A ten day North Western Ontario road trip was topped off with three full days at a music festival.  It’s my first one … ever.  Why haven’t I done this before?  I’m so inspired by the female singer / songwriters who got up on stage and gave us everything they had in energy and talent.

I’m sharing my inspiration with you …

I’m inspired by the fact that all five headliners are female.  Melissa Ethridge, Cheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Sass Jordan and Pat Benetar.

It was so incredible to watch Melissa Ethridge skillfully perform the most EPIC set, and tie every song together with well thought out life lessons that led each song harmoniously into the next.  She sang while playing her electric guitar, leading her band and audience with a humble stage presence that was both attractive and electric.  She’s been at this act for years and it showed.  I was inspired by the idea of a talent that was polished to perfection.  Her passion to play all instruments, even the drums in her encore, reminded me that no matter how good we are, we can always strive to improve.

One of the epic acts that stood out for me was Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers.  This female saxophone player came onto stage with a powerful first note, and blew that saxophone to tune after tune with all she had.  It blew my mind to watch her effort and talent.  One of the songs that I’ll never forget was written after someone told her that she was “Pretty Good For A Girl”. That distasteful comment resulted in a great gift for us all, as it put wind in her sails to write an exciting piece of music to encourage girls to be all that they can be.

I aspire to be world class.  I witnessed world class performers, who exuded years of hard work and experience to get where they are, while young up and comers presented with even more passion and creativity to stand out.

My good friend Angie Nussey from Orillia, Ontario is just as good as these performers. She and I talk about our dreams of being world class.  I know she’ll get there one day, and I’m pretty sure with continued practice and a humble approach to trying and trying again, I will too.

Don’t ever give up on your dreams.  Don’t trade them for other people’s dreams for you, or for limiting beliefs about what’s possible.