Name your price

Nothing in life is easy. Nothing in life comes without paying some price. I was reminded of this last night as I was talking to a friend. She works a typical 9-5 job and doesn't like it one bit. She has had a dream, a calling to pursue something that she feels is part of her purpose, but is nervous to do it. She gets nervous because there are no guarantees that come with pursuing her dream. At least her 9-5 gives her a steady paycheck and some security; but like I said, everything in life comes at a price.

The price that she pays for this guaranteed paycheck and security is an intense feeling that she is wasting every second of her life that she spends at her job. That is a big price to pay. I told her, in my opinion, she had to decide which price was easier to pay; the price of feeling like her life was being wasted, or the price of having to overcome some nerves and anxiety about pursuing something new and different. That, of course, is a question that she has to answer for herself.

I think there is a lesson in this for all of us though. Our lives are made or wasted day by day, by the path that we decide to stay on or get off of every single day. Pile up enough of these days and 20, 30, 40 years have passed. So, just remember, there is a price to pay for doing something just for the security or normalcy of it - and there is a price to pay for taking your own road too. Which is more important to you? Which is the more palatable risk for you to take?

My final thought is this: One of her concerns was that she would feel poor; not that she would be poor, but that she would feel poor. Being poor is something that I know a little bit about. I told her that you only feel poor if you are poor for the wrong reasons, and I really think that is true. I believe that I'm poor for the right reasons; it doesn't mean that it's noble or easy, it just means that I don't feel poor because my life experience feels very rich!

The wonderful artist who did the design for the "Random Thoughts and Incomplete Sentences" album, David Derr, gave me this advice: He told me that when he made the decision to freelance at art, and to try to make a living at it, that he was often concerned about not being able to pay this bill or that bill; but something always came along. I will never forget his advice, which I hold near and dear to my heart, everyday as an artist pursing my music. He said, "You can always do with less money." That was when I decided that I could do with less money, whenever I needed to! What I couldn't deal with was not pursuing my dream because I was afraid of it.

My way is not everyone's way, but never be afraid to ask yourself these questions, and determine if you should stay on your current path, or if there's another road that you would like to take.