If you have a dream and you’ve tried to make it come true, never give up. Life is full of ups and downs, but you have to take chances in order to succeed. Giving up before you’ve even started is so easy to do, I should know. I’ve started this article five times now. Actually I’ve had my share of failures in more areas than one. Sometimes it’s just not meant to be so, I had to learn to accept the reality and re-define the dream.
When there’s no compromise to be had, then you have to try harder. Being passionate about your dream or goal sometimes just isn’t enough. In my musical career, and I use that term loosely, I never even had more than 60 people at a recital. I considered myself a failure and gave up on my dream of playing in front of 20,000 screaming fans. But I didn’t give up on my dream of writing, composing, playing and singing my own music. I gave two more concerts and had the most fun by singing my own songs from my albums plus some cover songs. In the audience there was about 45 people, and they cheered for me all the way. I walked off that stage completely fulfilled. I now am at the beginning of my fourth album.
My True Calling
Long before I was thinking of being a famous singer, I was dreaming of being a flight attendant. My father was in the airline industry so, consequently I was raised on airplanes. My brothers and I would go to work with dad and hang out all day at the airport. We learned all about the different airplanes, airlines and how the industry worked. The first time I saw a male flight attendant in his crisp uniform complete with a pocket square and wings, I knew what I wanted to be. At the ripe old age of 8, my mind was made up.
From the time I was 18, just old enough for some airlines, I started filling out applications. Keep in mind that this was long before the internet was invented so I had to rely on newspaper help-wanted adds. I would call the airlines and ask for their address to request an application or go to the airport and get applications there. Most of the time I would get the standard, “thank you for applying with us, we will keep your application on file and notify you when we are hiring”. 99 percent of the time I never heard back. The other one percent of the time I would get an interview and then get cut in the first round. But, I never gave up.
Success At Last
It wasn’t until I was 23 that I finally got my big break and was hired by TWA for the position of flight attendant. I can remember being in the classroom on my first day, pinching myself over and over. Persistence paid off and when I wrote my name in my Inflight Manual, “Flight Attendant Jason W. Hobbs,” I knew I was where I was meant to be.
Never give up on your dreams and never be afraid to modify them either. I guess it’s in the perception of how far you can go with the dream. Keep going as long as the roadblocks keep falling. Figure a way to get around the ones that are holding you up the most, and make a new route if you have to.
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