In A Shot Of Optimism, Discover Your Passion, Uncategorized

Dreams are relatively easy when you’re younger.  It seems like you have all the time in the world, anything is possible, and the bloom of youth on your side.  But as you get older, dreams can be harder and harder to hold on to – there’s marriage, kids, money to make.  But here’s the skinny: Holding on to that dream IS the way dreams come true.  Holding on to your dream is often the difference between someone who is (or is not) living their Yippee.

Just ask baby boomer Etta Britt.

I saw Etta yesterday for the first time in a long time. Last I knew she was selling real estate in Nashville.  Now?  She’s a center-stage star.

Ever since she was little, Etta wanted to be a singer.  With her hairbrush and her incredible voice, she stood in front of her mirror and pretended she was on stage with the Supremes.  Singing was her YIPPEE! – she sang in choirs and with singing groups.  As a young woman, she sang professionally, and she seemed to be rising to the top when her country band trio won an American Music Award.  But then the lead singer decided he wanted to shine on his own and left Etta in the dust.  A setback like this can threaten to drown your Yippee.  Etta kept going.

She made demos, approached record labels, performed back-up sessions and jingles.  When she married Bob Britt, she watched him hit the road with groups like The Dixie Chicks, John Fogerty and Wynonna, while she stayed home to raise their daughters.  Still, she took every opportunity to do recording sessions and sing back-up for groups in Nashville.  “… I never gave up on my dream,” Etta says.  One night she was performing at a Writers Night when she reunited with Sandy Knox, a Grammy-nominated songwriter she’d sung back up for years ago.  It turns out Sandy and Katie Gillon, a former MCA executive and also a baby boomer, were starting a record label for older artists who never got their shot.

Etta was the first person they signed.  Now, at 56, she’s taking the music scene by storm.

How did Etta make it big?  It wasn’t luck.  It was keeping her dream alive.  How did she do it?  Against all odds, she kept doing what she loved.  Would Etta be sad if she hadn’t made it to star status?  I haven’t asked her, but my hunch is, no. She didn’t sing her heart out because she was trying to make center stage, she did it because she loved it.  And that’s how you keep your dream alive.  If you love something?  Keep doing it.  And doing it.  And doing it.  And… doing it.

Eventually that book gets published, you hit that big role, your business takes off, you find yourself sitting in the C-suite, or the audience watches as you belt it out under the spotlight.  Eventually, every day you wake up saying YIPPEE!…

Hold on tight to that dream!!!  And just to make sure the world knows about it, tell me what that dream is and how you are keeping it alive.

Until next Tuesday.  YIPPEE!

Elizabeth.

P.S. to learn more about Etta see Marlo Thomas’ fantastic article in Huff Post.

 

Showing 2 comments
  • Quinten

    Hey there,first time I see this,I also really want to sing,I’m 19 male,but I live in Orkney and here isn’t much oppurtunities for me,I have no idea what to do or where to start

    • elizabeth

      Hi Quinten thanks for connecting. It can be hard to know where to start on a dream.
      You say you want to sing Are you singing now and where? In the shower? In a choir? Performing locally?

      When you say sing, do you mean you want to earn your living at singing?

      If so, what would that look like? Be the local celebrity in Orkney, on the Broadway, or have a record deal?

      Picture what you want – describe in all the detail you can manage
      Why is that important to you?
      What resources or support do you currently have?
      Where would you like to be a year from now?
      What are the top three things that must happen this year to move forward?
      What will you do in the next month to pursue your dream?

      It may be a vocal coach, a job that gives you income to pay while you build your career, opportunities to sing in public for free. It all depends on where you are and where you want to be.

      The important thing is to START and ACT.

      Let me know how it goes.

      Elizabeth

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