Skip to main content

The Old Adage

You've probably read it, heard it, or seen it tattooed on someone, but there's a saying that starts with "dance like no one's watching..."
It's supposed to be a way of saying "be yourself," or something along those lines. There's more to it, but the point is that you should be yourself and not be afraid of what other people think about your questionable dancing ability.
I have two emphatic words for that expression.

Screw. That.

What fun is it to dance when nobody's watching? Where's the thrill? Where's the adrenaline? Where's the motivation to try something crazy?
I'm not just talking about dancing anymore, this is bigger. Don't do things like they don't matter, do things like they're the most important thing in your life.
Make everything count, right? Give me one good reason not to.
Let's say you're writing a blog post. It doesn't matter if only three people are going to read it, you should write it as if 300,000 people will read it. Project what you want to be and then do everything you can to become it. That's why I write about things that I care about - even if I'm writing jokingly. I could post something on here four times a day but it wouldn't be worth anyone's time to read it because they wouldn't be things I felt strongly about.
But this is one I feel strongly about.


Maybe this is just the inner performer in me trying to get out, but I'd rather do anything in front of 500 people than in front of nobody. Sure, I'd be nervous, but I'd also try as hard as I possibly could to do my best.
When you're trying to impress yourself, you can rationalize failure. But could you justify it to a room full of people who paid to see you succeed?

Why do you tell people about the things that you've done in your life? You do it because you want to see people's reactions to what you do. You want an audience. Secrets aren't fun because you can't share them with somebody. So why not share with the world?

Do something big. Have an audience. Dance like your life depends on it.

That's my motivation for the night. Eat it up.

Comments

  1. Not only do I do things like I have an audience, I in fact usually do have an audience. For example, I tend not to shower without a crowd. A standard cleansing draws about a dozen, but with a little promotion and some serious filth in all the hard to reach places, upwards of 20 fascinated onlookers are sure to show. Singers, athletes and motivational speakers share their gifts with the world, why should I not be just as unselfish and share my unparalleled techniques and abilities? I strongly urge the readers of "Chasing a Dream" to step out of the proverbial closet (whether or not the closet is proverbial for you is for you to decide) and shower for show.

    Don't drop the soap, though, that would be weird.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Naples Archaeological Musuem and Its Penis Room

When the situation calls for it, I am a mature person. I can talk comfortably about reproductive health, I can watch a movie with a sex scene and not make a joke, and I can look at nude statues and think nothing of it beyond art. Hell, my senior yearbook quote was about how maturity is just knowing when and where to be immature. I won't laugh when you fall down because you might be hurt and I absolutely do not laugh when an animal humps something because it's instinct and the animal can't help it. I believe you shouldn't laugh at something if the thing you're laughing at is helpless in the situation. But sometimes you find your limit. The National Archaeological Museum of Naples (abbreviated MANN in Italian) pushed me near my limit. See, Naples is home to brilliant and interesting historical artwork. With the nearby town of Pompeii buried under the ash of Mt. Vesuvius, tons of pristine artifacts which were rescued from Pompeii ended up in MANN. Some of these p...

Movie

Someone asked me today: if my life were made into a movie, would I watch it? HELL YES, I WOULD. Upon answering so emphatically, she called me out for being cocky. Here is my extended answer, including teasers, cliff-hangers, and the possible title. I justify my arrogance by saying that if I don't believe in my product, who in the world is going to see it? The movie about me would be executive produced by me, obviously. I have the final say in what goes and what doesn't. If my life were made into a movie, only the most important parts would make it...it would be like a 23 year highlight reel crammed into 2 hours and 12 minutes (any longer and I'm risking a major walk-out-to-pee-and-miss-the-important-stuff crowd reaction). For the meaty part, think about all the great things this movie would have! It would feature sports, love, friendships, hardships, heartbreaks, family bonds, and most importantly...frontal male nudity. Name one thing from that list that doesn't appear ...

1000 Words a Day, Day 10: On Old Friends

At some point in college, it dawned on me that my group of friends from home was unusual. Yes, we were all weirdly close an did some objectively strange things to each other (and with each other, but mainly to each other), but apparently it was weird to stay so close to people from your hometown. We all thought nothing of it, because that's just the way we were. Others, however, were surprised and often confused. Some of them were "adopted" into the group of us from the Chesterland area, and it's hard to say how much they still stayed in touch with people who didn't go to high school with us, because they sure assimilated into our friends-since-early-childhood clique. But still, that was only college. Later, I moved to Chicago and found that there were people who I hadn't seen in years who would gladly, willingly, almost eagerly bail me out of I was in a pinch or needed a place to stay. These were people I wasn't even necessarily close  with when we were...