Welcoming In The New Year
2014 may very well have been both the hardest and best year of my life. I didn't believe my dad when he told me as a kid that life only gets better with age, but I'm coming to find that it is absolutely true. Abram and I both grew up in a large family and have never been accustomed to a sustained income or an excess of money... in fact the both of us have always been broke, scraping by on almost nothing (as a true starving artist should be); but always successful in the projects we have created, because we were determined, we worked as a team, and we completed what we started.
We opened Soundcolor Studios with no money, on a zero dollar budget, little by little, paying out of pocket for improvements when we could afford them. A year has passed since our grand opening, and through determination and the help of friends, family, and new members, we've witnessed an exponential growth and are finally at a point where we can operate on a professional level. So many people have lent a helping hand that we cannot express enough how grateful we are to our community, and only hope that we can be as supportive in return.
What this past year has taught me is that there is never a good time to postpone the things that truly matter to you. Opening this studio has shown me that everything that I spent so many years planning to one day do, is entirely possible, and it has happened... but only because I stopped planning and postponing, and actually did it. I want to emphasize that we did this with no money, because it still happened anyway; I quit a job I hated and committed myself 100% to what I am passionate about, and have only found that I can actually be that person that I someday hoped to be.
Most barriers in our life exist solely inside our heads, and we never allow ourselves past them because we manifest those barriers in to material excuses. The beginning of a new year is a perfect time to put your goals to the test and prove to yourself that they are in fact possible; start small, with a simple task around the house that you continuously put off. Make time for it today, and finish it; the gratification is overwhelming, and willl ultimately make you feel good, and accomplished. Work your way up to bigger tasks, and eventually, to your big life goals! Think of it as going to the gym and getting back in shape little by little (or actually do that), feeling healthier and better about yourself as you progress. There is only one outcome: success
To me, success is not money, not cars, not a big house; success is happiness. What are you passionate about? What makes you feel alive? Friends and Family are what everything boils down to for me. I want to be a good friend, a good son, a good brother and someday a good father. The success I feel in my art and in the studio is the interactions, laughs, enjoyment, thankfulness and good company of the people that surround me. That will matter most to me when this life comes to a close.
I welcomed the best New Year yet with a few good friends, a couple of beers, fireworks, and a hot tub soak under a crystal clear Montana night sky. Feels good to be alive!
Parting Note:
- Don't put your passion on the back burner, make it a priority! Be who you are and don't ever take yourself for granted; you are entirely capable, and if you are determined, you will succeed. The best things in life are free. Happy 2015!
-Michael
