Creating Your Life-Changing Dream: Creativity & La La Land
Were you surprised at the type of movie La La Land turned out to be? Aside from the incredible cinematography, music, costumes, and choreography, I appreciate how they didn’t end with everything tied up in a pretty little bow.
They showed how decisions affect our lives, and the sacrifices it takes to make a dream happen.
When Seb chases Mia back to her parents’ house so she can audition for the role that will soon change her career, she confesses she doesn’t have the will anymore. She doesn’t want the rejection. She’s over it.
She’s done pouring herself into auditions and roles that seemingly lead nowhere, and putting on a show very few people attend.
https://youtu.be/BSYQD1BBx7I?t=46s
Have you ever felt that way? Rejection after rejection, and seemingly endless comments made about your product, service, or even you?
Sometimes we just need a little extra push to get us back to doing what we need to do.
Dreams Aren’t Cheesy, but the Portrayals Are
The concept of following our dreams is seemingly both more common than ever and cheesier than ever. The idealized talk of working for a startup or creating an app is heard throughout every hipster coffeeshop, as are those struggling with knowing when to give up and move on.
There’s a part of me that resists using the word dream because it does sound cliché. But it’s important.
Dreams don’t need to be world-changing, they need to be life-changing.
It could be winning an Oscar or EGOT or becoming CEO, or it could be running a small business to build your family’s future.
As long as it’s what you’re passionate about and you’re willing to do the work to make it happen, it’s your life-changing dream.
Dreams aren’t this idealized notion that we can put in a bit of work and reap all the rewards.
Dreams are just that — dreams — until we put in the work and see the result.
There’s a line from Smash’s first season (don’t laugh, their first season was great) that’s stuck with me even now: “Sometimes dreams are hard”. They require months and at times years of blood, sweat, and tears to come to fruition, but if it’s the right dream, it’s one that continues to push us forward.
Knowing When to Push and When to Rest
I get it. Sometimes dreams feel crystal clear and other times it feels like you’re driving in fog-laden mountain roads. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned through my own experience with failure is that it’s okay to step down.
To stop fighting, accept that this realization of your dream may not happen, and to learn and move on.
Ending a dream isn’t easy. It can feel like giving up, dropping the ball, and facing ridicule all in one. The little voice can tell us we aren’t worthy and that we can’t hack it, but it’s not true.
Sometimes you need to end one dream to follow another. As long as you learn from your experience, it’s going to be worth it, I promise.
And there will be times you need to keep pushing.
Enter La La Land.
When Emma Stone won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical, she gave one of the most poignant acceptance speeches of the night.
https://youtu.be/a6DA-WF8fN4?t=1m5s
La La Land is real. It may be the whimsical, modern, original musical that they set out to create, but it portrays a life many people lead. They may be in another day of sun, but the rejection continues to come and they spend more time at their barista jobs than on a set.
But please, don’t let that stop you from giving that final push towards your dream. Because when those dreams are realized?
It’s an incredible feeling.
— Hannah
