“You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper.” ~ Edward de Bono
“There is no right or wrong. There is only your voice.” ~ Dave Grohl
We all have those days when we need someone or something to help us to see life differently, to change our perception and move us in a different direction, to dig a different rather than simply a deeper hole.
Lianne Stokes’ “The Top 5 Ways to a Better Life According to Dave Grohl” did that for me this week. Here is a taste:
“5. Spark a revolution.
Grohl, on his hope for his small daughters as they grow into women:
‘As a proud father, I pray that someday that they are left to their own devices, that they realize that the musician comes first, and that THEY find THEIR VOICE, and that THEY become someone’s Edgar Winter. THEY become someone’s Beatles and that THEY incite a riot, or an emotion, or start a revolution, or save someone’s life.’
Always have the highest bar for yourself. Wake up everyday and no matter how crappy you feel, want to change something for the better. Even if that day it means organizing your grandmother’s spice rack. Do something that makes someone happy. Create something that inspires someone. Be someone’s light when they are hopeless. Or just eat an amazing sandwich. You know, a really good sandwich is a total game changer.”
You can watch Grohl’s address in its entirety at the end of Lianne’s piece (note that there are f-bombs a-plenty). One of my favorite parts of his talk is about voice. While he is referring to a musician’s voice, we can easily substitute “writer” and similar words, as I did below [in square brackets]:
“What matters most is that it’s your voice. Cherish it. Respect it. Nurture it. Challenge it. Stretch it and scream until it’s … gone because every human being is blessed with at least that, and who knows how long it will last? It’s there if you want it. Now, more than ever, independence as a [writer] has been blessed by the advance of technology, making it easier for any inspired young [writer] to start their own [journal], write their own [story], record their own [narrative], book their own shows, write and publish their own fanzine—although now I believe you call it a blog? Now more than ever, you can do this, and it can be all yours, and left to your own devices, you can find your voice.”
What will you write to find your voice today?
Photo of Dave Grohl by remixyourface (Flickr: Foo Fighters Tenacious D concert in 2011) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons