Have you seen the movie Moana?
If you have small kids, especially if they are girls, my guess is that you have seen this movie at least once. Why do I say that? Because even my boys love the movie!
And if you have seen this movie with your kids, my guess is that the movie’s soundtrack How Far I’ll Go is one of your kids’ current favorite songs.
If you have been following my blog, by now, you already know that my kids are musically-inclined. How Far I’ll Go has captured their hearts; so much so, that they want to hear it played countless times a day. They also belt it out countless times a day at home.
We even had fun with my eldest son one Sunday afternoon and we took a video of him singing this song with the Manila Bay as background.
Then, it hit me… The song has a beautiful message. Listening to it countless times in the past months since we watched Moana as a family enabled me to realize that the song has a powerful message.
So, I asked my eldest son if he can sing it at the H.O.P.E. Summit 2017 for us. He agreed. He will also play it on the piano while singing. Now, this is BIG for my son and for my family. My son is only 8 years old. He has been playing the piano since he was 5 years old. He has been singing since he was a toddler. But he has not sung a solo in public yet… He was part of a tiples choir before. Thus, he sang with a group of boys. He was also part of a musical before. But he did not have a solo song number. He has not sung while playing the piano in public. His performance at the H.O.P.E. Summit 2017 would be his first!
We were all excited!
We even hired a voice coach for him. His voice coach was also his first piano teacher. They had lessons 2-3 times a week a month before the summit.
Even my 2-year-old son wanted to join in his big brother’s voice lessons! 🙂 He couldn’t help himself from singing with him.
Then, on the day of the H.O.P.E. Summit, I asked him to sing this song at the start of my talk How to Earn Full-Time Income Through Freelancing.
Why did I use this song at the start of my talk?
I could relate with Moana. I think that the other parents in the summit can relate with her, too.
The norm is that people leave the house to work in 8 to 5 jobs daily. Then, people try to find some time to do the things they love to do and spend quality time with the people important to them after office hours or during weekends or their day-off. Most people seem happy with this set-up. Most people have accepted this kind of arrangement.
Like the lyrics in the song, “I know everybody on this island seem so happy in this island…”
Not me. So, I can relate to the line in the song How Far I’ll Go that says, “What is wrong with me?”
When I was still single and working in the corporate world, I had a wonderful job of traveling around the country and around the Asian region to conduct workshops and training programs. It was fun!
But, I dreamed that when I get married, I wouldn’t be obliged to work full-time because I wanted to prioritize raising my kids over my career while my kids are in their formative years.
Since my first job had a shifting work schedule, I made a career shift early in my career. That decision made my parents angry. They did not understand why I chose to leave my job as a manager in restaurant operations when I was already being promoted from one position to another in that company. I just knew then that I didn’t want to have a shifting work schedule when I become a parent. It was already challenging while I was still single. What more when I have kids? So, I made that difficult choice even before I became a parent.
Thus, I could relate to Moana’s lines again in the song when she sang, “I wish I could be the perfect daughter but I come back to the water no matter how hard I try.”
My water was my dream of getting out of the shifting work schedule.
Eventually, when I already fulfilled that dream of having a regular 8 to 5 job in a big company, I again had the urge to fulfill my dream of becoming a consultant so that I don’t need to leave the house to work every day. I left the security of my high-paying job once more. My parents did not agree and understand my decision again.
But I felt that I needed to be true to myself and choose to follow my own path… which is different from most people.
Do you now understand why I can relate to Moana’s experience?
I used the song and Moana’s story to encourage parents to dare to dream beyond the norm, to dare to follow their dream to get out of the rat race and become freelancers.
I shared my story so that they too would be inspired to take courage and chart their own path.
My story is just one of the many success stories of many freelancers in the Philippines and around the world.
As of last year, based on a survey, there are already 1.5 M online freelancers and 3 out of 4 of these freelancers are women.
The truth is that it can be done. You can earn a full-time income even as a freelancer and still live your life according to your terms, according to your priorities. I can say this now because I have experienced this.
I’m so glad that I chose to go out of my comfort zone when I felt a stirring in my heart to reach out for more. I think that having the courage to make that leap of faith was one of the best decisions I have made in my life! That decision contributed much to my current happiness and success.
Let me share the same slide I showed to the participants of the HOPE Summit last Saturday.
As for my eldest son, he conquered his fear of singing and playing the piano simultaneously in front of a crowd. It was not perfect or as powerful and as good as his renditions at home in the comforts of our home. BUT, I admire him for his courage to make that BIG first step. I’m proud of his milestone. I was happy to witness it! This young man inspires me big time with his courage and willingness to go out of his comfort zone!
My eldest son had his recital as a singer and pianist at the H.O.P.E. Summit 2017. He sang 4 songs as part of the program. He led the opening prayer by singing The Lord’s Prayer and playing on the piano. Then, he sang 3 secular songs. He sang Fireworks by Katy Perry, Try Everything from the movie Zootopia and How Far I’ll Go from Moana.
He also inspires his younger brothers to follow in his footsteps. He provides a good role model to his two younger brothers. That’s why I was not surprised when my two younger sons suddenly sang with their brother during one of the breaks. He inspired them to take courage!
It’s actually one of my joys as a mother to see my kids grow in courage and confidence in themselves and in their abilities and to pursue their dreams.
Last Saturday, both my eldest son and I conquered new heights by going out of our comfort zones!
How Far I’ll Go
Composed By Lin-Manuel Miranda
Sang by Auli’i Cravalho
[Verse 1]Long as I can remember, never really knowing why
I wish I could be the perfect daughter
But I come back to the water, no matter how hard I try
Every path I make, every road leads back
To the place I know where I cannot go
Where I long to be
And no one knows, how far it goes
If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I’ll know
If I go there’s just no telling how far I’ll go
Everything is by design
I know everybody on this island has a role, on this island
So maybe I can roll with mine
I’ll be satisfied if I play along
But the voice inside sings a different song
What is wrong with me?
But no one knows, how deep it goes
And it seems like it’s calling out to me, so come find me
And let me know
What’s beyond that line, will I cross that line?
See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me
And no one knows, how far it goes
If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I’ll know
How far I’ll go
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