Hard To Believe

It's not hard to believe that inside every seed are forces for growth. 

So then why is it hard whenever we look in the mirror to believe there are also forces inside us for growth.

All too often we hear the faint whisper of our life's calling beckoning us to "rise up warrior creator, warrior singer, warrior musician, warrior songwriter, warrior artist, come and do your creative work. You've been put on this earth to do it and only you can express it your way.  Come, rise up, you can do it, use your gift and your time wisely, come, there's work to be done."

And for a moment in time we imagine our warrior selves working in the higher life and it feels beautiful, magical, possible.

Yet, even before we rub the sleep out of our eyes to follow the call the sweet beckoning of our creative dreams is drowned out by all the noise and alluring siren songs - buy, buy, buy, spend, spend, spend, do this,  come here, have fun - you deserve the good life because you work hard for it!

And so we consume, then go to work in jobs we hate, selling our soul to the merchants of consumerville and we're slaves to pay it all back with interest.

It's harder to say yes and follow our creative life's call and say no to all that other stuf. 

But that's what warriors do. They are seasoned professionals in the art of war.

We're in the battlefield and the stakes for our time and effort are high.

Game On!

Me, you and everyone on the planet is playing a game - not just from time to time - but ALL the time!

That's according to Eric Berne in his classic bestselling book 'Games People Play'.

The more I look around the more I have to agree with Berne's argument because it seems likely to be the aweful truth. We ARE playing games.

Berne suggested that the games are gender biased, and females play different games than males. For example females tend to play beauty, fashion, home beautiful, shopping, babies, happy family.

Males play other games - sillier games I think - however that's just me - I am biased as female. They play games like I am a red hot lover, joker boy, fit guy, fast car guy,  I've go more money, Sports lover - and silly pointless games like that!

I have to admit that males would also suggest the games females play are pointless too.

The questions I am asking myself is this:  What game am I playing?  And is this a game worthy of my time give it - given that this life is all the time I have.

Time. Aha - 'Where does the time go time game?!' 

60 seconds in a minute x 60 minutes in an hour x 24 hours in a day x 365 days in a year = 31 million seconds.

How many seconds in a lifetime of say 70 years??  Quick calculation = 2,207,520,000!  Is that 2 billion?

OK so given I have already had 1,156,320,000 or 1.15 billion seconds of conscious awake hours to play the game of life how am I am i doing?? What's my score?

I think I am doing OK - some games I am playing better than others?

I'd give myself a score of 80% overall. That's not olympic standard I know but heck - I have only become serious at the game for a little while now.

At least now I am aware of how little time I have left. And that makes me want to learn to be a better player.  So I'm learning to be a better lifelong learner - because I've heard it from good sources that at least lifelong learning help people preserve their minds and stay young. 

I am now playing a game called 'Use it or Lose it!' - an increasingly difficult age to play over 55 years of age. I'm learning how to do that and getting a great result.

But so far so good. I'll keep you posted on how that goes and may even write a few articles or a little e-Book on my research findings.

What game are you playing?

Games People Play

Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships is a 1964 bestselling book by psychiatrist Eric Berne. Since its publication it has sold more than 5 million copies. The book describes both functional and dysfunctional social interactions.

Audacity! Moral Imagination. Immersion. Leadership. Us. TED Talk.

Audacity! Moral Imagination. Immersion. Leadership. Us.
These are the words in an inspiring TED talk.

Jacqueline Novogratz: Inspiring a life of immersion | Video on TED.com

What a beautiful talk. I love TED for bringing inspiring talks like this.

Jacqueline talked about 'Moral Imagination.' What an amazing concept. To see and feel how another would feel by our actions. Even our non actions are actions. To step outside our mind on ourselves and feel for others besides ourselves. The native American Indian leaders said that before they made any decision they would imaging looking into the faces of their children and their children's children right up to seven generations. That is exactly what we need in today's leadership - a seven generation foresight.

Moral Imagination - to see past ourselves and our plans and our aspirations and not just live for our own feelings and our own ideals - but for others around us and before us - way into the future. To choose to think about others and future generations may be the most difficult challenge humans face. We are so short sighted! Making decisions only after we visualise looking into the faces of future generations sounds like a great leadership strategy for sustaining resources and life.

