100 Words, #18: Do something that scares you, then do it again.

About 9 months ago, a new friend tipped me off to a “Hip Hop Karaoke” night happening each month in Stockholm.

It had been a long time since I’d performed on stage, but I knew that I needed to get myself over that hump again if I wanted to take my own dream of being a music artist seriously. And really, how can I expect anyone else to take it seriously if I’m not taking my own steps to do so, right?

So I signed up, memorized a song, and got up on stage.

The feeling or performing came rushing back, the higher-than-any-substance high that comes from having a crowd sing along with you, applaud you, from having someone come up and tell you how much they liked what you’d done.

Since then, I’ve been back several times.

Every time I’ve focused on practicing new elements of live performance: How much should I move around? How do I get the crowd to wave their arms, clap, and sing when I want them to? What comes off as excited, and what comes off as too cocky? What makes people laugh to say before and after a song?

Every time, another lesson. Every time, an improvement.

Plus, you never know what unexpected surprise might come your way: Tonight, New Era clothing sponsored the Hip Hop Karaoke event, and everyone who performed got their choice of a number of clothing items hanging up on the DJ booth.

Imagine my surprise when one of the few sports related items was a Seattle Seahawks shirt/jersey from my hometown — what’re the odds of finding THAT 5,000 miles from home while living in Stockholm?

I’ll take that as a sign; more performances on the way.