well wade you should enjoy what you have. you might not be a rock star but you are a good guitar player. you see nothing is lost and you can still experience more. what you have is with you and that is alot more important then being famous or rich. remember this you can be rich and famous one day and poor and forgotten the next day. but if you are you and did not lost what you have you are still rich inside and that is what matters. so experience and enjoy wade.

Hello Wade, seems to me it's a case of "yesterday i felt like a million dollars, now i feel like 50 cents" ... get back into the "vortex" and you'll feel like a million dollars again, and remember that being in the vortex means simply enjoying life to the full whether a king or a road sweeper :)

Your question is asking, I believe, how do I do more than just survive? In fact, I believe that you are really asking these questions: How do I get back my zest for life??? How do I thrive despite the new pressures I am feeling in life???

It sounds a little nit like you are smiling on the outside, but crying on the inside...Which, of course, makes me sad...

All I can say is that I have learned from my life that that, in the end, what really matters is not how big a splash you make in the world, but rather, whether you made a difference in the lives of others. Making a splash is quite the thing these days, but helping little old ladies across the street...well, let's just say that the unsung hero pretty much is unsung these days...

I do not know if it matters to you or not, but I want to take this opportunity to remind you that, like George Bailey, there would be a pretty big hole in the world if you were not here. I would not be here to write this answer at all if it were not for you.

You saved my life. I surely would be dead if it had not been for you.

I quote the Bible:

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Please read from Matthew 6:20 on, and see what Jesus says about where your treasure should be...And then think back to when we saw the play, "It's a Wonderful Life!" and try to see yourself as a sort of modern George Bailey. Please know that You do matter, you ARE making a difference, and that when you review your life with Jesus someday, I think you are going to be proud of all you really have done already!

Chin up, my love!

Yours always,

Jai

I didn't have time to answer this when I first saw your post and I've had difficulty connecting to IQ since the move.. I think if I had, I would have said much of what Fairy Princess did, only not as well. If your destiny is to be a rock star - do as Fairy Princess advised - play in bars and cafes and her video idea is also really good idea. Yes, a you-tube video - you never know who is watching - look at Justin Bieber.

Maybe, you were NOT destined to be a famous rock star - not in God's plan. Your talents are needed elsewhere. I'm sure many people who take up guitar aspire to be a star; but if everyone became rock stars, who would play chords in the church choirs or teach guitar? So you're not famous like Hendrix and you never won any Grammies or headlined at a rock fest - you're still a guitar wizard and you're strumming chords in God's choir, where you're both needed and appreciated !

Ask yourself this - if you had or do become a famous guitar player - would you be who you are now? How would or will it affect your spiritual connection? Would Jai be in your life if you had become a famous rock star? Would this affect your martial arts?

"when the parishioners can hear me they enjoy it I suppose" - ah, Wade - you are too modest. Humility is indeed a virtue. Humble means modest, not proud or arrogant - but it can also mean having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, low in rank, importance, status or quality - lowly. Being humble doesn't mean you shouldn't take pride in what you do. Perhaps your "humility" is preventing you from obtaining your dreams - LOA. You don't sound like most rock stars. Don't get me wrong - I'm sure most of them if not all of them are extremely grateful - "Abundance comes from Gratitude".. BUT - they also take pride in their achievements. You need to "own" it.

I never really had big dreams or goals like you had (or have). I always thought of goals as a type of competition. I never wanted to be a competitive goal setting individual like those I witnessed setting goals in college when I was getting my business degree (probably due to the fact it was NOT what I wanted a degree in).. Naturally, I wanted to be successful; but I ALSO wanted success for everyone else too - I never wanted to be better than anyone else. Although, WTS - most successful people do set goals - but not ALL.

I also think you are already a great motivational speaker right here at IQ. You're well known here and you are very good at what you do - you've helped many people - perhaps this is your claim to fame or your ticket to or the type of motivational speaking you are destined to do. I won't forget the kindness you showed me when I was down Christmas night.

As time passes, we grow older - we change - life forces us to change. Our desires, needs, dreams, priorities and even our values can and do change. What we dreamed of at 5 isn't the same as what we wanted or needed at 15 and when we were 25 we wanted different things than we will at 30 or 40 or 50. What was once important, no longer matters and I'm certain, on your death bed - you won't be thinking about the awards you won or the time you played guitar at Times Square on New Year's Eve - you'll be thinking about the people you love and the time you spent with them and the joy you felt from helping others. I know what is important to me at this stage of my life are people, love, being kind, patience, peace, happiness, joy and by helping others and practicing random acts of kindness - well, it makes me feel good and perhaps this is my "purpose" for being here. By helping others, we help ourselves - money and fame doesn't buy happiness. As for just making ends meet - it's been my experience - "the Universe/God always provides".

You're ok just as you are - you're "good" enough just as you are and it's ok to dream other dreams or even to no longer have dreams.. I think you are too hard on yourself. You are held in very high regard at IQ and you've helped many people. Jai certainly feels that way. You and Jai are part of the "heart" of IQ because you are both so open and its evident you both wear your "heart on your sleeve".

Let me end this by saying - anyone who has a 6th degree Black Belt in martial arts has the concentration, determination and most importantly the discipline to be anything he aspires to be or achieve anything he wants to. What's missing? Attitude, pride and self esteem - work on those along with practicing gratitude and you will achieve your dreams - even if your dreams do change.

