I look for inspiration everywhere. Somedays, I need more of a push than other days, so I take what I can get where I can get it.
There's nothing that makes me spin into despair faster than being unmotivated and uninspired (which is when the nonstop chatter of "I don't know what to do" I don't know what I want" "I am so stuck and don't have any idea what I should focus on" "I should just get a real job"... is loud and obnoxious.)
Sometimes it is a loud ruthless video by Gary V, other times it is a Rumi poem or a Goddess card. I have my favorite coaches I follow and learn from, and usually they are good for a few hours of action on my to-do list.
Lately, though, it's been a group of 20-somthings in Los Angeles who have given up everything to follow there dreams.
It all started with this dance video:
What I love so much about this video, aside from the music and the dancing and the energy and the immense talent, is the passion they have for their craft. Most of the features dancers are professionals (I know, I stalked them on Instagram) - or at least their online presence.
It reminds me of a time when I was so dedicated to my dream that nothing would stop me.
I was entering my toughest year of classes and knew I would have to spend a lot of time in the recording studio - at all hours of the day. It meant I wouldn't be able to work during the semester.
So, I worked three jobs over the summer and shared a 2-bedroom apartment with 4 other girls. I worked the morning shift at Hardee's, lunch buffet at Pizza Hut, and closing shift at Leg's Hanes Bali at the outlet mall.
I had a photo of a recording mixing console on my steering wheel to remind me why I was working so hard.
The next summer, I wanted to be a sound engineer with the hottest live concert production company in Nashville. A friend was interning with them and suggested I talked to the owner, Specs. He was expecting my call. Or so I was told.
I seriously called him every day for three months. I left a message every single day. I even went to a festival I knew he would be working just to meet him in person.
It worked - sort of. I got the internship. I spent part of the summer loading and unloading heavy equipment from trucks, setting up stages, diffusing hot situations in even hotter weather, sleeping on top of speaker cases in the back of Uhaul trucks or in a hammock underneath stages.
Hundreds of hours of hard work. Never complained. Never got paid. But it was worth it. I hung in there. One of only a handful of women in the music industry. It wasn't easy. But it was literally a dream come true.
Eventually, I received backpay for the shows where I worked the board - which ended up being thousands of dollars. I became a permanent team member, working the biggest shows in town with the hottest artists in the industry.
It was great. Until it wasn't. And then I moved on.
And somewhere along the way, I lost the part of me who did anything and everything to get what she wanted.
I think back to that time often. It offers some inspiration. It reminds me of what is possible when I get clear on exactly what I want.
And that's also what these young dancers remind me of.
When you can't imagine doing anything but what you are meant here to do, nothing can stand in your way.
Nothing.