I’m Not Afraid to Take a Stand For My Dreams

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I'm not afraid
Take a Stand

My second biggest passion after travel is music. My dream in life (and always will be), is to be a rock star. However, there are a couple of things standing in my way.

When I was at University, I had to pass a music class as primary school teachers are expected to teach music.I had to practice my Doh Reh Me tunes with the assistance of a computer program in order to pass a basic singing test. After my 111th attempt to hit Doh the computer politely told me that it was best if I took a break and come back another day.

I have still not returned, yet that does not stop me from singing my heart out in the car or shower and being totally moved and inspired by music and the stories that lie behind them.

At the moment, I am loving Eminem’s new song “I’m not Afraid.” It’s about Eminem’s return to his passion after a disastrous addiction with drugs. In the song he talks of not giving a rats about what his critics say and that he is back to stand up for his dreams. It’s about him reclaiming his power, which others (including his own demons) tried to take from him.

“Cause ain’t know way I’ma let you stop me from causing mayhem
When I say I’ma do somethin’ I do it
I don’t give a damn what you think,
I’m doin’ this for me
I’ma be what I set out to be, without a doubt undoubtedly
and all those who look down on me I’m tearing down your balcony”

Songs like this fire me up to continually strive to live my dreams and to tell those dream destroyers who constantly stand in your way to get lost. Dream killers are irrelevant to you and your life. Your life is your life, and your dreams are there for you to live and stand up for. Each time you allow a negative comment made by somebody else effect you, you allow them to take some of your power away from you. Standing up to them and saying “No, this is my life and my dreams, you will not have a say in them. Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do,” is reclaiming your power.

When I hear this song I think of all those people who want to start traveling but are afraid to go. I think of those who allow the naysayers to feed their fears and convince them to not follow their dreams. This is unacceptable. Never allow anyone else to define your life or limit what you are capable of. Someone else will always set the bar lower for your life then you ever would. And if you’re like Eminem and made a mess of your life, it’s not too late to change it; all that matters is NOW. Reclaim your power.

“And I just can’t keep livin’ this way, so starting today
I’m breaking out of this cage
I’m standing up to face my demons
I’m mannin’ up, I’ma hold my ground
I’ve had enough, now I’m so fed up, time to put my life back together right now.”

So if it is your dream to travel the world, then just do it. There’s no reason why you can’t. If it’s your dream to write a bestselling book, then do it. If you want to climb Mt Everest then think of all the reasons why you can and do it. Whatever it is you want to do in life, go and do it, because you can and nobody can ever tell you otherwise. Stand up for your dreams, they are worth it and do not be afraid. You are reclaiming your power. We promise that we will hold your hand with encouragement and inspiration the whole time.

“I’m not afraid, to take a stand
everybody come take my hand
we’ll walk this road together
Through the storm
Whatever weather, cold or warm
just letting you know that you’re not alone
Holler if you feel like you’ve been done the same road”


Reclaim your power and become King of your world

P.S I did pass that music class. When it came time for our group singing, I received a 4/5, while my 3 friends who could not stop laughing at my horrible attempts at singing, passed with 3’s. Who is having the last laugh now? ba ha ha ha ha 😛

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19 thoughts on “I’m Not Afraid to Take a Stand For My Dreams”

  1. Oh wow, that’s so cool about your passion for music! I love posts like this, because I get so frustrated when people say to me, “I wish I had your life” or “I wish I could travel.” And I always respond, “What’s stopping you???” People forget how powerful they are and that when they put their minds to something they CAN accomplish it.

  2. Lovely sentiments from some of the loveliest travel bloggers I know. On a similar musical theme, this post reminds me of a lyric from one of my favourite bands, The Hold Steady; ‘Yes, dreams can cost some money, but money costs some dreams.’
    Banishing those anxieties is the first big step. The only thing which tends to hold me back at the moment from following in your footsteps is how to convince my partner to opt for a life on the road, or at least for a trail period of living abroad. I’m a little jealous of you guys and how you’ve made it work together!
    I look forward to seeing you pack out stadiums one day for that ultimate travel n music lifestyle combo!

    1. Thank you Jools, such lovely comments. Craig and I are lucky that our dreams match, we know how difficult it is to have two people wanting to become nomads. We are also doubly lucky that Kalyra seems to enjoy traveling. I don’t think she had much chance otherwise. Maybe just start with baby steps for your partner. Small trips at a time and then the idea of living abroad might become more enticing.

  3. Great post! I recently wrote a post on “Rewriting your Story” It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been doing something, when you decide that you want it to be different you take actionable steps to do so and make it happen! Sometimes we mess up, but what matters is the moment you take a stand and decide that it’s going to be different. People don’t realize the power behind that.

