Last night my wife and I saw “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the new movie about Freddie Mercury and Queen. It was an awesome treat, I highly recommend it. And what was so inspiring about it was that Freddie was such an awesomely confident creator. He allowed his dreams to come true in a big way, and while life may not have been perfect, he succeeded on a great scale and created his art with such fire and gusto that he is remembered with great love nearly three decades after his death. The movie is a very well-made tribute to him and the band he helped found.
I was amazed at the scenes where he talked back to record executives and said, “No, this is how it is going to be.” When he walked out of the office of the record guru played by Mike Myers, you got the feeling that David had just got Goliath by the gonads. And of course, every prediction he made about his band’s success came true. That is the power of confidence, and of owning your own greatness and allowing it in the world.
I came out so moved and amazed, inspired by the message that, if it was okay for Freddie to be as free and as bold as he wanted to be, then it is okay for me (or for anyone else). I was so inspired that I kept my wife out for at least an hour after the movie talking about what we got from it. We ended up taking a detour and going to her old work at the Sacramento Bee, which is where I shot the footage for the latest Artist Mindset Podcast Episode.
Today, in the aftermath of that great experience, I suppose I can’t help but feel a bit of let-down at returning to the sense of being more “normal” in the face of such personal fearlessness. I have always admired such characters: the artists who express themselves boldly and without any compromise. In my own way, this blog, modest though it seems in comparison, is my way of expressing myself boldly and without compromise too. I am grateful that there are different ways that one can be bold and expressive: it doesn’t always have to look like Queen.
We are each ready for what we are ready for, and each person ought to simply do what is in front of them to do. That is what Freddie Mercury did and that is what I am doing here. Rather than sit around feeling bad that we aren’t one of the “greats” that ever lived, how about let’s focus on how we can be the greatest we can be? It’s a lot less tiring, and more satisfying.
I am posting the video I did last night below so you can hear my message about being free.
On a final note, I initially wrote a rather cranky, unpleasant post for tonight in which I revealed absolutely none of what I just talked about: nothing about being inspired by the Freddie Mercury movie and the possibilities of personal fearlessness I see for myself. I am so glad I took some time to think this through, dig a little deeper, get over the resistance, and write this with honesty. It can be so tempting to dwell in negativity, yet it doesn’t feel good and it doesn’t really create much. So no thank you!
This one’s for you, Freddie Mercury!