This world is always setting us up to wait. We have a million reasons why we can't do anything now. We'll start when we get done with high school. Well prepare and begin after we're married. Let's wait till the kids are older. Let's wait till the kids move out. Not now, lets pay off the car and house first. Well another 5 years and you can retire. Then we can start without restrictions. We always wait for that special something to give us permission.
The reality is, you'll never be ready till you accept that you'll never really be ready. You have to do what you want to do in order to become ready to do it. It's this backwards round about way of finding what it is that makes you happy. You have to be willing to be bad at something before you can be good at anything.
I remember the first shows I did. They are burned into my memory as clear as if they were happening now. I remember setting up all my equipment and chickening out at the last minute and driving away from a decent paying show because I didn't believe in myself. I remember getting in over my head taking on that first wedding gig. I remember the embarrassment of over promising and not being able to deliver. It's enough to tear down the strongest of egos.
If you want to hear a fairy tale about how easy it is to find your passion and just get up and go with it, you're reading the wrong persons story. Nothing worth having ever comes easy. Whether it's that good looking man/woman at the bar the job of your dreams. If it comes easy, it won't be what you expect it to be.
Everyone is waiting for their quick fix success story. Their American Idol moment that will make all their dreams come true. They believe that life just dishes out these moments while they sit around waiting for something iconic to happen to give them permission to get up and take that chance.
I remember driving to Denver Colorado in an old GMC pickup with my sister and her friend tagging along. We were ready for action. We knew we couldn't lose. We showed up the day before tryouts and as soon as they let us line up, we were there. There was maybe 50 people that got there at the same time we did.
I was in seventh heaven. These were my people. There was so much talent surrounding me, I couldn't believe it. We had sleeping bags, but there was no way I was sleeping on this sidewalk paradise. I was walking up and down the groups of people listening to the great voices and even better commentary as they couldn't help but let all their talent out. They were all amazing and so confident.
We talked, joked and exchanged information and some I still talk to today over 10 years later. Of all the amazing talent i met that night, no one made it past the first phase of auditions. Only one made it on TV during the episode. Not one of them got to try and prove they were worth it and I promise you by my life, most of them could have contended with the best of singers.
What bothered me more than anything wasn't that these amazing talents didn't make the show. It was how fast they gave up doing anything in music at all. They completely quit and out of nowhere, they'd be all up and at it at the next tryouts. It's like they just paused their dreams till the next big audition.
To be honest, I've been through these phases many times in my life. It's easy to throw in the towel and let go until something that seems easy comes along, but what I know more than anything is I regret every wasted day. I regret waiting till things were easier. I regret wasting time because I thought I was wasting my time trying.
It's never a waste of time to try and learn things. When I tried out for American Idol again in 2012, I knew I was most likely not going to get past the first round, but I loved the experience so much, I had to camp out one more time. So when I lived in Woodward Oklahoma and they had tryouts in Oklahoma City (two and a half hours away) I didn't hesitate to pack up and head down.
This time I made the most of it, minus the nerves and trying to pose as a star. This time I just wanted to meet the most amazing people. I took pictures with everyone that let me pose with them and got in touch with any and all dreamers that were there that night.
Once again, I watched as they fell of the music radar till the next audition. Most gave up completely and settled into a normal nine to five life. It just breaks my heart when I saw the very fire inside them at it's highest. I hope they all are happy wherever life has found them.
You can't let the downsides of life drown out the experiences of life. Bad things happen, or even worse, sometimes it isn't even bad things happening at all. It's literally nothing happening at all while we expect more from life than what we're entitled to.
Perfect moments don't come often enough to expect them. You can't wait for the perfect moments to make your life what you want it. You have to take a chance and start. If it doesn't work out, what's the worst thing that could happen? You live your life knowing you tried something that most wouldn't even try. Sounds like something worth talking about, but what if it works? Then you run this risk of being happy.
You can wait for luck to show up if you want to, but even luck doesn't show up at your couch watching full seasons of Fuller House. Usually it's in the places where people are doing what it is they want to do.
Luck is like one bus out of thousands. It shows up from time to time and if you walk by the right spot at the right moment, you might get there at the same time as the bus going where you want to go, or you might end up on another bus going to an unknown destination where you learn something new and wander to another bus stop.
The biggest thing is, from start to finish, I couldn't have built anything if I wasn't constantly doing new things and pushing new boundaries. I may not have everything I want, but I will keep pushing and doing things. I will mess up and I will be bad at things. That is how I will become great while others wait.
Are you doing or are you waiting???
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