Etana, twice Grammy nominated Jamaican Reggae artist, was speaking live one evening from Germany during her current extremely busy tour. I love her Facebook lives in which she sings and speaks directly to her fans. I find there is always a nugget or two of wisdom, but this particular session was directly from the heart and covered all of the main points any top motivational speaker is going to share with you. Etana is real and says everything in a clear, expressive manner making it easy to follow her truths. I have come to love her music which is partly thanks to Gypsy, musician and long time friend, who is currently touring with her which piqued my interest. If you are not familiar with Etana’s music it's a great time to investigate her beautiful voice; rich, soothing and full of positive vibrations. This song, 'Reggae,' is a good place to start.
Time to move onto her live and share some food for thought which you would be well advised to take to heart. I have written this pretty much verbatim and added comments as they occurred to me. Etana's words are in italics.
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| Screenshot from the Facebook live |
Creative people- it’s a different time, not like it used to be, and it’s easier to create and make yourself know on sites like Tic Toc and Facebook.
I’m verifying this straight away as I have seen the impact
Tic Toc has had for my guitarist friend Clinton Rock Jones, who is constantly
sharing duets with very talented people recording them on Tic Toc and posting to Facebook. He was actually ranked #5 soulful guitarist by a reviewer which shows how far your talents can take you.
You have to do your thing, even starting a new business.
Nobody said it would be easy. It’s the choices that you make, the path that you
choose and all of these things combined with your level of thinking, what you
consider success, the gift that you have been given. There’s a lot that comes
with it.
It is so easy to have aspirations but doubt ourselves. This
is why we need inspirational people, Etana included, to give us that little
push and acknowledge that the road ahead is an unknown and it will take effort
and courage to keep going.
You need a heart and a bigger purpose. My purpose is to
make the burden of people’s life experiences lighter. To make people happy, to
make people dance, to make people sing, to make people feel good. To make
people stronger, to make people experience all the positives. That is my
purpose.
I absolutely love this. How often do we hear an artist
speaking with so much definition about their purpose? Now sit down and define
your purpose. I will do this as clarity produces focus and focus, results.
That is my focus in music and everything I do. I love
people and I love to sing. I love positive energy and good vibes. It just
depends on all the choices you make, but if you create music or any kind of art
and love what you do, do it with love and a lot of passion; care about it and
care about everybody in it. Just do the damn thing and do it without fear.
This speaks volumes and you can feel the essence of Etana’s
passion for people as much as her music. I also think that you can listen to
1000 motivational speakers and yet this is the answer and the addition of ‘without
fear,’ is the final key that will help you deliver to the max.
I hear some people say, ‘it’s just the chance or the
opportunity I’m looking for.’ No man.
You’ve got everything you need inside- just sing, just write, just draw. Do
everything you do to the best of your ability and love it and appreciate it.
Agreed. When you maintain your focus and deliver more is
given to you. As I said before, I stopped this blog for two years and when I
looked at the stats, the daily visits had me amazed. Time for big things now.
How do I know this? Because the universe kept it rolling when I was off the
boil, so now I’m back on it the universe has to deliver.
When you do that, not even money matters you know. It
doesn’t matter what people say that is negative. Certain things don’t matter.
You just do it because you love it. Love what you do and when you love what you
do a lot of people with love it along with you.
Love this. When you’re thoroughly engrossed why does
anything else matter? You are in a state of fulfilment and bliss. Money comes
in time. Negative comments come from people who are not at one with themselves,
so do your thing your way with confidence. Etana speaks the truth when she says
that what you love attracts the right people. You may have to shed first because this is the nature of life, but once we make space it is filled. So
clear the closet and welcome your new supporters- Those whom your purpose
serves.
Sometimes the greatest thing about doing music or
creating what you love is not necessarily all the material things that come
along with it, you know, but more, the connections you make, the lives you
touch across the world.
We can never know everyone we serve, however, life is a
string of connections that take us physically, emotionally, intellectually in a
progressive way forwards. Through continuity we come across new people and new
opportunities. I have met people I would not have dreamed of and have a life I
didn’t envisage, not that my life is extraordinary. As Etana says, it’s not
always about the money. I used to imagine interviewing people when I was a
working mother with two young Sons and nothing much on the horizon. Thanks to
the internet life changed and I have interviewed various artists and covered
inspiring campaigns. So, follow your passion- you don’t know where it will take
you.
Ask yourself what you are doing it for. Why do you want
to draw? Why do you sing? What are you doing it for? WHY? What’s your reason?
Find that first. Without the answer to that 'why' it makes everything harder.
Great advice. My starting point: I had so many ideas going
round in my head it was buzzing. Myspace blog created an outlet for release and
it was an absolute relief to share all the thoughts, questions and poetry which
then stimulated a new flow. I have that passion back now and this is key. Serving others
by providing a space to share and inspire is an important cog in the wheel and
balance of life, especially as a positive use of social media.
Without the why you will experience a whole heap of
things- it makes you go through a lot when you don’t know. You have to know.
And so, in everything you are experiencing on that journey, even if it’s hard,
you find a reason to continue because you know why.
This is key. There is so much value in understanding your why because this will help
you to keep on pushing through. Life is always a series of ups and downs.
Nothing is entirely straight. Set backs help us tap into our strengths and confront our weaknesses. So, get
to grips with your why and hold it in front of you mentally. Write it where you
see it as the power of the word is just that- powerful and magical.
Even if you cry you find a way to keep moving because you
know WHY. If it makes you feel good you enjoy feeling good because you know
that why. If you smile you smile for real because you know why. It’s important
to know why, WHY.
Loving the upside, the positive, those feelings of success we all experience when we know why we are doing something. This is very satisfying; and I also think this is the perfect place to end part one as we already have much to think about. Thank you Etana for sharing so much more than music with your fans.
All shares and
comments, especially directly under the post are appreciated!
Jaz McKenzie~ The
Word Magician
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