I was ecstatic! I had won Grand prize for pop lyrics in the Music City Song Festival and I won $1,000!
It was my first 4-figure check in the “biz” and I was delighted and stunned, especially after I was told I had beat out 30,000 entries to win.
So of course, I was feeling pretty good about going for it again the next year.
This time, I entered a rock lyric and I won first prize in rock lyrics. I was supposed to win $500, but the competition went bankrupt, and I never saw a dime.
Fast forward too many years to mention, and there is now a music competition that pays some serious money and has launched the careers of several artists and songwriters.
I could have found several reasons not to enter it. I could have decided the demo wasn’t perfect, that it’s been too many years, that I’m not the “normal” age of most of the participants, that I might be disappointed etc. But, I didn’t. I entered it because I believe in it, I want it to be heard and I’ve never given up on the dream (even though I got terribly sidetracked for a very long time).
My point is don’t let your dreams die because you think it’s too late or your too old, or you’ve been rejected too many times, or you’re worried about what people think or whatever your excuse is. If I can do it after all this time, so can you!
What dream do you have that you’ve been putting off?
