Soul Proprietor - The show must go on

I’ll never forget that night I drove through a raging blizzard to get to a gig. White-out conditions made the roads treacherous. But yet there I was, driving with white-knuckles in a death grip on the wheel and smoking like a fiend to stay calm.

I wanted to cancel but the owner of the bar refused to let me off the hook.

“The show must go on.” he said.

While I would never recommend putting your neck on the line like that, there is something to be said about people who show up to the job, no matter what.

Last week, I was heading to San Francisco to teach a workshop with Chris Zydel. As I lugged my heavy bag into the car, I felt my shoulder muscle seize up. The injury stayed with me for days. Which meant: I had to teach with a bum shoulder. It sucked but I knew I could do it.

The show must go on.

A few days later, I’m in Portland, gearing up to teach a tarot workshop at New Renaissance Books. I came down with a nasty cold the day before the class. To make matters worse, the jeans I planned on wearing that night split down the middle. It was all I could do to not cry.

But the show had to go on.

A little extra-strong concealer to cover up my red nose and dark circles, a fresh pair of leggings, and a heaping dose of Dayquil, and on I went. The show went on.

I was still sick when I had a photo shoot with the amazing Danielle Cohen a few days later. I had been looking forward to this for months. Back to the industrial concealer and Dayquil. That show went on too.

This morning, I had to get up super early to make my flight. I had no time to schedule my newsletter or post this blog. Yes, I could skip it just once. But my regular readers look forward to it. I won’t let them down. Late or not, this show is going on. In fact, I’m delivering this while on the plane home now.

Look there will always be times when you don’t feel your best or when split your pants. Life happens. You have two choices: you can give up – or you can suck it up, get out there, and slay.

I choose the latter whenever possible.

Today, if you find yourself feeling like you just don’t want to do the gig, answer that email, deal with whatever needs to be done, take a deep breath – and then do it. Bring your A game. SHOW THE HELL UP.

Because sometimes, the show must go on.

Blessings,

Theresa