Do you or don't you have something to say?

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to sing for Harolyn Blackwell*, an African-American classically trained singer. As one who took her singing pretty seriously, this was a great blessing for me. As a business student at the time, this activity really didn't 'rhyme' with my other pursuits, but it was important nonetheless and was given a fair amount of psychic energy.

My coach insisted that after the Master Class I ask Ms. Blackwell whether she thought I had enough of a gift to make a career in music. Reluctantly, very reluctantly, and only at the coach's insistence, I asked the question. She cocked her head, looked at me consideringly and said, "If you have something to say, I think you do". Hmm. I never acted on that bit of information. Frankly, I didn't have the stomach to fight the fight that's necessary to make a career as a singer but still, having it said meant something.

I'm remembering that exchange now having just seen Oprah's interview with Ralph Lauren. In it,  Lauren says of himself, "I knew I had something to say". Just like that, very matter-of-factly. "I knew I had something to say." He went on to say too, that not only did he know it, but he also had the level of confidence to give life to that knowledge. That's the point at which his story and mine diverge. He needed no one to tell him that he had a point of view that would resonate with others. He just knew. For all my apparent self-confidence, I'm still waiting for approval. What's that about?

As I try to figure out my way forward, I have to keep in mind that I too feel that I have something to say. Though the questions of how to say it, to whom it should be said, and when and where to say it remain unanswered, I have to remember Ralph and Harolyn. Ralph didn't need validation. I do. I got it and yet I'm still hemming and hawing. So what exactly am I waiting for?

You can create a place for yourself if you have something to say. The challenge is the believing in the power of your words and that's usually where the bottleneck is. It sure as heck is where mine is.


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*Ms. Blackwell, famously got her 'big break' when the role for which she was understudy became available. At the Met! The singer originally hired to sing the lead, Kathleen Battle, for the production was 'released' for, to put it delicately, 'conduct unbecoming'.
Harolyn Blackwell performs in the East Room of the White House.jpg