Why Following Your Heart Is Crucial To Finding Success
A lot of you are probably at that point in your lives where you’re either graduating from high school or college. You’re probably thinking about what you want to do for the rest of your life. You’re also probably stressing over things that maybe you never thought of while you were busy being blissfully carefree – like if you are making the right choices or going down the right path. Maybe others have always made those choices for you and now it’s time to hunker down and make some choices of your own. Maybe there’s a very important factor you’re ignoring that’s trying to get your attention.
Do you hear that sound? That little voice inside your head that keeps pulling you towards your wildest dreams? Do you feel like maybe they have a shot of becoming a possibility? That’s your heart talking and the more you listen to it, the more content you will be with your choices. Sure, listening to your heart can sometimes backfire – whether it be relationship-wise or something else entirely. But in time, you almost always often realize that it had to backfire and you had to feel uncomfortable for a while to learn some important lessons.
I’m 27 years-old. I left high school exactly a decade ago (and I’m still trying to wrap my mind around that little fact!) I couldn’t afford college so I found ways to get by without it and so far, in my field, I’ve been doing pretty well. I tried out a lot of different things over the years before I finally decided to follow my dream of becoming a writer/music journalist. All of those other paths felt so wrong for me. I wasn’t listening to my heart and I was paying the price. I only wish I listened to it sooner.
As a budding music journalist, I often feel like an alien in this industry as I watch my peers become cliches of their environment, doing everything everyone else does exactly how things have always been done. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that; everyone operates differently and some things just work out better for others. In the beginning, it got to the point where I almost backed out for fear of not being good enough or cut out for the life of judging someone’s art harshly. It’s safe to say that most music journalists tend to check their morals and respect for others at the door. I knew that if I was going to start writing about music, I had to do it my way otherwise I wouldn’t be fulfilled (or proud of myself) in the way I wanted to be. I could have just followed the lead of what I saw happening around me, but that little voice told me to be strong and cultivate my own voice while building artists up rather than tearing them down as the backbone of everything I do.
I’m making a name for myself for being a positive force in the music industry and I never would have accomplished anything if I didn’t listen to my heart. There are going to be times when that little voice inside your head has a friend over. Let’s call her Felicia. Felicia will keep telling you that what you want is never going to happen. See, your vision makes her uncomfortable so she’s going to try to tear down what she doesn’t understand. She’ll tell you that you’re doing it all wrong and the only way to succeed is by following the status-quo of what has been proven to work in the past. Felicia will also show up uninvited and bring up every flaw you possess. Eventually you’ll have to say, “Bye, Felicia!” and take your life back. She was muffling the sound of your heart with her bad vibes and you’re not about that life. It’s okay to be afraid but you still have to go for what you want in this life.
There is nobody else on this planet that can fulfill your dreams but you. You can’t just talk about it – you have to work at it! Only you know what works best for you. It’s not going to be easy, but it will be worth it. Success is not defined by how much money you make or what kind of car you drive. Sure, those things are nice but they’re just luxuries. Success is reaching the end of your life with no regrets. It’s making a difference where change was needed. It’s changing the lives of people in need.
The time is now. You got this.
