Article by Wendy McCance

Last night I was watching a program called Live From Daryl’s House.  Daryl Hall from Hall and Oats has musicians come over to his home and they play music.  It’s a cool show.  The best part is that you get to see these musicians interacting with each other and you get a sense of their personality.

Last night Joe Walsh was on the show.  He was such an amazing musician and he talked a lot about how he became a musician and what he has learned over the years.

Joe Walsh talked about how music has changed and how he got sucked into keeping up with what was new and popular.  It was fascinating that he had already had quite a bit of success and he was looking to change his music to stay with the times.  What he realized was that people liked his music because it was his music.  It came from his soul.  It was a certain sound and heartfelt lyrics that were uniquely him.  People didn’t want music that was copied off of other styles. They wanted what drew them in right from the start, what he had to offer.  His personal style.

This show and in particular this portion of the show truly struck me.  When you are a creative person, you might begin your journey by pulling bits and pieces out of your soul and exposing it to the world.  Without realizing it, over time as you expand and see that there is interest in what you have to offer, you look outside of yourself.  You question what others have done that have gotten them attention.  You feel compelled to mimic their process if only a little here and there.  It’s strange how you lose your personal momentum, question your path and begin again when there was nothing wrong with where you had been heading to begin with.

Why is it that the natural instinct is to turn off the power you possess within yourself and doubt what you are offering?  What is it about human nature that curiosity, competitiveness and a feeling like there is a better way get in the way of something beautiful that you were already creating on your own?

Having a blog, being a writer and working in social media has messed up my brain a few times.  I would be happily working and I had definitely found my voice.  I understood what my audience was drawn to and provided it day after day.  Yet, along the way, I became fascinated with what others were doing.  I would see their success and began to implement some of the things they were doing to achieve greatness.  I gave away what made me unique and implemented a poor imitation of what I was seeing all around me.

Yes, struggling while advancing is how you learn.  It’s a process and no one gets it right off the bat, continuing along on the straight and narrow without veering off the path from time to time.  But, it is a revelation to hear that even the greatest among us has fallen victim to the outside rumblings of how to achieve success even as they were looking it right in the face.

Going forward, I have a greater sense of confidence that I can just do me.  In this way, I know I will achieve the best I have to offer.  I will be more satisfied with what I have created,  There will be no smoke and mirrors, just a straight up, soul baring version of myself.

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Wendy McCance

Wendy McCance is a Michigan based freelance writer and social media consultant. Wendy has gained attention as the founder of the popular blog Searching for the Happiness which can be viewed in 9 local papers online, including the Oakland Press. The combination of writing skills and social media knowledge is what makes Wendy such a powerhouse to work with. Stay tuned for opportunities to advertise, guest post and as always, have your questions answered.

To contact Wendy McCance about a writing or social media assignment, interview or speaking engagement, please email her at: [email protected]

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