5 Inspirations I Take Away from The Voice

I know, I know, I’m a male, 27 years old, and you’re saying, “Really, The Voice?”  Yes, my wife has proceeded to watch the new season of The Voice religiously since it started, and I’m not ashamed to say it, I’ve truly started enjoying it.  After this last blind audition episode that I watched, I laid down to bed and just kept thinking, “Wow, I wish I was doing something like that.”  I think that is why I get so caught up in it, I’m probably not the only 27 year-old male that watches The Voice, but I think everyone can relate to the inspirational tools you gain from the show and apply them towards your life:

1. Have a Dream and Live It

I can go on and on about how everyone should be able to reduce the college student debt, but dreams are not built on schooling or jobs or anything else.  Dreams come from inside.

For myself, I’ve always wanted to own my own business and work for myself.  I know it’s not a big dream like being a movie star or a singer, but that is what’s great about it.  It’s MY dream.  You can create and be something that no one else thought you could be and maybe you even doubted yourself (I still do).

But what did The Voice prove to me?  Dreaming is what makes all the hard work, all the crap, all the suffering, become manageable.  If you work towards a goal, put your all into it, and throw your arms open and embrace it, great things are possible.

If you only take one thing from this post, take this: Dreams are what you make of them, if you don’t try, you will never know, and definitely never succeed.

2.   Show Your Uniqueness (Not Your Skills)

I think I heard the “unique,” term 50 times on the show.  Even the judges started commenting that that is all they were truly looking for in someone.  I know it doesn’t seem like it should matter, it should truly be based on how good you are or how great you are to base a decision, but it’s not.

Uniqueness according to the definition is “The Only One of its kind,” and “Without an equal or equivalent.”  The definition shoves it right in your face.

If you can stand out from the crowd, be the best, the most memorable, or the favorite thing, you are truly unique.  That is how you come out on top of everyone else, and show you are not just the next person.

I don’t care how you show you are unique, but I most relate it to jobs, just from past experience.  I’m not saying you should create a resume, on fancy paper, or with some “cool” design, but when you create one, you have to prove why you are “The One.”

Recruiters and businesses go through thousands of applications, they have no problem throwing them to the side if it’s the same boring thing they have already read.  Take your time when you make one, show how you are unique over the next person, and then prove to them, you provide the results they need.

Don’t just be unique for a resume though.  Make a goal to stand out from your peers when it comes to school, sports, music, or anything you pursue, be truly unique in everything facet of life.

3.  Thank your Fam(ily)

I don’t know what gets me more caught up in the show, the actual singing, or how supportive and genuine the families are.  It’s almost hard to watch when someone gets turned down on the show (Eric Tipton the soul singer got me), I heard it, I saw something great, and I don’t get to watch them again.

But take the title to heart, thank your family.  I truly believe that happiness starts with you first, then your family next.  The more that you get supported and helped throughout your life, the more that becomes apparent.

I know that sometimes you get so caught up in the day that you forget to thank the ones you love, but make it a point, to tell the ones closest to you how much you care about them and love them.  If you are having rough times, the same people will always be there for you.

4.  Live in the Moment(s)

Being able to say you’ve made it, should be one of the proudest days of your life.  Watching The Voice has made me realize, that being picked by one of those judges is a super fulfilling moment, and that one moment could be the only one they get.

But, while you are in that moment, suck up everything you can around you and smile, be overjoyed, be thankful.  Dreams and moments might only come up once in your life, so if you are ever so lucky to be in that moment, enjoy it, because I’ll be chasing mine down too.

I think one thing that drives me every single day, is the time when I can truly say that I don’t have to worry about money.  I live for that moment where I can sit down, kick up my legs, and say screw you credit cards, and screw you student loan debt, and know that I have accomplished one goal of mine.

I will live in that moment (probably take a nice vacation too), and move on to my dreams of owning my own business and being my own boss.

Take your moment or moments and enjoy them, you never know when they will come along again.

5.  Don’t Ever Give Up

Like I said above, watching people not make the show is hard and almost seems counterproductive.  But take that same thing into your life.  Being told that you aren’t good enough or you aren’t right for something is a difficult pill to swallow.

That defeated fell that is in your stomach is real, it hurts.  Take it as a challenge and prove to yourself that you are better than that and you aren’t going to ever feel that again.  There are two choices you can make:

The day that you let that feeling take over you and just give up, is the day you will regret the rest of your life.  You will go back and remember how hard it was before and say I never want to experience it again, so you quit.  Please don’t because that day can be what turns you into something great.

If you take that feeling, and use it as a learning experience, you’ve taken the first step.  Put your all in to making yourself the better, or the best person, and take the feeling of excitement and joy and make that the new learning experience.

If you want to know how it feels again and again, you have to have that drive everyday, every hour, and every time you do something.  Don’t just hang your head and give up, overcome and conquer your defeats, and create the next unique life experience.

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