I have been asking myself lately, when I see people like Bernstein, or research about people like Beethoven, how they got to where they did, how they accomplished where many failed. I look at Franz Schubert: died at the age of 31, wrote some 600 songs, 7 (or 8?) symphonies, 21 complete piano sonatas (as well as some short dances), five operas, six masses... and I'm sure that I'm missing something. How did he get to that point? Many people aspire to greatness, but settle in mediocrity: how is it that these great figures of our society and history got to where they did?
They took the first step.
Then, after they had taken the first step, they took the next one. One foot in front of the other. They fell down, and they got back up. Robert Schumann wrote Dichterliebe in 6 days, and he was denied by 4 (I think) publishers over the course of 4 years before he got it published. Schumann's Dichterliebe is now considered one of the greatest romantic song cycles, and it is studied by theorists, performers and historians. Schumann thought that the writing of songs was childish, and he stuck to mainly composing piano music. But in one year, after finally attempting to write songs, he wrote over 200 songs which are now considered great.
My greatest fear in life is to end in mediocrity. And I have slowly been reshaping and defining what mediocrity means to me, but my latest definition is this: mediocrity is when we stop dreaming, and we stop taking those steps towards our dreams. It doesn't matter if there is 1 mile ahead of you, or 700 miles: the only way to get there is to put one foot in front of the other.
What does the first step (or the next step) look like to you? Did you stop someplace along the way? Did you ever embark in the first place?
It is never too late or too early to take the next step.
Dream big!!!
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