Our final performance for Creating Cabaret: Storytelling Through Song was last night. My 1st time singing solo before an audience. The high F#s in my piece are well within my range, but they’re also just at the point where the slightest relaxation of my frame causes them to break. Hit every one, and my ending note (F#) filled the room. My Professor said afterwards, “You caught the bug. I can tell.” She is so right…
During our dress rehearsal, I’d been sitting in front of the stage watching one of the other performers and while I was being a perfectly good little doobie, listening to my compatriot’s song, my sneaky, dastardly brain offered up a thought: “This is where you belong.”
The last time I had that thought, it scared me so much I (inadvertently) used self-hypnosis to wipe out every memory I had of performing, including the seven years I spent doing comedy improv. I think this time I’ll keep it and find out where it leads…
Well, hell yeah.
Can’t remember it as a single moment, but it sure hit me, as I was interviewing, post-dot-com-crash, for a VP job in the IT industry, for what felt like the 3,000th time — that I didn’t really WANT the job.
Or any of the previous 2,999. Or to go flog more software to the same CIOs I’d flogged my previous 3-4 companies’ stuff to. Or build another sales and marketing team. Or write another set of white papers and powerpoints and corporate image/style guidelines.
Fortunately, some time around then, I also hit on something that that totally fit what I liked doing — putting things together (ideas, parts, people, including you, sir!
. And, as I like to say, it would let me do well by doing good.
I liked something I heard a long time ago – unfortunately it was Warren Beatty who said it – “You’ve achieved success in your field when you don’t know whether what you’re doing is work or play.”
You should check out Po Bronson’s book “What Should I Do With My Life?” — Mike Lanza’s in it. Small world, idn’t it?
It’s a powerful moment to be sure. You are very lucky to have both the ephphany and the opportunity to explore it fully.
So often people (myself included) get that “special feeling” about their life’s passion but then never see it through due to fear, insecurity or laziness.
What an incredible opportunity for you right now to really explore this path. Life is short my friend — carpe diem!
I’m in that place now. For myself, getting out of my head and into my physical self seems to be a key part of it. Spending years in front of a keyboard and in meetings trains you to ignore your literal feelings. What might I find out by actually feeling them? Time will tell.
Have a great journey! Been a looong time since Senior House– I just got one of the new SD shirts via the alum list, and have been wondering how various folks are doing.
cheers,
Strata/MRose
Wonderful! I had a feeling you’d hit that final F#.
When you have an epiphany like that, I think the thing to do is: make a plan to pursue it, think through the worst-case scenario, realize it’s not such a bad case, and then go for it.