Wrapping Up 2008 - Preparing for 2009

I'm grateful to say that 2008 was exactly as I said it would be. It was full of progress. Most call 2008 the Year of New Beginnings, but I called it the Year of Movement. My goal for the year was to have a complete and professionally packaged recording project, and shortly after I declared the goal, people and things began to move into place for that to happen, and it did. I'm elated to say that I have a beautiful project to call my own.

I've learned so many great things, but most of all I've learned to be more vocally assertive. Most recently, I picked up one of Jimi Hendrix's biographies. Let me first say that never before was I a huge fan, but it was definitely divine intervention that caused me to pick up this book! Aside from learning from many of the mistakes he made in conducting business, and affirming our common experiences as artists, he talks about the significance of my favorite color - orange. In matters of life, he defines orange as a safe color - afraid to be either red (bold and aggressive) or yellow (meek and mellow). I was almost brought to tears, because at that moment I realized that my "safe" place - somewhere in between - would be challenged, and I would have to chose to either be red and conquer or be yellow and lose all that I've worked my whole life to achieve.

I was looking through some old pictures with my mom the other day while on vacation in Atlanta, and I noticed a common trend in my clothing as a baby. If I wasn't wearing a neutral color, like black, white, or gray, I was wearing red. In that moment, I concluded that I was raised to win, and I'm dedicating the rest of my life to honoring that.

Now, next year is officially the Year of Judgement, but the pastor at church today gave me another idea. He called it the Year of the Set Up, and I'm gonna go with that. I believe 2009 will be the year that all I've done and learned in 2008, including the record, will be put to the test. Upon passing these tests, I can already feel that 2009 will open some really big doors for me. Right now is about preparing for that time.