    In regards to Jools… I met a boy that was amazing and he had returned from backpacking Europe with his dad for 3-weeks when we met. We had a dream to travel for extended periods of time, but whenever it came time to take actionable steps towards that dream, he failed to deliver every time. WE had a long history togeather for 4-years and something came up that made me see everything in a whole new light. We just wanted different things out of life and even though we had a great healthy relationship we were both compromising what we wanted out of life to be togeather. So I broke up with him. Now we’ve both gone our separate ways and I can’t tell you how much happier I am with life and living. I thought he was my happiness, you know. Now I’m on to bigger and better things, but most importantly making my dreams come true. If your dream is to go travel, then you need to go do it, otherwise you’ll always regret it and maybe even possibly resent them for it.

    1. Great advice Jenny. Sacrificing your dreams does make for some extra challenges to overcome. You just have to try to make sure you will have no regrets later. I always try to live my life so I have no regrets. Regret is my least favourite emotion.

      I think when you take a stand for your dreams you understand that failure is just a part of the experience. It makes it easier to put it behind you, learn the lesson and move forward. Once you say “Yes!” to your dreams, incredible things start happening for you, with the least amount of effort on your behalf. It’s like you are riding a giant wave into shore, no freestyle needed.

  4. I love encouraging posts like this. It is so common to find people putting obstacles (physical and mentally) in front of your dreams and passions. The best thing you can do is believe in those dreams and believe in yourself and go for it. For me its better to attempt your dreams (even if they’re not as successful as you want them to) and be satisfied that you did it, than sit around and beat yourself with the “what if’s”.

    I was watching Oprah yesterday (haha! yes, I watch Oprah) and she was talking about not “dimming your inner light” and not lowering yourself to satisfy others. Keep your dreams up, own yourself, and get the most of it.

      1. Oh yes… So much inspiration there. I’ve discovered and learned so much through her talk show. ::giggles::

        I read the “Tall Poppy” post a while ago. Very good BTW. I love your introspective approach to travel. It brings more meaning to it.

  5. It took me a little while after graduating college to come to the same conclusion; You have to follow your dreams no matter what.
    It is so easy to get sucked into a job you don’t like and settle for things that don’t make you happy. Following your dreams is never easy, but you must do it to be truly happy. Thanks for posting this.

    1. Definitely Alex. You have to live your life so you have no regrets. A study has been done that shows the thing that most people say on their death bed is “I wish I had of taken more risks” Following your dreams is a massive risk but the rewards will be extraordinary. Your dreams are there because they reflect your true purpose, that is why you become so happy when you follow them. Thanks for appreciating and leaving a comment Alex

  6. I’ve always looked at it this way…It’s reasonable that people are afraid or lack the confidence to go after their goals, especially when it requires standing up against everyone and everything around them. We are told from day 1 how to live our lives and what we should strive for and it’s no easy task to take that inner spark of a dream and decide to turn it into reality.

    But the beauty is, the hardest part is simply making that decision to go for it. Once we are able to do that, then everything literally becomes possible!

    Can’t wait to see you sing live in concert one day!

    1. Ha Ha. Lots of singing lessons needed- but I never like to say never 🙂 The decision is always the hardest part. Once you decide to stand up for your dreams, the weight is lifted and your free to start creating. Always say Yes!

  7. Great post. I agree with Andi in that I hate when people say, “I wish I could just quit my job and travel for a year” as though someone just gave us a stack of cash and said “GO!” We made it happen because that was our top priority. We sacrificed TONS to be able to do it.

    It’s all about doing what YOU want to do. Some may say it’s selfish, but hey, it’s your life, do what you want with it. I try my hardest not to judge anyone’s way of life. If traveling is your way of life, then do it. If your passions involve music or sports or teaching or raising a family, that’s great, too.

    I talked a lot about this in my latest post about reflecting on being home a year. What I’ve learned throughout the whole process is that everyone should just do what makes them happy, not what you’re “supposed” to do or what society tells you to do, what YOU want to do.

    Great, inspiring post, as so many of yours are!

    1. Great response Adam. Craig and I used to get so mad when people spoke about how “lucky” we were. WTF? There was no fairy godmother who threw a wad of cash in our laps. We both made sacrifices- massive ones which enabled us to take advantage of the opportunities that are there for everyone to grab.
      I’m all for selfishness. I mean really? Isn’t your life about you! Go live it how you want to. I make an effort to never judge anyone’s choices on how they choose to live their life. My responses are usually “That sounds awesome,” or “good on ya,” ” go do it, can’t wait to hear about it.” As long as you are happy I don’t care what you do with your life- you don’t owe me a thing and yourself everything 🙂
      Love your latest post by the way 🙂

  8. Been wanting to comment on this all day, finally getting to it. Your passion for music is obvious, a great lesson to anyone who wants to break out. Too often, we settle for a watered-down life and accept this is how it should be. I agree with Andi – what’s stopping you? Only yourself.

    If we can do it, so many others can! Great post. 🙂

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