Can You Truly Be Happy For Others If You Are Not Happy With Yourself?

We all have that one friend who is successful at ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that they attempt to do. Of course no one is perfect but they are labeled by other people as “Mr. or Little Miss Perfect.” I’m sure a lot of you can relate when I mention how frustrating it is to have something that you work for or something that you try to do fail miserably. Then there are other times when you put your all into something but the results are not coming as quickly as you’d like them to.

There is a saying I think about whenever I begin to show distain for other people becoming successful or getting closer to their goals while I’m still stuck in the same place; “Jealousy comes from counting others’ blessings instead of our own.” That green-eyed monster starts to rear its ugly head whenever I begin to feel trapped just dreaming while other people I know are having their dreams become a reality.

For the past 2 ½ years, I’ve been working to become a professional songwriter; writing over 150 songs, mailing out dozens of letters to artists, spending money on songwriting books and getting my work copyrighted, emailing/calling over 50 potential lawyers for representation so I’ll be prepared whenever I reach my goal because I’ll need professional help, making demos, my own website (http://jccarde5.wix.com/jtunesmusic), Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Carden-Lyrics/159893560774888) and the list goes on.

However, even with the many contacts that I’ve made through networking there hasn’t been any big ups in my journey so far. The closest thing to success is making contact with a guy who runs a recording studio who will record any song I bring in that has “hit potential.” Honestly, this is a lot better than someone who just wants me to come in and record a song even if it’s horrible just to get my money. That is why I am determined to just use that particular studio. Downside is that I haven’t been able to find reliable people to record demos with; vocalists, other lyricists, people who know about using the necessary equipment or composers.

As you can imagine, I haven’t been in the best of spirits since my dream hasn’t been going so well. The thing that gets to me is that some of my other friends just seem to “fall” into their success or their next step in becoming successful in their dream career. You know what I mean when I say that, those people who do not have to work for anything. They seem to have everything fall right into their lap while you are working your butt off but nothing is happening.

Many people that have made it in whatever career they were pursuing says that the struggle is what made them appreciate their success even more. That is because they know what it is like to start at Square 1 with nothing but their dreams and own ambition. It is not about what you know it’s about who you know. Nothing could be closer to the truth that than statement because I try to remember that in any situation I find myself in.

Patience is the key but it is hard for me to fit that key into the lock of success because of how long I have to wait for something to happen. It is true that most artists and musicians have been working at their craft for most of their lives. For me 2 ½ years ago was when I finally found my passion in life that one thing I wanted to do more than anything for the rest of my days. I’ve been writing for a good portion of my life but it was when I reached the age that I was able to do something about it that changed everything for me. I write songs, short stories, poems and screenplays and it gives me great joy to be able to look at any piece of my finished work. That is because I put myself into my work and that gives me the greatest satisfaction.

Another thing to remember is that you shouldn’t be jealous of another person’s success. In fact, you should rejoice especially if it is someone close like a friend or relative because someone you know that has been working and praying hard has finally achieved something that they’ve been working for. True success comes when you have someone to share that  joy with.

Will I ever reach my dream? That depends as to whether or not it is what God has in store for me but I doubt that He would give me such a heated desire to pursue this dream if it wasn’t meant to happen. My hope is that you too will find that one thing you love doing more than anything else. One thing that we have to remember is that everyone has their own race to run, their own dreams and goals to follow then achieve. No matter who is getting their blessings around you whether it be through hard work or seemingly just handed to them it doesn’t matter. Why? Just knowing that somewhere down the road your blessing is waiting for you as a reward for the hard work you put into that project you are working on right now makes the struggle worth it.