Jacqueline told the story of a leader - a little 6-year old girl in New Orleans named Ruby Bridges - the first African American child to be allowed to integrate into a regular school. She was asked what she was saying as she walked into the school grounds. She said she was not talking but praying "Father forgive them because they know not what they do" as she walked bravely past the 'adult' haters and protesters.

I love it that a six year old child is a moral leader not just then in her time but now decades later Ruby Bridges is a moral leader.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Bridges

And Jaqueline's use of the word 'Immersion' - not just a handout, a charity donation - but being immersed in another's world.

Jacqueline's talk concluded like this.
'We need leaders. We ourselves need to lead from a place that has the audacity to believe we can ourselves extend the fundamental assumption that all men were created equal to every man woman and child on this planet.

And to have the humility to recognise we can't do it alone.

Robert Kennedy said "Few of us have the greatness to bend history itself but each of us can work to change a small portion of events and, and it is in the total of all those acts that the history of the generation will be written".

Jacqueline ended "Our lives are so short and our time on this planet so precious. All we have is each other. So may each of you live lives of immersion. These will not be easy lives but in the end it will be all that sustains us".

Great words. Audacity! Moral Imagination. Immersion. Leaders - We as leaders.
Great TED Talk.

I believe everyone should have access to education and each of us are leaders in making this happen.

Zelda Sheldon
www.ukulelebabymusic.com

Creating Fun interactive music for smart healthy happy children 0-5yrs.

I Have A Dream

By Zelda Sheldon



What does your version of the artist’s dream life look like?


Maybe you have a dream to write songs that move people to take action, volunteer or donate to a cause like reducing poverty, saving an endangered species or the entire planet.

Maybe your dream is to hear your music played on radio or television, or being sung in a church.

Maybe you dream of saying goodbye that day job so you can be a full time songwriter living off your royalties and music sales. Maybe you want to be a touring singer songwriter selling CDs wherever you go and making a decent living?

Or seeing your song rise to the top of the Billboard charts…or standing on the Grammy Awards stage holding your trophy and you giving your thank you speech. Or maybe you want to write a song to perform at a friend’s wedding…or whatever...



The big question is 'What’s it going to take for me to start to live my version of the artist’s dream'?



First step - visualise it.
One of the best and brightest in the biz Penny Dionne - a super song plugger in Nashville Tennessee suggests we need all the help we can get to inspire us towards our dreams.

She suggests we design a vision board or map that consists of pictures of what our artist’s dream life looks like. I thought this sounded like fun way to spend a few hours so I did what Penny suggested a couple of years ago.

Yes it was a lot of fun finding all the images and symbols of my artists dream. But what I did not expect was how this crazy idea works has wonders for me and my creative life.

When I coach clients I show them my vision for my artist’s dream life, which I have on my computer desktop.
It’s colourful, loaded with awesome symbols and personal meaning and it gets me excited every time I see it - which is many times a day. It pops up when I start up my computer and somehow it is these images in my vision map that magnetise and propel me to take daily action.

This vision map acts like my secret personal champion for my dreams and gets me doing what I know I need to be doing.



For example, one particularly strong symbol for me on my vision map is an image I found of one of my songwriting heroes Diane Warren. When I see the image of Diane Warren sitting at her keyboard in her songwriting studio in LA as she says she does 6 days a week - 12 hours a day it compels me to stop procrastinating and start writing a song. I know on any given week I need to write 72 hours to match Ms Warren's effort.



Another image I have is of artists I dream of singing my songs. OK, yes I know Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry are extreme long shots but here’s the thing… they remind me that any old song is not going to work for these artists…they and their managers only want a special kind of song… a hit song - a song that does all the right things stylistically, structurally, melodically and lyrically.

So what these famous singer images do for me is remind me what I'm going for, and that I need to work on my craft and study what songs these hit artists are singing and keep practicing till my songs are in the same hit song camp.

The faces of the famous hit artists on my vision map keep reminding me to do just that each day.



I used these tools to design my vision map: Powerpoint, google search, google images and word art to create a gorgeous multi layered masterpiece of what my dreams look like. Then I saved it to my computer desktop as a wallpaper. You may want to use it as a screen saver too.



Have fun visualising and bringing your dreams to life. 



Visit Penny Dionne's website to find her book and other resources http://www.pennydionne.com

Six Perfections

I'm reading a facebook advertisment about the course in Sydney that will be presented by the Dalai Lama. He will be teaching about The Six Perfections that provide the basis for the Bodhisattva's Way of life – generosity, ethics, patience, zeal, meditative concentration and wisdom.

