People Who Inspire #2

Humans Of New York

I mean.  If I'm feeling abit dry, a little jaded and I need to feel the feels again, I know exactly where to go.  Humans Of New York is just a genius.  

HONY's about page reads:

My name is Brandon and I began Humans of New York in the summer of 2010. I thought it would be really cool to create an exhaustive catalogue of New York City’s inhabitants, so I set out to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers and plot their photos on a map. I worked for several months with this goal in mind, but somewhere along the way, HONY began to take on a much different character. I started collecting quotes and short stories from the people I met, and began including these snippets alongside the photographs. Taken together, these portraits and captions became the subject of a vibrant blog. With over seven million followers on social media, HONY now provides a worldwide audience with daily glimpses into the lives of strangers in New York City. It has also become a #1 NYT bestselling book..

"I knew you'd stop me one day'.

I love HONY because of Brandon's fabulous portraiture and simple concept.  I love it mostly because it celebrates people.

 Ain't much in life better than that. 

Ayanna

Sorry what.  Ayanna took SBTV's A64 to a whole other level.  So proud of her, she's such a sweet and inspiring friend.  Her work ethic is crazy, and she really believes in herself.  Not at all with any arrogance, she has a deep belief that she has something great to offer, and she offers it unashamedly, without guile or false humility.  Love her.  She is the only artist I collaborated with on my upcoming album, on a track we wrote entitled 'Because Of Love', I can't wait for you to hear it!

Forgiven

I've recently been challenged to forgive in a deeper way, for things that are to me, some of the deepest hurts and pains.  I've been challenged to forgive daily for things that I can't with my naked eye, and even through the eyes of my imagination, see changing - at least for the foreseeable future.  

I know unforgiveness damages me so much more than it does the other person.  I know that I need forgiveness daily for my own shortcomings and crazy, even unforgivable behaviour.  I believe that what you sow, you will eventually reap, and I need  to reap forgiveness in my life. Every single day of my life. 

With all that I know, true forgiveness still often feels like the most impossible thing to do.  Wounds seem insurmountable.  The past unerasable.   

For me I come back to this: I have been forgiven for the worst of the worst things I have, am, or will ever do.  I live from a place of knowing that to my Father, there is nothing I can do that is unforgivable.  I live in the realm of the second chance.   

I live in a place were the impossible is infact possible.  And with this in mind (or in heart).  I don't know how I'll do it, but I know I can forgive.  Every single time. 

People Who Inspire #1

Shameless Maya

This Chick.  Seriously she's just amaze.  From where her Youtube channel started until today, I mean YAAASSSSS honey!  I can completely relate to this woman.  Self promotion is mad, and makes me feel kinda sicky really.  Being in the music industry and generally in the creative arena, self promotion seems to kind of go with the territory, but I haven't found a way to do it without feeling icky.  Is there something wrong with me or is there something wrong with it.  Hmmmm... Answers on a postcard welcome.  And check out Maya! 

Maya's blurb: 

What would happen if I shamelessly promoted myself for a year? Ever wonder how to gain confidence? How to get over social anxiety? This is my 365 day journey of shameless self promotion that helped me gain strength to overcome my fears and gain confidence.

Jake Isaac

I mean this dude is just DOING it right now!  His new EP Warchild is banging.  His grind is banging.  This video is BANGING!

I love what he stands for and I love the authenticity of his sound.  I mostly love seeing peeps make progress and do well. 

Truths and Tiny Tragedies

As we plan for the release of my debut album, I'm getting my affairs in order.  Long overdue I know, but my first ever recording, 'Truths and Tiny Tragedies', is now up on the site and available for download here.  Yay!