Leaving My Comfort Zone

Whenever you start a creative project that's different from anything you've done, you soon find yourself outside of your comfort zone.That happened with me and this project almost immediately! Though I am a lifelong musician and have been performing for (cough, cough) 45 years, I have never had a desire to do video- other than perhaps instructional videos. Other than television interviews,  I haven't ventured into the field. But this project requires video, both for promotion and for website content. The good news is that when you are passionate enough about something you are motivated to do whatever it takes. What a wonderful human quality that turns out to be! With the professional and personal help of Charlie Williams (The Noiseguy), I recorded the video that will be posted on my Indiegogo crowd fundraiser site next month (though I'm donating  my time to the nine-month community project, I'll need to pay to have the website created and developed). So watch for the fundraiser campaign (no pun intended)! I will do other promo videos for events for the pilot project part of the website, and of course be adding instructional videos to the website as the project unfolds. And I'm actually looking forward to it! Who knew? I will be eternally grateful to Charlie for his guidance, both professionally and personally. And if you know Charlie, you know there was also a lot of laughter involved!

The other thing I never thought I would do is walk in a parade to promote myself.  But local community leaders suggested I do just that.  It would be a great way to raise awareness for the upcoming pilot project. So I did. And you know what? It was a blast! I was joined by family members and some extremely enthusiastic families with decorated wagons and strollers, and we marched through the community where I have lived for thirty-some years. There were so  many people I knew and hadn't seen in years, who wouldn't have known about the project that I hope is about to fill our schools and businesses, homes, and neighborhoods with singing! And like me, many of them now have young grandchildren and are one of the target audiences for this project. It was so much fun to see the families who had so generously joined me talking and getting to  know each other. There were grandparents, parents and young children, and even an expectant mother! All making connections. And  that is a wonderful bi-product of this project!

I'm having so much fun stretching my creative muscles and going outside my comfort zone! And hey, I must be keeping my brain young, right? Between that and being around young children all the time, I may never totally grow up!

So am I working very hard on this project? YES! And are we having fun yet? You bet!