5 Steps to Living Your Dream

Dogs would have howled.  Cats would have started caterwauling in tune.  It might have started a stampede of animals in the Serengheti.  It certainly started a stampede of customers to the door.

He meant well, I know it.  Sitting with his guitars he desperately wanted the audience to like his music, sit in adoration of his musicality, sign up for his mailing list, check out his youtube video, buy an album or two, and contribute money to his hat.

All he got were 15 sets of eyes avoiding his.  Then 10 sets of eyes.  7 sets. 5 sets.  Then just me and the employees.

Unfortunately he sucked.  The worst part was, that he didn’t even know it.

So what do you do when you have a dream - rockstar, rapper, model, actor, published author, world-class chef – and nothing seems to be clicking?

1.  Suitability. 

If you want to be a world-famous chef, you should know whether you can even cook.  If everytime you prepare your ‘famous’ chili and the multitide insists that they have already eaten, or they are going to Grandma’s for dinner and they don’t want to offend her by not being ravenous, or they gave up chili for lent – then mayhap no one finds your fare even passable, much less delicious.

If you recorded your ‘album’ and you can’t even give it away to family, or you give it to them and they never ever mention it again, or maybe you find they have used your CD as a coaster – then maybe it’s more than the fact that no one appreciates your smooth vocal stylings.  Maybe you don’t have smooth vocal stylings.

2.  Flexibility.

If you find you can’t cook, be flexible!  Either make a serious effort to learn how, perhaps practicing a lot, or turn it into a joke and write World’s Worst Cook Presents: Recipes to Get Rid of Any Clingy Beau or whatever.

The less seriously you take yourself, the better of you’ll be.

3.  Be open to criticism.

Now if someone says “you suck”, ignore it.  It may be true – but it doesn’t do you any good unless you truly had no idea that you sucked.  What you need is constructive criticism.

Now, depending on your family dynamic, they will either lie to your face to save your feelings or they will gleefully jump all over you to tell you how good you aren’t.  So try and get criticism from multiple sources: friends, family, some kid you pinned down at the Walmart.

4.  Not everyone will ‘get it’.

It’s definitely possible that your electronica concert album is too ‘concept’ for your folks, so try and get people who know what they are talking about to vet your sound, cooking, or writing.

I still remember, in 1992 no less, when my father told me that rap wouldn’t last.

5.  Why?

Why do you want want you want?  Are you called to it?  Is it your purpose?  Maybe your ego?  A need for adulation and attention?  Money?

Whatever your reason, it has to be bigger than being a millionaire or your ego.  And don’t fool yourself into believing otherwise.  You’ll know your reason has nothing to do with purpose if your ‘purpose’ is merely a means to an end.  And if it is your purpose, you’d be happy to do it in a warehouse as long as it meant you could carry on.