Alternatives to reality, every day

Alternatives to reality, every day
The reality of becoming famous is not something most people
would enjoy. When I was younger, I shared a flat in the
city of Bristol and above us, on the next floor, were the
pop band known as 'Stackridge'. They were one of a new wave
of creative groups in the 1970s and had toured all over
England, enjoying a growing following and signing a record
deal with a famous label in London. Unfortunately, the
money was slow to arrive, and even though they topped the
bill and wowed audiences up and down the land, they still
couldn't afford hotel bills. Imagine it: you've just left
the stage, to wild applause, you're hot and sweaty but the
adrenalin is pumping. You stagger to the bar, down a few
drinks, and know this: what you've got to look forward to
is sleeping in the van with six other people. On
mattresses. No lights, no windows, no toilets, no minibar.
England in that era didn't have any chains of cheap hotels
like it has now. There were no motels, like there are in
America. It was all about sleeping in the van and eating
foul food in motorway service areas. The 'good life'? It
was awful. Of course, you may say, that's just a stage,
right? When the fame develops and the money starts to flow
in, then you can eat well, dress well, book yourself into a
hotel and savour a comfortable night's sleep. The reality
is, for hundreds of erstwhile pop stars, that they never
get to that stage. It just never happens.

For sports people, it's even worse. About the same time as
Stackridge were breaking through, I remember reading about
one of Britain's most successful athletes, the swimming
star, Sharon Davies. She was still young, but for years had
been following the same routine. She woke around 5 and went
to the nearest swimming pool for two hours of demanding
training. Then she got herself ready and went to school. At
the end of the school day, she was back at the swimming
pool for another three hours, then it was home and doing
her schoolwork, in bed for 9, to get some proper sleep.
That's five hours swimming a day, six days a week. It
helped her improve and she eventually went to the Olympics
and won a medal for her country. Because Britain has never
had world beaters in the sport, it was only a bronze medal,
but it was one of the finest achievements our country has
ever seen. It was made possible by thirty hours practice a
week, year after year, after slogging year. Well, there are
plenty of aspiring sports stars in Britain now, but how
many of them can face that reality? They look at Wimbledon
on the telly and imagine themselves as the person who
collects the shield and wins the prize, but are they out
there on the tennis court, 30 hours a week? Oh, and one
final humiliation. Sharon Davies never had any support from
the authorities. Her trainer was her father and the
swimming pool she used was the local Public Baths. Not very
glamourous. A bit too 'real' to be the stuff of fantasy, eh?

But this is reality. The person on the podium collecting
the medal has been working towards that day for years, but
hard work doesn't seem to feature in a lot of young
people's daydreams these days. A young cohort of teenagers
was recently asked by a British newspaper what career they
had in mind. One unworldly young man said he hadn't decided
yet, he couldn't choose between being a famous footballer
or a pop star. As far as football went, he had to admit he
wasn't on any teams and hardly ever played the game. As far
as music was concerned, he then confessed that he didn't
play a single musical instrument and had never been
complimented on his voice. He had no plans to practice and
had never sung in public, not even karaoke. So, we all
wonder, what chance does he have of fulfilling the vision?

No, there is only one reality, and that is this; if you're
doing something today that could lead to your ultimate
destination, then there is at least a chance, even if only
a slim chance, that you will reach your goal. If you are in
the swimming pool for five hours a day, then you probably
will get a shot of being on the Olympic Squad. If you
practice your football skills by kicking a ball round in
the street, and then chase a place on your school team and
then your local amateur club, then it's much more likely
that a football career could be yours. If you persuade your
parents to buy you a guitar, take some books out of the
library and start to learn the skills, then there's every
chance your music will develop. If you're prepared to
sleep in a van and eat bad food, then there's a chance you
could be on your way. That's the basics. If you are doing
things today to move you along, then it's possible that
tomorrow you will be where you want to go. In my own case,
there's no question. If you followed me around for 24
hours, there is one thing you would see for sure. No matter
where I am and what I'm doing, at some point I always sit
down and write for an hour. Usually it's a bit of a
chapter, a small piece towards finishing a new novel. At
the end of a year, there's a new book to be loaded up onto
my print-on-demand publisher, Lulu dot com. Am I a famous
author? Not at all. But I'm a writer, and every day I prove
it. Every day.

And there's one more thing. Anyone who has ever taken piano
lessons knows this: practice can be hell. Repetition and
rote is boring and mind-numbing. It's necessary, but
painful. So, if there's any way of making learning and
practising fun, then take it. Whatever it is, sport or
creativity, you need to be doing it every day, hour after
hour. Well, find a way to enjoy the process. That way, at
least the necessity will become bearable. If you want the
dream, then you might have to skin your heels, or get
blisters on your fingers, or wear out your typewriter. If
you can't enjoy that, then why do it? After all, there's
always someone else, someone coming along behind you, who
will be happy to take your place, your future, your dream.
Are you going to let them?

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Mike Scantlebury is an Internet Author from England, with
novels, plays, poems and songs to his credit. He has many
web sites and a presence on YouTube, My Space, Facebook,
Free IQ, and Blogger. He also publishes books through
Lulu.com, which enables him to be accessed all round the
world. He also has a local weekly radio show. You can check
out his details at his home page.
http://www.mikescantlebury.com