"... goals are simply statements of faith."
- Pastor Rick Warren, author of A Purpose Driven Life
In Japan, they have the phrase "Ganbatte!" They say it all the time. It can mean many different things, when translated into English, depending on the situation, but the feeling of the phrase is always the same. It can mean: "Do your best." "Good luck." or as it says above "Give it your all and FIGHT!"
I have decided that my next goal I want to pursue is a career in music. I've tried this once before and failed (well, I didn't fail but I just didn't achieve it). But I'm not the kind of person who gives up. My goal in life is to inspire people to dream BIG and to zealously go after their biggest dreams. I wouldn't be following my own advice, if I decided that I should just leave some dreams as simply dreams.
That's the main reason why I moved closer to Tokyo. I needed to be in a place where I had access to the entertainment industry. But now that I'm here in Tsujido, I'm having the most difficult time in actually going out to do something in entertainment. I have a few ideas though. I'm thinking about looking into joining a hip hop class near my apartment. I'm also thinking about registering with talent agencies in Tokyo. And ideas, will be what they will continue to be until I take some action on them.
But I have these hindering thoughts. Here is a list of the continual jabber I hear whenever I try to do one of those ideas.
You're not talented enough.
You're not good looking enough.
You're not tall enough.
You're not confident enough.
You're not young enough.
You're not...
You're not...
You're not...
Furthermore, these thoughts are then supported whenever I tell someone about my goal and they give me this look that seems to say, "Really?"
But then after hearing all those voices, I hear another voice. I believe that it's the Spirit of God.
And this voice tells me, "It doesn't matter if YOU don't think you're good enough. Do it anyways. Even if you don't have faith in yourself."
Then I think, "Yeah. It doesn't matter what I think of myself. It doesn't matter if I have self-confidence or not. Because, I don't need to have confidence in myself. I only need to have confidence in God. And if I believe that God brought me thousands of miles to Japan to help me achieve one life long goal, He can surely help me achieve the next. All I need to do is take a step in that direction. It doesn't matter if I think I'm going the right way or if I'm making the right choice. What matters is that I'm taking a step and trusting that the God who brought me this far will continue to bring me to the next place He wants me to be."
But then here I sit in my room. Typing this blog post, when I should be figuring out how I'm going to route my trip to Tokyo for interviews with talent agencies, and going to that studio to see if I can enroll in a dance class...
I need prayer. I need people to pray for me, even if they don't think that I'm good enough, or good looking enough, or talented enough. They can still pray that God give me the spiritual and physical favor and support to do His will, to do whatever it is that He brought me to Japan to do.
Please pray for a boost of energy to get these things done, and for God-given favor to achieve His will.
“Don't be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don't have to live forever, you just have to live.”
I have been thinking a lot about this post. Here are a few of my thoughts.
ReplyDelete1st. I have been considering the option of one day in the future, getting a nose job. I had already been thinking about it, because in Asia, there is such a strong pressure to look a certain way, and I need to admit that this affects many people and it is affecting me. Then last night, a friend asked me why my nose looked like it does, one big nostril, one small. I was a tad embarrassed, as I always am when someone mentions it, but I pretended that I wasn't and responded very casually.
"Do you think I should get nose surgery?"
He said, "You look fine. From the side it looks normal."
This simple mention of my nose is what set this in motion. I have wanted to get a nose job for almost my whole life, at least ever since I was in junior high school, because I was teased so much about it. If you have ever seen pictures of me, I'm usually never looking straight at a camera because of this.
I feel like it all sounds so superficial but what makes this different from someone getting a jar surgery to fix an under bite? Why is there a double standard on what is acceptable to change about someones features and what is not acceptable?
2nd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dm8B_u2aqw
For some reason I have been listening to sermons from Saddleback Church in California. I came to a realization that when I had my first big goal of paying off my debt, I became a weekly listener to Dave Ramsey. Then when I began to pursue moving to Japan, another huge goal, I constantly listened to Michael Hyatt and Dan Miller. For some reason I just started listening to them, a lot, just because I enjoyed their podcasts and because I got a lot out of their teachings. But what I recently realized is that their messages were exactly what I needed to be hearing, to give me that extra "umph," that extra boost of encouragement to get to my next stage of where God was leading me.
As I listen to the messages from Saddleback Church, that's exactly what happens to me, whenever I receive the message being preached. And it kinda just happened, that I began to contentiously listen to them. I guess that the Holy Spirit guides me to receive the messages that I need, when I need it, to achieve the dreams that He has put within me.
This video in particular relates so incredibly well, with this blog post. I suggest that you fastforward it to after Malcom Glagwell is finished, to about 24mins into it, unless ofcourse you really want to hear what Malcom has to say. I found it a bit boring lackluster though. But the message that the pastor gives after is long, but just shuts those voices, that I mention above, down, and stomps on them so that the voice of hope and faith rings louder.
My dear son, you are a true inspiration to me for all that you have achieved in your young lifetime. Most people never achieve, accomplish, or experience even a fourth of what you done in their lifetime so if anyone ever tries to tell you "you're not" is only their own shortcomings that they see. You endured so much from the day you were born and fought through all those surgeries that only a mother wishes upon themselves so that she didn't have to watch her little baby suffer so much. You were born a fighter and look where it has taken you? You can achieve anything in life cause you have always had that will power within to pursue anything you desire. So go for it !!! I love you any have always been so proud to call you my son. You are amazingly talented in all your music endeavors especially at writing songs so please continue to do that.
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