Stepping Stones

After a much-needed personal break from music promotion (and some re-grouping), I was feeling a bit discouraged. I felt like I had lost my mojo and I felt like even though I was ready to go full steam ahead again, I still felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere… but then… earlier this week, I had an awesome friend who set me up with a meeting with the owner/CEO of Dark Horse Studios. I was so nervous because I had never had the opportunity to sit down with someone that was this important to the music industry before now and I was afraid that I was too much of a tiny goldfish in a big pond to even be in this guy’s presence, let alone for him to be wasting his time with me. I had gotten into my own head, even though he had graciously taken time out of his busy schedule to meet with me. We (thankfully) had a great conversation (despite my nerves) and he even gave me a tour of the beautiful studios. He was so kind, but I had been so nervous that I left feeling like he didn’t get to see the passion that I have for what I do. I felt like I had messed up somehow. I was sitting there in my car after it was all over just feeling like I had failed on some level. As I was leaving, I had some pebbles/stones from the driveway of this studio that had gotten into the rims of my wheelchair and had made it into my car. Then, something occurred to me… Each one of these tiny stones were actually symbolic. I realized that each pebble represented my journey in the music industry so far. There are always going to be bumps and rough stones that might slow us down, but there are also smooth and “perfect” stones as well. In this pile of stones, there were tiny pebbles that seemed insignificant, and there were bigger stones as well. Each one of these stones might not seem important by themselves, but collectively they can help create a path. They collectively serve a purpose of helping me get closer to my destination (my dream job). I need to remember to not discount the tiny pebbles, because they create a bigger journey that is ahead. Also, just because I might feel like a tiny pebble or a tiny goldfish in a huge pond, it doesn’t mean that I don’t have the ability to make a big difference… and just because one of my pebbles (or experiences) might not be perfect, it’s okay. These stones are there to help create my bigger picture or to accomplish my bigger goals. It’s all part of a growing process. Sometimes we have to stumble a bit on the path before we make it to the top. We have to take each pebble and realize that they are equally as important as the others because they help us grow. We also need to not just stop on the path when things get a little rough either. These opportunities are designed to create stepping stones to reach our dreams… and sometimes, part of the journey is just showing up, not giving up and having faith that everything will be okay at the end of the path. Sometimes we get so distracted (or discouraged) by the bumps in the road that we forget to appreciate the journey. Sometimes we even forget to enjoy the journey altogether. If you think or feel like you are failing, look at each of your own stepping stones and have faith that as long as you are present and appreciate where you are and work hard to keep moving forward, then you will be able to create your own beautiful journey as well!