took was called the Business Goddess E-course (you can learn about it here - http://tinyurl.com/8leychx). It's focused on women, but the insight is absolutely incredible and something that a lot of us need to hear! It changed the way I think about "work" and gave me the confidence I needed to step out into the unknown.
Everyday I wake up, I have to remind myself of the lesson I learned in India and the many, many lessons in the Business Goddess E-course. It's so easy to get swept away with the mundane routine of life. We wake, we work, we eat, we sleep, we start again. BUT - I have remind myself - every day I wake up, it is a new day. I am thankful to be alive for another day and I can do my best to bring something beautiful and positive into this world.
So here's the Beyonce video I mentioned in the beginning. I hope that you find it as inspirational as I did!
And a warning to you - I'm going to get a bit mushy before you watch the video...
I want to do something amazing and important during my life. Don't we all want this?
We want to matter, to feel like our lives are not a waste. We are seeking meaning.
If we stop for a moment and look around, there are hundreds and hundreds of other people just like us. They are seeking the same things. We all want to be happy and want our suffering to go away. We want to matter and want to find what makes us special. We want to contribute something...incredible.
I have spent pretty much all of my post-college days searching for this meaning. What do I want to do with my life? What will make me feel alive and fulfilled? What is my "calling"?
I kept searching and searching.
Sometimes, I would even go into little depressions feeling like I was failing. At what, I'm not sure. Maybe it was failing at feeling fulfilled with life. Failing at being something great. Some days, I felt like it didn't matter if I got up and went to work or not. I wasn't doing anything special. What was the point?
But it turns out, the answer that I was searching for was right there with me the whole time.
It was a huge step for me to take the plunge and start my own studio. Do you want to know how I finally found the strength and faith to do it?
It came down to one moment in India. I met a classical Indian musician and during our conversation I mentioned that I was a singer. His face lit up with excitement and he started to tell me about this school that he teaches music at. It's a school for blind children. This type of school is extremely rare in India. They have few schools available to children and definitely not specialized schools for ones with disabilities.
He asked if I would come sing for the children. He told me that it would make them so happy. They live really difficult lives in India, and hearing someone sing would be an incredible gift for them. It would be like an escape for just a little while, and a memory that they could keep with them forever.
And you know what is so sad? My first thought was not that I would love to sing for the children. It was doubt. My first thought was, "I don't know if I can do that. I haven't practiced in months - I wouldn't even know what to sing..."
And then it hit me, no matter how "good" I felt my singing was, I was able to sing and sing well enough that it would be enjoyable for them to listen to. I could do something that would put a smile on a child's face and maybe, even make them fall in love with music. This wasn't about me. It was about the gift I could give them.
I finally pushed through the doubt and found a "yes" waiting there patiently for me.
Unfortunately, Rob and I were only in town for one more day and the school was not able to change the schedule in time for me to come in and sing.
So I didn't get to sing for those children, but it was a lesson. A HUGE lesson.
I have a gift.
It will never be perfect, but it doesn't matter because that's not what it's about. It's a gift. And we all have one.
If I just open myself up and start sharing it, I may bring a little happiness to one person, even if it's for just a moment. A little piece of something special.
I knew then that it was time to stop doubting. Stop putting myself down and holding myself back. It was time to start giving.
I wasn't sure (and am still figuring it out!) how to share my talents in a way that is true to myself. By chance, a friend mentioned a website to me and when I checked it out, I saw an interesting e-course on building a business. I had read lots of books, but never had taken an e-course before. I felt strangely pulled to it, so I decided it was time to try it.
The course I took was called the Business Goddess E-course (you can learn about it here - http://tinyurl.com/8leychx). It's focused on women, but the insight is absolutely incredible and something that a lot of us need to hear! It changed the way I think about "work" and gave me the confidence I needed to step out into the unknown.
Everyday I wake up, I have to remind myself of the lesson I learned in India and the many, many lessons in the Business Goddess E-course. It's so easy to get swept away with the mundane routine of life. We wake, we work, we eat, we sleep, we start again. BUT - I have remind myself - every day I wake up, it is a new day. I am thankful to be alive for another day and I can do my best to bring something beautiful and positive into this world.
So here's the Beyonce video I mentioned in the beginning. I hope that you find it as inspirational as I did!