There is a big belief system in place that is the American Dream, that we can all make it, we can all be successful but statistically that doesnt hold water.

Two hundren years ago we were told that god had created the social structure and the hierachy was created by God. That ensured the poor didn't complain too much.

Now we are told that we can all make it. That opportunity is open to all of us. That also ensures that we dont complain too much.

Try reading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) by mihaly Csikszentmihaly for a more realistic route to enjoyment.

You said that you dreamed of becoming some great rock star guitar player, but now you play for your church not using 98% of your talent just playing chords in rhythm.

Well, there is a wide range of possibilies between those two options. On the star side, would you sign a rock star contract right now if someone offered you one? Would it depend on questions like: do you have to travel; if so how much; can you take Jai; how much money will you get; or are you just happy with the fame; what kind of outfits will you have to wear; how will you feel about that; will the crew be doing drugs and/or alcohol; will you be tempted to use drugs and alocohol if you are living that lifestyle; what kind of music will you be playing; who will write the songs; who has final say over these things? ect... I know you are a spiritual and religious man. I don't think the rockstar lifestyle is really your dream. So, what is really your dream concerning playing the guitar and being a rockstar?

If you have solutions to these and really do want to be a rockstar, then what is stopping you? In this technological age, you can video yourself demonstrating your guitar wizardry and post it on youtube and facebook and any other networking site. I would love to see that by the way. Justin Beiber was discovered that way as were others. If you find fears and limiting beliefs that are stopping you, do EFT on them. Have Jai tap along with you.

Even if you don't really want to be a rockstar anymore for any of the reasons I mentioned or didn't mention, you can still make a video and put it up for others to see. You can write a song and sing that, or sing a favorite by someone else.

Also, there might be local restaraunts, cafes, coffee houses, etc... that would let you sit there and play music for the patrons. You might even make money. You can start a band. Put up flyers if you don't know any musicians.

You said that you also had dreams of being a great motivational and spiritual speaker. Well, what do you mean by that? Did you want to have a retreat where people come to listen to you, or did you want to have workshops in different places, or did you want to write a book or speak on cds? You write on here quite frequently and many of your questions and answers are helpful to somebody. So you are to an extent doing this. If you want to take it further, write down your ideas and make a book or a script to read. Read your script on tape and give it to friends to 'test' your work. Ask them questions about it and make any changes. You can make your own copies or have them made and sell them online. Ask yourself some questions like: what is stopping me from doing this? Use your answers as scripts for EFT and tap our your fears and limiting beliefs.

You said that It really doesn't matter to you what comes or doesn't, you don't care, just as long as you survive. I can relate to that. I don't think that it really doesn't matter, I think you have just changed your priorities. I too have come to this place. So, what we must do is make a list of our current priorities like: raising my son to be a great man; helping others; making the world a better place; finding joy in everything; knowing God; having peace; being kind and loving; finding others with similar understanding; accepting others even when they think differently; being one with All; etc... With this list, then we can see where we need to go or what we need to do to make these a reality. If the reasons we cannot accept this is because of what we fear others think of us, then there is another issue to tap on with the EFT. We must 'set our intention' so that we know which way to go in life. I have not been big on goal setting since I was a kid and had every dream shot down for some reason or other, look at that, an issue to tap on. But I do set my intent so that I am not completely aimless in the world. My intention or values help me in my actions and words and thoughts like setting boundaries for my subconscious to guage my reactions to the world.

My values are my drivers through life. Notice that I didn't list getting rich as a value. So getting rich is not one of my drivers, so I am not doing things and making choices that would lead to that end. It would be nice to be rich, but I have higher priorities. And that is ok too.

So, you ask "What do you do when goals and dreams just don't mater anymore and you just don't care to bother with the effort because it just no longer seems worth the effort and survival is enough?"

What makes you happy? What gives you joy? Muster up that feeling like you are in love, excited, full of joy. Notice how it makes you smile, it makes your skin tingle, it feels like every cell in your body is singing! Then, as you go about your day, as often as you think of it, muster up that feeling and hold on to it as long as you can. Make your goal to make that your constant state. If you start asking well what if this or that? Well then tap on those fears, because they are not a part of right now unless you invite them. And then, when you find yourself in that constant state, then that's all that matters.

Hey Wade.. You have helped me a lot in my time here, hopefully I can return the favor.

I believe our dreams are a glimpse at the future if we continue heading down the path that we are on. Not other people's futures, not humanity's future, your own.

Your subconscious brain is incredibly smart, far smarter than you in fact. So when you are dreaming and you are allowing that side to take control, it begins 'processing' all the input you have given it, and trying to figure out where you are going to end up from there.

So if your dreams are good, you're probably on the right path. If your dreams are 'eh', you probably have room for improvement. If your dreams are like mine used to be, filled with very very bad and terrible things, then you probably should be extremely careful about what you're doing and turn around. This is what I finally realized was wrong with me, and why I needed to make some serious adjustments first to my body, then to my mind, and most importantly: to my heart, and how I chose to treat people.

I am no expert on dreams, far from it in fact, because my dreams have always haunted me in some of the most terrible ways.. This is merely how I interpret my own personal dreams, and I imagine that if that is how my dreams work, what reason could there be for anyone else's dreams to be any different?