What’s Holding YOU Back?

The subway in NYC during morning rush hour is an interesting place.

I often find myself amazed and slightly disheartened by the vast number of people sitting in silent resentment, looking miserable at being stuck in the ‘rat race’: commuting at 6:30am to a job they hate to earn a paycheck that’s going to just barely cover their bills so they can, hopefully, break even each month.

As I stared at the man across from me this morning (ok, ‘stared’ is the wrong word…every New Yorker knows the unwritten Do Not Make Eye Contact  rule!), I wondered:

‘What’s stopping him from dropping everything and moving to a remote island?’

 

Now, clearly it is not the dream of every single human being on the face of the earth to leave it all behind and lie on a hammock on a deserted island while drinking tropical drinks out of a coconut. This is, however, my go-to place whenever I feel overworked or stressed. (Go-to mentally at least. Which leads me to my next point…)

 

So, what’s stopping us?

 

I believe there are two things: Money and Belief

 

Money’s the obvious one. Who among those reading this is in a place where you can financially live the physical life you dream about? If you’re one of the select few, that’s absolutely wonderful and I have a fantastic nonprofit organization I’d like to introduce you to…

For most of us, however, the thought of draining our savings accounts to live a life of luxury seems unrealistic and, to put it simply, irresponsible.

This leads to my second point…

 

Belief.

 

I remember as a kid always coming up with ‘reasons’ why other people could do things and I couldn’t. I’d hear a great musician and think: ‘Oh, that’s because his parents were musicians’. I’d see someone who was ‘successful’ at a young age and think: ‘Well, that’s because his uncle is famous’.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is the truth of the cliché we’re told as children:

You can accomplish anything you can dream of.

 

As a child/teenager, that thought is piled into the category of things your parents tell you to make you feel good, right along with your mom constantly telling you how special you are and how you’re the smartest, best looking kid in the world.

When adulthood hits, however, at some point you stop and think:

 

What’s the differentiating factor between the people living their dream life and those stuck in the ‘rat race’?

 

Yes, hard work, commitment and tenacity are all part of it, but those come after. They’re secondary to the one factor that I believe serves as the definitive line between those who do and those who don’t:

 

 

A belief that you can absolutely live this life you dream of

Now, I’m not in a position to preach about financial security and living the dream physical life day in and day out. I’m still working toward that. However, I have no question that, in time, this will come.

And, no. I don’t have a famous uncle, a rich family member or a personal sponsor.

What I do have is a firm vision in my mind of the life I will be living, a passion that helps me work toward it every day and, most importantly…

The belief that it is happening.

So, what’s holding you back?

If it’s money, great. That’s the easy part. But, if it’s because you think that that life or those rewards are ‘for other people’ or ‘don’t happen to people like me’, there’s your starting point.

At MCB, we use music to motivate underprivileged children who often have been ignored or shown that the bar of what they can achieve is already set–and set pretty low at that. But music is our tool, it’s our means to get through to these children.

As adults, we hold our future not in our hands, but in our minds.

We live in a world where anyone can be or do anything, cliché or not. We’re all connected and we’re all living this life together. So, let’s lift each other up, believe that we can live the life we want, and help humanity while we’re doing it.

                                        6.8 Billion People * One Language * One World

Labor Pains, Prostitution and Mission Statements…Oh My!

I recently heard two phrases that I’ve since become quite fond of:

 

‘Don’t prostitute your mission’

and

‘I don’t care about the labor pains…I only care about the baby’

 

(If you haven’t read the past ‘For Mr. L’ blog, now’s a good time to pause and go back, if only to give credit to the source of both of the above…)

 

So, here’s MCB’s baby…our newly revised mission statement:

‘Music Crossing Borders teaches and inspires children in underprivileged circumstances to achieve their social and academic potential through music education. By cultivating an understanding of the unique cultures, rich histories and inspiring theories underpinning music from around the globe, children are taught how music is the “Universal Language” and a tool for creating a more peaceful world and a better humanity across all cultures.’

 

Now, about those labor pains…

 

There are multiple challenges that we deal with daily at MCB: funding, school partnerships, gala planning…

My vote, however, for the most detail-grueling, nitty-gritty task we’ve dealt with to date came this past week: clarifying our mission statement.

A mission statement is a lot like a lingerie ad (please don’t quote me on that): you need something that’s going to catch the public’s eye, sell to those with the money and still hold true to what it is that makes your company (organization) unique.

 

Most importantly, as in advertising, you can’t pretend you’re something you’re not.

 

You can have the world’s most attractive super models in your ads, but if they’re wearing sweatpants, they probably won’t sell. Likewise, putting the the world’s sexiest women’s  lingerie on a 600lb hairy man probably won’t attract the clientele you’re looking for.

 

The mission and selling points must match what you do and, by default, who you are.

 

 

Now, to that prostitution thing…

 

Funders don’t give money to an idea.

Bringing children together for a greater good and using music to do it is a wonderful and important concept, but it’s an idea, not a tangible, measurable goal.

Teaching children about music from different cultures around the world and relating it to social studies, history and geography and seeing how their grades improve overall is a tangible and measurable goal, and a good one at that.

 

The challenge lies in that Music Crossing Borders’ mission is not one or the other–it’s both.

 

It would be easy for us to sell out–to ‘prostitute our mission’–and tell funders what they want to hear: ‘MCB teaches children about music from different cultures around the world to improve their academic achievement’. A worthy cause indeed…but only half our story.

 

 

 

 

WHY do we do what we do? Because children–and adults!–need to understand that we’re all connected despite our different languages, looks and dress, and what better way to learn that than through music?! Learning about music from different cultures around the world and seeing/hearing how it relates to the music and culture we know, is the best way I can think of to not only increase the academic achievement of children but to also teach this concept of One World.

 

So…

 

Music Crossing Borders teaches and inspires children in underprivileged circumstances to achieve their social and academic potential through music education. By cultivating an understanding of the unique cultures, rich histories and inspiring theories underpinning music from around the globe, children are taught how music is the “Universal Language” and a tool for creating a more peaceful world and a better humanity across all cultures.

 

It’s tangible, it’s fundable and-most importantly-it’s honest.

It’s who we are.

It’s what we do.

It’s how we’re changing the world.

 

So, please excuse the labor pains, but we thought you’d appreciate the new baby more if you knew from where it was conceived:

6.8 Billion People * One Language * One World