At the age of twelve I wrote my first song. Finally now – 10 years later – I’ve started to release my music to the public. I think there were four main things stopping me before:
1) I was convinced that I was unprepared
2) I was afraid of rejection (if I was unprepared, no one would listen to my music)
3) I lacked the finances to record
4) I was too lazy to put in the hard work
All of these obstacles continued to haunt me even through the recording of “Dark Before Dawn”, but I found ways around them. I think the ultimate reason I got off my lazy ass and decided to give my music a shot was because my friends and family challenged me and encouraged me. In fact, one of my friends confronted me with some tough love, saying, “If you don’t get started with your music now, you’re never going to do it.” Almost immediately after hearing this, I set some goals, made a plan, and started working – just to prove my friend wrong. I guess his reverse psychology worked on me.
Everything seemed to fall into place once I decided to just go for it. Somehow I had the finances. Somehow I became more motivated and more confident.
A saying comes to mind: “If you want something in life, you have to reach out and grab it.” This is cliché and lame, but I think it applies to my situation. I needed to stop dreaming about being a singer/songwriter and start doing what it takes to be one. It was a simple but profound lesson for me.
