This is the final installment in a 3-part series that examines how we are in control of our own destiny and how we can positively force ourselves to find our niche in life, pursuing our dreams and achieving our goals along the way. In this final article, I will share with you a real life example of how to use positive energy, effort, and willpower to turn a problem situation into a positive experience. I call this:
First acting experience of “Mimi Bloopers”
I decided to follow my dream of becoming a songwriter and performer as I approached middle age. It wasn’t a hasty decision based on a mid-life crisis, rather it lingered in my subconscious for a long time. I loved acting and was just waiting for the right moment to refocus this passion.
My desire to pursue songwriting and performance experience before a live audience was originally prompted by my sister Rosemarie, who suffered a stroke at the age of 42 and is also a member of OPUS (Organization of “People Undaunted By Stroke”) in Westchester County, New York. She was my biggest fan and used all of her influence to prepare me for my first public performance. She didn’t know how she did it herself, but the auditorium was packed with an excellent audience. I must admit that I was extremely nervous. that day, afflicted with a bad case of stage fright. He was so stressed that he had developed a mild case of laryngitis. In my performance, I used a variety of costumes, hats, wigs, and accessories to convey the theme and mood of my personal compositions along with some Broadway tunes I had planned to sing. could ever have done. I should have tried practicing at home instead of before a live audience. I burned my nostrils, which made me cough terribly, bringing tears to my eyes. The more I choked on the cigarette, the more my wig moved towards my eyes. I was afraid it would catch fire. What a sight, there I was on stage looking utterly ridiculous in my crooked wig, rotten sneakers three sizes too big, and a huge feather boa wrapped around my neck trying to sing “Elegance” from “Hello, Dolly.”
In my extreme nervousness, my voice began to crack as it reached the highest pitch, and as I waved my arms I lost my balance and fell backwards. All my weight crashed into the support of the table, sending a tall glass vase crashing to the floor. Luckily I didn’t cut myself when I fell. There was glass all over the floor and a chair by the round table. Immediately, as if on cue, a janitor appeared out of nowhere on the stage and started whistling while sweeping up the broken glass. My singing teachers always advised me that if I ever found myself in a distracting situation while performing, I should concentrate and continue singing. The crowd roared with laughter as they watched the ostensible comedy act of the janitor in the background sweeping while I sang. What a horror, they called my blunders COMEDY. Right at that moment, I knew that my so-called career was over as soon as it started.
The career he hoped to start was as a professional singer, not a comedian. He wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. Nothing was going well. I was so upset. I packed everything up and left the building as fast as I could.
In the car I didn’t say much to my sister even though I was trying to sound cheerful. He was far from elated. Instead, I began to cry, muttering that I shouldn’t have gotten into this business. Maybe I should have listened to Mom and kept singing with the church choir as a showgirl. I began to regret all the expenses I had incurred to get to this point. The purchase of a new piano, voice training and private piano lessons, time invested in my musical compositions, 2 years of vocal training at the Leneve School of Music and Art, a professional recording of two of my songs, all wasted. He was in a foul mood, completely discouraged. Let’s face it, no one is immune to discouragement. It comes to all of us at one time or another, because “Life is an ongoing process, in which we go from relative ease to crisis points.” My dream was beginning to fade as I allowed my positive attitude to be dominated by negative emotions. I had high expectations for that first performance, but since I didn’t see the results I expected, this fueled my discouragement.
My sister was getting mad at me and she said, “What’s wrong with you? Please stop all this drama. Enough of this ‘woe me’ mentality. Being such a positive person, you surprise me. This was your first show and you’re already leaving it? That’s the way it is! Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s horrible. The cigarette and the part where you fell and broke the glass. The audience roared. You want people to remember you, don’t you? Look on the bright side. Here you go great idea…why don’t you try adding some comical situations to each of your shows? I remember saying “Isn’t that a bit old fashioned?” “Who cares? People need to laugh, and you can always leave them dead with songs. Cheer up, girl.” Thank God for my wise older sister and the humble lesson I learned from all of this.
Since that first experience, despite all the obstacles, setbacks, and failures I had encountered during my years as a songwriter and performer, I was able to write and perform over 25 original songs. I was starting to feel much more confident about my progress and future in the entertainment field. There were some years that were more successful than others, until unfortunately an accident ended this chapter of my life.
Once again I found myself standing on the precipice of making a conscious decision to pursue another dream with an intense desire to stick with it. Although my role as a website manager and blogger may seem less appealing, I don’t regret the changes in my career. I have now added another heart’s desire to my list of accomplishments as I work to become a successful writer. This is my goal, this is the hole I want to fill, and when I get there, that’s where I’ll stay.
As you can see for yourself, having a positive or negative thought process makes a significant difference in finding your niche in life.
Positive-minded people take advantage of all the opportunities available to them, freeing themselves from all self-imposed restrictions. These people not only have a clear picture in their minds of what they want, but also where they are going. They know that if they hold on to that dream long enough, with enough clarity and confidence, it will attract everything it needs to come to fruition. The person who has a positive attitude toward her role in life will wake up feeling good about herself and expect amazing things to happen. Occasionally he or she will have unfortunate experiences along the way, but the secret to success is not to allow those experiences to rule one’s daily thoughts. They just continue to wait for it to happen rather and of course it happens because “like attracts like”.
I hope that as you read this article you get excited and find a new determination to make something successful in your life. If so, then everything I have said has been worth it. You are now on your way to progress. Dream it, then do it: go find your niche in life. It’s already there, waiting for you to claim it.
“Hold on to that dream. Never let it go… Because it is your strength and courage when you travel the path of life.
Patience is a virtue, but hope is much better. So hold on to that dream Hold on to that dream No matter how old you are.”
Miriam B. Medina