When Dreams Come True

After a successful 15-year run as a copywriter, media sales rep and agency owner, I did what many people in this industry do. I burned out.

Fortunately I had some savings and assets. And I had a dream. 

I sold my home in Orlando, Florida. I sold my business and most of my belongings. I packed a small U-Haul with the rest of it and drove to a new chapter, across the country.

I moved to Northern California where, after securing new digs, I set forth to make my dream come true.

I rented a piano and began to learn to play. 

I’d never played before. But I always sang. My goal was to learn to accompany myself. I wanted to play and sing all my favorite songs.

Was this a frivolous pursuit? Probably. 

With no idea where this venture might lead, I still pushed on.

My finances dwindled. It became apparent that despite my great desire, a natural gift wasn’t necessarily part of the package.

Yet the vision of sitting at a piano and singing the songs I’d copiously collected over the years, kept me going.

Just who I might play and sing for didn’t matter. I wanted that experience. I wanted to live that dream.

The next years were filled with panic and fear as I watched my resources dry up. Yet I pressed on.

Eventually I started gigging. I was lousy at first. But I learned that if you keep at something, eventually you go from lousy to not so bad. 

Then you get good. If you don’t quit first.

I didn’t quit. And in the end I found a way to earn a living playing and singing. I used my sales and marketing chops to create a music business. I taught and played in clubs, bars, assisted living facilities and living rooms.

There’s deep joy in living what you’ve envisioned. Every time I sat at a piano, I felt pride. Pride that I’d pushed on. Pride that I arrived where no one thought I would. I was a working musician. 

In early 2020, with the onset of COVID, my music business ended. 

I haven’t played professionally since. These days I jam with friends and prefer it to the pressure of performing.

And I’ve returned to my marketing and copywriting roots.

I spend my time crafting copy and hunting for perfect words, rhythm and tone.

I am relaxed now and enjoy my work. I’m not haunted by a dream. 

There’s great joy in making a dream come true, regardless of how it turns out.  

What matters is having done it. Having given it your all, through the pain and panic and doubt. 

Just having done that is enough. 

Knowing for a fact that you’re brave, determined and hard-working is enough.