They say that there is power in new beginnings. There is this sense of optimism and endless opportunity which excites you. But that feeling can quickly fleet from you and leave room for feelings of self doubt and anxiety to creep in with, then the thoughts that maybe this new venture, opportunity or even the new hobby you’ve started doesn’t mean much or you’re not good enough.
Sometimes the noise of the world can drown out your self confidence and you can end up relying on the opinion of others to confirm to us that we’re good enough or worthy. We get discouraged if we don’t see the results we expect when we begin to step out to achieve what we truly want.
Did you know that singer Tori Kelly was on America’s Most Talented Kids and signed to a record label (which later the deal fell through due to new people coming into the label who didn’t believe in her and her old manager criticising her that she was too ‘vanilla’ ) when she was 12 and then at 18 was a contestant on American Idol but failed to make the top 24 and was said her voice was ‘almost annoying’ by talent mogul Simon Cowell?
In an interview with Seventeen magazine in 2016 she said “Deep down, I knew I was good, and I knew I could do it, I needed to get knocked down and to build up a thick skin. Who knows what I would have been singing about otherwise? You have to go through things in order to inspire others with your story.”
She later learnt how to play guitar and would write her own songs in her bedroom and posted them on YouTube. In an interview with I Am Second earlier this year, Tori shared how all the rejections and broken promises from those in the industry led her to hone her songwriting skills “Those moments in my bedroom, when it was just me and my notebook, that’s when I really got into songwriting more…It was this slow, building process that wasn’t forced. There was no ‘you’ve gotta try this, and you’ve gotta be this, and you’ve gotta have this different personality. I didn’t have to change myself, I could just be myself.”
Her YouTube videos gained her a loyal fanbase and she then went onto release her first EP titled Handmade Songs by Tori Kelly which she wrote, produced, engineered and recorded herself on her own label in her makeshift recording studio in her bedroom. In 2015, she released her debut album Unbreakable Smile which debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist later that year and now has released a new gospel album titled Hiding Place which topped the Billboard US Top Gospel Albums chart and is performing sold out tours.
Tori’s story shows a testament how believing in yourself when others don’t pays off in the long run. If you know you’re gifted in something and feel it in the core of your being then don’t be afraid to invest in it. Sometimes you can be stuck in a rut waiting for others to believe in you to validate that you’re talented enough when you actually need to trust your own voice when you tell yourself you’re good enough.
You need you to make your dreams a reality, you need you to invest in yourself and most importantly, you need that ‘yes’ from yourself instead of waiting for someone to give you permission. As it may lead you finally being on the right track to where you desire to be.
Espire21 