“Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and above all, don’t let anyone limit your dreams.” -Donovan Bailey, Sprinter, Olympic Gold Medal Winner
During my recent show at J4 Performance, I rediscovered what I love about playing live music. In fact, I rediscovered my love for music in general. The writing. The artistry. The art of performance. The connection to the audience. The perfect pitch and tone. It was an incredible experience.
If you read my feature article explaining what music means to me, you’ll know that I see it as art and not as filler. In fact, I realized that the reason I don’t get excited about some other opportunities is because I’m not really doing it for the reason I got into playing.
A while back, I was offered a gig to play rhythm guitar and sing harmonies for an act in town, and while it’s still playing live music, I just didn’t want to be somebody’s backup. I want to be the feature act. I want to be front and centre, because that’s where I thrive. I’m not meant to be in the background. No offence to those who do, it’s just not for me.
If a crowd is coming to see me and really listen to the music, that’s the kind of show I can get up for. It’s my passion. I sang songs that meant something to me and told stories about why those songs mean what they mean to me. I played original music that nobody cares about in a bar.
That’s what I love. That’s what I want to do for the rest of my life. That is the burning passion within me that never truly goes away.
I believe we all have that. That one thing that has some kind of gravitational pull on us. Our lives feel empty without it. It’s what drives us when we’re young and hungry and the world seems full of every opportunity. It’s what kills us in the end of our lives if we didn’t pursue it when we had the chance.
I want you to take a moment right now and ask yourself what it your passion is. Maybe you’re doing it already. Maybe you’ve already accomplished all your goals. Maybe you have always wanted to pursue it, but you never thought it was in the cards for you. Maybe you think it’s not worth going for.
Well, I’m here to tell you as a 35-year-old man who has had one foot in his passion for years that you will never regret chasing it.
I used to think it was unfair that the thing I loved to do the most, and was good at, it didn’t have a direct path. I can’t go to music school and graduate with a record deal and then simply lead that life. I’ve always had to have a day job to support myself, while I played music wherever and whenever else I could. I’d go through the pattern of telling myself “I’m just doing what I have to do, until I am doing what I want to do,” until I got burnt out enough to want to quit playing music.
Now, I’m grateful that I haven’t hit the big time yet. Had I gotten my way when I was in my early 20’s I am almost certain I would have succumbed to the 27 Club and died from drugs and alcohol. Now i’m sober and I get to help provide for my family by doing something I truly love.
There’s a great scene in the movie Accepted, where (SPOILER ALERT)….Justin Long‘s Bartleby asks the Educational Accreditation Board Leader what his dream was. The man eventually answers Trombone. He wanted to play the Trombone, to which Bartleby replies “It’s never too late sir.”
Well Bartleby is right. It’s never too late. Seriously. I’m not naive to think it would be unlikely to get a record deal at 43-years-old, but hey, it’s not impossible. Remember how we talked about Colonel Sanders not becoming a successful restauranteur until at retirement age? What about actor Patrick Ball who at 35 finally got his first big role as Dr. Langdon in the Emmy-Award-Winning Mega Medical Show The Pitt??
There are plumbers fixing your sink who want to be broadway stars. There are accountants who want to be comedians. There are construction workers who want to be painters. There are fast food workers who want to open their own furniture shop. On and on.
The universe has a way of rewarding those who never quit on themselves. There’s a reason that passion is inside you and it’s not just to make you feel like a failure. It’s inside of you because it is a gift you were given, and you have to share that with the world.
I always wanted to be a Dad. I never stopped wanting it, but I hid the fact that I wanted it so badly because I didn’t think it was ever going to happen to me. I even considered getting a vasectomy, and I mentioned that to some family members. They all talked me out of it, and later that year I met my fiancee, and now we have an 8-month old! Now, I can go get snipped hahaha.
We were not born to suffer, we were all born to succeed. We were born to chase our dreams and reach the top of the mountain. The only way we don’t reach those heights is if we give up. Do you know how many people give up right before success comes knocking?
I know I’ve thought about quitting on so many endeavours. This blog and podcast are great examples of something that I am passionate about that hasn’t bore any fruit. (the amount of research it took to get the grammar right for that sentence is comical.) But I remember that I quit on past attempts at creating a successful blog, and I lock back in.
So, if you’re like me and you have some of that burning desire within you, I encourage you to do the following exercise.
Close your eyes. Imagine yourself as an old man or old woman. Visualize the wrinkles in your skin. See the room you are in. The colours. The pictures surrounding you. It’s morning. You’re about to get up and go on with your day. Now imagine yourself in that moment, and you haven’t even attempted to follow your heart and pursue your passion. Feel that regret. In that moment, it’s passed you by. But that’s not you right now, and you don’t have to go there. You can change it now.
Nobody is gonna save you, but you have to make that decision to go after that burning passion deep in your bones. You only get one life, and you don’t want to have any regrets when you are looking back on your life. It starts today.
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