Fight for your Dreams✊

Me playing guitar at 6 years old

One day when I was a young boy…I was practising playing the guitar and having fun with it when my Grandfather came up and said to me…

ā€œDon’t waste your time with that. Study hard, there’s no money being a musician, get good grades so you can get a good jobā€. 

Although he meant well, I only realised later on in my life how much what he said affected me as a young boy and my confidence in expressing my true self.

So, later in life, to please my loved ones I went to University, graduated and went down the corporate route, specialising in sales & marketing and in fairness my financial situation and professional status kept on rising.

But the more focused and successful I was in my corporate career, the more my soul feltā€¦ā€sickā€.

Like there was a big emptiness & sadness in my heart…

I also felt strangely guilty – as if I had abandoned that little boy who loved to play music. 

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 I spent many years feeling guilty, confused and sad about this – before I finally worked out that music and expression was always inside of me, just waiting to be let out and set free again.

I think a lot of people have this experience when they’re young, when someone, maybe a parent or teacher, advises them to take a practical route in studying hard and getting a ā€˜good job’.

But what most people find later on in life, is that just having a job that pays the bills isn’t what makes them truly happy,

It’s being able to express themselves freely and sharing whatever natural talents they have with others, that creates real self-fulfilment.

Wherever you are in your life’s journey, it’s never too late to do that.

Don’t give up on your dreamsšŸ™ fight to defend them if you have to, they are who you really are.

Even negative feelings like pain, guilt and regret can help us find and discover the right path to reach them by showing us things we need to learn about ourselves…things no one can teach us, and only time and overcoming challenges can reveal best.

The best version of you and the life of your dreams might be the result of a combination of things you have yet to discover about yourself. 

You may have to go through some dark and tough times to reach the other side…but believe me, it will be worth the journey when you arrive. 

Mark Villarosa
Mark Villarosa, Music Artist & Online Entrepreneur

A story about my Grandfather & Redundancy…

My Grandfather was a sea captain of large commercial ships. A proud man of few words. 

He was looking forward to a comfortable retirement with more than enough money in his pension fund to look after his family.  Sadly, that’s not how his story went.

A few years before his intended official retirement, his company ran into financial trouble and eventually went into bankruptcy.Ā Ā His pension fund was wiped out. His company could just about afford to pay him hisĀ final month’s salary.Ā 

My Grandfather passed awayĀ a few years later, in his bed while taking a nap, he just never woke up again.Ā Ā We still say to each other in our family, that he died of a broken heart.Ā 

My grandfather didn’t have the opportunities we have today, to pivot and use technology to our advantage in reclaiming our lives and creating our own financial destinies without having to rely on companies and employers for our future. 

It makes me sad sometimes to think how he must have felt, lonely, lost, afraid, frustrated and broken…he just never told us, as he was trying to be strong. 

I’ve personally witnessed good friends, colleagues and some of my close family members being made redundant around me today. 

Often they’reĀ people with good careers and sometimes even above-average income.Ā They workĀ long, hard hours, year in and year out.

They thought they were secure. Then suddenly, everything changed.

When faced with adversity, most people will either stay still and try to ride things out or hope for the best. 

Most people will also try to find another job, and soldier on…with the possibility of the cycle repeating itself again. 

The lessons I’ve learned from my Grandfather and people close to me today who put up with fear, frustration and conditions that don’t fulfil them…has made me incredibly passionate about what I believe in… 

And that’sĀ to tell you, from personal experience, there is another way.Ā 

A way toĀ break the cycleĀ toĀ allow you to create a new reality where you willĀ never be obsolete, unappreciated, unfulfilled or in fear of being madeĀ redundantĀ ever again.Ā 

Mark

Mark Villarosa - Digital Entrepreneur

Mark is an online marketer and entrepreneur. He’s written a book on online marketing published on Amazon. With music as a passionate hobby, he’s produced several music albums released on iTunes and also helps people turn their ideas, interests, hobbies and passions into a business.