ARE YOU THE TORTOISE OR THE HARE?

Last week I had a voice student come in. She was an older woman (probably in her 50's), she had always wanted to sing, but never thought she was naturally good enough, so she was scared to pursue it. Knowing her longing to sing, her boyfriend bought her this voice lesson with me for Christmas. When she came in I could feel her strong desire to sing and her fear.
She told me that as a kid, she had a negative experience with a voice teacher (yikes! I hear that all the time, it's such a bummer!! I know because I have sooooo been there!!) and then just decided she didn't have the 'talent' to make it …. So, she thought why bother trying if she wasn't good? Stories like this make me sad and it's a gift for me to be able to work with people and show them that the
'you're not good enough BS is simply that, BS, and not true"
If you want it? You can get there by working at it.
And here's one of my favorite examples … .
I said to her, "Have you ever heard the story of The Tortoise & The Hare?"
She said, "Of course" (and for a moment she probably thought I was crazy)
Who was the underdog? Obviously the Tortoise …. Who WINS the race? Well, the Tortoise! Hmmmm …. Now wait a second,
HOW did that happen? Let's take another look,
The hare, he has the skill, the speed, the talent, He IS totally the front-runner. So confident of his ability, he not only makes fun of the tortoise but he stops to take a nap along the way.
Now the tortoise? He is totally the underdog. The poor guy has got very little going for him - he's one of the slowest moving creatures AND the hare has quashed his confidence by teasing him about it.
HOWEVER …
HE keeps moving – slowly, step by step by step by step with a clear goal, determination and perseverance.
I don't need to remind you Who wins the race?
Hint: It wasn't the talented guy who took a nap … ..
I've seen this so many times - some of the best musicians I know reach a point where they see How good they are and they stop doing the work. They are the ones who have a true natural ability, maybe they didn't have to work that hard to get really good so they sit back & take a nap

And then there are people who might be late bloomers,
Or have been told to focus in a different area because they are just not very good, or they do not have the access to education, or positive support.
But these people Want It, they go after it, they keep working at it and they don't give up. These are the people who will probably win the race.
I get it, I was a late bloomer, and I also had a teacher (if you would call her that …) tell me that I should probably not be focusing on singing and should find a different creative pursuit (once in college and once after college)
So, perhaps that's Why I Get It! I worked at it (still do! I did ear training exercises this morning - perhaps I'm a nerd, not a tortoise?)
You are no different. Yes, nature does play a part in our natural abilities and gifts, but nurture can do a lot. If you are ready to start putting some time into your voice, piano or stage presence? Please drop a line back here. I've created these programs based on my own experiences and by studying with some of the best in the biz.
What stops us from running the race? It's the Fear that we can't. When in truth we can! Just sometimes we are too scared to take that first step. That's what I saw in this student.
Either way, I want you to know that I get it and my goal is to help you to reach the next level of success in your career & expression in your creativity! So drop a line back and let's chat

Love, Light, Creativity
And may you have a Fearless, Joyous & Successful 2012
Meredith