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Stanton Lanier has navigated some crossroads and big transitions. He went from being a chemistry major to having a 15-year business career to being a financial planner, to becoming a composer and pianist known around the world. He now has composed and recorded 12 albums and his music touches 5 million lives annually across 140 countries. I encourage you to check out his music for a dose of peace, inspiration, and hope. In 2004, he founded a nonprofit ministry called Music to Light the World, which has donated 75,000 CDs to cancer patients and others needing hope and healing.
Show Notes
Contact
https://www.stantonlanier.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/StantonLanier
Mentioned in this Episode
Johann Sebastian Bach quote: “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.”
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/115200.Johann_Sebastian_Bach
William Ackerman - https://williamackerman.com/
Windham Hill Records - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windham_Hill_Records
Bobbi’s Takeaways from the Episode
I hope that you enjoyed hearing about Stanton's journey and that it provides inspiration to you that the path we start on doesn't have to be the path we stay on. We can always shift. Here are some of my favorite takeaways.
1. Find the thing that makes you come alive and then pursue it either as a vocation or as a hobby.
2. There is value in noticing if we are striving too hard at something. Sometimes striving is healthy and part of the process. And sometimes it could be signaling to us that we are just fighting too hard to swim against the current, against who we really are and what we really value.
3. Do the one thing that you know to do today and let the other steps unfold. The lack of a grand or big vision doesn't have to be a barrier to action.
4. He spoke of the inner affirmation versus the external affirmation. I think we can often miss the external affirmations because we are busy and focused.
One thing that I've done is that I've started to print out supportive and affirming emails that I receive. And I have posted them in my studio where I can see them every day. This gives me a sense of momentum, and it also helps when discouragement tries to knock at my door.
5. We need white space in our lives to allow creativity to grow. And I think this is one that so many of us are missing. Because we're so over-programmed, we have so much going on. We're always running at the red line. How do we create the margin and the white space to be, and allow creativity to take hold?
6. His final note, which I wrote down and posted it on my board. And it is this, "Less fear and more joy." What are those things that brought you joy as a kid, or that bring you joy now? And how can you be intentional about creating space for those things at least once a day?
I hope that you found some takeaways that will, as Stanton said, speak life into your gifts and your life.
