Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!

You know the scene in Cinderella when the Fairy Godmother waves her wand and transforms a pumpkin into an elegant coach, mice into high-stepping horses, a horse into a coachman, and Cinderella’s tattered dress into a magnificent ball gown? If only bringing our wildest dreams to life were as easy as waving a magic wand.

In reality, manifesting our dreams involves a vision, a plan, and some heavy lifting. We may have magnificent ideas, and many of us have no problem coming up with a step-by-step plan for how we might approach something. But… where  we may fall short is in doing the arduous daily work, believing in ourselves, investing the time and effort, and remaining disciplined enough to carry the dream out of our imaginations and into the real world. There’s no way around it. While the journey can be every bit as thrilling as the finished product, the path sometimes feels like a never-ending grind.

Take Serena Williams, for example. The tennis GOAT said, “Everything requires discipline, hard work and dedication, and, most importantly, self-belief.” Diana Nyad attempted to swim from Cuba to Florida five times over a 35-year span before finally succeeding at the age of 64. Talk about dedication—and the courage to keep believing when the dream still seems impossibly far away!

Through the years, people have often commented that I’m lucky to have a life in music. Indeed, I’m grateful every day for this 30-plus-year career, but luck has had very little to do with sustaining it. There’s daily practice, teaching, playing gigs, traveling,  crafting programs, the never-ending hustle, administrative tasks, professional development, and, more often than not, seven-day workweeks. In other words, this vision of mine—to live a life in music—and the dreams I’ve brought into reality didn’t simply take flight on their own. There has been plenty of blood, sweat, and tears involved, along with faith, resilience, and a little creative magic.

Is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY. 

For another take on the magic of bringing our dreams into the real world, I invite you to follow along with my current project, Piano for the Journey. Each week, I pair a piece of music with one Major Arcana card from the tarot as a way of exploring the universal archetypes, challenges, and possibilities that shape our lives.

You can watch The Magician video here and explore more videos in the series by clicking on the YouTube video below. And if the project speaks to you, please help me sprinkle a little more magic by liking the video and subscribing to the channel.