From my messy kitchen desk in Sydney Australia I'm thinking.... that's OK for a globe-trotting budhist monk superstar. Don't get me wrong - I like the guy and think he is cool - but I reckon it's way easier for for those at the top of the trees who would have assistants, minders and PR team to live one heck of a centred life and tell everyone else how to do it.

My question is this.
Could it be possible for anyone who is not living the budhist monk lifestyle - living in our consumer society to master the Six Perfections?

With my schedule and all the responsibilities I have in my life - let alone trying to fulfil my dreams - it's darn near impossible to get an 30 minutes a day to reflect and meditate.

But I'm certainly open to trying it out to see how far I can get - and moving one step up the rung of each Perfection would be nice.

One thing I have noticed though - as soon as I put it out there to be a better person in any of the perfections the next thing I can usually expect is adversity - both internal and external.

Eg Generosity - the first perfection on the list - I find myself swinging between Mother Theresa moments where I draw out a big chunk of cash and donate to any cause that takes my fancy - and tight fisted miser moments like Ebenezer Scrooge. It's SO difficult to be consistent. Especially when there are SO many causes that other mean mouths would refer to as 'Bleeding Heart Appeals'.

Or I do decide to give and the recipient is either ungrateful (or doesn't show me the gratitude I was expecting) - or they somehow demand too much of my giving

I seem to be wrestling with a multiple personalities all jostling for power. At any given moment one of these personality disorders rises up to overthrow every good intention I have. Then I'm left with guilt that I'm a bad person - deep down a hypocrite.

But I want to be generous with my time. talents, words, actions and yes my money too. Because it feels good while I'm doing it when it's smooth sailing. As soon as advertisty comes - either internal personality struggles OR a teacher comes along in the disguise of a taker - a user - a bludger or a bottomless pit of requests - I swing over to Scrooge again.

It's a circle that I repeat over and over again I'm ashamed to say.

Now that I've been around in my 55 years I've learned this about myself. I swing between personalities.

Maybe a seventh Perfection could be introduced - CONSISTENCY.

City of Dreams

The Bluebird Cafe,
Nashville Tennessee USA
5.30pm Monday 11 October 2010.

This is what the singer songwriter dream looks like. A long, long long line, a long, long wait.... and so many singer songwriters waiting to get the chance to play one song at the legendary Bluebird Cafe.

I was curious - why the Bluebird Cafe? - I went to the start of the line and started asking the folks standing there some questions while I shot a vid on my iPhone video - which I may post one day. I asked where they came from, how long they had been standing there and why they were here.

Here's some of the answers.

First in line was Billie Galloway from Indianapolis and he had been here at the front door waiting since 3pm, He said he was here to listen to his son Joel pick, play and smile.

Jeremy Joe from Washingon in his squeaky clean cream cowboy hat and nifty brown get up arrived at 4.30pm.

A young harpist singer sonwriter gal from Gainsville Florida got here at 4.30pm

A singer from Kentucky got here at 4.30pm. Another named Steve from Ohio arrived at 4.15pm.

Tyler a handsome young lad of around 17 years dressed in a blue checked shirt sitting on the floor cradling his guitar arrived with his mom and dad at 4.30 from Hendersonville.

A blonde smiling gal with a guitar from Sweden with a bunch of people from her hostel. She may have travelled the furthest and said she's here at the Bluebird to play saying "I love this place - lots of people come here, great talent and its legendary."

Another player remarked "I come here to play at the Bluebird because it's a much more appreciative audience - everyone is there to listen quietly to you play and it's very special".

The line and my video continued - I estimated there were at least 80 people there in the line up to play and to support their friends.

One tall young guy with a deep speaking voice and long straight brown hair falling onto his face and wearing a checked shirt said he was here because 'talent spotters' were in the audience here.
He was a man on a mission to be discovered.

At 6.15pm someone from the Bluebird came out and lets the line enter the tiny cafe. All those who can fit inside can put their names in a jar and 60 or so names are then randomly drawn. Outside we inch towards the door but once the room is full they stop the line and close the door. A Bluebird lady then comes outside and gives stamps to those who waited who wanted to play but could not fit inside.

We were one of these people. The stamp lets players return the next week and go into a separate first draw for playing that night. There are no guarantees you'll play but it's a sure thing that you'll be let in first to go into the first draw to play. We'll be back because those are good odds.

