I Could Have Been Someone!

The other night, I was watching a music program featuring famous duets when one of my all-time favourites started playing. It is The Fairytale of New York by Kirsty MacColl and The Pogues.

It takes quite a bit of listening to discern the lyrics; Shane MacGowan is not particularly noted for his diction after all. Over the years, I must have heard the song many times but had only managed to get the final few words straight today - finally resorting to looking them up on Google.

Anyway, I could understand enough of them, previously, to get the gist of the song and, as I said, I have always liked it. Anyway, on this particular occasion, the line “I could have been someone” really stuck in my mind …

I could have been someone
Well, so could anyone
You took my dreams
From me when I first found you

… and I guess I wanted to say to anyone who might also be thinking “I could have been someone” … you ARE someone!

Do you feel as if your dreams have been taken from you? I think many people feel that at some time in their lives. But the truth is that the remainder of your life is still ahead of you and the script has not yet been written. That is, unless you have taken the time and trouble to write it.

Your Life as a Movie

I remember, one time, reading about the idea of viewing your life as a movie with a script and a director and you as the star. Essentially, the article was encouraging people to think about taking control and writing their own script as well as directing their performance.

You might think this is a silly idea. But, for me, my life has pretty much panned out in the way I had imagined. Sure, some things apparently went wrong, but all the major details came to pass. I am a writer and I earn my income by writing and marketing my work. I live in a beautiful place by the sea where I enjoy my life, working when I want and walking the dog along the beach whenever I want too.

The question arises in my mind as to whether or not I would have achieved my dream without first conceiving of it and writing the script for my own life. I remain convinced that the answer is ‘no’. As Carl Sandburg once put it, “nothing happens unless first a dream.”

The Law of the Farm

The same is true for you. I genuinely believe that you can have the life you want. Maybe not instantly because, although we may want instant results - human nature - that is just not how natural processes operate.

Stephen Covey once described the action of natural processes as The Law of the Farm. Imagine a farmer who plants his crop in the spring, chucks some water on the seeds throws a bit of fertiliser on the soil and then digs up his crops after a few weeks and declares, “it’s not working!”

That’s how, very often, people seem to operate in life. They want quick results so, even when they actually have the right knowledge, they often mess-up in the operation. Sort of … hey … the book said that water and fertiliser was all that was needed - well something appears to have gone wrong! Crazy .. right?

The Low Point

In every good movie, there is a low point; a calm before the storm; the darkness before dawn; the moment when it would be easy to give up. Perhaps, like the woman in the song (see, hadn’t forgotten it) you may be at your lowest ebb …

You took my dreams
From me when I first found you

But, also in the song, we see the corner being turned as the guy declares her dreams are still alive …

I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own
Can’t make it all alone
I’ve built my dreams around you

Yes, it is true that the male in the song may be “a bum” and “a punk” but, he has a dream and he has kept her dreams alive in his own thoughts too.

So don’t give up! Remember that every great movie has a low point. You may be going though that period right now, but it is not where you are going to stay. It is not the end of the film.

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