I recently saw a quote posted in a pastry shop! It caught my eye because it was unusual to see a mirror quote in a pastry shop. This pastry shop had opened less than a year, they are new in town and are making a name for themselves.

The decor in the shop is very modern and appealing. The bright white walls and faux plants as well as the open floor plan, and deliciously-looking shelves make the pastry shop ideal for taking Instagram selfies.

On the contrary, there is another pastry shop in town that is a few blocks away from the new one I visited. That shop has been in business for 30+ years and its obvious they have not done one renovation since they opened.

In my opinion, they care about their products but not their brand. They haven’t invested in making their shop look appealing. They haven’t painted the walls, they have hand-written notes, and truth be told, their shop feels cluttered.

However, the new pastry shop I visited gives the sense that they care about their product AND its brand. The owner was friendly and welcoming. I personally felt great about my decision to visit them and support their new business.

The new pastry shop had this quote on the wall “Dream until your dreams come true.” It’s a nice quote and at first glance, it feels motivational! I’m sure that’s the message this pastry shop owner resonated with and wanted to share with customers.

But as I stood there looking at the message, I disagreed with it completely! It did not resonate with me at all! I thought to myself if you keep dreaming, how will you make your dreams come true?

At some point, you have to move away from dreaming and step into action! Otherwise, you’ll spend your life dreaming and never achieving.

So, my friends, this wall quote was the inspiration for this blog!

As you know, I’ve been deep-diving into the Songs of Psalms and the theme for our study on Psalm 90 has been about finding purpose and sustaining purpose.

And so, the quote was a perfect opportunity for me to discuss here what I believe are 3 steps to get started on living your music dream and fulfilling your purpose.

DREAMS ARE GOD-GIVEN

It’s nice to have dreams but your purpose requires you to pursue those dreams. The dreams in your heart are God-given. He put them in you so that you can be guided on finding the call He designed for you to fulfill in your lifetime.

Perhaps you haven’t quite started living out your music dream yet. You know you are supposed to be a musician or vocal performer or songwriter, but life got in the way and you are not quite there yet.

Are you going to keep dreaming about it at night? Are you going to keep writing songs but keeping them hidden in your voice memo?

How many messages does God have to give you to assure you that yes, it’s time for you to pursue your dream? If you’re reading this, consider this your final message from God, AND let’s get you to step into action!

TAKE ACTION

My friend, doors of opportunity do not stay open forever. It’s either now or never!

What should you be doing now to get started?

What steps should you take to move in the direction of your dreams?

If you’re having a hard time getting started, I want to share with you 3 easy steps to take action on fulfilling your dreams!

B E L I E V E

The 1st step you ought to take is to BELIEVE!

If you don’t believe in your dream? Then who will? Belief starts with you! It starts in the secret place of your heart and overflows into your life. It will govern your actions. When you believe that you’re called to something - in this case, music - then it’s that very thing that fuels everything you do!

Your time, energy, sacrifices, and resources are poured into your dream when you know that this is what you’re supposed to be doing in life! When you start believing in yourself, then we start believing in you!

T A K E A C T I O N

The 2nd step to begin fulfilling your dream is to begin taking action! Dreams don’t magically get fulfilled. It’s a process of discipline and focus and working on them. What goals do you have? What are you looking to accomplish?

What does accomplishing your dream look like to you? Do you want to be a successful musician or vocalist that travels the world while hearing fans singing your songs?

Do you want to have music released on streaming platforms? Do you want to be invited to perform in different venues? Be specific about what you want to do.

In fact, write it down!

Better yet…create a vision board!

A man writing his goals on post it notes vision board — Create a Vision Board!

There’s power in visualizing your goals!

I think there’s such power in visualizing yourself as an artist! Find pictures that resonate with you and put them on a board, save them as a collage on your phone screen so that you’re able to have them before you constantly!

You need a continual vision of yourself as an artist. It’s important to have a visual representation of your dream so that each time you look at it, you see yourself as who you’re meant to be!

It will motivate you to work on those days when you’re tired or you’re facing challenges that are tempting you to quit.

When I started my business, the first thing I created was my 2nd Generation Music logo. I wanted to see it constantly to remind me to work on my goals.

Another recommendation I want to throw in for free…

Create goals that are achievable!

For example, how many songs do you want to write? What type of songs will you write? Will you be releasing a single? An album? Begin by establishing goals around the music you want to make and how you want to make that music.

Having specific goals will allow you to work towards them because you’re not guessing and creating things as you go along!

You are being strategic and efficient with your time! Every day, you will need to dedicate time to work a little bit on your goals.

Create daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals, and quarterly goals. As you discipline yourself into action, you will find that before you know it, you are doing the very thing you are called to do.

STUDY YOUR CRAFT

The 3rd step you should take is to study your craft! Study your industry. Be well versed in your genre! Know who the players are in your industry and read about them, learn about them and understand how they achieved their success.

This exercise is not for you to duplicate their efforts or imitate them but rather to educate yourself on their successes AND failures. You can use what you learn as motivation for your own journey and creativity.

Lastly, as you’re looking to expand your knowledge about your industry and trends, also seek to develop and grow in the areas you’re not so confident in.

Perhaps you need to improve your music playing skills or your vocal skills. Be honest with yourself and find the areas you can improve on.

Build those improvements into your goal planning. Add them to your list of daily and weekly goals so that you are constantly focused on them.

The sooner you start improving your skills, the quicker you can advance your dreams into reality.

CONCLUSION

Fulfilling your purpose is about taking action! Dreaming alone is not enough to make your music dreams come true. As an artist, you must take action that will cause you to step into your dreams.

You’ll find that the more you do, the closer and faster you will be to realizing your dream and purpose in life!

If you have any questions or anything that I can help you with, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’ll be happy to chat with you!

Until then, keep being amazing!

MRJ

PS…

Click on the link below to hear our video blog series on Purpose!