So with that Bluebird stamp in our hand we left to go play at Picks open mic at the Best Western Music Row. We arrive at 7pm.

This place is entirely different. It's a bar and it's half empty (or if you are an optimist half full) and people are there to drink and talk. And they're not here to listen to two-bit players. But the appeal here is the host Ray Giles lets players perform 4 of their songs. That's more like it.

And we don't have to wait till 10.45pm after the scheduled writers rounds finish to get a spot to play one song. And so we stay, write our names on Ray's play list and whoohoo!! we were 3rd to play.

I think Pal my singer songwriter husband did a pretty good job of winning over the hard-to-please crowd.

After about half an hour I recognised a few of the Bluebird's players who couldn't get to play arrived and put their names on the list.

The players played, the drinkers drank and everyone was happy. And we got to hear some great music and met some awesome people in a more relaxed setting.

It was time to leave and I was saying my farewells to everyone in the bar cos by now we were all like friends.

One little young blonde thing who managed to hustle her way up the play list and take someone else's spot took to the stage. She yelled at the crowd "Hey everyone be quiet cos I'm gonna sing" so with that insult we left her to work the room in her sweet style.

Here's what I make of this.

1) Some places are just too famous and legendary - and the lineup is too long. Is it worth the wait?

2) Some dream cities have a lot of competition. And Nashville is one of them.

3) There's always next week. If you wait you get into the smaller draw bucket with better odds.

4) Winning over the tough audience has it's own special rewards.

5) There are ways to win over an audience and demanding their attention is not one of them -
You have to earn their respect and attention.

6) Being content to be just a plain kind-hearted human is still the main game.

Living the Dream

It's a beautiful day in Nashville Tennessee, and I'm feeling a long way from my home in Sydney Australia.

I'm blessed to be living my dream life.

Today I'm songwriting with Pal my husband and we're at ASCAP Nashville writing room #3 with our cowriter Stan Garland.

Stan it turns out has written a number one hit song. This is a big deal for me cos this year I set a goal to be writing songs with hit songwriters, to learn from them and to get better at the craft and write a bunch of great songs. When I wrote down that goal I didn't put a time limit on what year that songwriter had the hit - but that's OK - a number one hit is still a number one hit in any decade! And that's more than I have ever achieved. I can still learn a lot from these awesome hit songwriters like Stan.

I love the title of Stan's hit "The More I Turn The Bottle Up The Further Down I Go".

And there's a really neat story that goes with this song that Stan told me today.

Stan recalls he was on a tour bus with the famous band Alabama when a singer named George Strait (who is arguably among the world's most successful country singers) came up to Stan and shook his hand saying "Stan, I've just found out who you are and I want to tell you that I would have given anything to have recorded that song of yours before Mickey did". At that time George already had recorded over half a dozen number one hits.

So I tell myself - here's a lesson or two to learn from Stan the man with the number one song in 1982.

1) You've got to be QUICK sometimes.

Remember what George Strait said - he wished he'd recorded it first before the other guy cos that song was a number one hit that year. And that hit could have been George's.

2) You've got to be SLOW sometimes. Slow at passing on things like invitations and opportunities.

Opportunities come along in the weirdest disguises - like crazy invitations to cowrite with old hit songwriters from 3 decades back, like opportunities to record a song that comes along, and it ends up going to number one.


3) You've got to say YES sometimes. Like getting out of your comfort zone and going to see the world, meet people, live a crazy life for a few months, spend a bit of money you have saved for a rainy day.

4) You've got to say NO sometimes. No to life's push and pull, no to that pesky accusing voice that lives inside your head that says - "get real dreamer! you'll never make it". Or saying no to giving up on your crazy dream. Even saying no to that part of yourself that stops you doing the stuff that nourishes your very core.

5) You've got to be true. True in the purest sense, like a true friend, a true human being with a heart, a true spirit who's yes is yes and who's no is no. Cos life can come along and trick you into thinking that your only option is to bend the truth, lie and cheat and be mean spirited.

At the end of the day when I lay down to sleep at night I still need to live with myself. And be happy with the choices I've made that day.

I am no fortune teller and how can I ever know when a good opportunity comes along that could change my life - for better or worse. But I'm a believer in living the dream - that I'm a winner, a lover and a grinner - no matter what.

Today I'm feeling my way through this crazy life, living the dream and going for it.

Hugs

Zelda Sheldon

Hugs are the universal medicine.