Ah, Lizzo. I don't think I can ride in the car without blasting at least ONE of her songs. Every song lifts my mood, makes me feel proud to be a woman, and I always think of the fact that she built herself from the ground up. I remember scrolling through Instagram and seeing a picture of her dressed as a sign spinner; this was one of her many jobs she had to support herself as she chased her dream of being a singer. And now look at her.
Can you IMAGINE how much work she did to get where she is now? To go from a SIGN SPINNER, to one of the world's up-and-coming musicians with powerful messages of self-love and confidence? She kept her dream firm in her mind and she went after it; everything she did she did for herself and her vision. Imagine if we all had the determination Lizzo has. How many of us would be inhabiting our dream lives at this very moment? Or maybe we're on that very path.
I wanted to focus on Lizzo today because she is one of many examples of people who kept going after her dreams no matter the negativity surrounding her: naysayers, poverty, dead-end jobs—she kept going. It's a reminder for us that we can't give up when things get hard, and in our culture of NOW NOW NOW, it's arguably more important than ever. Whatever your dream is, go after it, and keep going. While doing so, keep building your self-confidence, recognize your values, and keep your loved ones close to you so you know what's most important.
If you don't know what your dream is, work on a mini-version of it. For me, I thought my dream was to be an actress. Then I started taking acting classes to see what it takes, and I realized that it's an art form that I don't think will lead me to the life I want. I know I want a family of my own, and I want to have a stable career in order to support them. For me to start out acting full-time now—to take dozens and dozens of unpaid work to build my resume that may not lead to anything—I'm not even going to have the funds to support myself. BUT, I do love the art itself, and want to continue to learn about it as a hobby to work on my creativity, and maybe do community theatre one day. But as someone who wants to live a comfortable lifestyle with a partner and children and being able to afford traveling with them—me having an unstable career isn't a part of that.
For Lizzo, she knew those years of unpaid gigs were worth it because her ultimate goal was to be the singer of her dreams. She knew that's what she wanted as soon as she started, and she took off from there. When I started acting, it gave me clarity in that this path was not my ultimate path. You too can try the same. Even if it turns out that you don't like that dream as much as you thought, at least now you have that clarity and can pursue something else. It's all about DOING rather than sitting around and wondering.
I hope this post helped you think about your future in a productive way, and to keep chasing that dream if you have one set in your heart. Lizzo is a sublime example of what determination and believing in yourself can do for you and your goals. If Lizzo can go from a sign spinner to a best-selling artist, you can do anything you set your mind to.
Comments