DISTILL YOUR DREAMS - Brittlestar’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue #24
I feel so much better this weekend than I did last weekend.
DISTILL YOUR DREAMS
Ever since I was a toddler, when I’d use our umbrella stand as a makeshift microphone stand, I’ve dreamt of being a famous singer.
I relentlessly pursued this dream throughout my teens and even into my 30’s. In my teens, myself and my band mates made demo recordings constantly and submitted them to record companies securing the occasional meeting with A&R heads.
It was super fun and I did manage some successes but they never amounted to the level of success I had set as the bar in my head.
In my head, I had failed.
In my early 40s I forced myself to admit that the dream I had held since my childhood was dead. It was crushing.
Then, one day not long after I found myself standing on a stage with a collection of famous teenagers and young people, including Shawn Mendes, in front of about 2000 screaming happy people.
I had held this rigid view of my dreams in my head for so long that I let it define me instead of guide me.
I hadn’t failed. I’d merely followed and grew along life’s twisty path to achieve my goal in a way that I couldn’t have imagined.
When I thought about my childhood dream and then distilled it down… I realized I simply wanted to create things for other people to enjoy… and also be kinda famous. I’ve kind of achieved it.
Distill your dreams. Keep your dreams as a guide instead of your character description.
Don’t rail against your own successes. Even if they seem a little wide of the mark.
Life is weird. Keep going. You never know where you’ll end up.
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Author as rock star. Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto.