Is it too late?

Friday evening musings...

Often, singers ask me that question...is it too late?

My answer begins with "too late for what?"

Often, singers who say they want a career, really don't know what that means and what it entails.

Often, singers who say they want a career, don't realize how many "careers" could be had under that umbrella!

It is never too late to do SOMETHING.  What that something is has many many factors.

Is it too late to pursue an international career as an opera singer?

That depends on your training, your talent, your temperament, your fach, your resume, your age, the universe, the business and the combination of all of it!!

 Is it too late to learn how to sing well?

To sing as well as YOU can, at any given age?  never too late.

 Is it too late to have a regional career as a singer?

Is it too late to be in music theatre?

Is it too late...

The question tires me and makes me tense.

The question has a panic about it and sense of desperation.  Panic and desperation do not bode well for success at anything, for anything.

Perhaps it is time to ask ourselves - what do I want and why?  And is it feasible to pursue it? And if it doesn't work out, am I comfortable to look at other possibilities?

I believe, if there are possibilities,  there is forward motion.

I would like to hear a singer ask me "what do you think my possibilities are?"

Now THAT is a question!!!! That has breath, and space and a forward looking optimism that will allow for a realistic view!

Are you, the singer, willing to consider the possibilities within the boundaries of YOU?  Are you willing to consider the possibilities of you within the boundaries of the business?  Are you willing to consider the possibilities of what "career" actually means?

Talent, ability, or not - some personalities are not best suited for a career as a professional singer on the international or national scene.  Some are better suited at the regional level, or even at the local and community level.  Professional comes from attitude and ethic no matter what level you are on!  Perhaps learning to sing well does not necessarily take you down the singer career-path.  Perhaps you find a place for yourself in other aspects of theatre.  Perhaps you are a teacher who sings!

Maybe you find a place in the classroom, or in a choir, or conducting a choir.

Perhaps you have a world class instrument, but you choose to have a family and build a business as a manager, or create an opera company or a theatre company and inspire and lead others into performance.

If there is a possibility, it is never too late.

Often, there are simply those who choose to create unrealistic goals for themselves.  It is almost as if they create and stage a self-sabotaged drama around themselves.

And then there are the oblivious who believe they are somewhere they are not.  They ask questions, but they don't really want to the answers, nor hear or listen to them.

So, before you go directly to "is it too late" - ask yourself what you want and what the possibilities are?  Then are you simply prepared to do what it takes to seize that possibility - and is it a REAL possibility?

It is NEVER too late to claim the truth of YOU - and then, and only then, are the possibilities real and true.

We all need that reminder from time to time in order to keep the path clear and uncluttered, to reclaim a path, or simply walk a new one.

Wherever you are, BE there.  Consider the possibilities and the realistic view and then, claim the possibility by doing whatever it takes to make it REAL.